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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 




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9 


THE 


E I B L E-W O R K 


THE OLD TESTAMENT. 


".^OL. I. 


Genesis Cl^iip. i. la €j'obus C^a|j. xii 


FROM THE CREATION TO THE EXODUS. 

THE KEVISED TEXT, ARRANGED IN SECTIONS; WITH COMMENTS SELECTED FROM THE CHOICEST 
MOST ILLUMINATI.NG AND HELPFUL THOUGHT OF THE CHRISTIAN CENTURIES, 

TAKEN FROM FOUR HUNDRED SCHOLARLY WRITERS. 






PREPARED BY 


J. GLENTWOKTIL ^BUTLER, D.D. 

*» 


“ So they read in the hook in the law of God, distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand 
the reading.”— Nehemiah, viii. 8. 



1893. 







I 



COPYRIGHT, 

J. GLENTWORTH BUTLER, 
1892. 


General Wap for this Volume,. 

Sojourning Places op Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, , . 
Authors' Citbd and Key to iBBREViATioNS, • • • • . 


faces title-page, 
faces page 298. 
pages 643-C47. 







SECTIONS; TEXT; SUBJECTS; PAGES. 


SECTION. TEXT, GENESIS. 


2 


<: o 

f o 




4 

G 

7 

8 
9 


10 



11 



12 

1 : 

1, 2 

13 

1 : 

3-13 

14 

1 : 

14-25 

10 

16 



17 

\ O • 

2C>> 

7 5 

18 


20, 27 

4 

19 



20 

o . 

18-25 

21 

1 : 

28-31 

22 

o . 

1-0 

23 

0 . 

8-17 

24 

3 : 

1-7 

*>5 

3 : 

8-19 

26 

3 : 

20-24 

27 

' 4 : 

1-8 

28 

4 ; 

8-24 

29 

{V: 

25,20 

1-32 

30 

(): 

1-22 

31 

7 : 1 

-24 


The Bible : -Structure aud Elements; Writers aud Contents. 

The Bible : Unity of Teaching aud Theme. Method, His¬ 
torical and Progressive. ...... 

The Bible : Not of Man, but of God ; Divine-Human. 

The Bible: Fitness to Man’sNeeds; Achievements and Effects. 

The Bible: Bevelation (Theology, Religion) and Science. 

The Bible : Interpretation ; Preservation ; Manuscripts and 
Versions. .. 

The Old Testament: Divisions; Language and Text; Au¬ 
thenticity; Facts and Teachings; Unity; Devotional 
Cliaracter. ....... 

The Old Testament: Critical Views and Methods ; Chro¬ 
nology ; Assyrian Discovery. 

The Pentateuch : Structure; Evidences; Mosaic Authorship. 

The Book of Genesis. ..... 

First Chapter of Genesis—Preliminary. 

'Jdie Beginning. ...... 

First, Second, and Third Days. .... 

Fourth, Fifth, and Half of Sixth, Days. 

Suggestions of the Creative History. 

Geological History; Theories of Creative Days. . 

The Trinitv. Jehovah Elohim. 




Original Estate and Antiquity of Man. 

Animals Named ; AVornan Formed ; Marriage. 

The Family; Subduing of the Earth and Dominio 
the Creatures. End of Sixth Day. 

Seventh Day ; Summary of Creation. 

Man in Eden ; Condition ; Fellowship ; Work ; Test 

Temptation ; Disobedience ; Fall. 

Inquiry; Confession; Judgment; Mercy. 

Sacrifice ; Expulsion from Eden ; Man’s Changed 
tion ; The Cherubim and Sword. . 

Cain and Abel ; Birth and Offerings. 

Cain’s Fratricide ; Punishment; Descendants. . 


Flood Announced ; Period of God’s Patience ; Noah Pre¬ 
pares an Ark. ...... 

Entering the Ark ; Flood 150 Days ; Extent of Deluge ; 

Traditions. ......... 


PAGE 

7 

13 

18 

26 

35 

38 

44 

56 

69 

80 

85 

90 

95 

101 

106 

112 

121 

131 

139 

149 

155 

160 

166 

172 

183 

195 

204 

210 


218 


226 

239 



IV 



t»EC'TION. TEXT, GENESIS. 

t 

32 

(S : 
IS) : 

1-22 1 
1-7 ) 

33 

9 : 

8-29 

34 

10 : 

1-32 

35 

11 : 

1-9 

36 

11 : 

10-32 

37 

10 . 

1-5 

38 

10 • 
X • 

6-9 

39 

12 : 

10-20 

40 

13 : 

1-18 

41 

14 : 

1-24 

42 

15 : 

1-21 

43 

16 : 

1-16 

44 

17 : 

1-27 

45 

18 : 

1-33 

46 

19 : 

1-28 

47 

19 : 

29-38 

48 

20 : 

1-18 

49 

oi . 

A. • 

1-34 

50 

oo . 

1-19 

51 

23 : 

1-20 

52 

( oo . 

1 24 : 

20-24) 
1-67 ( 

53 

1^0 m 

1-34 

54. 

26: 

1-35 

55 

27 : 

1-40 

56 

(27 : 

(28 : 

1 

^ 1 

57 

28 : 

10-32 


(29 : 

1-35 ) 

Oo 

j 30 : 

1-43 f 

59 

31 : 

1-00 

60 

QO . 

. 

1-23 


(32 : 

24-32 } 

O L 

( 33 : 

1-20 j 

62 

34: 

1-31 


SECTIONS; TEXT; SUBJECTS; PAGES. 

Waters Assuaged; Noah’s Offering; Promises Renewed and 
Charters Enlarged. ....... 

Covenant with Noah ; Ilis Sin, Prophecy and Deatli. 

Nations Divided in the Eartli.” . . . . . 

The Dispersion at Pabel. ....... 

Shein to Abraham. ........ 

Abram’s Call; Blessing; Journey to Canaan. 

Encamps at Shechem ; Promise of the Land ; Bethel; The 
South Country. ........ 

Sojourn in Egypt; First Deceit respecting Sarah. 

Roturu to Betliel ; Lot’s Clioice; Renewal of Promise ; Re¬ 
moval to Hebron. ........ 

Abram Rescues Lot; Melchizedek. ..... 

Covenant with Abram ; God the only Party. 

Hagar Given to Abram ; Her Flight; The Angel of Je¬ 
hovah Theophanies. . . . . . 

Covenant Renewed ; Sealed (on Abraham’s part) by Circum¬ 
cision ; Circumcision and Baptism; The Abrahamic 
Covenant and the New Testament Church. 

Son Promised ; Abraham’s Intercession for Sodom. . 

Sodom Destroyed ; Lot Saved ; Dead Sea ; Site of the Fou 
Cities ; Agencies of Destruction. 

Birth of Moab and Ammon. ..... 

Abraham and Abimelech ; Second Deceit respecting Sarah 
Gerar ; Beersheba........ 

Birth of Isaac ; Ishmael Cast Out; Covenant with Abime 

lecli. ........u 

The Sacrifice of Isaac. ...... 

Death and Burial of Sarah. ..... 

Rebekah’s Parentage ; Sought and Brought to Isaac. 

Keturah’s Sons ; Birth of Esau and Jacob ; Birthriglit De¬ 
spised ; Death of Abraham ; I^hmael’s Deatli ; Charac¬ 
ter of Abraham. ........ 

Isaac and Abimelech ; Falsehood respecting Rebekah ; 
Esau’s Hittite Wives. ....... 

Jacob’s Deceit and Blessing ; Esau’s Blessing. 

Esau’s Threat; Jacob blessed and sent to Laban. 

Jacob’s Vision at Bethel. ... .... 

Service with Laban ; Wives and Children ; Scheme of In¬ 
crease of Flocks. ....... 

Jacob’s Flight and Laban’s Pursuit; Meeting and Parting. 

At Mahanaim ; Prepares for Meeting with Esau ; His Fer¬ 
vent Prayer. ........ 

The Wrestling at Peniel ; Meeting with Esau ; Camp at 
Succoth ; Arrival at Shechem. ..... 

Dinah’s Wrong and Cruel Avenging. .... 


PAGE 

247 

255 

2C1 

275 

282 

288 

295 

299 

305 

313 

320 

329 


337 

350 

359 

368 


«> 

O iO 


378 

384 

399 

404 


413 

424 

429 

438 

441 

448 

456 

463 

467 

476 





SECTIONS ; TEXT ; SUBJECTS; PAGES. 


V 


SECTION. TEXT, GENESIS. 

03 35 : 1-20, 27-20 A Second Blessing, at Betliel ; Death of Deborah, of 

Bachel, and of Isaac. ....... 


r 35 
64 ^ 3(> 
[38 
Go 37 


06 

07 

08 

69 

70 

71 

72 

73 


74 

75 

76 


39 

40 

41 

42 
3 : 

44 

45 

45 
40 

46 

47 


47 
147 
■i48 
77 49 


21-26 

1-43 

1-30 

1-36 

1-23 

1-23 


Reuben’s Crime ; Esau’s Descendants; Judah and Tamar. 

Joseph’s Dreams ; Sold by his Brethren into Egypt. . 

Potiphar’s Slave ; Falsely Accused, and Imprisoned. . 

Dreams of two imprisoned Officers interpreted ; The Egypt 
and Pliaraoh of Joseph. ...... 

Dreams of Pharaoh ; Elevation of Joseph ; A^ears of Plenty. 

Jacob’s Sons’ First Journey to Egypt. .... 

Second Journey, with Benjamin. . . . . . 

The Silver Cup ; Judah’s Eloquent Plea. .... 

Joseph Discloses Himself; Pharaoh’s Invitation to Jacob. 

Jacob Receives Tidings; Ilis Third Blessing, at Beersheba. 


1-57 
1-38 
1-34 
1-34 

1-24 

25-28 \ 

1-27 j 

28-34) Jacob meets Josejffi; Presented to Pharaoh; Israelites 
1-12 C Settled in Goshen. ....... 

13-26 Joseph’s Procedure with the Egyptians. . . . . 

27—31) • 

' >- Adoption and Blessing of Ephi’aim and Manasseh. 

1-28 Jacob’s Prophetic Blessing ol Ilis Sons. . . . . 


78 

( 5() 

79 60 


\ Funeral of Jacob. 


14-26 Joseph’s Kindness to his Brethren ; His Death ; Points of 
Chaiactei. ....... .. 


iXODUS. 


80 

1 : 1-7 

81 

1 : 8-22 

82 

2 : 1-22 


2 : 23-26] 

83 ^ 

3 : 1-22 r 


l4 : 1-17 J 


f4 : 18-311 

84 - 

6 : 1-23 


,6:1 J 

85 - 

6 : 2-30 1 


[7 : 1-13 i 


Introductory to Exodus and its Histoi’y ; Further Notices 
of Egypt. ......... 

Persecution of Israel in Egypt. ..... 

Birth and Training of Moses, in Egypt and Midian. . 

Call and Commission of Moses, at the Burning Bush on 

Iloreb. . . . • • • • • 

Moses returns, with Aaron, to Egypt; God’s Message to 
Pharaoli; Results to Israel; 'Ihiree Pharaohs of the 
Exodus. ......... 

Pledges Renewed to Israel; Charge to Moses and Aaron ; 
Miraculous Credentials; Heads of Houses; Hardening 
of Pharaoh’s Heart. ..... . . 


86 

87 

88 

89 

90 


First, Second, and Third Plagues; Miracles. 

Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Plagues. 

11 • 1-10 [ Eighth and Ninth Plagues; Warning of the Tenth. . 

: 21-36 [ Passover; Tenth Plague, Death of First-born. 

1 Chron. 1 : 1-54 Supplementary. 


( 7 : 14-25) 
\h : 1-19 f 

(8 : 20-32) 

) 9 : 1-35 f 


P>;«E 


478 


482 


487 

495 

498 

503 

511 

516 

520 

523 

527 

531 

536 

539 

544 

553 

556 

563 

570 

573 

580 

591 

597 

606 

614 

620 


628 

641 





A PERSONAL Y/ORD TO THE READER. 

For a right apprehension and an adequate comprehension the Scriptures of both Testaments 
should be read, not in detached passages or chapters, but continuously and with close heed to 
their manifold links of connection For such continuous heedful reading, in older to the clearest 
apprehension of these wonderful discdosures and the fullest appreciation of tlieir priceless 
truths, every line in these volumes has been carefully prepared ; not for the trained sch.^lar only, 
but equally for all readers of average intelligence and education. 

The aim has been to furnish in a single compendium an orderly, coherent, proportionate, and 
measurably complete exposition of the Sacred Text, so that the meaning of the Divine utterances, 
as discerned by studious, devout interpreters, qualified by special gifts or attainments, may be 
disclosed to all who will devoutly read. A broader statement of this aim is outlined by Dr. Hales, 
.the learned author of the “Analysis of Sacred Chronology,’’in a paragraph which occurs in 
the Inti’oduction to that work ; 

“We have still to search in vain for a history of the Bible which shall be plain and clear, 
even to the unlearned, and yet concise, correct, and critical ; a history which shall : (1) arrange 
all the scattered events of Scripture in a regular and lucid chronological and geographical order ; 
(2) trace the connection between the Old and New Testaments thuughout, so as to render the 
whole one unitorm and consistent narrati/e ; (3) expound the mysteries, doctrines, aud precepts 
of both, intelligibly, rationally, and faithfully ; without adding to or diminishing from the word 
of God ; and without undue respect to persons, parties, or sects ; (4) untold and interpret the 
whole grand and comprehensive scheme of ‘ ihe prophetic nrpumerd' from Genesis to Revelation, all 
admirably linked and closely’’ connected together, subsisting in the divine mind before the foun¬ 
dation of the world ; and gradually revealed to mankind at sundry times and divers modes and 
degrees, during the Patriarchal, Mosaical, and Christian dispensations, as they were able to bear 
it ; (5) solve real difficulties, and reconcile apparent dissonances, resulting from the obscurity of 
the original text, or from inaccurate translations ; (G) expose the weakness and inconclusiveness 
of sceptical objections and cavils ; and, in fine, copy as closely as possible the brevity and con¬ 
ciseness, yet simplicity and plainness, of the Gospel style.’’ 

The moiive for the toil devoted to these volumes has been an intense yearning for a form and 
substance of Scriptural exposition that, being complete and attractive, may be continuously read, 
and may prove itself so sufficient and satisfactory that it will be studied again and again, until 
God’s truth shall achieve its purposed mastery over mind and heart and life. The demand for 
such a sufficient and satisfactory exposition is strongly emphasized by the unquestioned fact that 
a devout shidg of the Scriptures by every confessing disciple of Christ is the one supreme vital need of the 
Church of God; a fact that has long been believed and repeatedly affirmed by her entire living, 
godly ministry and membership. Well was this voiced by two who were among the most emi¬ 
nent and saintly of American scholars. Said Professor Tayler Lewis ; 

“ The age, and all serious minds of the age, are called to the inward study of the Word itself. 
In the signs of the times we seem to hear the voice that came to Augustine in his memorable 
conversion-struggle in the garden, ‘ Take up the book and read—take up the book and read.’ It 
seems to say to us with a new emphasis, ‘ Search the Scriptures,’ explore the Scriptures, there 
are hidden treasures there, there are living waters there ; study the Scriptures, they contain 
more than knowledge, the words they sj^eak unto you, ‘ they are spirit and they are bfe.' ” 

And, writing of “ a desire for a more perfect realization of Christianity,” as “ manifestly a 
powerful element now working deep in the Christian mind,’’ Professor Henry B. Smith used 
these terse golden words : 

“Piety is nourished by scriptural truth. Feeling not based on truth is irrational. Strong 
religious feeling not based on scriptural truth is enthusiasm or fanaticism, and is equally re¬ 
moved from true godliness as supineness or indifference. The highest type of religion—religion 
which fills the soul, and stirs every muscle of holy enterprise ; which absjrbs us in rapturous 
contemplation of tlie divine glory, and embraces the world in its benevolent zeal ; which ren¬ 
ders one’s own heart an altar on which daily incense rises to God, and pants to hear the voice 
of praise ascending from all mankind - is inspired by the Divine Spirit in connection with the 
highest forms of truth. God’s perfections and character, in all their infinitude, majesty, and 
glory the duty of entire consecration to him ; of the whole heart’s love ; of unconditional 
submission ; of disinterested affection ; a willingness that God should do all things for his own 
glory ; —the doctrines of his absolute sovereignty, both as the dispenser of providential events 
and the enacter of laws ; of man’s utter ruin by nature ; of his accountable ability and moral 
impotence ; of Christ’s all-sufficient atonement ; of electing grace : of justification by faith ; of 
instantaneous I'egenera/ion, wrought alone by the Holy Spirit ; of spontaneous obedience, arising 
from controliing desires t» vindicate Christ’s character, and to promote the interests of his king¬ 
dom, -ail must be vividly brought before the mind. Feeble views of truth may nurture a sickly 
growth of piety ; but for the production of that humble, yet bold, masculine, aggressive piety, 
which will electrify the world, and gather the nations around the cross, these higher Rrms of 
divine truth are essential.” 

[The reader is desired to note that the text used in these Old Testament volumes is that of 
the recent Revision ; and is taken from the careful reprint of the Messrs. Harper Brothers.] 


THE BIBLE. 


Section 1. 

THE BIBLE : 

ITS STRUCTUEE AND ELEMENTS. V.'^RITERS AND CONTENTS. 


The Bible, or the Book of God, is a collection 
of writings commenced not later than 1500 b.c., 
and completed about 100 a.c. It is called by 
Irenaeus (b. 120 a.c.) Divine Writings, and by 
Clemens Alexandrinns (d. 220 a.c.) Seriptures, 
the God-inspired {Scriptures. Hence it has been 
designated the Canon, or the Canonical Script¬ 
ures, bocaase, including all and only the writ¬ 
ings given by inspiration of God, it is the canon 

or rule of faith and practice for man. M.- 

The Canon, as we have received it, shows a 
most varied collection of Hebrew and Greek 
w'orks—histories, poems, tracts, prophecies, and 
letters, written at intervals during sixteen cen¬ 
turies, by many writers known and unknown ; 
and among those who are known, men of every 
rank and condition—prophets, kings, priests, a 
scribe, a sheep-master, a tax-gatherer, a phy¬ 
sician, a tent-maker, and two or three fishermen. 
The volume which we call the Bible grew slowly 
under their hands, and was separated from 
other religious writings by degrees. So God 
ordered it ; so it seemed good in his sight. 

D. F.-The Bible, which we are accustomed 

to see as one book, consists of sixty-six distinct 
productions, the works of about forty different 
authors. The composition of these many books 
extended through a period of 1600 years, from 
the time of Moses, more than 1500 years before 
Christ, to the death of the apostle John, near 
the close of the first century of our era. The 
compo.sition of the 39 books of the Old Testa¬ 
ment stretches over a period of 1100 years from 

Moses to Malachi. J. P. T.-God created 

each writer for his place. Each builds on what 
is before. Each writer is in his precise historic 
place, and the result of the completed work is a 
wonderful organism. A. A. H. 

The collection of Books, which we bind up 
together, constitutes the authentic and complete 
Bible, the authoritative fountain of our religious 


knowledge. But this does not involve and 
should not be allowed to imply, or understood 
to cover, the opinion that all the Books in the 
collection are of equal value, or equally full of 
the mind of God, or equally applicable in their 
teachings to the time in which we live. They 
are all sacred, as .separated to holy use from the 
mass of even religious literature ; all profitable, 
but not all equally profitable ; and all to be read 
with reverence, but at the same time with intel¬ 
ligent recognition of the progress which is in 
the Bible itself, and in the order and brightness 

of Divine dispensations of truth. D. F.-The 

revelation of God was written by so many differ¬ 
ent persons, at different times, and with such 
different habits of thought and of feeling, be¬ 
cause it M^as intended to be a book for the in¬ 
struction of the race ; and this it could not bo 
if it were written in any one stylo, or were 
stamped with the peculiarities of any one human 
mind. In order to this, it must embrace narra¬ 
tives, poetry, proverbs, parables, letters, pro¬ 
found reasoning,—which, while they all har¬ 
monized in doctrine and in spirit, should yet 
be as diversified as the hills and valleys of the 
green earth ; should yet refract the pure light 
of inspiration in colors to catch and fix everj'’ 
eye. Wonderful book ! If some of its parts 
seem to us* less interesting, let us remember that 
nature too has many departments, and that it 
was made for all ; and the moi’e we study it in 
this point of view, the more ready shall we be 
to join with the apostle in saying, that “ all 
scripture is given by inspiration of God.” 
M. H. 

Domestic scenes, confessions of conscience, 
pourings forth of prayer in secret, travels, prov¬ 
erbs, revelations of the depths of the heart, the 
holy courses pursued by a child of God, weak¬ 
nesses unveiled, falls, recoveries, inward experi¬ 
ence^ parables, familiar letters, theological 








8 


THE BIBLE: 


treatises, sacred commentaries on some ancient 
Scripture, national chronicles, military annals, 
political statistics, descriptions of God, portraits 
of angels, celestial visions, practical counsels, 
rules of life, solutions of cases, judgments of 
the Lord, sacred hymns, predictions of future 
events, narratives of what passed during the 
days preceding our creation, sublime odes, in¬ 
imitable j)ieces of poetry ;—all this is found in 
the Bible by turns, and all this meets our view 
in most delightful variety, and presenting a 
w’hole whose majesty, like that of a temple, is 
overpowering. Gaussen. 

God’s message came sometimes in the facts of 
history, sometimes in isolated promises, some, 
times by Urim, sometimes by dreams and voices 
and similitudes, sometimes by t 3 pes and sacri¬ 
fices, sometimes by prophets specially commis¬ 
sioned, It takes the form now of annals, now 
of philosophic meditation, now of a sermon, 
now of an idyl, now of a lyric song. Sometimes 
it expands, through chapter after chapter, the 
details of a single day in an individual life ; 
sometimes it crushes into one single clause the 
sweeping summary of the records of twenty 
generations. At one time it wdll give the mi¬ 
nutest incidents of one event in a single reign ; 
at another it will heap the dust of oblivion over 
dynasties of a hundred kings. We may com¬ 
pare its course to that of a stream which some¬ 
times dwindles into a tinj^ rivulet, and some¬ 
times broadens into an almost shoreless sea. 
But it is a stream w’hose fountains lie deep in 
the everlasting hills. Its sources are hidden in 
the depths of a past Eternity, and its issues in 
the depths of a future Eternity. It begins with 
the chaos of Genesis, “ vast and void it ends 
w’ith a book which Milton has called “ the 
majestic image of a high and stately tragedy, 
shutting up and intermingling her solemn scenes 
and acts with a sevenfold chorus of hallelujahs 
and harping symphonies.*’ Farrar. 

Open the Bible, examine the fifty sacred 
authors therein, from Moses, who wrote in the 
wilderness four hundred years before the siege 
of Troy, to the fisherman son of Zebedee, who 
w’rote fifteen hundred years later in Ephesus 
and Patmos, under the reign of Domitian, and 
you will find none of those mistakes which the 
science of every country detects in the works of 
preceding generations. Carefully go through 
the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, in search 
of such faults, and as you carry on the investi¬ 
gation remember that it is a book which treats 
of everything, which describes nature, which re¬ 
counts its wonders, which records its creation, 
which tells us of the formation of the heavens, 


« 

of the light, of the waters, of the air, of the 
mountains, of animals, and of plants ; that it is 
a book which acquaints us with the first revolu¬ 
tions of the world, and which foretells also its 
last ; that it is a book which describes them 
with circumstantial details, invests them with 
sublime poetry, and chants them in fervent 
melodies ; that it is a book replete with Eastern 
imagery, full of majesty, Viiriety, and boldness ; 
that it is a book which treats of the earth and 
things visible, and at the same time of the 
celestial world and things invisible ; that it is a 
book in which nearly fifty writers, of every de¬ 
gree of cultivation, of every order, of every con¬ 
dition, and s parated from one another by more 
than fifteen hundred years, have been engaged ; 
that it is a book w'ritten variously in the centre 
of Asia, in the sands of Arabia, in the deserts 
of Judma, in the porches of the Jewish temple, 
and in the rustic schools of the prophets of 
Bethel and Jericho, in the magnificent palaces 
of Babylon, and on the idolatrous banks of the 
Chebar, and afterward in the Western centre of 
civilization, in the midst of the Jews and their 
ignorant councils, among Polytheism and its 
idols, and, as it were, in the bosom of Panthe- 
ism and its foolish philosophy ; that it is a 
book whose first writer was, during forty years, 
brought up among the magicians of Egypt, who 
regarded the sun, planets, and elements as en¬ 
dowed with intelligence, reacting upon and 
governing our world by their continual evapora¬ 
tion ; and that it is a book whose first pages 
preceded by more than nine hundred years the 
most ancient philosophers of Greece and Asia 
—Thales, Pythagorus, Zaleucus, Xenophon, and 
Confucius ; that it is a book which carries its 
records into the scenes of the invisible world, 
the hierarchy of angels, the latest periods of 
futurit}', and the glorious consummation of all 
things. Well, search in its 50 authors, its 66 
books, its 1180 chapters, and its 31.173 verses ; 
search for a single one of the thousand errors 
with which every ancient and modern author 
abounds when they speak of the heavens or of 
the earth, of their revolutions or of their ele¬ 
ments, and you will fail to find it. Gaussen. 

Carefully observe the constitution of the 
Bible ! At least three fourths of it are narra¬ 
tive ; narrative in the form of a general histori¬ 
cal story, which tells of the public transactions 
of nations, of the intrigues, councils, and wars 
of princes, the devastation of countries, the 
establishment, the enlargement, or the over¬ 
throw of empires, the rising of powers against 
each other, their alliances, their conflicts, their 
commercial interactions, with the results which 



ITS STRUCTURE AND ELEMENTS, WRITERS AND CONTENTS. 


9 


followed from all to the kingdom of God ; or 
narrative in the form of personal portraiture, 
recording events, depicting characters, of which 
and of whom we should know nothing except 
from it. In this regard, this Bible of ours be¬ 
comes a mirror of human life, the value of 
which we cannot overstate, the perfection of 
which is utterly unique. What scores and hun¬ 
dreds of persons there are, brought to light by 
it, in the most various circumstances possible, 
in the most various exhibitions of character, 
who become in their names, persons, figures, as 
familiar to us as if we had walked and talked 
with them freely in our most impressible years i 
Abraham, Jacob, Esau, Joseph, Moses and 
Aaron, Joshua and Samuel, Deborah and Kuth, 
David and Solomon, Elijah and his more gentle 
successor, Ahab and his superb and fierce 
Phoenician queen : what multitudes there are ! 
We cannot count them. A figure stands out 
from the dimness of the past, only for an in¬ 
stant ; but there it stands before us forever ! 
K. S. S. 

The Bible constitutes a perpetual commentary 
on God’s providential government, and shows 
us, by innumerable examples, how to interpret 
those lessons which the varying events of life, 
its joys and sorrows, its temptations and trials, 
are calculated to teach us. There is hardly an 
event, hardly a character that has not its paral¬ 
lel in that immense picture gallery of historic 
and biographic sketches which the Scripture 
opens to us. The whole of life seems mirrored 
there ; the examples range through all the ranks 
of social life, embrace all varieties of character, 
and illustrate by analogous cases almost every 
conceivable combination of circumstances in 
which man can be placed. It is hardly possible 
to imagine ourselves in any situation in which 
that immense repertory and storehouse of moni¬ 
tory or touching examples will not furnish a 
precedent either for our warning, consolation, 
or guidance. ... So may it be truly said that 
all the phenomena of religious experience are 
there described with incomparable force. The 
devout mind finds every shade of emotion,—of 
penitence, faith, hope, devout aspiration,—and 
every variation of spiritual consciousness, in 
words better than his own, and as if by one who 
knew man better than man knows himself. His 
whole nature is reflected in that faithful mirror. 
Borders. 

Eem ember, too, the marvellous poetry of the 
Bible, at which all the world wonders : so ma¬ 
jestic, so pathetic, in contents so various, in its 
mass so vast, in its spiritual beauty so un¬ 
equalled ! It :3 poetry unshackled by the fet¬ 


ters of rhyme, where the image becomes instinct 
with the spirit of song, where the thoughts 
chime as words cannot. It sings itself, there¬ 
fore, through the mind alike of child and man. 
It utters itself in hymns and psalms and spirit¬ 
ual songs, to which it has given its impulse and 
meaning, in all languages of the world. It be¬ 
comes the source, and constant inspiration, of 
the great historical liturgies of the church, of 
which it has been computed that two thirds are 
drawn directly from the sacred volume ! It 
quickens the fancy, stirs the imagination, 
soothes, solaces, or animates the heart ; and 
though not forming so large a part, it forms as 
important and as memorable a part, in the struc¬ 
ture of the Bible ; it contributes as much to its 
power and spiritual impression, as do narratives 

and history. B. S. S,-The Bible contains 

poems of nearly all kinds. In the Book of Job 
we have its single drama of unequalled sublim¬ 
ity ; in the songs of Moses and of Deborah the 
grandest pseans to liberty which were ever sung ; 
in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes didactic and phil¬ 
osophic poems of great beauty and wisdom ; in 
the Song of Solomon an exquisite pastoral ; in 
the Lamentation a most pathetic elegy. Epic 
indeed there is none ; but Hebrew history is it¬ 
self a Divine epic, and in the intense utterances 
of the prophets and the sweet songs of the 
psalmists we have as it were the ivy and the 
jiassion-flowers which twine around its bole. 
But it is in lyric poetry that the Hebrew genius 
most characteristically displayed itself, and in 
its songs we have, as Luther said, “ a garden in 
which the fairest flowers bloom, but over w'hich 
there blow tempestuous winds.” And of all the 
characteristics of Hebrew poetry, its fresh sim- 
plicity,*its stainless purity, its lofty purpose, its 
genial cheerfulness, its free universality of tone, 
none is more remarkable than the fact that it is 
intensely religious, that it is full of God. What 
the son of Sirac says of David is true of all the 
Hebrew poets : “ In all his works he praised the 
Holy One most high with words of glory ; with 
his whole heart he sung songs, and loved him 
that made him.” Farrar. 

Its Silences. Its supernatural origin is as 
clearly indicated in what it does not say as in 
what it says. With its many writers, and its 
scope of many centuries, one would imagine a 
change of trend here and there, a sudden, sharp 
angle. But, instead, we have a beautiful and 
wonderful growth,—the blade, the ear, the full 
corn in the ear. There is no violence, no acci¬ 
dent, no chasm, but everj^where an orderly and 
logical evolving of the greater from the less. In 
order that this result be brought about, it was 






10 


THE BIBLE: 


needful that great omissions take place. It is 
the growth of the truth, and the people who 
represented the truth, that was constantly in 
mind. Hence, everything that did not bear on 
this one thing was regarded as of minor impor¬ 
tance. In the world s mind there are characters 
and events which filled the entire horizon of 
the age, and are still the wonder of the student ; 
but because they had no relation to the one 
great development and distribution of the truth 
of God, they were not the subjects of inspira¬ 
tion. Hence, wo regard the selection of material 
by the sacred writers as one of the strongest 
proofs of their calling and endowment for their 
great work. The scriptural method is singularly 
independent. What does not belong to the 
motive is never once employed. A picture is in 
process ; hence, the color that is not needed is 
never brought out upon the palette and applied 
to the canvas. This has been the wonder of all 
the sceptical ages,—how only fragments of lives 
could be used, and the rest left in total obscu¬ 
rity : as if it were the object of inspiration to 
give biographies of men ! Its object is the 
truth, God’s whole, one, growing truth ; and 
where an ant can help toward its maturity and 
significance his writers are as ready to introduce 
it as an empire. Hurst. 

Holy Scripture is essentially an unsysiemaiic 
Book ; nothing like order or arrangement is at¬ 
tempted in it. The classification, adjustment, 
aojommodation, systematization of its doctrines 
and precepts, the methodizing of them into 
creeds or codes of duty, is not even aimed at. 
The precept and the doctrine are thrown out 
just as the occasion for them offers. E. M. G. 

-There is between the construction of the 

Bible and that of nature a singialar ftnalogy. 
There is the same apparent want of order and 
adjustment, and the same deep harmony, run¬ 
ning through the whole. The Bible contains a 
system of theology ; but it contains it as the 
heavens contain the system of astronomy. Its 
truths lie there in no logical order. They ap¬ 
pear at first like a map of the apparent motions 
of the planets, whose paths seem to cross each 
other in all directions ; but you have only to 
find the true centre, and the orbs of truth take 
their places, and circle around it like the stars 
of heaven. And the efforts of thought, the 
struggles of intellect, that have been called forth 
for the adjustment of this system, have done 
more for the human mind than its efforts in any 
other science Its questions have stirred, not 
the minds of philosophers alone, but every medi- 
tative human soul. So the Bible contains a sys¬ 
tem of ethics ; but it is as the earth contains a 


system of geology ; and long might the eye of 
the listless or unscientific reader rest upon its 
pages without discovering that the system was 
there,— just as men trod the earth for near six 
thousand years without discovering that its sur¬ 
face was a regular structure, with its strata ar¬ 
ranged in an asnignable order. M. H. 

This complaint of the want of method in 
Scripture, wfiat is it in fact but this—that it is 
not dead, but living ? that it is no herbarium, no 
horius siccus, hnt a garden? —a wilderness, if 
men choose to call it so ; but a wilderness of 
sweets, with its flowers upon their stalks—its 
plants freshly growing, the dew upon their 
leaves, the mould about their roots—with its 
lowly hyssops and its cedars of God. And when 
men say that there is want of method in it, they 
would speak more accurately if they said that 
there was want of system; for the highest 
method, even the method of the Spirit, may 
reign where system there is none. Method is 
divine, is inseparable from the ideas of God 
and of order ; but system is of man, is a help to 
the weakness of his faculties, is the artificial 
arrangement by which he brings within his lim¬ 
ited ken that which in no other way he would 
be able to grasp as a whole. That there should 
be books of systematic theology—books with 
their plan and scheme thus lying on their very 
surface and meeting us at once—this is most 
needful ; but most needful, also, that Scripture 
should not be such a book. The dearest inter¬ 
ests of all, of wise men equally as of women and 
children, demand this. Trench. 

The Bible account has no philosophy, and no 
appearance of any philosophy, either in the ab¬ 
stract form, or in that earlier poetical form 
which the first philosophy assumed. Its state¬ 
ments of grand facts have no appearance of bias 
in favor of any class of ideas. Its great an- 
tiquity is beyond dispute ; it is older, certainly, 
than history or philosophy. It was before the 
dawning of anything called science, as is shown 
by the fact that everything is denoted by its 
simplest phenomenal or optical name. There 
is no assigning of non-apparent causations, ex¬ 
cept the continual going forth of the mighty 
Word. It is impossible to discover any connec¬ 
tion between it and any mythical poetry. The 
holy sublimity that pervades it is at war with 
the idea of direct and conscious forgery, de¬ 
signed to impose on others, and the thought of 
it as a mere work of genius having its interest 
in a display of inventive and descriptive talent, 
is inconsistent with every notion we can form 
of the thinking and aims of that early youth of 
the human race. It was not the age then, nor 





ITS STRUCTURE AND ELEMENTS. WRITERS AND CONTENTS. 


11 


till long after, of literary forgeries or fancy 
tales. We are shut up to the conclusion of its 
subjective truthfulness, and its subjective au¬ 
thenticity. This stands alone in the world, like 
the primeval granite of the Himalaya among the 
later geological formations. T. Lewis. 

Its leudiyuj FavJs and Tru'Jis. The Bible pur¬ 
ports to contain a record of the word of God as 
made known unto man in three successive and 
distinct revelations. The earliest of these is the 
patriarchal or primitive revelation, the record of 
which is wholly contained in the Book of Gene¬ 
sis. It was the faith of Abraham and the other 
patriarchs, men who walked with God, to whom 
he made known his will, and with whom he en¬ 
tered into a covenant, in which his favor was 
conditioned upon their obedience to his law. 
This primeval revelation was not abrogated, but 
confirmed and enlarged, and made the founda¬ 
tion of the special polity of the Jews, in the 
second grand announcement of the Law, which 
was made by Moses in the wilderness. Under 
this Mosaic dispensation the believing Jews 
continue to this day, In the New Testament, 
we find a record of the third and far the most 
complete and adequate revelation of God to 
man, based as before on what had preceded it, 
which it does not supersede, but sanctions and 
reaffirms in all its essential features, while sup¬ 
plementing them with new and higher truth. 
Christianity is related to Judaism as the splen¬ 
dor of the noonday sun is to the early twilight. 
“Think not,” its author exclaims, “ that lam 
come to destroy the law or the prophets : I am 
not come to destroy but to fulfil.” F. Bowen. 

Of the historic revelations of God, the Bible 
is at once ihe record and the inspired comment. 
He revealed himself to the fathers of the human 
race. And when the nations were sunk in idol- 
atry, he chose one man whose posterity, divinely 
taught, were to be the almoners of light to the 
world. Them, kept together as one nation, in 
due time, he delivered from a long bondage. 
To shut out the pollutions of idolatry, he hedged 
them in, and cut them off, to a large extent, 
from intercourse with the rest of mankind. In 
spite of their natural tendencies which were 
toward the corruptions of idolatry, through a 
long course of providential discipline, attended 
by a succession of supernatural interpositions, 
they were inspired with an unconquerable ab¬ 
horrence of idolatry. Alone upon the earth, 
they were tue worshippers of the only living 
and true God. They alone had a true concep¬ 
tion of his holiness. They alone, when polythe- 
ism, with all its degrading rites, prevailed else¬ 
where, —prevailed all about them, among Syri¬ 


ans, Phoenicians, Babylonians. Egyptians,— 
adored the Creator and Universal Ruler. To 
them were given prophecies of a more glorious 
and satisfying manifestation of God, which 
should put an end to their pre-eminonce, which 
should even result in their destruction for the 
unbelief with which they regard it. At length, 
in the fulness of time, or at the proper junc¬ 
ture, two thousand years after the call of Abra¬ 
ham, when this divine movement and super¬ 
natural history began, came the crowning act of 
revelation to which everything before looked 
forward and for which all thing.s w^ere made 
ready, — the advent of the Divine Redeemer in 
the form of a servant, through whom the King¬ 
dom of God, casting aside the national limits 
that had protected its infancy, dropping its 
fundamental form, was made universal, and the 
privilege of communing with God was offered 
to every human being. As we trace the stream 
of divine revelation from its remote fountains 
as it widens along its course, and finally ex¬ 
pands into the broad ocean, we see that its 
waters have been waters of cleansing ; that 
whatever blessings have been derived else¬ 
where, the holiness that is in the wmrld has 
come from that. Where, save in the Bible, is a 
knowledge of God, that has the attributes of 
certainty and sufficiency -of certainty, being 
free from error and bearing on it the Divine 
seal, and of sufficiency, being adequate to our 
necessities as sinful and dying creatures, in 
need of forgiveness and of aid in the conflict 
with evil, in need, too, of an assured hope ot 
everlasting life ? There is presented to us a 
manifestation of God in the Son of man, which 
enables us to enter into living communion wdth 
him and to perform our work in life in the spirit 
of filial obedience. G. P. Fisher. 

Is Disclosures concerning God. God, whose 
being, perfections and government are partially 
made known to us through the testimony of 
his works and of conscience, lias made a further 
revelation of himself in the Scriptures of the 
Old and New Testaments—a revelation attested 
at the first by supei natural signs, and confirmed 
through all the ages since by its moral effects 
upon the individual soul, and upon human so¬ 
ciety ; a revelation authoritative and final. In 
this revelation God has declared himself to be 
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost ; and 
he manifested his love for the world through 
the incarnation of the Eternal Word for man’^ 
redemption, in the sinless life, the expiator} 
sufferings and death, and resurrection of Jesus« 
Christ, our Lord and the Saviour ; and also in 
the mission of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, 



12 


THE BIBLE: 


for the regeneration and sanctification of the 
souls of men. J. P. T.-The truths compre¬ 

hended under the terms, Creation, Providence, 
Original Sin, Incarnation, and Redemption, 
constitute the essence of the Christian Revela¬ 
tion. A grand and common characteristic of 
these doctrines is that they grapple with and 
plainly solve the problems of natural religion 
inherent in man. The doctrine of Creation at¬ 
tests the existence of God the creator and law¬ 
giver, and of the bond which unites man to 
God. The doctrine of Providence explains and 
justifies prayer—the instinctive repairing of 
man to the living God, to the supreme Power 
which attends his life and presides over his lot. 
The doctrine of Original Sin accounts for the 
presence of evil and disorder in man and in the 
world. The doctrines of the Incarnation and 
Redemption deliver man from the consequences 
of evil, and open to him, in another life, the 
perspectives of the re-establishment of order. 
Unquestionably the system is grand, complete, 
coherent, mighty. It responds to the cries of 
the human soul for deliverance from the heavy 
burden which rests upon it, and imparts to it, 
along with the forces it needs, the satisfaction 
to which it aspires. Guizot. 

Notice how, all through the Bible, the two 
great elements of practical goodness, duty to 
God and duty to man, go hand in hand ; how 
the service of God constantly includes all moral 
duty, all faithfulness in the social relations of 
man ; how uniform is the view of the awfulness 
of sin, of its awful doom when the day of retri¬ 
bution comes at last ; how constants the encour¬ 
agement to man to seek communion with God ; 
what a lofty place prayer holds alike in the Old 
Testament and the New ; and how beautiful the 
Bible pictures are of the intercourse of redeemed 
man with God, W. G. B, 

The ways of God with man take the particular 
form of a covenant. A covenant is an agreement 
between two parties, with conditions to be ful¬ 
filled and corresponding benefits to be realized 
on both sides. The very nature of a covenant 
implies that the parties to it are intelligent ; 
and the very existence of two rational beings in 
sensible relation with each other involves ^ a 
covenant expressed or understood. Hence the 


Bible is fittingly termed the testament cr cov¬ 
enant. M.-The entire revelation may be 

analyzed, as consisting of three classes of truths : 
—First, the record of historic events which pre¬ 
pared the way for certain covenants : next, the 
covenant and revelation connected with it ; and 
next the history and revelations connected with 
the development of that covenant. The story 
of creation and of Eden prepares the way for 
the covenant of grace with Adam ; the history 
developing this, prepares again the way for the 
covenant of protection to the race made with 
Noah. Then, under this covenant, begins the 
history preparatory to the Church covenant 
with Abraham, the history of whose develop¬ 
ment prepares the way for the Passover cove¬ 
nant to redeem the Church, and that again for 
the Sinai covenant ; then the history of the de¬ 
velopment of this Church, as Jehovah’s sj)irit. 
ual commonwealth, prepares the way for the 
covenant with David, establishing the typical 
throne and kingdom of Messiah in the Church. 
From this time forward all the history and reve¬ 
lations through the prophets are to the end of 
preparing the way of the Lord’s coming, as the 
King of a universal kingdom, S. R. 

Well may the Scriptures be called “ The 
Book.” It is the Book of the race. It is the 
old family Bible, long intrusted to the keeping 
of the firsl-born, but where all may come and 
find their natal record. Here is the historical 
genealogy of all nations. Compare, in this re¬ 
spect, the simple, truthful, modest ethnology of 
Genesis with other oriental writings, and with 
those monstrous legends of theirs that are so 
out of all proportion with themselves, and all 
other history. Here, too, is the spiritual gene- 
alog}”^ of human souls, —the generation and the 
re generation, the man of the earth and the 
man from heaven,” the humanity, or the life 
in Adam, the Christianity, or the life in Christ. 
Here is “ the image of the earthly,” and here is 
“ the image of the Heavenly.” Here, more¬ 
over, is that which belongs to all men as men, 
the ideas that above all others are the property 
of the race. Here is the fall, the redemption, 
the brotherhood in ruin as the ground of all 
true human sympathy, the brotherhood in grace 
as the ground of all true human hope. T. L. 









ITii Umi'Y OF TEACHING ANB THEME. 


13 


Section 2. 

/ THE BIBLE : 

ITS UNITY OF TEACHING AND THEME. ITS METHOD, HISTORICAL AND PROGRESSIVE, 


The use of the term “ Bible” to denote the 
whole collection of Sacred Writings, cannot, we 
believe, be traced to an earlier date tlian the 
fourth century. But, now that the collection is 
made, each generation sees for itself how thor¬ 
oughly the Books form one Book, structurally 
and spiritually one, marvellously woven together 
—its most distant parts connected by quota¬ 
tions, allusions, and the correspondence of type 
and antitype —and the whole moulded together 
by a profound unity of thought and plan. It is 
not mechanically combined or sewed together. 
It is organically united as a living tree, or as a 
living body of which one part cannot be touched 
without affecting all. God has tempered all 
together, so that if one member of the Bible 
suffer, all its members suffer with it. It may 
be persecuted, neglected, maligned, or contro¬ 
verted, but the Scripture may not be broken. 

Destructive criticism may go to work on it 
with its penknife, as did the infatuated king of 
Judah on the roll of Jeremiah’s prophecy ; but 
when penknife and fire have done their worst, 
the writing is calmly restored as it was before. 
Our Bible cannot be taken to pieces, or dis¬ 
solved into its elements. D, F, 

The Bible is one teaching, from first to last in 
perfect harmony with itself. From beginning 
to end, through all its many and various treat¬ 
ises, the one doctrine steadily grows and ex¬ 
pands ; unfolding itself into a grand and sym¬ 
metrical system of truth, at last perfect and 
complete ; indicating clearly and certainly one 
mind, one intelligence, one purpose, one super¬ 
vising control, E. L. Clark. -Because it is 

formed as it is it is made impossible to destroy 
its integrity, or to make it teach anoiher doc¬ 
trine than that in whi<*h all its parts concur ; 
impossible to paraphiase, yet easy to translate 
it into every tongue. Because it is framed as 
it is we get from it such an ultimate impression 
and conception of the truth, so complete and 
powerful, as could not otherwise have been 
conveyed. And all the time it is one in its sub. 
stance, in its truth, in its law, in its clear reve¬ 
lation of God and his government, of man and 
his needs, of Christ the Lord, the King of the 
world, and of the Divine spiritual kingdom in 
which he is the head, and into which all who 
believe in him are thereby gathered. It has a 


vast, multiform oneness ; a oneness compacted 
out of all the varieties of experience, power, 
spiritual culture, in many separate and widely 
scattered writers. It is a unity built of variety ; 
and it makes the Bible the supreme phenom¬ 
enon of the literary world. It is like the earth. 
It is a book for the earth, and it corresponds 
with it : one planet, but with rivers, meadows, 
and mountain ranges assembled in it : with 
seas and islands, the narrow isthmus, the out¬ 
stretch of continents ; with monitory fires un¬ 
derneath, and the great solemn stars above ; 
with the moon walking the sky in placid bright¬ 
ness, and the sun shedding the splendor of day 
across the lands that are glad in his coming. So 
is the Bible. It has parable and psalm, brief 
story and vast legislation, mighty argument, 
charming incident, curt admonition. It too has 
its Sun of Bighteousness ; its Old Testament 
and its New, like answering hemispheres, what 
is latent in the one being patent in the other. 
R. S. S. 

Historical records, ranging over many centu¬ 
ries, biographies, dialogues, catalo’gues of moral 
maxims and accounts of social expeiiences, 
poetry the most touchingly plaintive and the 
most buoyantly triumphant, predic'ions, exhor¬ 
tations, warnings, varying in style, in author¬ 
ship, in date, in dialect, are thrown as it seems 
somewhat arbitrarily into a single volume. 
But beneath the differences of style, of lan¬ 
guage, and of method, a deeper insight will dis¬ 
cover in Scripture such manifest unity of drift 
and purpose, both moral and intellectual, as to 
imply the continuous action of a single mind. 
To this unity Scripture itself bears witness, and 
nowhere more emphatically than in the w^ords 
of Paul (Gal. 3:8), “ The Scripture preached 
before the Gospel unto Abraham,” etc. ‘Ac¬ 
cording to this assertion, the great doctrines 
and events of the Gospel dispensation were di¬ 
rectly anticipated in the Old Testament. If the 
sense of the Old Testament became patent in 
the New', it wms because the New Testament w'as 
already latent in the Old. Scripture is thus 
boldly identified with the Mind which inspires 
it ; Scripture is a living Providence. The prom¬ 
ise to Abraham anticipates the work of the 
Apostle ; the earliest of the Books of Moses de¬ 
termines the argument of the Epistle to the 







14 


THE BIBLE: 


Galatians. Suck a position is only intelligi- | 
ble when placed in the light of a belief in the | 
fundamental Unity of all Revelation, underly- | 
ing and strictly compatible with its superfi¬ 
cial variety. And this true internal Unity of 
Scripture, even when the exact canonical limits 
of Scriptuie were still unfixed, was a com¬ 
mon article of belief to all Christian antiquity. 
H. P. L. 

The books of Holy Scripture commend them¬ 
selves to our devout approval—they command 
our c.)nsciences, not merely nor chiefly on the 
ground of that superabundant literary and 
historic evidence which attests the genuineness 
and authenticity of each portion, and of the 
whole ; but mainly in virtue of the irresistible 
force of another kind of evidence which rises 
into view, as if of itself : this persuasion does 
not come to us as the fruit of critical acumen : 
it is no product of lexicons ; nor has it any 
necessary dependence upon the meaning of He¬ 
brew words, or the significance of Hebrew 
idioms. We feel Holy Scripture to be— one 
Bible ; and it proves its Oneness by three distinct 
modes of attestation ; as thus—the Bible— or let 
us now speak of the Hebrev' Scriptures, is One 
Book, from its first chapter to its last, because, 
although it is the work of many writers, it every¬ 
where teaches one theology ; and we utterly 
refuse to believe that many writers, in series, 
should have done this if each followed only his 
own inspiration. Again, the Bible is One Book, 
although it is the work of many writers, be¬ 
cause, amid the diversities which this human 
instrumentality implies, there prevails through¬ 
out it what must be reverently spoken of as the 
indication of the historic personality of the 
speaker ; everywhere this Speaker is the same, 
in mood, in purpose, and in style —it is the 
ETERNAL God that, in these books, speaks to 
man. But more than this, the Bible is One 
Book (and here we must speak of the New as 
well as of the Old Testament), inasmuch as it 
brings into view, in an occult manner, and yet 
undoubtedl}', a One Divine Scheme, or system 
of justice and mercy. Revelation, attested By 
supernatural events, is the opening out of an 
,311-comprehensive course of procedure, as from 
God, tow^ard the human family. Holy Script¬ 
ure is a structure—Integral and immovable as 
to its various constituents ; and if it be disin¬ 
tegrated, it is destro 3 'ed. Thoughtful men, even 
the best minds in every age, have thus believed, 
and have thus recorded their most mature con¬ 
victions. I. T. 

When we consider the sublimity of redemp¬ 
tion as a scheme of thought, the mysterious 


pathos and power of the symbols by which it 
was shadowed forth, the vastness of the kingdom 
in w^hich it was embodied as its consummation, 
we have in these ideas picked up along the track 
of ages in the line of this book—and found no- 
wdiere else—a unity of promise, of ritual, and 
of history, unfolding a unity of plan, that no 
growth of a national literature, no process of 
national development, no philosophy of history 
can account for. Such mighty conceptions 
could have originated only in the mind that en¬ 
circles all worlds, foresees all ages, directs all 
events—and the progressive unity of redemp¬ 
tion through all the lines of Prophecy, Ritual 
and History in the Bible, is the unveiling there 
of the mind of God. The phenomenon of this 
book has no parallel except in the book of crea¬ 
tion written by the same hand : and how does 
the moral transcend the material ! J. P. T. 

The whole Bible, both the Old Covenant with 
its histories, its hymns and its prophecies ; and 
the New with its narratives, its epistles of apos¬ 
tolic instruction and its single momentous book 
of prophecy—has as its common and pervading 
argument one mighty subject which, appearing 
under a thousand different forms, is substan¬ 
tially the same in every page of the sacred Vol¬ 
ume. That subject is —the salvation appointed 
for the chosen of mankind, and the rum de¬ 
creed for those who reject the offer. But this 
great revelation of happiness and misery is dif¬ 
ferently made according to the difference of 
times and seasons. The Personage who makes 
it, who in each dispensation comes in contact 
with man—how^ever he may sub'<equently com¬ 
mit the subordinate functions of teaching to his 
servants—is no other than God hinls^lf. In the 
earliest age of the world the Revelation was 
given by God in person, speaking to man without 
the intervention of any prophetical emissary, 
under some undescribed visible appearance. 
After the fall, it was probably left to the safe 
keeping of tradition, which, considering the lon¬ 
gevity of mankind in those times, was a suffi¬ 
ciently secure depositary. When at and after 
the deluge, God was willing once more to save 
or to collect a people from the general mass of 
corruption, he again revealed his will, and the 
Lord, or the “ Angel of the Lord,"—no other 
than God.—manifested himself to the patri¬ 
archs, and, though obscurely, promised a won¬ 
drous future :—and not only a temporal but an 
eternal and invisible future,—for “ the fathers 
looked not for transitory promises.” In due 
time the third series of revelation was delivered 
by one wdio declared of himself, “ I am the 
Lord thy God,” and who constantly uttered his 






ITS UNITY OF TEACHING AND THEME. 


15 


own high Will personally to the people of Israel 
under the title of The Lord. And when “ the 
ends of the w^orld ’’—the last section of the 
Divine dispensations—had arrived, the fiturih 
series of revelation was opened, prosecuted, and 
concluded, by the same Divine Being in the 
person of Christ Jesus, in whom God (accord¬ 
ing to the analogy of his preceding manifesta¬ 
tions, and in a way more perfect than any of 
them) once more exhibited himself to man — 
leaving his Apostles, as he had before left his 
prophets, to expand and enforce his personal 
teaching. 

Thus w'as the Revealer of God’s will ever the 
same—ever God himself. The substance of 
the Revelation was also (since the Fall) un¬ 
changed ; but its form and character were per¬ 
petually varied. The former was stable as the 
purpose of God ; the latter suited to and de¬ 
pendent on the circumstances of man. It is 
even as the sun himself (so often made the em¬ 
blem of God) is ever one and the same ; but the 
effects he produces vary with our varying posi¬ 
tion ;—being at one time morning, at another 
noon, at another eve. The God of the patri¬ 
archs, of Moses, of the Gospel—is one immu¬ 
table essence, his purpose unalterable ; but he 
varies in the revealings of his light because we 
ourselves vary in our relative positions and ca¬ 
pacities for receiving it. W. A. B. 

It is all important that our faith be estab¬ 
lished and settled in the oneness of this im¬ 
mortal Book,^which, with no flaw, no falsehood, 
no fable, no error, contains the only authentic 
revelation from God to man. The result of all 
investigation, all discoveries, all sciences, is to 
confirm the faith of men in the reality and ac¬ 
curacy of historic revelation ; and the Book of 
God abides firmer in the convictions of the 
world to-day, than it did before it was assaults d 
by infidelit 3 ^ Judaism blossoms into Christi¬ 
anity. Sinai points to Calvary. The law was 
given b}-’ Moses, but grace and truth came by 
Jesus Christ. At his feet we sit as disciples 
reverently, gratefully and trustfully. Whatever 
theme we select, it leads us to that cross of the 
Son of God, which is the focus of all facts, the 
centre of all history, the substance of all truth, 
the light and life of every man that cometh into 

the world. W. Adam.s. -There is not a single 

portion from the first sentence, “ In the begin¬ 
ning God created the heaven and the earth,” to 
the last ” The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be 
with you all,” which has-not some radical con¬ 
nection with what anticipates or what follows. 
Christianity is essentially the religion of the 
Bible—its life inhering in all the parts. The 


Babylonian captivity has its connection with 
the subsequent missions of Christian apostles. 
Whoever arranged the Temple-worship finds an 
expositor in him who w'rote the Epistle to the 
Hebrews. And the first lifeless chaos, out of 
w'hich the world is said to have arisen, has con¬ 
stant relations to the final promise of the hea¬ 
venly’ Jerusalem. It is the supreme encomium 
pronounced in the w orld on the human intelli¬ 
gence, that this religion, which purports to have 
come from God and to have within it the 
thoughts of his mind, y’et asks men, impels 
them, to examine carefully^ many books in order 
completely to apprehend it. It challenges in¬ 
vestigation, solicits study% that they may see 
how one part fits and finishes another, and how 
the whole converges on the Faith to be at last 
joyfully received. This seems an evident jrart 
of the pre-arranged plan of him who ushered 
Christianity into the world. Its whole scope 
may properly be said to be presented in sen¬ 
tences like this : “ For God so loved the world, 
that he gave his only'^ begotten Son, that w’hoso- 
ever believeth in him should not perish, but 
have everlasting life.” That “ little Bible” 
may be said, with truth, to contain the spiritual 
substance of all. Yet while such sayings are 
microcosmic, embracing realms of truth in few 
words, the entire series of the writings is pre¬ 
served, the most ancient among them are in¬ 
dorsed and commended by later teachers, and 
by him whom ail revere as their Head, and all 
are presented in the unity and complexity of 
their manifold parts to the intellectual mastery 
of mankind. R. S. S. 

The Scripture is all full of Christ, and all in¬ 
tended to point to Christ as our only Saviour. 
It is not only the law, which is a schoolmaster 
unto Christ, nor the types, which are shadow’s 
of Christ, nor yet the prophecies, which are pre¬ 
dictions of Christ ; but the whole Old Testa¬ 
ment history is full of Christ. Even where per¬ 
sons are not, events may be types. And indeed 
every’ event points to Christ, even as he is alike 
the beginning, the centre, and the end of all 
history — “the same yesterday, and to-day, and 
forever.” One thing follows from this : only 
that reading or study’ of the Scriptures can be 
sufficient or profitable through which we learn 
to know Christ as “ the way, the truth, and the 

life, to ws.” A. E.-The creation means 

Christ ; the promise to shattered man in Eden 
means Christ ; the sacrifices and all the cere¬ 
monies of Judaism mean Christ ; the music of 
Israel’s sweetest harp means Christ ; the light 
that gleams and burns in prophecy means 
Christ ; the Song of Songs rolls its tender strain 










16 


THE BIBLE: 


around Christ ; the burdens of the later seers 
were burdens of Christ. No page did Christ 
disclaim ; no prophet did Christ disown ; he 
appropriated all names and figures and symbols 
' of beauty : he was the Koot and the Offspring 
of David, he was the Bright and Morning Star, 
he was the Flower of Jesse and the Plant of 
Renown, he was the Rose of Sharon and the 
Lily of the Valley, he was the Shepherd of the 
Flock, and the Redeemer of those who were in 
the hand of the enemy ; he had not where to lay 
his head, and was despised and rejected of men, 
yet he filled the firmament as One who was to 
be the Desire of all nations. What wonder, 
then, that when he met the distressed ones 
going to Emmaus, and when he'heard the com¬ 
plaint of their ignorance and their sigh of sup¬ 
pressed dismay, he began at Moses and all the 
prophets and expounded to them in all the 
Scriptures the things concerning himself ? With¬ 
out Christ the Bible is chaos ; with Christ it is 
order and music and light. J. P. 

Its Method, Historical and Progressive. 

Christianity is a historic religion. It claims to 
be a reasonable belief, but it does not base itself 
upon reason. Its foundation is laid on the 
rock of Fact, God’s actual dealings with the 
world from its creation to the full establishment 
of the Christian Church constitute its subject 
matter, and form the ground out of which its 

doctrines spring. G. R.-This alone sharply 

discriminates the Bible from all other so-called 
sacred books, that it is professedly imbedded in 
human history, runs parallel with it and forms 
the most important part of it ; for all the prin¬ 
cipal dogmas themselves purport to be facts, and 
make the most significant part of the history it 

records. Rogers. -The Bible is the history 

of the work of the One Mediator as the “ edu¬ 
cator” of mankind, the record of the gradual 
progressive development of that work, from 
Paradise to Pentecost. Throughout that long 
and checkered history, the Christ, the Eternal 
Word, is at once the author and the subject of 
the Revelation. Medd. 

Here is a great moral and religious system, 
revealed by degrees but completed in Christ ; a 
system the characteristic features of which are 
perfectly distinct, a system from beginning to 
end self-consistent. It is an historical religion, 
resting upon a series of facts, upon manifesta¬ 
tions of God made from age to age in a con¬ 
nected series, and culminating in Christ. The 
authentic record of the facts and the authentic 
—because inspired—commentary upon them, or 
elucidation of them, are found in that collec¬ 


tion of documents which compose the Old and 
New Testament. These are the original docu¬ 
mentary sources to which we must resort in 
order to obtain a true understanding of this 

divinely given religion. G. I’. F.-The his- 

tiivical matters of JScripture, both narrative and 
prophecy, constitute, as it were, the bones of 
its system ; whereas the spiritual matters are as 
its muscle, blood, vessels, and nerves. As the 
bones are necessary to the human system, so 
Scripture must have its historical matters. The 
expositor who nullifies the historical ground¬ 
work of Scripture, for the sake of finding only 
spiritual truths everywhere, brings death on all 
correct interpretation. Bengel. 

The Religion of the Bible has its roots in the 
region of Fact. Other religious systems are, 
in the main, ideal, being the speculations of in¬ 
dividual minds, or the gradual growth of a na¬ 
tion’s fanciful thought during years or centuries. 
The Religion of the Bible, though embracing 
much that is in the highest sense ideal, grounds 
itself upon accounts, which claim to be histori¬ 
cal, of occurrences that are declared to have act¬ 
ually taken place upon the earth. That Jesus 
Christ was born under Herod the Great, at Beth¬ 
lehem ; that he came forward as a Teacher of 
religion ; that he preached and taught, and per¬ 
formed many “ mighty works” in Galilee, Sa¬ 
maria and Judaea during the space of some 
years ; that he was crucified by Pontius Pilate ; 
that he died and was buried ; that he rose again 
from the dead, and ascended before the eyes of 
his disciples into heaven, -these are the most 
essential points, the very gist and marrow of 
the New Testament. And these are all matters 
of simple fact. And, as with the New Testa¬ 
ment, so still more strikingly with the Old. 
Creation, the Paradisaical state, the Fall, the 
Flood, the Dispersion of Nations, the Call of 
Abraham, the Deliverance out of Egypt, the 
Giving of the Law on Sinai, the Conquest of 
Palestine, the Establishment of David’s king¬ 
dom. the Dispersion of Israel, the Captivity of 
Judah, the Return umJer Ezra and Nehemiah,— 
all these are of the nature of actual events, ob¬ 
jective facts occurring at definite times and in 
definite places, conditioned, like other facts, 
perceptible to sense, and fitted to be the subject 
of historic record.” G R. 

The Bible, from its very commencement, is 
chiefly a revelation of God by being a faithful 
record of his actings in Creation and Providence, 
so that it has much more of an historical than a 
strictly dogmatic aspect. Another of its char¬ 
acteristics—and, indeed, a fundamental prin¬ 
ciple—is, that it does not submit its truths to 






ITS METHOD, HISTORICAL AND PROGRESSIVE. 


17 


man’s judgment. They are presented entirely 
on the authority of the Eevealer, and so to be 
received or rejected according as that authority 

is recognized or disowned. D. M.-There are 

truths which cannot be either discovered or 
proved by any exercise of reason, whether direct 
or mediate —truths depending on the sovereign 
will and inscrutable counsels of the Omniscient 
mind ; truths which have no natural evidence, 
and can only be supernaturally revealed ; and 
in regard to these truths, we yield, not to the 
authorily of evidence, for they are neither self- 
evident nor capable of rational proof, but to the 
evidence of authority ; w'e receive them simply on 
the testimony of the Eevealer. B. & F Ev. Rev. 

• -Eevelation is at the core historical. It is 

embraced in a series of transactions in which 
men act and participate, but which are refer¬ 
able manifestly to an extraordinary agency of 
God, who thus discloses or reveals himself. 
The supernatural element does not exclude the 
natural ; miracle is not magic. Over and above 
teaching, there are laws, institutions, providen¬ 
tial guidance, deliverance, and judgment. Here 
is the ground-work of Eevelation. For the in¬ 
terpretation of this extraordinary and excep¬ 
tional line of historical phenomena, prophets 
and apostles are raised up,- men inspired to 
lift the veil and explain the dealings of heaven 
with men. Here is the doctrinal or theoretical 
side of Eevelation. These individuals behold 
with an open eye the significance of the events 
of which they are witnesses, or participants. 
G. P. F. 

The Bible begins not with dogma, but with 
historj'. It says nothing of the being and attri¬ 
butes of God, but shows the Creator at work. 
It says nothing of religion, but shows the an¬ 
cestors of mankind created in the image of God, 
and placed at the outset in moral relations of 
obedience and responsibility to their Creator. 
This is its method throughout. It gives us no 
religious teaching apart from particular persons, 
places, and events. Even the law of the Ten 
Commandments is recorded as matter of histori¬ 
cal fact—uttered by a Divine Voice and after¬ 
ward graven on stone tablets “ with the finger 
of God.” Yet the whole aim and meaning of 
these writings is religious. The story they tell 
is not that of human affairs, with a mingling of 
the supernatural, but of God’s dealings with 
men. History is not made the medium of re¬ 
ligious instruction. Eeligion is shown as the 
soul of history, the supreme reality and central 
power in human affairs, the deepest foundation 
of human life. While this keynote rings loud 
and clear throughout the Bible, it is strtick in 
2 


Genesis with unsurpassed boldness and truth. 
God is shown as the ultimate source of all 
being, preparing the earth from the beginning 
to be the home of man. Man’s very existence 
is traced to God’s purpose to realize his own 
likeness in human nature. Man is shown as 
conversant wfith God, as soon as he begins to 
know himself and the world around him. The 
foundations of marriage, property, labor, moral 
duty and responsibility, are all laid in God’s re¬ 
vealed will, and man’s conscious relation to his 
Maker. Moral evil, or sin, is represented as 
wilful disobedience to the known will of God. 
The tendency to evil is shown to be hereditary 
as well as personal, and teeming with seeds of 
increase. Human life is regarded as a whole ; 
and God is seen as the Euler and Judge of man¬ 
kind, as well as the personal Friend and Saviour 
of every one who fears and triists him. Faith, 
as the mainspring and sheet anchor of the re¬ 
ligious life ; Prayer, as direct personal inter¬ 
course with the unseen Father of spirits, and as 
actually heard and answered by him ; and Divine 
Providence, as regulating all human affairs from 
the greatest to the least, are so exemplified in 
these ancient Hebrew annals, that the story of 
Abraham, of Jacob, of Joseph, possesses an un¬ 
decaying charm for Christian minds of the high¬ 
est spiritual culture. They are typical for all 
time. No example of after ages has been able 
to cast them into the shade. E. E. Conder. 

[Eead Section 392, New Testament, Vol. 2.] 

Revelation Progressive. Instead of making his 
entire revelation at once, through a single 
prophet, God preferred to speak at considerable 
intervals of time —through a long succession of 
“ holy men of old “at sundry times and in 
diverse manners.’’ By this progressive method 
God revealed himself to men, not simply by his 
words but by his works. In ways which men 
could not well mistake, he was thus able to 
manifest himself as the God of nations ; also as 
the God of families ; and not least, as the God 
of individual men. It was vital to human wel¬ 
fare that he .should place himself before men as 
the All seeing, ever-active One, exercising a real 
government over men, ruling in equity and yet 
with loving-kindness ; ever present amid all 
their activities and impressing himself upon 
the thought and the heart of the race. In this 
line of policy how admirably did he give prom¬ 
ises to his servants to inspire their faith in him¬ 
self ; then prove that faith through j’-ears and 
ages of trial and delay ; but at last confirm his 
word by its signal fulfilment ! His providential 
rule over nations as such found in this method 
ample scope for the fullest illustration. The 









18 


THE BIBLE: 


record of this ruling in the ministrations of 
prosperity and adversity ; in the rise and the 
ruin of great nations through the lapse of the 
world’s early centuries, constitute a marvel¬ 
lously rich portion of this progressive revelation 
of God to man. Yet further ; the progressive 
historical method of making up the Bible opened 
the door widely for miracles and prophecy. 
The occasions for miracles were multiplied. 
They could be introduced naturally where mani¬ 
fold and not single results should accrue. So 
also prophecy asks for time. On the supposi¬ 
tion that the fulfilment is to appear in the 
Scriptures, an interval of some duration must 
come between the utterance and the fulfilment. 
On the supposition that God’s scheme for the 
recovery of our lost race contemplated some 
atonement for sin—a provision in its very na¬ 
ture and relations toward both God and man 
exceedingly delicate and critical—it is at least 
presumable beforehand that God would bring 
out this idea with the wisest precaution against 
misconception, and with some foregoing illus¬ 
trations of its significance and of its intended 
application. Precisely this we see in the great 
sacrificial system of the Mosaic economy. We 
put essentially the same idea into more general 
terms when we say that a protracted course of 
successive revelations provides for making an 
antecedent economy pave the way for a subse¬ 
quent one—a first revelation preparatory to a 
second—one set of ideas imprinted and impress¬ 
ed upon the human mind, made conducive to 
other and higher revelations yet to follow. 
The wisdom of such progressions cannot fail 
to impress itself upon all thoughtful minds. 
H. C. 

The special revelation of God, since it enters the 
sphere of human life, observes the laws of historical 
development which are grounded in the general divine 
system <f the world. It does not at a bound enter 
the world all finished and complete ; but from 
.a limited and relatively incomplete beginning, 


confining itself to one separate people and race, 
it advances to its completion in Christ in a 
gradual manner corresponding to the natural 
development of mankind, and guides that de¬ 
velopment into the path of the divine or.ler of 
salvation, so as to communicute to man, by an 
liistorical process, the fulness of God which 
Christ bears in himself. And because revela¬ 
tion aims at the restoration of full communion 
between God and man, it is directed to the whole 
of man's life. It does not comi)lete its work by 
operating either exclusively or mainly upon 
man’s faculties of knowledge ; but constantly 
advancing, it produces and shapes the com¬ 
munion of God and man, as well by divine wit¬ 
ness in word as by manifestations <if God in the 
visible world, the institution of a common¬ 
wealth and its regulations, revelations of God 
within, the sending of the Spirit, and spiritual 
awakenings ; and all this so that a constant rela¬ 
tion exists between the revealing h story of salvation 
and the revealing word, inasmuch as each divine 
fact is preceded by the word which discloses the 
counsel of God (Amos 3 :7) now to be com¬ 
pleted ; and again, the word of God arises from 
the completed fact, and testifies thereto. For 
example, the flood is announced as a divine 
judgment—the threatening word precedes it ; 
and then, after the fact has taken place, a 
further word of God grows from it. This goes 
on down to the resurrection of our Lord. O. 
-Any failure to perceive and to take due ac¬ 
count of the great truth of the continuity and 
progressiveness of God’s dealings with mankind, 
through successive dispensations of mercy, any 
disregard or forgetfulness of the essential cohe¬ 
rence of the Old and New Testaments, of the 
Jewish and Christian Churches, involves a seri¬ 
ous weakening of our grasp of Kevelation as a 
whole, and of our sense of its grand historic 
reality as enshrined in the very being of the 
Jewish Race and of the Christian Church, and 
in the Literature of both. Medd, 


Section 3. 

THE BIBLE : 


NOT OF MAN, BUT OF GOD. 


Bible not of man. The Bible is not such a 
'book as man would have made, if he could ; or 
' could have made, if he would. This is indi¬ 
cated by many traits of Ecrjpture : 1. It utters 


from beginning to end a solitary but persistent 
and clamorous protest against the practice of 
idolatry, and everywhere maintains the doctrine 
of a sublime, elevated, uncompromising mono* 







NOT OF MAN, BUT OF OOD. 


19 


theism. The tendencies of human nature would 
seem to be all on one side, an inveterate prone¬ 
ness to idolatry ; the decisive voice of the Bible, 
and of this book alone, on the other. 2. An¬ 
other most characteristic and prominent feature 
of the Bible, considered as a whole, is that it 
subordinates everything to the idea of God, and 
the claims of his universal and spiritual govern¬ 
ment. This exclusive reference to God is not 
found elsewhere among other nations, not even 
among the Jews themselves apart from these 
sacred writers. 3. Another peculiarity in the 
Bible, which makes the system of religion it pro¬ 
pounds unique among the many propounded by 
men, is the strict subordination of ethics to 
theolog 3 ^ Its foundations are laid in the idea 
of God and our relations to him ; its sanctions 
are derived from his will. The great commands 
of the Second Table” are here ultimately based 
on the relations in which all creatures stand to 
him who demands our homage in the “ First 
Table.” 4. Another paradoxical feature of the 
Scriptures, Old and New Testament alike, one 
not to be expected in any religion devised by 
man, is their reticence in relation to the future 
and invisible world. This abstinence is “ not 
after the manner of men for the human mind 
instinctively yearns for light on the darkness of 
the future life, and this yearning is amply met 
in the religions of undoubted human origin. 
5. A final point is the difficulty of imagining 
how human nature should spontaneously have 
given such a picture of itself as we find in the 
dogmatic statements of the Bible. There every 
“ioul of man is charged with a total failure in 
;he primary and cardinal obligations of a 
rational and moral nature, those we owe to God. 
Jlen are described as universally and by nature 
opposed to God, alienated from him, and there¬ 
fore as exposed to his wrath. These are not the 
colors which human nature would spontaneously 
employ in painting itself. 6. We may add, that 
when man proceeded, as he has so often done, 
to modify or corrupt the religion of the Bible, it 
has always been in the direction and “ after the 
similitude” of those religious systems which 
have his own signature upon them ; till at last 
Judaism under the Jews and Christianity under 
the Christians were so far assimilated to the re¬ 
ligions man had incontestably invented, that it 
has not always been easy to discern the differ¬ 
ence. Henry Rogers. -Nothing shows more 

strongly the fact of some divine supervision of 
the Bible than the absence of any scientific or 
philosophic language, or of a style assuming to 
be that of any special thinking, such as has 
characterized those who have assumed to be re¬ 


ligious teachers in all ages. A divine wisdom is 
here ; something that has kept the Scriptural 
writers from thus compromising the wondrous 
book of which, through the ages, they have betn 
the human media of transmission. T. L. 

What secured the perfection of development 
manifest in the plan of the Bible in which the 
law, the history, the rites and ceremonies and 
liturgies of worship, the prophecies, and the 
life, death, and doctrines of Christ are indissol¬ 
ubly one ? Who fitted the life of Christ into 
the framework prepared by the Old Testament 
history ? Unaided human agency could not 
have done it. The arch of unity which the 
Bible contains stretches across too many cen¬ 
turies, and rises too high, to be the work of 
man. We might better suppose that St. Peter’s 
at Rome assumed its symmetrical proportions 
through the unsuperintended work of an army 
of stonemasons than to suppose the grand and 
imposing symmetry of the Bible was the result 
of the work of forty men laboring, in as many 
half centuries, without the superintendence of 
the divine power. Scarcely a single one of 
other ancient writers is free from mistakes when 
touching at any length upon historical and 
geographical references. Why, unless the Holy 
Spirit granted them aid, should these forty men 
stand the criticism of modern discoverers better 
than any other one man who wrote at any 
length upon similar themes ? What kept these 
forty religious writers, in as many half cen¬ 
turies, from dragging into their books as essen¬ 
tial elements of them the crudities of the phi¬ 
losophy and physical science of their times ? If 
history teaches anything it teaches that the 
temptation for religious founders to dogmatize 
upon the phenomena of the physical world is 
well-nigh irresistible. In the light of what 
other religious founders have done, the chances 
are a million to one that forty men writing in 
such diverse periods, would have disfigured 
their work in a similar manner with crude and 
silly speculations, had they not been guided by 
a superior intelligence. Again, What kept these 
forty writers so uniformly from fulsome flattery 
of their heroes ? They give histories of Abra¬ 
ham, Jacob, David, Solomon, of a long list of 
kings of Israel and Judah, professedly the 
chosen instruments of the Lord in developing 
his plan of redemption ; yet they cover up no 
sin of their heroes —gloss over no baseness of 
character. G. P. W. 

If the orchestral rendering presupposes be¬ 
hind it one creative mind that wrought tho ora¬ 
torio ; and if the cathedral at Cologne, that 
oratorio in stone, implies the workings of a 




20 


THE BIBLE: 


single genius, drawing walls and towers and 
spires into ripeniug grace and proportion, along 
the tired process of the centuries, will not the 
Holy Word, that finest music of the heart, that 
sublimest temple of thought, require for its 
comijosition the presidency of a single genius, 
able to impress with his own thought, and in¬ 
spire with his own mind, every workman that 
w^rought upon it ? C. H. P. 

From the Talmud and the Targums w’e know 
the temptation the Jewish rabbis were under to 
multiply rttles and speculations till their very 
size should make them unwieldy and useless. 
From the writings of Christian commentators 
on the Bible,—early, mediaeval, and modern,— 
we know how surely man of his own accord 
loads the truth so heavily with his speculations 
that it sinks altogether in the sea of forgetful¬ 
ness. In repeated instances the truth has been 
so deeply buried beneath frivolous notes, in¬ 
sipid exhortations, that the labor of unearthing 
it from these voluminous works of the commen¬ 
tators is appalling. These characteristic and 
centrifugal tendencies when operating in the 
human mind we know. But we discover in our 
Sacred Scriptures evidences of another ten¬ 
dency, revealing the presence of a power from 
without modifying in a peculiar manner the 
movements of those minds that wrote the books 
of the Bible. G. F. W. 

The gradual framing of the Bible through a 
period of fifteen hundred years excludes human 
supervision. The Bible as a whole is a result 
or an effect in the universe, and it must have 
had an adequate cause, which, since the result 
is an intelligent one, must have been an intelli¬ 
gent cause : there is the ontological argument, 
and it proves a superhuman intelligent cause 
for the Bible. It consists of orderly arranged 
parts, of an orderly developed sch erne : there is 
the cosmological argument, and again it proves 
the activity of an intelligent cause of at least 
fifteen hundred years’ duration. It is itself a 
cause of marvellous effects in the world for the 
production of which it is most admirably de¬ 
signed, and its whole inner harmony and all its 
inner relations are most deeply graven with the 
marks of a design kept constantly before some 
intelligent mind for at least fifteen hundred 
years : there is the argument from design, at¬ 
taining equally far-reaching and cogent conclu- 
aions as in the realm of nature. Warfield. 

Divine-human in its Origin. 

In the Church and in the Bible alike God 
works through men. As we follow the progress 
of their formation, each step seems to be truly 


human ; and when we contemplate the whole, 
we joyfully recognize that every part is also 
divine. B. F. Westcott. -In the laws of in¬ 

spiration God has exercised the same care for 
human freedom that is displayed in all other 
divine adjustments. So jealous is the divine 
mind of the integrity of that inclosure within 
which a human mind is itself n creator, that even 
in the anomaly of inspiration, the human mind 
is not automatic. In the process of construct¬ 
ing a revelation the inspii’ed mind is left to act 
out itself. A. Phelps. 

Of the record of Bevelation th^re are three 
conceivable ways : (1) God might have written, 
it with his own finger, as on Moses’ table of 
stone. (2) God might have used an amanuensis, 
making him the pen or instrument of revelation 
(3) God might have taken man as he made him, 
and used him as the free, spontaneous agent oi 
his revelation, under his guidance. This is in 
finitely more God-like. Let it be carefully 
noted, the Bible in matter and form is the word 
of God. Yet it is just as human a book as ever 
was written, as Jesus Christ was truly human. 
The language is human. The thoughts ars 
human—that is, under the limits of human 
thought. God is omniscient, but the Bible is 
not omniscient. The Bible is under the condi¬ 
tions of human thought and emotion, language 
and logic. Each writer wrought suo motu, as 
the bird sings. The spontaneous workings of 
genius are seen in the Bible as truly as in 
Southey or Milton. Just as free, just as spon¬ 
taneous, just as human. The Bible looks at 
things as men look at them, not at the essence, 
but at the phenomena, because it was for men. 
The tremendous problem that it had to solve is 
seen in the fact that it w'as to speak to mankind 
for all time. In the inspiration of the Bible 
God’s work was fourfold : (1) Providential. He 
made the man for the Book ; Isaiah for prophec}', 
David for the Psalms, Paul for the Epistles. 
He built the languages, Hebrew, Chaldee, Greek, 
and prepared a literature and language and men 
for it. (2) Sanctification, The work of the 
Spirit on David prepared him to furnish a typi¬ 
cal religious experience. (3) Bevelation. The 
special gift of additional knowledge. (4) Divine 
guidance in inspiration, so that exactly what 
God would have written was written. Illumi¬ 
nation, revelation, inspiration differ in that 
illumination does not communicate new truth, 
only enables to understand the truth already 
given ; revelation gives new truth ; inspiration 
is the divine guidance to preserve the record 
from error. The result is, the Bible contains, 
and the Bible is, the word of God. Some hold 




DIVINE-HUMAN IN ITS ORIGIN. 


21 


that the Bible only contains the word of God. 
But the whole Christian church declares the 
Bible IS, not merely coniains, the word of God. 
The whole Bible is inspired. Every book is in¬ 
spired. Every element is inspired. The whole 
word of God is absolutely free from error in 
word and statement. This is the testimony of 
specialists. A. A. Hodge. 

If asked where and how the divine has entered 
this divine-human book, we must reply : 
“ Everywhere, and in almost everyway conceiv¬ 
able.” Throughout the whole jireparation of 
the material to be written and of the men to 
write it ; throughout the whole process of the 
gathering and classification and use of the 
material by the writers ; throughout the whole 
process of the actual writing,—we see at work 
divine influences of the most varied kinds, ex- 
tending all the way from simply providential 
superintendence and spiritual illumination to 

direct revelation and inspiration. Warfield. - 

It is the Divine breath in these old Scriptures 
that has filled them so full of life ; it is the 
Divine voice of authority, sounding in every 
page, that has given them this wonderful and 
otherwise inexplicable clearness. It is because 
it is “ the Word of God, sharper than any two- 
edged sword, reaching even to the dividing of 
soul and sense, tlie joints and tne marrow, a 
critic both of the iJdnkings and the ideas of the 
heart.” ” It is the lamp of the Lord, which 
like the breath of man” (in the physical organi¬ 
zation), “ searches all the inward chambers of” 
the soul (Prov. 20 : 27), Add to this what has 
been so much insisted on, the intense humanity 
of the Old Scriptures, and we have another rea 
son why this very ancient and most peculiarly 
Oriental tongue so vividly pours out its thought, 
and is so translatable, into the most remotely 
varjung languages of the modern Western 
world. T, L. 

We read in the 2d Epistle to Timothy 3 :15, 
16 : “ The holy scripta able to make thee wise 
unto salvation,” and “ Eveiy scripture given 
by inspiration of God, and profitable for doc¬ 
trine.” From these expressions we gather the 
following order of doctrine concerning the ori¬ 
gin and character of the Bible. 1. It is given by 
inspiration of God. 2. It is first holy ; second, 
able to make wise unto salvation ; and, third, 
profitable for doctrine and other purposes of 
edification. It is a wri'ing, not a writer, of 
which the character is here given. It is that 
piece of composition which the human author 
has put into a wuitten form wdiich is described 
as inspired. By the inspiration of the Almighty, 
the human author is made to perceive certain 


things divine and human, to select such as are 
to be revealed, and to record these with fidelity 
in the natural order and to the proper end. 
The result is a writing given by inspiration of 
God, with all the peculiarities of man, and all 
the authority of God. 

Rev. 2:1. “ Unto the angel of the church of 
Ephesus, write.'’ Here the Lord dictates, and 
John w’rites. The mode in which this takes 
place is not our concern ; the Jact is, The 
thoughts, purposes, commands, doctrines, 
promises of God, pass through the channel of 
John’s mind, and come to expression by his 
tongue or by his pen. Hence the Scriptures 
are for the matter and the form in one respect 
the Word of God,—displaying the unity, har¬ 
mony, and infallibility of its lofty source,—and 
in another respect the word of man—exhibiting 
all the peculiarities of his mother tongue and 
his individual mind. The simple development 
of this proposition will explain all those phe¬ 
nomena of Scripture by”^ which it proves itself to 
be in the primary sense the Word of God, and 
at the same time, in the secondary sense, the 
word of the actual writer. M. 

The Bible records first, those truths directly 
and immediately imparted to the mind of the 
writer by God, and which he could have learned 
in no other manner ; and second, those events 
that occurred before the writer's own observa¬ 
tion, and of sayings that fell upon his own ear. 
Inspiration touches the written accounts of them 
both, and il is the same for them both. Its 
province is to secure accuracy in the transmis¬ 
sion of truth, whether that truth be a revelation 
directly received from God, or the history of 
something which has occurred before the eyes 
of men on earth. Hence though the whole 
Scripture is inspired, it does not stamp with 
divine authority every sentiment which it re¬ 
ports as uttered by the men of whom it speaks, 
or mark with divine approval every action which 
is related in it as performed by those whose 
biographies it contains. In the Book of Job, 
for example, inspiration gives with equal ac¬ 
curacy the language of Jehovah, the words of 
Satan, and the speeches of Job and his three 
friends ; but it does not therefore place them 
all on the same level of authority. Only w'hen 
he who speaks is speaking in God’s name, and 
is a recognized prophet or apostle, have we any 
right to regard his utterances as of divine 
authority. This distinction between revelation 
and inspiration must be clearly^ understood, for 
some of the most plausible objections to the 
common theory' have arisen from the fact that by 
many it has been either unrecognized or ignored. 





THE BIBLE: 


We must also distinguish between inspiration 
itnd verbal dictation. The Holy Spirit did not 
employ the writers as copying machines. He 
used the men themselves, and spoke through 
their individuality to others. He wrought in 
and with and through their spirits, so as to pre¬ 
serve their individuality, while yet he trans 
mitted his truth. The gold was his ; the mould 
"was theirs. It affected the words not directly 
and immediately by dictating them in the ears 
of the writers, but mediately, through working 
on their minds, and producing there such vivid 
and clear ideas of thoughts and facts, that the 
W'riters could easily find words fitted to their 
purpose. The Spirit employed the attention, 
the investigation, the memory, the education, 
the fancy, the logic, in a word, all the charac 
teristics of the writer, and wrought through 
these. While from the divine side the Holy 
Spirit gave through men clearly and faithfully 
that which he wished to communicate, from the 
human side that communication came forth in 
language such as the men themselves would 
naturally have chosen. W. M. T. 

Two elements coexist in the sacred records— 
the human and the divine. “ Holy men of old 
spake”—there is the human ; “ as they w'ere 
moved by the Holy Ghost ”—there is the divine. 
Very instructive here is the resemblance be¬ 
tween the combination of the divine and human 
in the person of Christ and in the Holy Script¬ 
ures. Both are expressly called by the sacred 
writers the Word of God ; the first is the Word 
incarnate, the last is the Word w'ritten. Again, 
the manifestation of both proceeded from the 
Holy Ghost : the first by the way of a miracu¬ 
lous conception, the other by the way of a 
supernatural inspiration. Next, the Son of God 
came down from above and took upon him 
human nature ; even so saving truth was re¬ 
vealed from heaven, and was embodied in 
human language. Further, in the one person 
of our Lord two whole, perfect, and entire 
natures were inseparably joined together in one 
I)erson without conversion, composition or con¬ 
fusion ; in like manner the Bible is one book, 
only one, wiierein the two elements are insepa¬ 
rably combined in such manner that the divine 
does not absorb the human, nor does the human 
adulterate the divine. In Christ the two 
natures are so related that he is at once the Son 
of God and the Son of Man : in the Scriptures 
the two elements coexist in such fulness that 
the w^hole book is God’s Word and the whole is 
man’s word. In neither case are we able to ex¬ 
plain the mode of union, but we may not solve 
the problem by rejecting either of its conditions. 


E. P. Humphrey. -The structure of the Bible 

is closely analogous to the structure of the Per¬ 
son of our Lord. Those who have w'rong views 
of the Person of Christ wull naturally also have 
wrong views of the Word of God. The Bible 
is absolutely divine in its spirit, yet truly 
human in its body. In it the Holy Ghost is 
incarnate, as in Christ Jesus the Son of God is 
incarnate. It is God’s Word mediated throiagh 
man. Both the Bible and Christ in their divine 
character are called the Word of God, and in 
both perfect divinity and perfect humanity aie 
inseparably conjoined. There is nothing divine 
in the Bible wLich is isolated from true human¬ 
ity, and nothing human in the Bible separated 
from true divinity. So that though w'e recog¬ 
nize the elements as distinct, w'e receive them 
as inseparable. If therefore w'e recognize the 
suj)ernatural origin and divine authority of the 
Word of God, and possess the graces of humil¬ 
ity and docility, and are earnest in our search 
after truth, we have at least a few of the neces¬ 
sary qualifications for a proper prosecution of 

the study of God’s Word. Weidner. -The 

written word of God, like the Word wdiich be¬ 
came flesh, must needs be human in its man- 
w^ard aspect : for the written word is divine 
thought manifest in human language as Christ 
was God manifest in human flesh. As the com¬ 
pound personality of Christ was conditioned by 
the flesh, so the compound character of a written 
revelation is conditioned by the nature of lan¬ 
guage. As God in becoming incarnate did not 
take upon him the form of angels, but of the 
seed of Abraham, so the written revelation is 
not sent in a form adapted to heavenly beings, 
but in a form suited to men. And it is in this 
that the perfection of the word of God consists. 
It is adapted to men. G. F. W. 

The scriptures then are, in the fullest sense, 
the inspiration of God. It is God, the Saviour, 
using the machinery of human nature—its intel¬ 
lect, emotions, will, fashions of thought and 
organs of utterance—through which to express 
to man his infinite concern for him, and his 
method of saving him. As these utterances of 
God extended through different ages and civili¬ 
zations the speech varies in its forms, according 
to the varieties of thought and speech which 
the humanity assumed to itself in its progress 
through the ages. For so thoroughly human in 
its form ’svas God’s speech designed to be, that 
it moulded itself in the successive forms into 
which humanity moulded its thought and 
speech in the different eras. Hence the script¬ 
ures became so thoroughly divine thoughts, 
moulded so thoroughly in human forms of ex- 






MINOR QUESTIONS AND OBJECTIONS. 


/V 'J 


pression. And the Bible, while a divine book, 
IS, at the same time, the most thoroughly haman 
book in the world. Flexible thus to mould 
itself, during the process of its utterance to the 
varying phases of human thought in successive 
ages, the divine thought, as soon as its utter¬ 
ance was completed and the revelation closed, 
became in its turn a power that moulded the 
thought and speech of all the successive ages 
and civilizations since, to its own form of 
thought and fashion of utterance. So that now 
the Bible stands forth before the modern ages 
neither a curious petrifaction—a fossil of a 
divine human organism that once lived and 
breathed, ages ago, nor a statue—cold, rigid and 
lifeless, however beautiful—carved by science 
out of the primeval rock, but a living and 
breathing human expression of the thoughts of 
“ Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and 
forever.” S. R. 

Every reasonable man finds the Hol^' Script¬ 
ures of so venerable antiquity, and discerneth 
in them such stamps of divinity in the majesty 
of their style, the purity of the matter, the sub¬ 
limeness and spirituality of the propositions 
contained in them, the self-denial of the jien- 
men, the heavenliness of the scope, and the end 
of those Sacred Writings, the harmony of the 
parts, the seal of miracles, and principally in 
the mighty power and efficacy of them ujion the 
souls and consciences of multitudes, both for 
conviction, and for support, and consolation, 
that he easily concludes, “ this is the voice of 
God and not of man.” Poole. 

Evidence from the supernatural of the Bible. As 
Jehovah to Thor, as the Holy One of the Proph¬ 
ets to Vishnu, as the God and Father of our 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to Zeus, as the 
Hebrew Prophecy to the Grecian Epic, as the 
Psalms of David to the Odes of Pindar, as Moses 
to Minos, as that unique drama in which powers 
earthly and unearthly are striving for the integ¬ 
rity of Job to the myths of the J3sch}lean 
tragedy, as the idea of “ Covenant ” to the idea 
of Fate, as the idea of a Messiah to the idea of 
a Hercules, as the Olympic games to the “ Fight 
of Faith,” so is the sublime supernatural of the 
Bible to the monstrous, impure, or merely fan¬ 
ciful conceptions of the heathen. The differ 
ence is everywhere, —in the essential reason, in 
the inward spirit, in the outward form. He 
tliat hath eyes to see must see it ; he that hath 
a soul to feel must understand it. We could 
ask no higher earthly evidence of the unearthli¬ 
ness o.f the Christian Scriptures than just this 
parallel. They are not merely arbitrarily 
selected points. As in the examples cited, so is 


it with the supernatural of the Bible every¬ 
where. It is never monstrous, grotesque, legen¬ 
dary, unmeaning, fanciful, but ever dignified, 
solemn, pure, holy, in strictest keeping with 
every accompanying emotion, and so preserving 
that marvellous air of fact, that feeling of truth¬ 
fulness, that sober impression of reality, ever 
present in the most astounding as in the most 
ordinary narrations of the Scriptures. 

The translatableness of the Scriptures. They 
“try the reins;” “they reveal unto man his 
thought ; ’ “ they teach wisdom in that hidden 
part ” where each individual spirit finds its con¬ 
nection, its identity, we might almost say, with 
the universal humanity. Hence it is that no 
book is so translatable as the Bible. It runs 
with the least difficulty into all languages, East 
or West, When it fails to meet with idioms 
that are perfect equivalents, it will always be 
found that its own may be successfully trans¬ 
planted, and that they will grow with surprising 
freshness and vigor in the new soil. Hence no 
so ready a way to enrich a language as to trans¬ 
late the Bible into it. We are not aware how 
many of our own most life-like idioms are in fact 
orientalisms thus introduced into our remote 
Western world. The reason of this may be 
sought in the seeming paradox before alluded 
to. It is the “ Living Word," “ the Word of 
God, quick and powerful,” yet clothed in 
humanity ; and hence it is so intensely human 
because it is the divine in the human. T L. 

Minor Questions and Objections. 

In old times God spoke unto the fathers 
through the i^rophets, “ by divers portions and 
in divers manners.” We are not seriously con¬ 
cerned with the question whether a portion of 
Scripture is made authoritative by the direct 
suggestion of the Spirit to the writer, or by a 
superintendence which keeps the writer from 
incorporating what is essentially erroneous and 
misleading. The important question is. Is the 
Bible perfect as related to the end it has in 
view? viz., to provide the world with a perma¬ 
nently adequate, authoritative, and intelligible 
historical record of the supernatural revelation 
of himself made in connection with the incar¬ 
nation of Christ ? In thus \ iewing the question 
we shall find little difficulty in understanding 
the subject, so far as our duty and welfare are 
concerned. G. F. W. 

There is no title that is not conveyed by words. 
By words are the institutions of mercy and 
education about us shaped. By words our great 
political safeguards are constructed. The words 
of the habeas corpus statute operate, wherever it 




24 


THE BIBLE: 


is in force, to check arbitrary arrests. The 
words of the Bill of Bights attached to the Con¬ 
stitution of the United States, and of its several 
amendments, secure to each citizen of the United 
States protection in his civil relations ; and 
through these words flow what we may venture 
to call grace from the people collectively as the 
source of power to the people individually as 
the enjoyers of rights. It is irrational, there¬ 
fore, to denounce the Protestant view of the 
Bible as unduly assigning grace to words, when 
it is through the grace of words that we hold 
whatever rights we enjoy. Yet, on the other 
hand, it is equally irrational to talk of the 
words in the sacred text as though they tran¬ 
scended criticism, were insoluble by time, and 
operated mechanically and not dynamically. 
The divine revelation is just what we should 
suppose it would be, judging from the analogies 
of human law. Its words may sometimes be 
ambiguous. They are open to the modifications 
of time. There may be always a question as to 
what objects they apply. Yet through these 
words grace flows F. Wharlon. 

The possession of inspiration was no jiroof of 
the personal holiness of him who had it. 
Balaam was inspired, and Saul prophesied with 
the students at Kamah, and so we must distin¬ 
guish between the inspiration and the holiness 
of the man. All gifts are not graces. Inspira 
tion is a gift, sanctification is a grace. The one 
is no guarantee of the other. Obvious as this 
distinction is, it has been often overlooked. 
\V. M. T. 

There is an attitude that is more irrational, if 
not more irreverent, than that of either scoffing 
or scowling unbelief. It is that of the men who 
profess to regard the Scriptures as in some 
sense inspired, in some sense a revelation, and 
yet with an express or tacit reserve that most of 
these “ sacred writing-!,” Sacrce Scripturce, as 
they conventionally style them, are already ob¬ 
solete, and the remainder fast becoming obso¬ 
lete in the advancing light of the world. There 
are others who profess a more cordial reception, 
perhaps, yet would they maintain that this re¬ 
spect is due to the thoughts, the “ great truths” 
as they deferentially say, while the style, the 
words, the images, are “accommodations” 
merely, and, therefore, to be dispensed with by 
that higher thinking that can think of God as 
well, if not better, without them. But instead 
of looking over or under these “ accommoda¬ 
tions,” or pretending to see through them, it is 
still our wisdom to sit down to the volume of 
revelation, and bring our heads and hearts in 
closest communion with this Divine language, 


until its hidden life-giving pbwer shall flow over 
into our dead, dark, earthly souls. 

Hence the plain position so essential to all 
earnest Biblical study is, that the very language 
of Scripture is specially and most efficiently 
designed for our moral and spiritual instruc¬ 
tion. If it is theopneustos, truly heaven- 
breathed, “ then is it all profitable for teaching, 
for conviction, for correction, for education in 
righteousness.” “ Thy word, O Lord, is very 
pure, therefore thy servant loveth it.“ “ Open 
thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous 
things out of thy law.” “ The entrance of thy 
word giveth light, it giveth understanding ” 
“ The words that I speak unto you, they are 
sj)irit and they are life.” The soul that feels 
this, and acknowledges this, has the ground of 
a true exegesis. Hence to believe in his heart 
that it trul}^ is Sacred Scripture, and that, there¬ 
fore, every word of it is pure, every word of it 
holy (so far as we can hold it to be the genuine 
text or word of God), is the first great requisite 
of an interpreter. Without this idea, though 
the writing may be valuable and interesting in 
other respects, yet the laborious comment 
which even the rationalists bestow upon it be¬ 
comes a mockery and an absurdity. It is true, 
one cannot be a good interpreter, or the best 
interpreter, without linguistic and archmological 
knowledge. On the other hand and with still 
greater boldness, may it be said of all Biblical 
interpretation that has not the unction of a 
hearty faith, that though it may be a blind aid 
to something higher than itself, yet in itself, 
and for itself, it is as worthless as “ the sound¬ 
ing brass or the tinkling cymbal.” The onward 
march of the human mind shall consign it to 
oblivion. Neither in the world nor in the 
Church shall it ever have that post of honor 
which belongs to what is called genius in the 
one, or is prized as productive of holiness or 
spirituality in the other. T. L. 

Proof of Inspiration. [For full treatment read 
Sect. 396, N. T., vol. 2.] 

Briefly stated, the evangelical theory of the 
inspiration of the Bible rests upon the fourfold 
fact : a. That Christianity is essentially super¬ 
natural, involving the incarnation of the Second 
Person of the divine Trinity, and his miracu¬ 
lous entrance into, and miraculous exit from, 
the world. This removes antecedent objections. 
h. It is appropriate and important, not to say 
necessary, that the record of such a divine in¬ 
tervention in history should be adequate, and 
free from essential error, lest the intervention 
itself should fail to accomplish its end. Thig 




PROOF OF INSPIUATIOF'. 


makes the fact of inspiration antecedently prob¬ 
able. c. Such emphatic promises of assistance 
were given by Christ to the apostles and their 
associates, upon whom would come the respon¬ 
sibility of recording the facts and unfolding the 
doctrines essential to Christianity, that we look 
to find these promises fulfilled in the writings 
of the apostles, d. The repeated assertion by 
certain of the writers of the New Testament, 
that they wrote by divine authority, coupled 
with the fact that in all their writings and con¬ 
duct they both assume and assert that the Old 
Testament is the inspired Word of God, compels 
us to accept large portions of the New Testa¬ 
ment as inspired or reject it altogether. The 
opinion of the Old Testament entertained by 
the writers of the New, becomes the standard 
by which we are to measure the estimate set 
upon the books of the New Testament by the 
primitive church. A little reflection will show 
that the churches of the first and second cen¬ 
turies were the proper judges and the natural 
guardians of the earliest Christian records, and 
that the testimony which they have borne to the 
records we have is not easily contradicted or 
disturbed. 

Christ and the apostles attest in superabun¬ 
dant measure the divine authority of the Old 
Testament. This they do (a) by directly adopt¬ 
ing the views current at the time as to the 
sacredness of the Old Testament Scripture ; (6) 
by repeatedly making various portions of it 
their final appeal in argument ; (c) by direct 
assertions that portions, at least, of the Script¬ 
ure were the direct word of God, or were spoken 
by the Holy Spirit ; (d) by refraining from at¬ 
tempts to correct or criticise any portion of the 
Scripture then held sacred, though freely criti¬ 
cising the traditional views of their times. 
This establishes the divine authority of the Old 
Testament. To establish the authority of the 
books of the New Testament we have to prove 
that they were either written or indorsed by 
apostles, or, at any rate, that they correctly rep¬ 
resent apostolic teachings and originated in 
apostolic times. They then become invested 
with the authority of the apostolic commission, 
A sufficient proof of such investiture of author¬ 
ity is that they were so received by the primi¬ 
tive church, who knew both the apostles and 
their doctrines, and who with the standard of 
Old Testament authority before them exalted 
the New Testament to a co-ordinate place with 
the Old. The repeated, emphatic, and exclusive 


2 b 

appeal by the New Testament writers to the Old 
Testament Scriptures as when properly under¬ 
stood of divine authority, is the more impres¬ 
sive when we consider the manner in which the 
Old Testament writers both assume and assert 
their own divine commission. In numberless 
instances the writers of the Old Testament as¬ 
sume to speak in the name of the Lord. The 
evidence that sustains the Scriptures as a whole 
gives weight to every detached portion. The 
testimony of Christ and the apostles to the 
authority of the Old Testament, their acceifl- 
ance of it as the word of God, in the sense in 
which the Jews accepted it, is the strongest 
direct proof we can have of the divine authority 
of the Old Testament. And the promise to the 
apostles that the Holy Spirit should sjieak 
through them, and the acknowledgment by the 
apostolic church of the books of the New Testa¬ 
ment as of equal authority with the Old Testa¬ 
ment, is the most weighty direct testimony we 
can have that the New Testament is a revelation 
from God. Each particular part that is jiroved 
to be genuine has the weight of authority which 
is accredited to the whole. As the apostle says : 
“ Every Scripture inspired of God is also profit¬ 
able for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for 
instruction which is in righteousness. ”... A 
miraculous dispensation begins with Abraham 
and ends with the apostles,—with an intermis¬ 
sion of about four hundred years between 
Malachi and John the Baptist. All the books 
of the Bible are supposed, on good grounds, to 
have been written during these two periods of 
special miraculous intervention. G. E. W. 

The account the Scriptures give of themselves 
has a presumption in its favor until evidence be 
produced to prove them unauthentic or spu¬ 
rious. Positive evidence against them there is 
none, and in the nature of the case can be none 
unless a rival history of equal or greater antiq¬ 
uity could be discovered. The arguments 
against their veracity and antiquity are all in¬ 
direct, of the nature o£ objections. On the 
other hand, the evidence in favor of the im¬ 
memorial tradition of the Hebrew nation as to 
their authorship is positive, and of immense 
value ; consisting in the structure and contents 
of the books themselves. Further, it is impossi¬ 
ble to give any satisfactory account of them if 
they be forgeries. And it is a sound rule of 
both common-sense and criticism, that when 
positive evidence is conclusive even insoluble 
difliculties cannot overthrow it. E. R. Conder, 









26 


THE BIBLE. 


Section 4. 

THE BIBLE : 

1. ITS FITNESS TO HUMAN CONDITIONS AND NEEDS. 


The actual revelation, being designed for all 
men and for all times, must be its own guaran¬ 
tee ; its authority must be inherent, inseparable 
from its contents ; it must win its way because 
it is worthy of God, and fitted to man’s needs. 
The revelation of God is found in the essential, 
living thought of the Bible ; and the final proof 
of its authority must be sought in its living 
energy, in its agreement with the character of 
God, with its own successive utterances, and 
with our conscious intuitions, presentiments, 
needs and hopes. Coleridge’s famous state¬ 
ment, “ In the Bible there is more that finds 
me than I have experienced in all other books 
put together ; the words of the Bible find me at 
greater depths of my being ; and whatever finds 
me brings with it an irresistible evidence of its 
having proceeded from the Holy Spirit,” has 
been quoted and enforced to discredit the 
secondary evidences for the inspiration of 
Scripture ; but the words are full of golden 
wisdom. Practically, and for the great mass of 
its readers, the Bible is inspired and authori¬ 
tative, because it finds them, probing their con¬ 
scious life to its very sources. We believe it to 
be from God because its utterances are Godlike, 
consistent with themselves, and fitted to estab 
iish in the hearts of men that Divine kingdom, 
whose fruits are righteousness, peace, and joy 
in the Holy Ghost. And we have gained very 
much when we see that criticism cannot possi¬ 
bly touch the question of the authority of the 
Bible, since that is patent and assured, in what¬ 
ever way the books and the institutions of the 
Bible may have been produced. Behrends. 

All history bears witness to the truth of the 
Bible. Type and Prophecy yield their solemn 
attestation. The spectacle of a world submit¬ 
ting itself to the doctrines of the Bible, and 
thereby becoming remodelled, is in itself a 
system of evidence which can only be accounted 
for in one way. The Bible has addressed itself 
sucessfull.y to men of every age and every clime. 
It has evoked the profoundest utterances of 
piety, and wisdom, and learning. Its unearthly 
power is proclaimed by the loftiest and the most 
lowly. Its adaptation to the wants of man is as 
extraordinary as its texture is unique and its | 
appearance unpromising. Our very spirits ' 


within us bear emphatic witness that the Bible 
is a message sent from God. Burgon. 

An historical revelation of the nature, char¬ 
acter, and purposes of God must of necessity be 
many-sided, or it would not be adapted to the 
varying conditions of the human race. It must 
meet the wants of the ages to which it is first 
given, and at the same time bo couched in such 
language and presented in such form that future 
ages shall be able to extract its meaning. The 
written word of God must have points of attach¬ 
ment adapting it to use among rude and barba¬ 
rous tribes, and at the same time must be so full 
of meaning, so perfect in its form, and so sub¬ 
lime in its outlook, as to satisfy the wants of 
the most cultivated ages. In the same store¬ 
house we must find both milk for babes and 
meat for strong men. The truth must be pre¬ 
served in such plain precepts and bold outlines 
as shall justify the assertion that “ wayfaring 
men, though fools, shall not err therein.” At 
the same time revelation must lead on from glory 
to glory, and securely and wisely conduct the 
race forward toward the ever-widening horizon 

of eternity. G. F. W.-All its great truths 

are universal truths ; truths capable of reaching 
and making entrance into and taking a strong 
hold upon the heart of man as man, and of all 
men equally, independently of their race-affini¬ 
ties, intellectual advancement or social standing. 
It is a book which naturally and without effort 
betrays acquaintance with the deepest reaches 
of modern discovery, and yet in its every accent 
sjDeaks home to the child as readily as to the 
sage. And its asserted truths are instinctively 
recognized by man as actual truths. The Bible 
thus certainly comes with a message to man— 
one that is recognized by each man who needs 
its words as specially for him, and that is wit¬ 
nessed to instinctively by each as true. How 
does it happen that this book, alone among 
books, reaches the heart alike of the Bushman 
and of a Newton ? of a savage lost in the horrors 
of savagery and of a Faraday sitting aloft on the 
calm and clear if somewhat chill heights of 
Science? Warfield. 

The Scriptures adapt themselves to the com¬ 
mon knowledge and thinking, and c mmon 
imagination, of all men. This is felt the more 





ITS FITNESS TO HUMAN CONDITIONS AND NEEDS. 


27 


the book is studied aud understood. The effect 
indeed may be heightened by the elucidating 
labors of the scholiast and the archaeologist ; 
all such clearing of the letter does, for the 
spiritual mind, add to the spiritual power ; but 
without such helps, or with the scantiest supjely 
of them, and in the poorest translation ever 
made, it has a fountain of living thought never 
failing in its rich suggestiveness for the devout 
unlearned, and never exhausted by any amount 
of research on the part of tlie profoundest 
scholar. 

There is another aspect still of this remark¬ 
able universality. Not only is the Bible adapted 
to all ages, to all peoples, to all individuals ; it 
also addresses itself to the most special circum¬ 
stances of each single soul. It is all true, the 
l)icture that Burns has drawn of the holy inffu- 
ence of the Bible by the cotter’s humble hearth ; 
it is all true, what we often hear, of its trans¬ 
forming power over the illiterate. No other 
book does tnis ; but the Bible, wherever it goes, 
is ever followed by some examples of this 
strange effect. But much more than this is true. 
Men profoundly learned in the Scriptures, and 
in all that wide field of knowledge that relates 
to them, have not been prevented by their criti¬ 
cal and philological investigations from feeling 
the same quickening spiritual energy of the 
Word. Bible scholars like Usher, classical 
scholars like Erasmus, philosophers like Bacon, 
divines like Edwards, metaphysicians like Leib¬ 
nitz and Hamilton, men of loftiest scientific as 
well as spiritual insight like Pascal, men of 
highest human culture like Wilberforce and 
Guizot, have sought knowledge, not merely 
historical, or literary, or speculative, but soul¬ 
saving knowledge, from this fountain so full and 
running over for all. As the child sits down to 
learn his lesson from the lips of a beloved 
teacher, so have they betaken themselves to the 
study of the Scriptures, with the deep convic¬ 
tion that in their human was to be found the 
superhuman and the divine. Given by the 
divine Mind, these holy books must have in 
them a depth and a fulness of meaning that the 
human intellect can never exhaust. If they are 
holy books, then can there be thrown away upon 
them no amount of study, provided that study 
is ever chastened by a sanctified, truth-loving 
spirit, that rejoices more in the simplest teach¬ 
ing, and in the simplest method of teaching from 
God, than in the most lauded discoveries of any 
mere human science. Is it in truth the word 
of God-is it really God speaking to us? then 
the feeling and the conclusion which it necessi¬ 
tates are no hyperboles. We cannot go too far 


in our reverence, or in our expectation of knowl¬ 
edge surpassing in kind, if not in extent. The 
wisdom of the earth, of the seas, of the treasures 
hidden in the rocks and “ all deep places,” of 
the subterranean world, or of the stars afar off, 
brings us not so nigh the central truth of the 
Heavens, the very mind and thought of God, 
as one parable of Christ, or one of those grand 
prophetic figures through which the light of the 
infinite idea is converged, while, at the same 
time, its intensity is shaded for the tender 
human vision. T. L. 

Within the compass of the same faith is milk 
for babes and strong meat for men—plain truths, 
simple enough for the loving comprehension of 
a child, and mysteries high and deej) enough to 
overtask the powers of an archangel. But the 
two cannot be sharplj’’ separated from each 
other. The man in his strong grasp of the broad 
truths of saving love, exercises the humility of 
the child ; and the child in the majesty of the 
revelation, rises into the maturity of the man. 

Garbelt. -Here is a book that can address itself 

to the reason of man and to the heart of woman, 
a book that has a voice and a message for all the 
different stages of life— from old age to middle 
age, youth, and childhood. Here is a book that 
is adapted to all the different divisions into 
which society is divided, by rank, and birth, 
and wealth, and fashion ; a book that can per¬ 
meate all the trades of men—the merchant, the 
mechanic, and the professional man ; a book 
that suits the sailor that is tossing upon the sea 
just as well as it suits the scholar in the univer¬ 
sity ; that suits the stunted man that works in 
a manufactory as well as the man of pleasure 
and wealth, that roams w'here he pleases and 
rifles all the sweets of life that he can gather ; 
that fills the heart with happiness amid the 
sanctities of our Christian homes, and comforts 
the M'anderer in a strange land ; that gives its 
benediction to fast and festivity, to baptism 
and marriage ; that ennobles life and tranquib 
lizes death, and gives to man the hope of glory, 
which no human genius can bring. 31. D. 
Iloge. 

The faith meets every part of man. To sup¬ 
ply his practical wants, to alleviate his sorrows, 
to remedy his ruin, to throw light upon his 
darkness, and make even the valley of Baca a 
threshold into gbry, is its one all-pervading 
object. It comes like an archangel on an errand 
of mercy, and walks to and fro our world, a 
ministering spirit of light and joy. It does not 
disdain the earthly soil and earthly atmosphere, 
but imitates the Son of God Incarnate, as he 
brightened our earth with his smiles and con- 





THE J31DLE: 


2S 

secrated it with his tears. The faith is in every 
part of it intensely practical. Doctrines are 
but the statement of God’s mode c f saving us. 
The faith reflects the perfections of its Author, 
as, like a cloudless sun, he fills the spiritual 
firmament with life and immortality. E. Gar- 

hett. -When the heart is borne down with 

sadness and enveloped in the shades of dis¬ 
appointment, there is no language like that of 
David or Jeremiah with which to give vent to 
the iDent-up feelings. Or when joy and hope 
thrill the soul, there are none others that can 
equal Isaiah and the writer of the Revelation in 
jubilant songs of gladness. But for the Bible 
there could have been no Hallelujah Chorus. 
G. F. W. 

I have read many books which teach and en¬ 
lighten—which sometimes seem almost to be the 
medium of new revelations to the soul ; I have 
read the writings of great philosojjhers of old— 
of men who saw far deeper into the truth by the 
power of wonderful intellects, guided no doubt 
by God's providence, than it was possible for 
ordinary men to see. I have read many books 
which set before the soul the loftiest motives of 
action, and the most heavenly principles to 
guide the conduct. I have read many such 
books, and have felt that I have learned much ; 
and still there remains the sense that these 
books, though they are my teachers, are not ray 
rulers, and though they instruct me they cannot 
command me. But when I turn to the Word of 
G.)d, it takes me straight into God’s very pres¬ 
ence, ami give its message there by an authority 

which is his and his alone. Temple. -It is 

enough to find out what the book actually saj’s 
to my life, my heart, m 3 ' conscience, and all my 
higher faculties, and to ]U(3ge it, not by some 
official standard, but b 3 ' the recognized and 
most solemn facts which make up human his- 
tor 3 '. The Bible asks for no privilege in the 
matter of judgment : its bold appeal is to the 
highest court of immediate fact and experience. 
It is a book which knows us, puts our thoughts 
into words, fills up our need, and teaches us the 
only prayers which even God can answer. 
More Bible is what is wanted ; fuller reading 
of the bonk itself, and a much freer application 
of it to the facts of daily life. J. P. 

2. ITS ACHIEVEMENTS AND EFFECTS. 

For ages had the Jewish Scriptures been shut 
up in the mountains of Judaea 'fhere they had 
remained, a “ garden enclosed, a fountain 
sealed,” until “ the everlasting doors were lifted 
lip,” and the commandment came that ” the 
Law should go forth from Zion, and the Word 


of the Lord from Jerusalem.” How sudden, 
how irresistible the effect ! How few the 
generations before this Chronicle of Redemp¬ 
tion, this old E^iic of “ the Chosen People” and 
their Hero Messiah, together with those lattr 
yet still Jewish writings that contained tho 
world-interpretation of the more ancient 
national covenant, filled and vivified all the 
literature, all the philusoph}', 3 'ea, all the think¬ 
ing of the vast Roman empire ! How soon it 
modified, 3 'ea, completely transformed, that 
whole historical state out of which arose our 
modern Europe and our modern civilization ! 
What divine energy was this, that so far sur¬ 
passed all former powers that had arisen out of 
the Occidental mind, and might, therefore, be 
supposed so much better adapted to it ? Plato, 
Aristotle, Zeno, Socrates —Academics, Stoics, 
Rhetoricians, Moralists —t/tey had never so 
stirred the world, ihey had touched no universal 
chords in human souls, although nothing could 
seemingly be more abstract, and, therefore, more 
universal, than the language of their precepts. 
Their speculations, though in appearance so 
general and so profound, did not, after all, reach 
down to that which underlies all human natuie, 
as human nature, in its constitution and its 
wants. They had no Fall to tell of, no Re- 
demiition. The former might have been diml 3 ' 
shadowed in some of their poetic m 3 dhs, but 
the latter had no place in their philosoph 3 '. 
The world was caring little about them or their 
systems ; it was fast sinking into darkness, 
with all the light they' gave ; it was becoming 
more corrupt, more worthless, with all they said 
about the excellency of virtue and the dignity 
of reason ; more deformed and false, with all 
their talk about the ” true, the beautiful, and 
the good.” But when Christ and Moses came, 
when the prophets came, and he of whom they 
wrote, when Evangelists and Apostles came, how 
mighty the change, and how soon did it mani¬ 
fest itself in so great a revolution of human 
ideas ! Thus was it also in the Reformation 
age, after the whole Bible had for a second time 
been so long buried from the common mind. As 
when Hilkiah the priest discovered in the tem¬ 
ple a copy of the law that the Lord had given 
unto Moses, so came forth the Scriptures from 
the cell of the Augustine monk. Men every' 
where, great men and mean men, learned men 
and ignorant'men, “ wept and humbled them¬ 
selves at the reading of the words of the book 
that was found.” What a sudden activity did it 
give, not only to the religious, but to all the 
higher departments of thinking. How it quick¬ 
ened the age ! How it made the theological and 




ITS ACHIEVEMENTS AND EFFECTS. 


29 


the spiritual | reclominant everywhere, in the 
political, social, and even military life ! How 
paradoxically, we may say, yet how truly, did 
this strangely human book, with its abounding 
anthropopathisms, engage the general mind in 
the highest heights of abstract speculation,—as 
though this very anthropopathism, more than 
any philosophical language, contained those 
hidden germs that must grow up evermore into 
the infinity of thought. T. L. 

The debt (f literature to the Bible is like that of 
vegetation to light. No other volume has con¬ 
tributed so much to the great organic forms of 
thought. It has the singular faculty of attract¬ 
ing to itself the thinkers of the world, either as 
friends or foes, always, everywhere. The works 
of comment upon it of themselves form a liter¬ 
ature of which any nation might be proud. 
Here is a power, which, say what w’e may of its 
results, has set the Christian world to thinking, 
and has kept it thinking for nearly two thou¬ 
sand years. The unpublished literature of the 
Christian pulpit surpasses in volume all the lit¬ 
eratures of all nations. . . . Our own language 
owes, in part, the very structure it has received 

to our English Bible. A. Phelps. -These 

books contain a body of history, poetry, and 
philosophy, the study of which has done more 
than any other single cause to modify the course 
and happiness of thinking men on the earth, 
and to color and direct the whole course of 
modern civilization. Great epochs in the his¬ 
tory of the modern civilized world, such as the 
conversion of the northern tribes, the growth 
of the temporal power of the Church, the estab¬ 
lishment of the monastic orders, the Crusades, 
the development of the Scholastic philosophy, 
the Reformation, the rise of Puritanism, are all 
attributable more or less directly to the one 
moral cause which we are now considering, the 
study of the Bible. It is not too much to say, 
that the Books of the Old and New Testament 
have exerted more influence, whether for weal 
or woe, on the course of human affairs among 
civilized nations than all other books put to¬ 
gether, Their imprint is on most of the litera¬ 
ture, the philosophy, the legislation, and the 
history, of the last 1700 years. F. Bowen. 

The Bible now occupies a larger proportion¬ 
ate space in literature than ever it did. No 
book raises so many inquiries or touches so 
many interests. The Bible sends the student 
to libraries and archives. To the Bible we owe 
much of the intense and spreading interest in 
languages and in the originals of customs and 
of peoples. It directs the traveller to buried 
cities, to the tombs of kings, to the records cf 


states once great, and well-nigh forgotten. 
Wherever the battle of opinion is now the live¬ 
liest, wherever the race for discovery is the 
most eager, wherever the earth at last reveals 
her buried history, it is to add to our knowledge 
of the sacred story, and to our understanding of 

the sacred volume. London Times. -Looking 

at great breadths of history, it is evident that 
the believers in the Avesta, the Veda, and even 
the Koran, have not been careful to create a 
system of world-wide propagation of their re¬ 
spective faiths. Little beyond a military spasm 
in the case of the last of them has been at¬ 
tempted in this direction. But the believers in 
the Bible have been impelled to translate it into 
all languages and to send it into all regions. 
The Bible has, as a mere matter of fact, forced 
its way where no other book has ever gone ; 
and as for the variety of intellect which it has 
interested in its fortunes, no other writing can 
bear comparison with it. The coldest and the 
most ardent temperaments have alike sought to 
extend its influence : the richest learning and 
the most splendid eloquence have felt honored 
in its service, and the most valorous men have 
hazarded their lives to publish its contents in 
hostile lands. They have done this because of 
the effect of Bible teaching upon their hearts ; 
necessity was laid upon them, and out of this 
necessity came their highest joy. Such facts 
show how true it is that the Bible so discloses 
its subjects as to claim the homage of all nations 
through all time, J. P. 

The Bible is seen to tread the ages like the 
fabled goddess under whose beneficent footfall 
sprang beautiful flowers wherever she went. 
Hospitals and asylums and refuges for the sick, 
the miserable and the afflicted grow like heaven- 
bedewed blossoms in its path. War, if it does 
not cease, becomes so ameliorated as to be 
scarcely recognizable as war compared with the 
brutal outbursts of past ages. Captured cities 
are fed with the rations of the conquering 
army ; captured combatants are tended with 
motherly care. Woman, whose equality with 
man Plato considered a sure mark of social dis¬ 
organization, has been elevated ; slavery has 
been driven from civilized ground ; letters have 
been given by Christian missionaries, under the 
influence of the Bible and in order to its publi¬ 
cation, to whole peoples and races. Who can 
estimate that boon ? Thus Cyril and Methodius 
gave alphabet and written language to the vast 
hordes of the Sclaves ; thus Ulphilas, to the 
whole race of Teutons ; thus even Egypt, mother 
of letters, first received a manageable alphabet. 
Thus still to-day tribes and peoples sunk in 





80 


THE BIBLE: 


barbarism are being lifted by the Bible to the 
ranks of literary nations. So the work goes on, 
and still to-day, as ever before, the Bible stands 
in all the world exercising everywhere its im¬ 
mense power in the restraining of all evil pas¬ 
sions, in the advancement of all that is good 
and tender and elevating, in pouring out bene¬ 
fits unspeakable to the individual and the state. 
Warfield. 

No volume ever commanded such a profusion 
of readers, or was translated into so many lan¬ 
guages. Such is the universality of its spirit, 
that no book loses less by translation—none has 
been so frequently copied in manuscript, and 
none so often printed. King and noble, peas¬ 
ant and pauper are delighted students of its 
pages. Philosophers have humbly gleaned from 
it, and legislation has been thankfully indebted 
to it. Its stories charm the child, its hopes in¬ 
spirit the aged, and its promises soothe the bed 
of death. The maiden is wedded under its 
sanction, and the grave is closed under its com¬ 
forting assurances. Its lessons are the essence 
of religion, the seminal truths of theology, the 
first principles of morals, and the guiding ax¬ 
ioms of political economy. In the entire range 
of literature no book is so frequently quoted or 
referred to. The majority of all the books ever 
published have been in connection with it. The 
Fathers commented upon it, and the subtle 
divines of the middle ages refined upon its 
doctrines. It sustained Origen’s scholarship 
and Chrysostom’s rhetoric. It whetted the pen- 
etration of Abelard and exercised the keen in¬ 
genuity of Aquinas. It gave life to the revival 
of letters, and Dante and Petrarch revelled in 
its imagery. It augmented the erudition of 
Erasmus, and roused and blessed the intrepid¬ 
ity of Luther. The text of no ancient author 
has summoned into operation such an amount 
of labor and learning, and it has furnished occa¬ 
sion for the most masterly examples of criticism 
and comment, grammatical investigation, and 
logical analysis. It has also inspired the Eng¬ 
lish muse with her loftiest strains. Its beams 
gladdened Milton in his darkness, and cheered 
the song of Cowper in his sadness. The records 
of false religion, from the Koran to the Book of 
Mormon, have owned its superiority, and sur¬ 
reptitiously purloined its jewels. Among the 
Christian classics it loaded the treasures of 
Owen, charged the fulness of Hooker, barbed 
the point of Baxter, gave color to the palette 
and sweep to the pencil of Bunyan, enriched 
the fragrant fancy of Taylor, sustained the lofti¬ 
ness of Howe, and strung the plummet of Ed¬ 
wards. In short, this collection of lives and 


letters has changed the face of the w'orld, and 
enuobled myriads of its population. No. Bril. 
Rev. 

The authors of the Bible were all connected 
with one small country and bound up in the 
people that dwelt in it. Their thoughts gath¬ 
ered round its history, and their writings are 
crowded wdth allusions to its hills and valleys, 
its streams and lakes and brooks, its towns and 
villages, even its individual trees, rocks, caves 
and gardens. In a sense it is a very local book, 
provincial, nay, parochial in its details ; yet 
it has been accepted and adopted by all civil¬ 
ized nations ; by some marvellous process of 
transformation it has become by far the most 
catholic book in the world. It has been trans¬ 
lated into more than two hundred languages of 
the globe. Great societies exist for the sole 
purpose of multiplying versions and copies, 
which are produced in millions year after year. 
W. G. Blaikie. 

If we trace the revelation which the Book sets 
forth as it gradually unfolds itself, w'e shall find 
that we are drawn away from letters to life ; 
from sounds that are conveved to the ear, to 
living words that are conveyed wdth mighty 
power to the conscience and the heart ; from 
those words, to him who speaks them. Jlanrice. 

The Bible is the only book that works. Olher 
books sparkle, but this book lifts. Shakespeare 
does not unaidedly make men better. Cast into 
a community of savages, his plays would not 
carry barbarism by the breadth of a hair nearer 
civilization. Shakespeare does not sow the 
mind with new impulses, nor endue it with new 
energies. That is the prerogative of the Bible, 
and of books that have been directly inspired 
from it. Where the Bible is present the most 
operatively, there is the best civilization—wit¬ 
ness America, Great Britain, German 3 ^ “ All 
that we call modern civilization,” says Froude, 
“ in a sense which deserves the name, is the 
visible expression of the transforming power of 
the Gospel,” C, H. P.-It is the most edu¬ 

cating book in the world to him w'ho v^ould 
master all its contents ; it is the grandest power 
in civilization, by which inquiry is challenged 
and thought is stirred on every side, which be¬ 
comes the germ of arts and sciences, of univer¬ 
sities and libraries, of generous literatures, of 
social ameliorations and of enlightened govern¬ 
ments. E. S. S. 

Older than all human histories, it has come 
down to us leaving a thousand fallen empires 
in its track. It has foretold (he ruin of Egypt, 
Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Eome, and yet it 
still survives. While nations, kings, philoso- 





ITS ACHIEVEMENTS AND EFFECTS. 


phies, systems, and institutions have died 
away, the Bible now engages men’s attention, 
is studied by the keenest intellects, is rever¬ 
enced by the purest hearts, keeps progress with 
the advancing civilization of the world, origi¬ 
nates the institutions of philanthropy, imparts 
ideas of law and liberty, reforms and elevates 
the fallen, sustains the faith of those who rest 
upon it, and utilizes every new invention and 

discovery to overrun the earth. An -It has 

dissolved the worse fetters of humanity, marked 
the line for ages between liberty and despotism, 
and has so gathered up in itself all the rudi¬ 
ments of the future and the seeds of advance¬ 
ment, that its eclipse would be the return of 
chaos, and its extinction the epitaph of history. 
The resistance of ages to this book is, however, 
its crowning legitimation. The Bible is too 
good for the race it has come to bless. It 
blesses them like an angel whose mission is per¬ 
emptory, and it troubles too many waters in its 
work of healing to be left in peace. It is felt 
and feared by all the rulers of the darkness of j 
this world. No feeble suffrage can augment 
the claims of a Book which has its claims below 
as signal as its fitness above, which numbers, to 
say nothing of nobler trophies, its hundred of 
millions of copies in circulation, and is going 
forth to the ends of the earth conquering and to 
conquer ; but to vindicate its majesty —against 
all doubters—as made in the image of God, 
with everything of humanity except its weak¬ 
ness, all its parts and lineaments shining with 
the lustre of the divine face, here more veiled, 
there more open, and an unction descending on 
it from the head to the skirts of the garment, 
this is an office as grateful to faith as it is w'el- 
come to reason. It is an altar which sanctifieth 
the meanest gift. And the worshipper may w^ell 
be lost amid the myriads whose brightest hope, 
after walking by this oracle through life’s dark¬ 
ness, is to reach that sanctuary of peace where 
reverence for the Highest is wounded by no dis¬ 
cord, and where those, who have been the last 
to believe will be the first to adore, Caird. 

This Word of God has held a thousand na¬ 
tions for thrice a thousand years spellbound ; 
held them by an abiding power, even the uni¬ 
versality of its truth ; and we feel it to be no 
more a collection of books, but the book. To 
enhance the marvellousness of this, remem¬ 
ber that the nation from which it emanated 
was a despised people. For the last eighteen 
hundred years the Jews have been proverbially 
a by-word and a reproach. But that contempt j 
for Israel is nothing new to the world, for be- I 
fore even the Roman despised them, the As- I 


Syrian and Egyptian regarded them with scorn. 
Yet the w'ords which came from Israel’s prophets 
have been the life-blood of the world’s devo¬ 
tions. And the teachers, the psalmists, the 
prophets, and the lawgivers of this despised 
nation spoke out truths that have struck the 
key-note of the heart of man ; and this, not be¬ 
cause they were of Jewish, but just because they 
w^ere of universal application. This collectic n 
of books has been to the world what no other 
book has ever been to a nation. States have 
been founded on its principles. Its prayers, its 
psalms are the language which we use when we 
speak to God ; eighteen centuries have found 
no holier, no diviner language. If ever there 
has been a prayer or a hymn enshrined in the 
heart of a nation, you are sure to find its basis 
in the Bible. There is no new religious id« a 
given to the world, but it is merely the develop¬ 
ment of something given in the Bible. The 
very translation of it has fixed language and 
settled the idioms of speech. Germany and 
j England speak as they speak because the Bible 
was translated. E. W. R. 

The Bible is, as Professor Tyndall says, the 
“ unquestionable antecedent ” of our whole 
civilization. It has determined the very forms 
of speech through which State, school and in¬ 
dividual have poured their thoughts. The doc¬ 
uments of diplomacy, judicial formulas, parlia¬ 
mentary routine, bear direct traces of Bible 
origin. The men who have seen deepest into 
the mystery of things and caught most of the 
prophetic breath of the coming morning, such 
as Bacon, Kepler, Newton, Faradaj^ and others, 
were earnest students of the Book in which they 
devoutly believed the heavens were truly re¬ 
flected, and the earth’s mysteries an “ open 

secret.” J. B. Thomas. -Here is the Bible— 

a book without preface and without index, 
which is to day working such mighty wonders 
in the thinking and in the general culture and 
civilization of the globe—how do you account 
for it ? J. P. 

IIs power over the life. Where is a second 
book, uninspired by Scripture, that has demon¬ 
strated its inherent and unassisted energy to 
take hoid of life, grapple with it, transform it, 
regenerate it, and lead it out into the likeness 
of the life of God? Only he who knows rnroi 
could have made man a book. Only he that 
made all hearts could produce a book that 
should go to the wants of all hearts. “ I see,’' 
wrote Hallam, “ that the Bible fits into every 
fold and crevice of the human heart, I am a 
man, and I believe that this is God’s book be¬ 
cause it is man’s book.” C. H. P. 













32 


THE BIBLE: 


It is the full and only explanation of the mys¬ 
tery of tune and the world in which I live, a 
mystery which no human wisdom could ever ex¬ 
plain. I open the Bible and confusion becomes 
order and darkness light. I see the creating 
God, the sustaining Providence, the wise and 
all-controlling purpose, the glorious end. The 
law of right and truth written in this book is 
written also upon my own nature. Appealing 
with irresistible force to my reason and con¬ 
science, it is a Word of divine authority, before 
which my whole being is constrained to bow. 
It satisfies every longing of my immortal na¬ 
ture ; gives me the knowledge of God and of 
myself. It irradiates with clear and certain 
light the whole duration of my existence, in 
time and in the future beyond. It tells me all I 
need to know, and in it my soul is at rest. E. L. 

Clark. -It lives on the ear like a music that 

can never be forgotten ; like the sound of church 
bells which the convert hardly knows how he 
can forego. Its felicities seem often to be al¬ 
most things rather than mere words. It is 
part of the national mind, and the anchor of the 
national seriousness. The memory of the dead 
passes into it. The potent traditions of child¬ 
hood are stereotyped in its verses. The power 
of all the griefs and trials of a man is hidden 
beneath its words ; it is the representative of 
his best moments ; and all that there has been 
about him of soft and gentle and pure and peni¬ 
tent and good speaks to him forever out of his 

English Bible. Faber. -Christianity has abler 

advocates than its professed defenders, in those 
many quiet and humble men and w^omen who in 
the light of it and the strength of it live holy, 
beautiful, and self-denying lives. The God 
that answers by fire is the God whom mankind 
will acknowledge ; and so long as the fruits of 
the spirit continued to be visible in charity, in 
self-sacrifice, in those graces which raise hu¬ 
man creatures above themselves and invest them 
with the beauty of holiness which only religion 
confers, thoughtful persons will remain con¬ 
vinced that with them in some form or other is 
the secret of truth, Froude. 

Tested by experience. Its consistency with 
right reason I consider as the outer court of the 
temple, the common area within which it stands. 
The miracles with and through which the re¬ 
ligion was first revealed and attested J regard as 
the steps, the vestibule and the portal of the 
temple. The sense, the inward feeling in the 
soul of each believer of its exceeding desirable¬ 
ness, the experience that he needs something, 
joined with the strong foreboding that the re¬ 
demption and the grace propounded to us in 


Christ, are what he needs—this I hold to be the 
tiue foundation of the spiritual edifice. But it 
is the experience derived from a practical con¬ 
formity to the conditions of the gospel ; it is 
the opening eye, the dawning light, the terrors 
and (he promises of spiritual growth, the bless¬ 
edness of loving God as God, the nascent sense 
of sin hated as sin, and of the incapability of 
attaining" either without Christ ; it is the sorrow 
which still rises up from beneath, and the con¬ 
solation that meets it from above ; in a word, it 
is the actual trial of the faith in Christ, with its 
accompaniments and results, that must form 
the arched roof, and faith itself is the complet¬ 
ing keystone, Coleridge. -The love of God, 

the will to do His Will, the accompaniment of 
each approach toward even the barest thought 
of Him by a reverent longing, by the impulse of 
adoration, these are the first elementary con¬ 
ditions of any real knowledge of God. Where 
these are present the intellectual and spiritual 
vision of Truth, though necessarily imperfect as 
to both extension and intention, is clear in it¬ 
self so far as it reaches, and in its gathering 
strength furnishes ever fresh motive and ma¬ 
terial for adoring love. Medd. -In order to 

the searching of the Scriptures, and the draw¬ 
ing therefrom of true Knowledge, there is need 
of a good life and a pure soul and the virtue 
that is according to Christ, in order that the 
mind, making its way thereby, may be enabled 
to attain and to apprehend the things after 
which it reaches forth, so far as it is possible 
for the nature of man to learn about God the 

Word, Athanasius. -Happy they who, while 

giving due weight to the historical evidences of 
the Canon, know the Bible true by an inward 
moral conviction and spiritual witness—who 
appreciate the character of its contents, “ the 
heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the 
doctrine, the majesty of the style, the coasent 
of all the parts, and the scope of the whole, 
v hich is to give all glory to God the tone it 
has, which it has received from no other book, 
but with which it has influenced minds and 
books innumerable ; and its singularly penetrat 
ing living power over the human heart ! H. F. 

Tested by Prophecy. We might point to the 
immense number of independent predictions, 
seemingly opposite, or even contradictory, to 
one another, before their fulfilment, found on 
the coming of Christ to be harmoniously gath¬ 
ered up and fulfilled in his unique personality 
and work—predictions covering not only the 
great outlines of his work and the marked traits 
of his person, but publishing ages beforehand 
the very village in which he should first see the 








ITS ACHIEVEMENTS AND EFFECTS. 


33 


light, the homage on the one hand, and the 
abuse on the other, which he should receive, 
the life he should live and the death he should 
die, even to the most minute description of the 
pains he should suffer and the scoffs he should 
endure as he hung upon the tree—yea, even the 
exact price of his blood and fate of his betray er. 
Or, again, w^e might point to that ever-living 
witness to the truth of prophecy in the Jewish 
race upon whom everything that has been 
prophesied has been and is being duly fulfilled ; 
or, again, to an infinite multitude of minute 
details of predictions touching many races and 
nations which have with infinite might fulfilled 
themselves everywhere among men. 

In prophecy, therefore, we have a continual 
miracle set in the midst of the Bible, to stand 
in all ages as a sure proof that it comes from 
God. As each prediction is in turn fulfilled 
before the eyes of each age w^hich witnesses it, 
a miracle performs itself (and attests itself in 
the act) w'hich is as cogent and sufficient evi¬ 
dence of the divine origin of the Bible as if 
all the miracles of the apostolical age were 
rewrought in our presence to reaffirm its teach¬ 
ing. Thus we see, in perhaps a new light, the 
meaning of our Lord’s pregnant saying : “ If 
they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither 
will they be persuaded, though one rise from 
the dead.” Warfield. 

Compared with other Sacred Books. There have 
been Sacred Books beside the Christian : the 
Hindu Vedas, Brahmanas, Upanishads, Sutras ; 
the Buddhist Pitakas, Vinaya, Sutta, and Ab- 
hidhamma ; the Chinese books ; the Persian 
A vesta, 'the Koran. These have been made 
familiar in Christendom by the labor of Chris¬ 
tian scholars, often of devout Christian mission¬ 
aries ; and it is a point of honor to-day, among 
these scholars, to find in such books whatever 
can be anywhere discovered of wisdom, beauty, 
and moral force. Undoubtedly there is much ; 
for the Light which lighteth every man that 
cometh into the world was not left without wit¬ 
ness in the often high and sensitive spirits from 
which they came. A Koman'Catholic Bishop 
has affirmed that Buddhism teaches in its script¬ 
ures “a surprising number of the finest pre¬ 
cepts and purest moral truths,” though the pe¬ 
culiar religion of those books culminates, he 
affirms, in atheism and nihilism. But laying 
aside all special comparisons, what have thes6 
religions done, either or all, for the general, lib¬ 
eral, and progressive education of the ardent, 
ingenious, and capable peoples, among whom 
they had ancient place, and have had since 
continued power? What strong, steady, elfec- 
3 


five impulse has gone from them into the reci¬ 
pient public mind ? What sciences, arts, poetries, 
have sprung from them, which the world at 
large will not surrender ? Of what beneficent 
and fruitful civilizations have they been the un¬ 
wasting source ? K. S. S. 

The Bible alone makes disciples of every race. 
It would be hard to decide where it had more 
strongly displayed its subduing powder,—on the 
Asiatic, the African, or the European mind. 
Descending with the ages, and thrt'Ugh every 
phase of humanity, it has met them all, it has 
warred with all, and its uniform triumph war¬ 
rants the induction, ev^en aside from faith, that 
it will surely survive them all. Of such a his¬ 
tory it is but sober eulogy if we employ the lan¬ 
guage of that strange believer, Sir Thomas 
Browne,—” Men’s works have an age like them¬ 
selves, and though they outlive their authors, 
yet have they a stint and a period to their du¬ 
ration. This only is a work too hard for the 
teeth of time, and cannot perish but in the final 
flames when all things shall confess their ashes.” 
T. L. 

The Bible alone, of all books in the Avorld, 
instead of uttering the opinions of the succes¬ 
sive ages that produced it, has been the antag¬ 
onist of these opinions, and victor over them 
all. It maintained the unity of God amid all 
the darkness of Western polytheism ; the vivid 
personalitj’’ of God against Eastern pantheism ; 
the ineffable purity and holiness of God against 
the obscurities of Egyptian and Canaanitish 
idolatry ; the omnipresence of God against the 
heathen theories of gods many and lords many ; 
teaching salvation by grace without wmrks just 
when and where the great schools of the world’s 
philosophy were glorifying in their schemes of 
human regeneration ; teaching the resurrection 
of the body, and that this mortal must put on 
immortality, just when and where Socrates and 
Plato, on the one hand, had theorized for man 
an immortality that excluded the mortal body, 
and Epicurus and his swinish herd, on the 
other, were teaching their practical atheism of 
the destruction of both soul and body together. 
In all these things the Bible was in advance of 
the ages in which it was written, and the an¬ 
tagonist of the false teachings of those ages, anti 
in the end the victor over them all. S. B. 

77ie habit of sacrifice had been ground in upon 
the rac 5 nf)t only for a lifetime, but for a world¬ 
time. Everybody everywhere spontaneously 
fled to this rite as the fit expression of the sense 
of sin and the hope of deliverance. And yet, 
in little more than fifty years after the introduc¬ 
tion of Christianity into his province, Pliny 



34 


THE BIBLE: 


complains that it had almost put a stop to sacri¬ 
fices there. A world-habit, dominant from the 
beginning, thus rolled back upon itself in a 
single g<-neration ! We cannot possibly appre¬ 
ciate the greatness of this conquest. Sacrifices 
had been almost the whole life of the people : 
from childhood sacrifices had met each man in 
every form, in every quarter, in every act, in 
every duty of every day’s business. Not only 
could he not engage in any of the graver duties 
of the citiz€:n without being confronted with 
them everywhere ; he could not rise from his 
bed in the morning, retire to it at night, par¬ 
take of his necessary sustenance, without a rec¬ 
ognition of a god or the performance of a rite 
at every step. And yet Christianity came, not 
undermining the principle which underlay sac- 
-^ifices, but emphasizing it, and still they fled 
.4way from its presence. Warfield. 

We should win wondrous confidence in these 
stanch, sturdy Scriptures of God, if we could 
<ov a moment see this one volume standing up 
An all the serenity of its celestial powers, begirt 
by all the thousands upon thousands of pano¬ 
plied books that have been sent out to beat it 
down. The strength of a champion is measured 
oy the strength of the men that are needed to 
)vermaster him. And yet there was never a time 
when the Bible stood more evidently sovereign 
of the field and sovereign of human hearts than 
to-day. The Bible has taken no detriment. 
The rents its enemies have made are hardly 
such as to reward the pains of their valor. As 
has been elegantly said : “ They are like 

scratches on the stones of the Milan Cathedral ; 
like the breaking of a single pane of its pictured 
glass. The great structure stands unimpaired, 
shining imperial in the serene Italian air.”—It 
was k motto of Napoleon’s, “To replace is to 
conquer.” The antagonists of the Bible will 
have to give iis something in place of the Bible 
before they can break the pow'er of the Bible. 
Let these destructionists show themselves con¬ 
structionists as well. Out of the ruins of the 
old let them build us a comfortable little chapel 
of the new\ It is but just ; it is but honest ; it 
Is but the rendering of an equivalent. Eemov- 
ing old support, let them give us something in 
its place that heart and mind can lean upon ; 
something that will go forward beautifying the 
home, purifying society, cultivating kindly re¬ 
lations among nations, holding men in proper 
relations with men, developing character, re¬ 
pressing the baser passions, stimulating the 
finer ones, creating in men peace and joy, rob¬ 
bing the death-chamber of its gloom and the 
grave of its shadow, and suffusing life with that 


befiuteous serenity wdth w^hich the Word of God 
has been for three thousand years so triumph¬ 
antly demonstrating i s power to do C. H. P. 

Tests of Undesijnedness. It is surely a strik¬ 
ing fact, and one that could scarcely happen in 
any continuous fable, however cunningly de¬ 
vised, that annals written by so many hands, 
embracing so many generations of men, relating 
to so many different states of society, abound¬ 
ing in supernatural incidents throughout, when 
brought to the same touchstone of truth, un¬ 
designedness, should still not flinch from it ; 
and surely the character of a history, like the 
character of an individual, when attested by 
vouchers, not of one family, or of one jilace, or 
of one date only, but by such as speak to it 
under various relations, in different situations, 
and at divers periods of time, can scarcely de¬ 
ceive us. B'unt. 

The Land testifies to the Book. I can bear tes¬ 
timony to the minute truth of innumerable in¬ 
cidental allusions in Holy Writ to the facts of 
nature, of climate, of geographical position,—• 
corroborations wdiich reach to minute details 
that prove the writers to have lived when and 
where they are asseited to have lived ; and 
which attest their scrupulous accuracy in re¬ 
cording what they saw and observed around 
them. I can find no discrejiancies between 
their geographical or physical statements and 
the evidence of present facts. I can find no 
standpoint here for the keenest advocates 
against the full inspiration of the scriptural rec¬ 
ord. The Holy Land not only elucidates but 
bears witness to the truth of the Holy Book. 

Tris'ram. -In the cities, and still more in the 

villages, of Palestine the mode of life is now 
just what it was centuries upon centuries ago, 
The houses, the food, the implements and uten¬ 
sils, even the dresses, are the same ; the same 
old stories and traditions linger among the 
people, and their common parlance is still that 
of the Bible. In a word, the people of the Holy 
Land are a living memorial of the accuracy and 
reality of the Bible ; a standing and incontro¬ 
vertible proof that the Word of God is no vague, 
unreal rhapsody, but an intensely true, vivid, 
and life-like reality. E. II. Palmer. 

Unchanged andinexhanstible. Each great move¬ 
ment for good in the Christian church has co¬ 
incided with fresh study of the Bible. It was 
so with the great fathers of the first ages, with 
Origen, and the masters of Alexandria ; it was 
so with Jerome and Augustine ; it was so in the 
tenth, the fourteenth, and the sixteenth cen¬ 
turies. At each crisis deeper investigation of 
Scripture found new treasures which answered 




REVELATION {THEOLOQY, 

to the wants of a new society. And by God’s 
help it will be so now. The power of the Bible 
is unchanged and inexhaustible. It speaks 
with authority to societies and to men ; it speaks 
with sympathy ; because it speaks with a human 
voice, through men to men, in many fashions 
and in many parts. We commonly describe the 
Bible as a Book.” It is a book, one book ; 
but it is more. The first title which was given 
to it in the West was BibHotheca Divina, and it 
is indeed a Divine Library, rich in every region 
of human interest, rich in every variety of hu¬ 
man record. And this fulness, this catholicity 
of the Bible, is what we need to feel now. The 
fulness, the catholicity of the Bible answer to 
the fulness, the catholicity of the faith. Both 
were recognized together. And if once we can 
see in the Bible the breadth, the patience, the 
long-suffering of the dealings of God in the 
past, we shall gain that courageous hoj)e in the 
prospect of the whole world, with all its mys¬ 
teries and sorrows, which we commonly seek by 
confining our attention to a little portion of its 
vast range. We may have something to un- 
Jearn, and much to learn in our interpretation 
of the Bible. But it stands before us a living 
monument of a divine life. Its last message is 
not spoken. It is not, as some would treat it, 
simplj’" a priceless literary treasure. It is still 
the organ of the divine Spirit, eloquent for us 
with fresh vital truth. WestcotL 

We do not claim new revelations from the 
Spirit, for we do not need them ; the revela¬ 
tions from God to man recorded in the word are 
all-sufficient. So far as this dispensation is 
concerned they are final and complete. We do 
not claim inspiration from the Spirit, for we do 
not need it. God has in the past inspired a 
sufficient number of men to give us correctly 
his completed revelations. Were he to speak in 
an audible voice from heaven, he would make 
no change in them. While we do not claim 
new revelations, nor inspiration, this we do 


RELIGION) AND SCIENCE. 35 

claim : We may, through the Spirit, have the 
illumination of the perfect and inspired revela¬ 
tion. This we can have, and this we ought to 

have. Oregg. -Why does not God write an 

addendum to the Bible ? What addendum could 
he write? He has spoken upon every gre.jt 
subject, and he ho,s told us everjdhing needful 
to their understanding and out-living. You 
cannot mention one great theme on which there 
is not more written than w'e have j'et studied or 
carried out. J. P. 

The Church in all ages, an uncounted multi¬ 
tude—the Greek and the barbarian, the light¬ 
haired Saxon and “ the swarthy Ethiope,” men 
and women of every nation and every grade of 
culture,—have received into their hearts the 
same Gospel and, through its power, have be¬ 
come new creatures. The Gospel that the min¬ 
ister now has to preach is nothing new, nothing 
that requires some further test of its verity or 
wholesome tendencj'. Nor is it something that 
the world in its onward march will outgrow and 
fling aside. It will remain like the vast ocean 
that rolls from shore to shore and sjDreads fer¬ 
tility and health over wide continents ; like the 
sun that has poured its light and heat upon the 
earth, like the stars that have travelled on their 
majestic pathway'since the morning of crea¬ 
tion. Yea, longer than mountain or sea, than 
sun or constellation, will the Gospel of redemp¬ 
tion endure : for “ heaven and earth shall pass 
away, but my word shall not pass away.” More 
and more does the bewildered mind of man 
turn to him who is the light of the world, the 
interpreter of God to man, and of man to him¬ 
self, Through all the confusion of opinion and 
mist of scepticism, there is felt the power of 
him who was lifted up that he might draw all 
men unto himself. The gates of the East are 
thrown open. Ancient and populous nations 
seud forth messengers, like the Magi of old, to 
inquire for Jesus. The isles wait for his law. 
G. P. Fisher. 


Section 5. 


THE BIBLE : 


REVELATION (THEOLOGY, RELIGION) AND SCIENCE. 


Science cannot interfere with theology, be¬ 
cause it cannot enter its sphere, and thus can 
neither bear testimony nor offer criticism. Sci¬ 
ence cannot transcend its own boundaries. Un¬ 
challengeable within these, it is powerless Im- 
yond. It cannot, on any warrant capable of 


bearing scientific test, maintain that there are 
no facts save those recognized by external ob¬ 
servation, or that there is no form of truth save 
that which explains the phenomena presented 
to the senses. Science has no testimony to 
bear except as to the fact of observation, and 









36 


THE BIBLE: 


can neither affirm nor deny beyond the boun¬ 
daries which it has marked out for itself and pro 
claimed, and which all intelligent men see must 
be the boundaries of science according to its 
nature. As it is no disparagement of theology 
to say that it cannot do the work of science, so 
neither is it any disparagement of science to say 
that it cannot contribute toward a rational test 
of theology otherwise than by presenting its 
testimony as to the facts of nature. There can 
be no scientific denial of the supernatural, for 
science is only of the observational—that is, of 
the natural. The primary and fundamental 
fact is that science and theology occupy distinct 
spheres, so that the one cannot enter the prov¬ 
ince of the other. Ca'derwood. 

The border-land between science and religion 
is one which men cannot be prevented from 
entering ; but what they may find there de¬ 
pends very much on themselves. Under wise 
guidance it may prove to us an Eden, the very 
gate of heaven, and we may actpiire in it larger 
and more harmonious views of both the seen 
and the unseen, of science and religion. But, 
on the other hand, it may be found to be a 
battle-field or a bedlam, a place of confused 
cries and incoherent ravings, and strewn with 
the wrecks of human hopes and asjiirations. 
Bawson. 

“ At the meeting of the British Association in 
1865, some six hundred and seventeen scientific 
men signed a jiaper containing the following 
declaration—viz. : ‘ We conceive that it is im¬ 
possible for the Word of God, as written in the 
book of nature, and God’s word, written in 
Holy Scripture, to contradict one another, how¬ 
ever much they may appear to differ. We are 
not forgetful that physical science is not com¬ 
plete, but is only in a condition of progress, 
and that at present our finite reason enables 
us to see as through a glass darkly, and we con¬ 
fidently believe that a time will come when the 
two records will be seen to agree in every par¬ 
ticular.’” There is and there can be no con 
flict between science and revelation ; but there 
is and there has long been conflict between sci¬ 
entists and divines ; and a fruitful source of 
this conflict is, as intimated in the paper of the 
British scientists, quoted above, the present in¬ 
completeness of science. Taking science as it 
is set forth in the popular writings of the day, 
w^e will find it consisting of tw^o distinct and 
separable portions—viz. : (1) a body of w^ell- 
ascertained facts and principles, which make up 
the science itself ; and (2) a body of hypotheses 
and conjectures, more or less probable, by 
means of which men are endeavoring to enlarge 


the domain of science. It w^ould be a great mis¬ 
take to reject the use of all hypotheses simplj^ 
because they w'ere unproven. The history of sci¬ 
ence furnishes abundant evidence that hypoth¬ 
eses, even such as have afterw'ard turned out 
to be incorrect, have been of gn at use in direct¬ 
ing the course of investigation and experiment 
on the part of those who were laboring for the 
enlargement of human knowledge. Armsirong. 

To reverence the majesty of fact is one thing ; 
to render to mere tentative and ambitious hj’- 
pothesis that honor which is due only to fact is 
quite another. Theology can but welcome the 
facts of Science : she may reasonably be jealous 
of the occasional encroachments of scientific 
hypothesis. And by this jealousy she does 
good service to the real interests of science it 
self ; since the temper which indulges in the 
luxury of frequent and premature hypothesis, 
is the very opposite of that industrious be¬ 
cause humble perseverance which enriches sci¬ 
ence with a larger and larger command of fact. 
H. P. L. 

Only one seeing the end from the beginning 
could so adjust the language itsed as on the one 
hand to make it tell the men of the existing 
generation no more than they otherw ise km w*^ 
of astronomical or geological or anj' other nat¬ 
ural truth, and yet on the other to make it such 
that the men of all future generations should 
be able, in the long run, and without violence, 
to explain it satisfactorily in the light of their 
clearer and fuller information and their more 

advanced and accurate science, Ccmdiish. - 

It w^as never Christ’s intention to reveal scien¬ 
tific truth in his Word ; but he has left ample 
verge and scope for it. The indentations of the 
two revolving w’heels wdll be found to fit, when¬ 
ever they really come into contact ; and the 
only thing broken wdll be the premature human 
harmonizings which are thrust in between 
them. Ko'. 

As the facts of natural science have not been 
all ascertained and classified, as its law^s have 
not been all recognized, and as the inferences 
of to-day may be modified by the discoveries of 
to-morrow, it is absurd to be demanding imme¬ 
diate evidence of a peifect agreement between 
Scripture and science. Apparent contradic¬ 
tions are, at the present stage, unavoidable. 
There must first be an exact and exhaustive ex¬ 
amination of all those points at wffiich the Script¬ 
ures and the sciences touch each other ; for so 
long as‘a single fact or a single law remains un- 
knowui, some important or essential truth, inti¬ 
mately related lo the Bible, may be concealed. 
It becomes us to w^ait patiently, wdiile we work 





REVELATION {THEOLOGY, RELIGION) AND SCIENCE. 


37 


persistently, for the solution of difiS,Gulties 
which may be continuing to press upon us. 
The experience of the past is an encouragement 
for the future. The sciences have again and 
again become their own interpreter, and rejected 
erroneous inferences. Holding fast the Bible 
with the one hand, we may grasp all that sci¬ 
ence brings to us -with the other, and retain it 
until we find for it an appropriate place. If 
there is one lesson more than another which 
the progress of the sciences is teaching us, it is 
that of caution and the necessity of repressing 
dogmatic tendencies ; and if there is one benefit 
more than another which the history of this 
discussion is conferring, it is that of greater 
confidence in the truth of the Bible. 

It is unworthy of any Christian scientist to 
be discouraged by apparently insurmountable 
obstacles. The boldest assertions and the most 
plausible reasonings need not disturb the Bible 
student. Difiiculties seemingly insuperable 
have, in the past, suddenly yielded to unex¬ 
pected discoveries ; and every science, we may 
rest assured, will hereafter gain strength enough 
and light enough to purify its own temple and 
be its own interpreter. The past may be held 
to be prophetic of future solutions ; and the sci¬ 
ences will be found not only correcting the mis¬ 
takes and the arrogance of many of their stu¬ 
dents, but rebuking the too hasty concessions 
of Christian apologists, and either directly or 
indirectly revealing, at the same time, the im¬ 
pressiveness and themajestj' of Scripture truth. 
W. Fraser. 

It was not God’s purpose to give instruction 
to men in geology, astronomy, geography, or 
chronology. It is on their relations with their 
Creator, upon duties of men toward him and 
toward each other, upon the rule of faith and 
of conduct in life, that God has lighted them 
by light from heaven. As the limits of the 
finite world are those of human science, so to 
human study and human science God has sur¬ 
rendered the finite world. He has dictated to 
Moses the laws which regulate the duties of 
man toward God, and of man toward man ; but 
he has left to Newton the discovery of the laws 
which preside over the universe. The Script¬ 
ures speak upon all subjects ; circumstances 
connected with the finite world are there inces¬ 
santly mixed with perspectives of infinity ; but 
it is only to the latter, to that future of which 
they permit us to snatch a view, and to the laws 
which they impose upon men, that the divine 
inspiration addresses itself ; God only pours 
his light in quarters which man’s eye and man’s 
labor cannot reach ; for all that remains, the 


sacred books speak the language used and un¬ 
derstood by the generations to whom they are 
addressed. “ Many things,” says Jerome, “ are 
recounted in the Scriptures according to the 
judgment of the times when they happened, 
and not according to the truth.” ‘‘The pur¬ 
pose of the Holy Scriptures,” says the Cardinal 
Baronius, “ is to teach us how to go to heaven, 
and not how the heavens go.” God does not, 
even when he inspires them, transport into 
future domains of science the interpreters he 
uses, or the nations to whom he sends them ; 
he takes them both as he finds them, with their 
traditions, their notions, their degree of knowl- 
edge or ignorance as respects the finite world, 
of its phenomena and its laws. It is not the 
scientific progress of the -human understand¬ 
ing ; it is the moral progress of the human soul 
which is the object of the divine action, and for 
the exercise of his power on the human soul 
God requires not science either as a precursor 
or a companion ; he addresses himself to in¬ 
stincts and desires the most intimate and most 
sublime as well as the most universal in man’s 
nature, to instincts and desires of which science 
is neither the object nor the measure, and 
which require to be satisfied from other 
sources. Whatever true or false science we find 
in the Scriptrrres upon the subject of the finite 
world, proceeds from the writers themselves or 
their contemporaries ; they have spoken as they 
believed, or as those believed who surrounded 
them when they spoke : on the other hand, the 
light thrown over the infinite, the law laid 
down, and the perspective opened by that same 
light, these are what proceed from God, and 
which he has inspired in the Scriptures. Their 
object is essentially and exclusively moral and 
practical ; they express the ideas, employ the 
images, and speak the language best calculated 
to produce, a powerful effect upon the soul, to 
regenerate and to save it. This, then, is their 
sole object —the relations of God with man, and 
the solution of those problems which these re¬ 
lations cause to weigh upon the human soul. 
The deeper we go in the study of the sacred 
vLlumes, restored to their real object, the more 
the divine inspiration becomes manifest and 
striking. God and man are there ever both pres¬ 
ent, both actors in the same history. Guizot. 

Science has a foundation ; and so has religion. 
Let them unite their foundations, and the basis 
will be broader, and they will be two compart¬ 
ments of one great fabric reared to the glory of 
God. Let the one be the outer and the other 
the inner court.- In the one let all look, and 
admire, and adore ; and in the other let those 






38 


THE BIBLE: 


who have faith kneel, and pray, and i^raise. 
Let the one be the sanctuary where human 
learning may present its richest incense as an 
offering to God ; and the other, “ the holiest 
of all,” separated from it by a veil now rent in 
twain, and in which, on a blood sprinkled 
mercy-seat, we pour out the love of a reconciled 
heart, and hear the oracles of the living God ! 
31' Gosh. 

Science is no Gospel. It teaches not one of 
those elements that are finest in manhood, or 
that make manhood worth our while. It is as 
has been so excellently written, “ Whatever the 
advances of modern science, there will still be 
the poison of sin which no earthly antidote can 
neutralize ; there will still be the sorrow of be¬ 
reavement, to be solaced only by the vision of 
the angel at the door of the sepulchre ; there 
will still be the sense of loneliness stealing over 
the heart, even amid the bustle of the world, 
to be dispelled only by the consciousness of the 
Saviour’s presence ; there will still be the spirit 
shudder at the thought of death, which only 
faith in Christ can change into the desire to 
depart and to be with him, which is far better. 
For these things science has no remedy and 
philosophy no solace ; and, strong in its adap¬ 
tations to these irrepressible necessities of the 
human heart, the Gospel of Christ will outlive 
all philosophical attack and survive every form 
of scientific belief.” C. H. P. 

Should science increase its present knowledge 
tenfold, there is nothing it can discover which 


will enable it to close up that region in man 
where the spirit communes in prayer and praise 
with its Father, where the longing for rest is 
content in the peace of forgiveness, where the 
desire of being perfect in unselfishness is satis¬ 
fied by union with the activity of the unselfish 
God, where sorrow feels its burden lightened 
by divine sympathy, where strength is given to 
overcome evil—where, as decay and death grow 
upon the outward frame, the inner spiiit be¬ 
gins to put forth its wings and to realize more 
nearly the eternal summer of his presence, in 
whom there is fulness of life in fulness of love. 
S. A. B. 

This grand old Book of God still stands, and 
will continue to stand, though science and phi¬ 
losophy are ever changing their countenances 
and passing away. It is one of the few things 
in our world that never becomes obsolete. It 
speaks the language of all ages, and is adapted 
to all climes. Ever clear and ever young, it has 
the same power for the later as for the eaily 
mind ; it is as much the religious vernacular of 
the occidental as of the oriental races. Instead 
of being its defect, it is its great, its divine wis¬ 
dom that it commits itself to no scientific sys¬ 
tem or scientific language, while yet it brings 
before the mind those primal facts which no 
science can ever reach, and for this purpose uses 
those first vivid conceptions which no changes 
in science and no obsoleteness in language can 
ever wholly impair. T. L. 

[Bead Section 397, New Test., Vol. II.] 


Section 6. 

• • THE BIBLE : 

ITS INTEEPEETATION AND PEESEEVATION ; MANUSCEIPTS AND VEESIONS. 


Its Interpretation. The Bible is written by 
men. Hence it is subject to the ordinary rules 
of interpretation which apply to all human writ¬ 
ings ; not to rules arbitrary in their nature, 
modern in their invention, or unexampled in 
the days of the writer. Still further, the Bible 
is written for men, and accordingly, in the Ian- 
guage of common life, not in the special ter¬ 
minology of science or art. M.-The whole 

Bible is a revelation from God ; a revelation 
made in human language, and intelligible to 
us, if it is at all intelligible, only by being inter¬ 
preted according to (he laws and principles of human 
language. Any rule above this presupposes or 


assumes inspiration in the interpreter. The 
Bible is a book written by men, and for men— 
for all men, under the expectation that they can 
read and understand it. Otherwise it is no rev¬ 
elation. It follows, of course, that, if the laws 
of human language are to be applied to its inter¬ 
pretation, it stands, in this respect, on the same 
ground as all other books. It contains, of 
course, many things which other books do not. 
But this alters not the nature of (he language, in 
which its disclosures are made. The language 
is used more humano. M. S. 

Christ, not being like man who knows man’s 
thoughts by his words, but knowing man’s 






IT,S IXTERPIlETAriON. 


30 


thoughts immediately, never answered their 
words but their thoughts : much in the like 
manner is it with the Scriptures, which being 
written to the thoughts of'men, and to the suc¬ 
cession of all ages, with a foresight of all here¬ 
sies, contradiction, differing estates of the 
Church, yea, and particularly of the elect, are 
not to be interpreted only according to the lati¬ 
tude of the proper sense of the place, and re¬ 
spectively toward that present occasion where¬ 
upon the words were uttered, or in precise con- 
gruity or contexture with the words before or 
after, or in contemplation of the principal scope 
of the place ; but have in themselves not only 
totally or collectively, but distributively in 
clauses and words, infinite springs and streams 
of doctrine to water the church in every part. 
And, therefore, as the literal sense is, as i'; 
were, the main stream or river ; so the moral 
sense chiefly, and sometimes the allegorical or 
typical, are they whereof the church hath most 
use. Bacon. 

To be studied as a Whole. It is only by careful 
and balanced study of God’s Kevelation as a 
whole, gradually developed under the action of 
his Providence in human history until its final 
completion in the Incarnate Christ, and illus¬ 
trated by the after history of the Church and 
the World, that a true, adequate and growing 
conception of its meaning can be attained ; or 
a firm assurance of its impregnable position as 
a light shining in a dark place, in the deepening 
conflict of the Faith with unbelief, be secured ; 
and the true principles of its full interpretation, 
especially as bearing on the future development 
of the Divine purposes in human history, be 
discovered. Medd. -It should never be for¬ 

gotten, that as single clauses and specific stat¬ 
utes are always interpreted in the light of the 
whole body of law, and as all legislation is 
finally tested by its constitutionality, its agree¬ 
ment with the fundamental and organic national 
law, so should we read our Bibles. Judges as¬ 
sume that statutes cannot contradict each other ; 
or, at least, that such contradiction is the result 
of blundering legislation, and made void there¬ 
by. The enactments constitute a living body 
of jurisprudence, finding its definite and con¬ 
trolling type in the constitution of the com¬ 
monwealth or nation. The laws are both many 
and one. The latest supplement the earliest, 
because all alike are interpretative of the basic 
idea around which the national institutions 
have crystallized. Thus is the multiplicity of 
enactment guarded and modified by the unity 
of the law. The Holy Scriptures may be re¬ 
garded as the Statute-Book of the kingdom of 


God. They are many and one. Sepaiate state¬ 
ments and instructions should be read in the 
light of the whole law. Our Bibles are not a 
collection of pamphlets, chapters, and verses, 
to be used indiscriminate!}’ and independently. 
They represent the slow unfolding and glorious 
realization of one great thought of God, —the 
redemption of lost imn through the mediation 
of Christ and by the powtr of the Holy Spirit, 
— and the light of that thought should illumine 
every page for us. The Word of God is one, 
and only in that living unity can we hear its final 
judgment on any question of doctrine or duty. 
Behrends. 

Betson responsive to Bevelaiion. Keason ir 
man is receptive of reason in God : man ca^, 
understand what God has to say to him. But 
we come to a deeper and richer thought when 
we consider that reason in man is responsive to 
reason in God ; not only can man understand 
what God has to say, but what God sa} s to him 
touches him in the depths of his being and 
commands the heartiest resjjonse. And the re¬ 
sponse is alwa 3 s heartiest when the converse 
with God is most direct. Hence we are wont 
to say that what men need is not proof that 
God has spoken, but to hear God speak ; not 
the evidences of Christianity, but the message 
of Jesus Christ. Both in nature and in the 
Bible there is a remarkable absence of the apol¬ 
ogetic tone. Behrends. 

Be.specibig Objections and Difficulties. A saying 
of Bishop Butler is well worthy of being borne 
in mind, as teaching us to beware of hastily as¬ 
suming that objections to Bevelation, whether 
suggested by the progress of science, or by the 
supposed incongruity of its own contents, are 
unanswerable. We are not, he says, rashly to 
suppose that we have arrived at the true mean¬ 
ing of the whole of that book. “ It is not at all 
incredible that a book, which has been so long 
in the possession of mankind, should contain 
many truths as yet undiscerned. For all the 
same phenomena and the same faculties of In¬ 
vestigation, from which such great discoveries 
in natural knowledge have been made in the 
pres^^int and last age, were equally in the posses¬ 
sion of mankind several thousand years before/’ 
Rogers. 

There are difficulties in the Bible, as there 
are in connection with all God’s works. There 
are difficulties in nature, raising doubts in some 
minds whether it is really the product of an in¬ 
finitely benevolent Creator. There are great 
difficulties in providence—in the moral govern¬ 
ment of God. An analogy runs through all 
God’s works ; and that analogy would fail us if 






40 


THE BIBLE: 


we meet with difficulties in nature, tremendous 
difficulties in providence, and no difficulties in 

the Word. W. G. B.-If the book, which 

professed to come from a wise and holy God, 
displayed no difficulties to ignorant men, we 
should almost doubt its claims to inspiration. 
If the Bible only embodied human ideas, while 
avowedly containing the dictates of the Holy 
Spirit, we should question it. If it only mani¬ 
fested human ideas of love and kindness, while 
setting forth claims to be the glorious gospel of 
the blessed God, we should suspect it. If it 
only reached the level of human ideas of jus¬ 
tice, goodness, and the claims of truth, we 
should doubt it. If its ideas were within the 
scope of human ordinary thought, and not be¬ 
yond the range of common men, we should not 
believe it. If it was merely suited to one order 
or class of men, and did not speak with a voice 
intelligible to humanity, w’e should challenge its 
pretensions. An. -The outlying field of mys¬ 

tery —connected both with the clearly revealed 
facts of nature and of the Bible—must be allowed 
neither to discredit the facts we have nor to 
lead us into the fields of vague and useless spec¬ 
ulation. A thousand questions can be asked 
concerning any plain matter of fact vffiere one 
can be answered. In this respect nature and 
the Bible are alike ; but nature is far more 
abundant in things to which we ascribe no defi¬ 
nite design than the Bible is in facts in which 
we fail to see definite marks of inspiration. In 
submitting to the guidance of the Bible we are 
doing what the scientific man does, vho sub¬ 
ordinates his theories to the facts of nature. 
Those facts may be difficult of interpretation 
but they are realities, and yield the truth so far 
as he understands them ; while their hidden 
meaning is ever beckoning him on to further in¬ 
vestigation into the real nature of things. The 
difference between the interpreter who acknowl¬ 
edges the Bible as supreme authority and the 
one who exalts his own ethico-religious con¬ 
sciousness to that place of authority is about 
the same as that between the sea-captain who 
takes his bearings from the stars and the one 
who guides his course by the light upon his 
own masthead. G. F. W. 

Errors in Transcription. God, in his consti¬ 
tution of the Bible, has made it impossible to 
seriously pervert it. Of course there will be 
erroneous transcriptions. The hand of the 
scribe is not inspired. Of course there may be 
here and there insertions of a marginal note 
written into the text. Of course there may be a 
word dropped out, or a vowel omitted, in one 
liassage or another. The eye of the scribe will 


sometimes fail to discern distinctly what it sees 
or what it omits ; and there must be of neces¬ 
sity more or less liability to minute error in 
making copies of so many writings. But the 
great course of doctrine cannot be eliminated 
from the Scripture, except as you tear the whole 
fabric into tatters. It is interwoven, every part 
with every other—story, law, j^recept, proverb, 
the biographies of Christ by the evangelists, and 
the argument of Christ by the apostles, and the 
vision of Christ in the Apocalypse ; until, if 
you throw away one part, you must equally 
throw away many others. You may get rid of 
the story of Balaam ; though, if you do, you 
will miss one of the most picturesque and im¬ 
pressive stories in all the Old Testament. But 
what then will you do with the references to 
him, in Micah, in Peter, and in the Bevelation? 
You may get rid of the miracle in the passage 
of the Bed Sea, and suppose a mere shift of the 
wind when Pharaoh’s army was divinely de¬ 
stroyed. But what then are you to do with the 
song of Moses and of Miriam ? and what with 
the 76th psalm, and the 106th, and the 114th ? 
and what with the “ song of Moses and the 
Lamb” in the crowning book of the Apocalypse ? 
They are interbraided, like threads that have 
been woven so closely together that j^ou cannot 
tear them apart except by destroying the entire 
fabric. You cannot extract one and leav.' the 
rest, with any ingenuity or by any force. B. S. S. 

Vast as has been the extension of the science 
of textual criticism since the days of Bentley, 
we need not alter a word of the celebrated re¬ 
mark which he made one hundred and fifty 
years ago : “ The real text of the sacred writers 
does not now (since the originals have been so 
long lost) lie in any manuscript or edition, but 
is dispersed in them all. It is competently 
exact, indeed, in the worst manuscript now ex¬ 
tant ; nor is one article of faith or moral precept 
either perverted or lost in them. Choose as 
awkwardly as you will, choose the worst by de¬ 
sign, out of the whole lump of readings, make 
your 30,000 (variations) as many more, if num¬ 
bers of copies can ever reach that sum : all the 
better to a knowing and a serious reader, who 
is thereby more richly furnished to select what 
he sees genuine. But even put them into the 
hands of a knave or a fool, and yet, with the 
most sinistrous and absurd choice, he shall not 
extinguish the light of any one chapter, nor so 
disguise Christianity but that every feature of 
it will still be the same.” Farrar. 

Preservation of the Bible. 

The marks of divine care in the production 





ITS rRESERVATION. 


41 


and preservation of the Bible which we can see 
and test are the divine seal upon the whole. 
They are the superscription of God, certifying 
that the metal upon which they are impressed 
is pure gold. We might not be able to test the 
metal for ourselves, but we can read the super¬ 
scription. G. F. W.-The languages of the 

Bible were prepared by Divine Providence as 
the most suitable ones for declaring the divine 
revelation to mankind. Belonging to the tv\’o 
great families of speech, the Shemitic and the 
Indo-Germanic, which have been the bearers of 
civilization, culture, and the noblest products 
of human thought and emotion, they are them¬ 
selves the highest and most perfect develop¬ 
ments of those families, presenting their con¬ 
trasted features but combining in a higher unity 
on the principles of Pentecost, in order to give 
us the complete divine revelation. Having ac¬ 
complished this their highest purpose, they 
soon afterward became stereotyped in form, 
“dead” languages, so that all successive gen- 
eracions and all the families of earth might find 
the common, divine revelation in the same fixed 
and unalterable forms. Briggs. 

The Bible has stood the test of time. The 
languages in which it was first written died long 
ago, but they left the book immortal. It has 
become unchangeable, imperishable, the Living 
Word, surviving, ever in the life of the church. 
It has been engraved in the souls of the pious, 
and in the memorials they have left through 
the long line of ages. It has been printed in 
history, stereotyped, we may say, in the very 
heart of cultivated humanity. No other book 
was ever so preserved. Early versions and re¬ 
censions have rendered forgeries impossible. 
If all modern copies were lost, it could be gath¬ 
ered again from quotations scattered through 
many thousand volumes, ancient and modern. 
Kival sects have jealously guarded its textual 
purity. The Jews have ever stood sentinel over 
the Hebrew Scriptures. Latin, Syriac, Coptic, 
Armenian, .^thiopic. Gothic, Sclavonic, Per¬ 
sian, Arabic translations, together with manu¬ 
scripts stored in the literature of every Chris¬ 
tianized nation, have made an impregnable wall 
around the Greek Testament. Even the verbal 
variances, where they are not merely matters 
of orthography, have j)oured light upon the argu¬ 
ments of the spiritual idea. No book has been 
so studied, annotated, paragraphed,—so divided 
into sections, chapters, and verses well known 
and universally received,—so furnished with 
early Targums, with Masoretic countings of 
words and letters, with notices of every irregu¬ 
lar grammatical form, and every anomalous 


spelling. No volume has been so walled and 
hedged about with Indices, Concordances, 
Grammars, Lexicons ; no one has given rise to 
so rich and cojDious a literature as this Book of 
Books, so ancient yet still so young, so Oriental 
yet so adapted to all peoples, to all climes, to 
all ages, to all circumstances and conditions, 
outward or spiritual, of the human race. T. 
Lewis. 

Marvellous is the very existence of this Book. 
One portion of it was preserved by the Jews, 
who have been the most careful and scrupulous 
custodians of a historical record which faith¬ 
fully and severely delineates their guilt and ob¬ 
stinacy—who have been the guardians of pre¬ 
dictions which fully and clearly describe the 
person and work of a Messiah whom they re¬ 
ject ; while the other portion of the Bible lias 
been transcribed and transmitted by a church, 
the errors of whose apostasy are anticipated 
and condemned in the very pages which they 
have so diligently preserved. Strange indeed, 
the synagogue guarding the Old, the church of 

Eome guarding the New Testament. An. - 

But the Latin Church has interfered with that 
Canon which the Jews so diligently guarded. 
The Latin version, called the Vulgate, contained 
the Apocrypha. The Council of Trent, in 1546, 
pronounced all the contents of the Vulgate 
equally canonical and authoritative ; and thus 
were eleven books or parts of books, which the 
Jews of Palestine excluded from their Canon, 
put by arbitrary decree of a modern council on 
a level with Moses and the Prophets. The lie- 
formed Churches with one accord repudiated 
the canonicity of the Apocrypha, although it 
was long the custom in England, and still is in 
Germany, to bind up those books in the same 
volume with Holy Scripture. D. F. 

Manuscripts. Manuscripts, that is, docu¬ 
ments written by hand, not printed with type, 
are of two sorts ; the uncial and the cursive. 
“ Uncial manuscripts,” or “ uncials,” are those 
written in large, disconnected letters. All the 
more ancient Greek manuscripts are written in 
uncials. But about the tenth century of our 
era, the'^.icribes began to run the uncial letters 
together, like our modern writing with a pen, 
or script.. Thus was formed a running hand ; 
and “cursive” means running, in this sense. 
A cursive manuscript is one written cursively 
that is, in a running hand ; or in letters joined 
together by strokes, or cursive letters. As the 
cursives are almost invariably later than the 
uncials, there is a presumption, but not an ab¬ 
solute certainty, that a cursive is less accurate 
than the uncials. 






42 


TUE BIBLE: 


The ‘'Five Great Uncials,” as they are called, 
are the most important and ancient manuscripts 
of the Greek Testament, or parts thereof. Of 
these, the first, and perhaps the oldest, is the 
Sinaitic Manuscript, whose romantic story is 
familiar to all. It was discovered at the Mon¬ 
astery of St. Catharine, on Mt. Sinai, in 1844 
and 1859. The first j)ortion, containing parts 
of the Old Testament in Greek, is in the Li¬ 
brary' of the University at Leipsic ; the latter, 
containing the whole of the New Testament, 
with other matter, is in the Imperial Library 
at St. Petersburg. It was written at some time 
in the fourth century of our era. This is known 
as (Jodex Aleph ; as it is designated in critical 
works by the Hebrew letter Aleph. Second is 
Codex B, the famous Vatican Manuscript, con. 
taining a large portion of both Old and New 
Testaments in Greek, in the Vatican Library at 
Eome. Its date is not far from that of the 
Sinaitic, though many critics think it older. 
As this manuscript does not contain the Reve 
lation, the designation of Codex B for that book 
means an uncial manuscript of probably the 
eighth century, also in the Vatican Library. 
Third is the Alexandrian Manuscript, the whole 
Greek Bible (with some slight gaps), of the fifth 
century, now in the British Museum. This is 
known as Codex A. It was presented to King 
Charles I. by Cyril Lucar, patriarch of Con¬ 
stantinople. Its present name is owing to the 
fact that it has been supposed to have been 
written at Alexandria, in Egypt. Fourth is the 
Codex Ephremi Bescriphis, or a palimpsest, whose 
older writing consists of portions from nearly 
the whole New Testament. The later writing 
is a Greek translation of some of the works of 
the Syrian Church father Ephrem. The age of 
its older writing is not far from that of the 
Alexandrine Manuscript. It is known as Codex 
C. To Tischendorf is due the honor of its de¬ 
cipherment. Fifth is the Codex Bezco, or Beza’s 
Codex (D), now in the University Library at 
Cambridge, England. It was presented to the 
TTniversity by the famous Theodore Beza, in 
1581. This was probably written in the sixth 
century. It contains the Gospels and Acts. 
These five great uncials are our most precious 
witnesses to the original text of the New Testa¬ 
ment ; but far from being the only ones. They 
are not the only uncials ; and there is a multi¬ 
tude of cursives besides. These five have been 
published, and copies of them multiplied, some 
in fac-simile, and some more than once, so that 
the exact contents of all would be accurately 
known and preserved, even though one or all 
of them should be destroyed. S. S. T. 


A new demand for the original Scripture:; 
sprung uj) at the Reformation. The text \\us 
uncritically and rapidly made from a few manu- 
scripts, none of them very old. The first text 
made was by Cardinal Ximenes, in 1514, known 
as the Complutensian Polyglot. Then came 
the texts of Erasmus and Stephanas and Beza, 
followed by the Elzevir, so beautifully printed 
and extensively circulated that it became the 
texlus receptus, the commonly received tuxt used 
by King James’ translators, and all the Bibles 
of modern times are founded upon it. Since 
then many more manuscripts have been found 
and made accessible to scholars, some of them 
of great age and value, as the Codex Alexan- 
drinus, of the fifth century, in the Britisl 
Museum in London ; the Codex Vat icanus (fifth 
century), in the Vatican Library at Rome ; the 
Codex Sinaiticus, about 331 ad, in the libraiy 
at St. Petersburg. The last is the most valuabh 
manuscript in the world. It is supposed to b< 
one of the fifty copies of the New Teslanitni 
made by the order of the Emperor Constantine. 
Now, by a careful conijrarison of the text of all 
the different manuscripts and versions, the true 
text is obtained. There has been a great ad¬ 
vance from the critical text of Griesbach, in 
1812, on through Lachmann and Tischendorf to 
the latest and best of VVestcott and Hort, which 
was the basis of the recent revision of the New 
Testament. Is not this repeated revision of the 
text unsettling ? Not at all. On the contrary, 
it shows conclusively that in our present New 
Testament we have a text infinitely better and 
more certain than of any other book in all the 
W'orld. The differences are so slight that they 
do not involve one single doctrine ; not one sin¬ 
gle institution ; nor do they touch the founda¬ 
tion of our Christian faith and hope. They but 
bring us so much nearer to the tone and inflec¬ 
tion of the voice of Christ. A. A. JIudye. 

Xotable Versiojis. 

The Septuagint is the title applied to the 
most ancient and valuable of the Greek ver¬ 
sions. It is so called, either from the Jewish 
account of seveniy-Iwo persons having been em. 
ployed to make it, or from its having been 
ordered, superintended, or sanctioned by the 
Sanhedrin, or great council of the Jews, which 
consisted of seventy, or, more correctly, of 
seventy-two persons. Much uncertainty rests 
upon the real history of this version, though its 
date is usually referred to the second century 
before the Christian era ; but there is no ques¬ 
tion as to its value ; and in so much esteem was 
it held by the Jews and the early Christians, 







ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS. 


43 


that it was constantly read in the synagogues 
and churches. Hence it is uniformly cited by 
the early fathers, whether Greek or Latin, and 
from it all the translations into other languages 
(with the exception of the Syriac), which were 
approved by the ancient Christian church, were 
executed, as the Arabic, Armenian, Ethiopic, 
Gothic, and old Italic or Latin version in use 
before Jerome ; and to this day the Septuagint 
is exclusively read in the Greek and most other 
Oriental churches. As a source of interpreta¬ 
tion it is invaluable. Desirous of possessing in 
Greek a faithful representation of tbe Hebrew 
Scriptures, and being themselves Jews, tbe 
translators retained Hebrew forms and modes of 
expression, while the words employed were 
Greek. The language therefore of tbe Septua¬ 
gint is a kind of Ilebrew-Gveek, which gives 
character to the style of the New Testament, 
and forms one of the most important means of 
its critical illustration. “The book,” says Mi- 
chaelis, “ most necessary to be read and under¬ 
stood by every man who studies the New Testa¬ 
ment, is, without doubt, the Septuagint.” 

The Vulgate is the appellation given to the 
common Latin translation of the sacred Script¬ 
ures. After Christianity extended itself in the 
West, a Latin version of the Bible naturally be¬ 
came necessary. In the time of Augustine there 
were several of these ; although only one of 
them was adopted by ecclesiastical authority. 
This was called Vulgaia, common, popular, be¬ 
cause it was made from the Greek version, also 
denominated koine, common. This translation 
was made literally from the Septuagint, and 
gives all the verbal mistakes of the Greek. 
There are still extant of it the Psalms, Job, and 
some of the apocryphal books complete, besides 
fragments. As the manuscripts of this version 
had become by degrees very much corrupted, 
a revision of the Psalter and Book of Job was 
undertaken in a.d. 383, by Jerome, in pursu¬ 
ance of an appointment to the work by Damasus, 
bishop of Rome. This is still extant, and called 
Psalierium Bomanum. While Jerome was thus 
employed in the revision of the ancient Vulgaia, 
or Itala, he ventured to commence also a new 
version of his own, out of the original Hebrew. 
He began with the Books of Kings, and com¬ 
pleted the work, a d. 405, with Jeremiah. 
Bush. 

English Translations. 

John Wickliffe, about 1380, either translated 
the whole Bible from the Latin Vulgate, or col¬ 
lected previous translations which completed 
an English Bible. His version of the New Testa¬ 
ment has been often published. 


V/Uliam Tyndale, in 1526, printed his English 
version of the New Testament. Two years 
after, he also printed a translation of the Pen¬ 
tateuch. He was martyred at Antwerp in 1536. 

Miles Coverdale, in 1535, printed at Zurich the 
first complete English translation of the Bible, com¬ 
posed of Tyndale’s versions, as far as they went, 
and his own. 

John Rogers, in 1537, having previously' as¬ 
sisted Tyndale, now edited a Bible (probably at 
Hamburg) under the assumed name of Thomas 
Matthews ; his Bible is therefore generally 
called Matihews's Bible. This translation was re¬ 
vised by Cranmer and Coverdale, and i^rinted in 
London, 1539, in large folio, and from this was 
called the Great Bible. 

The Geneva Bible was published between 1557 
and 1560, at Geneva, being a new version by 
Coverdale, Knox, Goodman, and others, with 
short annotations. The New Testament in this 
Bible was the first one divided into verses. 

The Bishops' Bible w'as published in 1568, with 
two jDrefaces by Archbishop Parker, who em¬ 
ployed several critics to make the translation, 
among whom were eight bishops ; hence it 
was called the Bishops' Bible. This Bible was 
read in churches, but the Geneva was preferred 
in families. 

The pbesent- Authorized English Version 
w'as published in 1611. At the Hampton Court 
Conference, in 1603, several objections were 
made to the Bishops' Bible, ami, in 1604, James I. 
issued a commission to fifty-four of the most 
eminent divines of both universities to under¬ 
take a new version. This was not coinmenced 
until 1607, when seven of the divines had died 
and only forty-seven were living. The forty- 
seven survivors were now divided into six com¬ 
mittees—two at Oxford, two at Cambridge, and 
two at Westminster—and each had a certain 
portion assigned it. In 1610 the great w'ork 
was completed, and then revised by a commit¬ 
tee of six of the translators, and finally review'ed 
by Bishop Bilson and Dr. Smith ; the latter 
prefixed the Arguments and wrote the Preface. 
The whole w'as printed and published in 1611. 

Division iuto Chapters and Verses. Of the 
invention of chapters the real author was Car¬ 
dinal Hugo de Sancto Caro, who, having pro¬ 
jected a concordance to the Latin Vulgate about 
the middle of the thirteenth century, divided 
both the Old and New Testaments into chap¬ 
ters, the same as we now have. The introduc¬ 
tion of verses into the printed Hebrew Bible 
was made by an Amsterdam JeW' in 1661, and 
into the Greek by Robert Stephens in 1551. 
Wheelei'. 




44 


THE OLD TESTAMENT: 


Section 7. 

THE OLD TESTAMENT : 

DIVISIONS ; LANGUAGE AND TEXT ; AUTHENTICITY ; FACTS AND TEACHINGS ; UNITY ; DEVOTIONAL 

CHAKACTER. 


According to the more ancient division in 
vogue at the time of Christ, the Old Testament 
was divided into three main portions ;—(1.) 
The L'lw; (2.) The Prophets; (3.) The (other) 
Holy Scriptures ;—ot which portions the .Five 
Books of Moses constituted the first, or the 
Law. Sometimes this name denoted the whole 
of the Old Testament scriptures. According to 
the above more exact division the Law compre¬ 
hended the Five Books of Moses ; and the 
Prophets, the Books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, 
Kings, and all the prophetical books with the 
exception of Daniel, The rest of the canonical 
Scriptures of the Old Testament—viz., the 
Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Kuth, 
Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, 
Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles—were called Hagi- 
ographa ; that is (other, or remaining). Sacked 
Scriptures. This is the order according to which 
the Hebrew Bible is arranged ; whereas, in our 
English Bibles, the arrangement is into Histori¬ 
cal, Doctrinal, and Prophetical Books. Accord¬ 
ing to both divisions, however, the Five Books 
of Moses form the commencement and founda¬ 
tion of the Old Testament, and of the whole 
Sacred Scriptures. Upon them the whole his¬ 
tory of the kingdom of God in that Testament re¬ 
poses, in the same manner as upon the Old Testa¬ 
ment reposes the history of the self-same king¬ 
dom in the New. They are taken for granted, 
and reference is made to them in all the books 
that follow, from the death of Moses to the 
times of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Malachi, the last 
of the prophets, when prophecy ceases and the 
canonical books are closed. Barth. 

The books of the Old Testament were divided 
by the Jews into three classes, entitled I’he 
Law, The Prophets, and The Writings. Of these 
the latter, called by our Lord “ the psalms,” 
were used chiefly in the Temple service, or for 
private edification. The other two formed the 
regular course of Sabbath reading in the syna¬ 
gogues, for which purpose the Pentateuch was 
divided into sections, each of which was fol¬ 
lowed by a passage from the Prophets selected 
as best explanatory of its meaning. Read to¬ 
gether in this systematic way, we find the two 
constantly associated by our Lord, who usually 
calls them “ the law and the prophets,” but oc¬ 
casionally “ Moses and the prophets.” R. P. S. 


The 39 Books of the Old Testament may be 
distributed in three classes : (1) 17 Historical 
Books, subdivided into 5 and 12. (2) 5 Poetical 

or Doctrinal Books. (3) 17 Prophetical, also 
subdivided into 5 and 12. This division may 
be readily memorized ; 5, 12, 5, 5, 12 ; or, 17, 
5, 17. B. 

It is probable that the present Canon of the 
Old Testament was, in substance, the work of 
Ezra. Such a work involved much more than 
the collection into one volume of books already 
existing in a separate form ; it included the 
selection from the whole number of those which 
bore and were to bear forever the stamp of 
divine authority : for no one imagines that the 
Scriptures of the Old Testament form a com¬ 
plete collection of the ancient Hebrew litera¬ 
ture. That such a work, having such author¬ 
ity, had been completed befoie the Christian 
era, is clear from the allusions to the Holy 
Scriptures in the New Testament ; and it was 
most probably accomplished during the Persian 
domination, which ended b.c. 323. There is 
every reason for its having been performed at 
as early a period as possible. Ezra’s care to 
make the people well acquainted with the word 
of God is as conspicuous as his own knowledge 
of it. No man could be more qualified, as no 
time could be more fit, for a work which wtis 
most needful to establish the people in their 
faith. That the work must have been performed 
by an inspired man, is an axiom lying at the 
foundation of the whole question. On this 
ground, none but Ezra can be the author of the 
Canon ; for no one has ever thought of ascrib¬ 
ing the work to Nehemiah, the civil governor 
and man of action ; and the only claim made 
for Malachi is the addition of his own projihecy 
to the Canon already framed by Ezra, and even 
this supposition is unnecessary, as Ezra may 
have been the survivor. P. S. 

There are a few' books of the Old Testament 
to which no distinct reference is made by the 
writers of the New', among which are Esther, 
Ezra, Nehemiah, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of 
Solomon. These we accept as a part of the Old 
Testament because of the evidence we have that 
at the beginning of our era they formed an in¬ 
tegral portion of the Sacred Scriptures, and so 
received the indorsement of the general refer- 







LANGUAGE AND TEXT. 


ences of Christ and his apostles to the Old Tes¬ 
tament as a whole. G. F. W. 

The passages in the Old Testament quoted or 
alluded to in the New Testament number about 
850. Very few of these occur twice ; L e. no 
author repeats his reference to the same passage, 
nor do two or more authors select the same ; so 
that the above number fairly represents the in¬ 
timacy of the two authorships. L. Whiling. 

The Hebrew Language. 

Moses is the father of the Hebrew language 
and literature. He moulded its fundamental 
types, and started it in those directions that it 
has ever since maintained. As Abraham had 
gone forth from the culture of Babylonia to 
enter upon the pilgrim life of believing com¬ 
munion with El Shaddai, so Moses went forth 
from the culture of Egypt to become the repre 
sentative of Jahveh, and organize a kingdom of 
priests, a holy nation, a theocracy the vital 
l^rinciples of which became reverential fear and 
w'orship of the personal God of the covenant. 
The Hebrew language became, in its essential 
spirit and genius, a religious language, the hDlj' 
tongue of the holy people of God, and Moses 
laid its foundations in a literature of sacred his¬ 
tory, poetry, and prophecy. The history of the 
books of Moses is the fountain of all subsequent 
history. The grand hymn, Exod. 15 ; the 
prayer, Psa. 90 ; the prophetic didactic poem, 
Deut. 32 ; are the great boughs of lyric poetry 
upon which the Psalter subsequently burst forth 
in all its glor}’’ ; and his prophetic discourses in 
Deuteronomy are the sources, as they give the 
key to all subsequent prophecy. 

The Hebrew language has a wonderful majesty 
and sublimity. This arises partly from its orig¬ 
inal religious genius, but chiefly from the 
sublime materials of its thought. God, the 
only true God, Jahveh, the Holy Eedeemer of 
his people, is the central theme of the Hebrew 
language and literature, a God not apart from 
nature and not involved in nature, no Pantheistic 
God, no mere Deistic God, but a God who 
enters into sympathetic relations with his creat¬ 
ures, w'ho is recognized and praised, as well as 
ministered unto by the material creation. 
Hence there is a realism in the Hebrew language 
that can nowhere else be found to the same ex¬ 
tent. The Hebrew people were as realistic as 
the Greek were idealistic. Their God is not a 
God thought out, reasoned out as an ultimate 
cause, or chief of a Pantheon, but a personal 
God, known by them in his association with 
them by a proper name, Jahveh. Hence the so- 
called anthropomorphisms and anthropopath- 


45 • 

isms of the Old Testament, so alien to the Tndo- 
Germanic mind that an Occidental theology 
must explain them away, from an incapacity to 
enter into that bold and sublime realism of the 
Hebrews. Thus, again, man is presented to us 
in all his naked reality, in his v^eakness and 
sins, in his depravity and wretchedness, as well 
as in his bravery and beauty, his holiness and 
wisdom. In the Hebrew heroes we see men of 
like passions with ourselves, and feel that their 
experience is the key to the joys and sorrows of 
our life. So also in their conception of nature. 
Nature is to the Hebrew poet idl aglow with 
the glory of God, and intimately associated 
with man in his origin, history, and de.stiny. 
There is no such thing as science ^ that was for 
the Indo-Germanic mind ; but they give us that 
which science never gives,that which science is 
from its nature unable to present us : namely, 
those concrete relations, those expressive/mbire** 
of nature that declare to man their Master’s 
mind and character, and claim human sympathy 
and protection as they yearn with man for the 
Messianic future. The Hebrew language mani¬ 
fests this realism on its very face. Briggs. 

The Hebrew Text. 

The present Hebrew Text, ns now found in 
the best editions of the Old Testament, is a re¬ 
print, with few and slight exceptions, of the 
text edited by Jewish scholars and publihhed 
by Bomberg, at Venice, in 1525, and afterward, 
w’ith corrections, in 1547. This Bible was ac¬ 
companied by Rabbinic commentaries and was 
designed for the use of the Jev's, since few 
Christians at that day were acquainted vdth 
classic Hebrew, and still fewer with Rabbinic. 
This text enjoys the great advantage of being 
acknowledged bj^ Jews and Christians alike. 
That it is worthy of great confidence is the 
united testimony of critics, and especially of the 
latest and most learned of them. Professor H. 

L. Strack, of Berlin. For ascertaining the orig¬ 
inal form of the Hebrew text the main reliance 
of the critic and expositor is upon theMassorah, 
the technical name given to a collection of 
grammatico-cri|ical notes on the Hebrew text 
with the design of determining its divisions, 
grammatical forms, letters, vowel-marks and 
accents. Such a work as this was rendered 
necessary by the fact that originally the He¬ 
brew, like the other Semitic languages, was 
written with the consonants alone and without 
separation between the words. Hence it was a 
delicate and difficult task to determine what 
vowels should be employed in any particular 
case, and where the stops and accents should 






46 


THE OLD TESTAMENT: 


be inserted. This, however, was accomplished, 
although the authors of the work and the time 
of their action are shrouded in obscuritj". 
There can hardly be a doubt that the Massorah 
was the work not of one century but of many 
centuries. The old Rabbins were inclined to 
attribute it to Ezra and the M( n of the Great 
Synagogue, but the more usual opinion assigns 
its commencement to the schools that were es¬ 
tablished at Tiberias and Babylon and elsewhere 
in the second century of our era. It existed 
only in the form of oral tradition until at some 
period between the sixth century aud the ninth 
it was committed to writing. It first took the 
«bape of marginal notes on the copies of the 
“acred books. These gradually expanded into a 
■"ery minute and comprehensive system. A 
full record of these annotations and glosses was 
given in the “ Great Massorah,” which appeared 
about the eleventh century, and is so called to 
distinguish it from another collection of notes, 
known as the “ Small Massorah.” While much 
of what is contained in the Massorah is nothing 
but laborious trifling, yet quite apart from this 
there is much that is of very great use to the 
critical student. The authors have sometimes 
been charged with corrupting the sacred text, 
but for this there seems to be no solid founda¬ 
tion. They do not appear to have introduced 
anything of their own, but rather to have made 
a careful distinction between what they found 
in the manuscripts and what they proposed to 
substitute. There can be no doubt that they 
have thus preserved to us much traditional in¬ 
formation of the highest value. In the words 
of Professor E. C. Bissell, “ There ought to be 
no doubt that in the text which we inherit from 
the Massoretes, and they from the Talmudists, 
and they in turn from a period when versions 
and paraphrases of the Scriptures in other lan¬ 
guages now accessible to us were in common 
use—the same text being transmitted to this 
period from the time of Ezra under the pecu¬ 
liarly sacred seal of the Jewish canon—we have 
a substantially correct copy of the original 
documents, and one worthy of all confidence.” 
Chambers. 

Targums. One of the languages into which 
most of the Hebrew Scripture was rendered 
centuries ago is a sister tongue of Hebrew, the 
Aramaic. Closely allied to Hebrew, if not itself 
spoken by the ancestors of the Israelites in 
their Eastern home, this language began to ex¬ 
ercise a decided influence upon the language of 
the Jews, even before their captivity in Baby¬ 
lonia (605-536 ? B.C.), as is plain from the Arama- 
isms in the biblical books of the time, and by 


200 B.c. it had actually displaced the mother- 
tongue as the language of ordinary life. Hence 
soon after this, if they were to understand their 
Scriptures, the common ireople must have trans¬ 
lations in the vernacular ; and these Aramaic— 
incorrectly called “ Chaldee,” from the sup¬ 
posed use of Aramaic by the Babylonians (Chal- 
daeans)—translations, made for Jews vho had 
adopted the Aramaic language,—a part of them 
literal, and a part cf them paraphrastic,—are 
called Targums. A growth may be traced in 
these Targums. The germs of them all lie in 
the oral renderings, explanations, and illustra¬ 
tions which were added when single terms, or 
usages, or allusions, in the Hebrew Scriptures 
were no longer understood. The translators in 
the synagogue were allowed considerable free¬ 
dom. Literal renderings doubtless grew into 
paraphrases, and these, in turn, developed into 
legendary matter only remotely connected with 
the original text. Hence arose numerotis addi¬ 
tions to, and variations from, the Hebrew orig¬ 
inal. From about the beginning of our era we 
may date the wu-itten composition of Targums, 
which continued for several centuries in Pales¬ 
tine and Babylonia. C. R. Brown. 

9 

Grounds cf Belief in the 0. T. Canon. 

We believe in the present canon of the Old 
Testament, because it is the canon which Christ 
had ; of -which he said : “ Search the Script¬ 
ures ; for they are they which testify of me.” 
He quoted it by divisions, as the “ law' and the 
prophets;” by the authors, as “Moses;” so 
also did the apostles. Josephus, the great Jew¬ 
ish historian, born near the time of Christ’s 
death ; the contemporary of Christ, Philo ; the 
Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Script¬ 
ures made 300 b c., and which Christ and the 
apostles quoted from as Scripture ; and the 
canon of the Jews, which they have guarded 
with jealous care—all go to prove that we have 
in the Old Testament the very Testament w'hich 
Christ used and approved as the word of God. 

A. A. Hodge. -Although Christ frequently 

reproved the rulers and teachers of the Jews for 
their erroneous and false doctrines, yet he never 
accused them of any corruption in their -w^ritten 
Law', or other sacred books : and Paul reckons 
among the privileges of the Jews, “that unto 
them were committed the oracles of God,” 
without insinuating that they had been unfaith¬ 
ful to their trust. After the final destruction 
of Jerusalem by the Homans, the dispersion of 
the Jews into all countries, and the numerous 
converts to Christianity, became a double se¬ 
curity for the preservation of a volume held 




GROUNDS OF BELIEF IN THE 0. T. CANON. 


47 


equally sacred by Jews and Christians, and to 
which both constantly referred as to the written 
word of God. They dift'ered in the interpreta¬ 
tion of these books, but never disputed the 
validity of the text in any material point. . . 
The books of the Old Testament have been al¬ 
ways allowed, in every age, and by every sect 
of the Hebrew Church, to be the genuine works 
of those persons to whom they are usually 
ascribed ; and they have also been, universally 
and exclusively, without any addition or ex¬ 
ception, considered by the Jews as written 
under the immediate influence of the Divine 
Spirit. “We have not,’’ says Josephus, “ my¬ 
riads of books which differ from each other, 
but only twenty-two books, which comprehend 
the history of all past time, and are justly be¬ 
lieved to be Divine. After so long a lapse of 
time no one has dared to add to them, or to 
diminish from them, or to alter anything in 
them ; for it is implanted in the nature of all 
Jews, immediately from their birth, to consider 
these books as the oracles of God, to adhere to 
them, and, if occasion should require, cheer¬ 
fully to die for their sake.” Tomline. -If any 

fact with respect to the Scripture may be looked 
upon as established, this is one : that to the 
great body of Jews of the first century of our 
era, learned and unlearned, of Palestine and of 
the wide dispersion, there existed a highly re¬ 
vered canon of Old Testament books. This col¬ 
lection had been received and was treasured as 
a sacred inheritance from the distant past. It 
was composed of exactly the books, and no 
others, that we now find within it. Bissell. 

But the most decisive proof of the authentic¬ 
ity and inspiration of the ancient Scriptures, is 
derived from the New Testament. The Saviour 
of the world himself, in the last instructions to 
his Apostles, said, “ These are the words which 
I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, 
that all things must be fulfilled which w^ere 
written in the Law of Moses, and in the Proph¬ 
ets, and in the Psalms, concerning me.” Our 
Lord, by thus adopting the common division of 
the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, which 
comprehended all the Hebrew Scriptures, rati¬ 
fied the Canon of the Old Testament as it was 
received by the Jews ; and by declaring that 
those books contained prophecies which must 
be fulfilled, he established their Divine inspira¬ 
tion, since God alone can enable men to foretell 
future events. At another time Christ told the 
Jews that they made “ the Word of God of none 
effect through their traditions.” By thus call¬ 
ing the written rules which the Jews had re¬ 
ceived for the conduct of their lives, “ the Word 


of God, ” he declared that the Hebrew' Script¬ 
ures proceeded from God himself. Upon 
many other occasions Christ referred to the 
ancient Scriptures as books of Divine authority ; 
and both he and his Apostles constantly en¬ 
deavored to prove that Jesus w'as the Messiah 
foretold in the writings of the Prophets. Tom- 

line. -Of the law he affirmed that not one jot 

or tittle should in any wise pass from it till all 
was fulfilled. When he quoted from David he 
affirmed that the psalmist “ spake in the Spirit,” 
or “by the Holy Ghost.” He declared that 
“ the Scriptures must be fulfilled.’’ He ex- 
horted his hearers to “ search the Scriptures, ” 
and he made one of his arguments turn on the 
declaration that “ the Scriptures cannot be 
broken.” And if we may take the words of 
those who were his daily companions for years 
or were specially instructed b}' himself, as rep¬ 
resenting his views, then the manner in which 
Peter quoted from the ancient Scrij)ture on the 
day of Pentecost and the fact that he declares 
that holy men of old spake as they w'ere moved 
by the Holy Ghost ; the assertion of Paul that 
all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, 
and the method in which that apostle constantly 
treats the Old Testament in his epistles ; the 
allegation of the author of the Epistle to the 
Hebrew's, that God spoke to the fathers by the 
prophets, and the formula by which the same 
w'riter cites from the book of Psalms, saying, 
“ wherefore as the Holy Ghost saith,’’ all indi¬ 
cate that in the view of our Lord and his apostles 
the Old Testament was given by inspiration of 
God, and is of infallible authority. W. M. T. 
— Our Lord never recognizes any other au¬ 
thority on earth than the Scriptures of the Old 
Testament. He recognizes in his teaching no 
human authority, and he does recognize abso¬ 
lutely the authority of his heavenly Father. 
Whatever recognition, then, he gives to the au¬ 
thority of the Old Testament, can only be on 
the ground of its having proceeded from his 

Father. Gardiner. -Christ and his apostles 

rested the claims of their own doctrine prin¬ 
cipally on the fact that it had its roots deep in 
the Old Testament revelation, and drew sap and 
strength from that generous soil. So completely 
have they thrown the protection of their author, 
ity over the ancient Scriptures, that they im¬ 
pose on us the necessity of either admitting the 
Divine authorship of these writings, or ques¬ 
tioning the Divine authorship of their own. It 
is impossible for any mind, imbued even slightly 
with logical perception, to admit Christ and 
his apostles as infallible teachers, and yet re¬ 
pudiate the Old Testament as of doubtful au- 







48 


THE OLD TESTAMENT: 


thority, or of inferior authority to the New. 
Bril. Q,uar. 

Special Points of Fact and Teaching. 

Jt is clear that from none of the religions of 
the ancient world could the religion of the an- 
cient Hebrews have originated. Judaism stands 
apart from all other ancient religions, offering 
the sharpest contrast to the systems prevalent 
in the rest of the East, and so entirely different 
from them in its spirit and essence that its 
origin could not but have been distinct and 
separate. And the sacred Books of the Hebrews 
cannot possibly have been derived from the 
sacred writings of any of the Eastern nations. 
G. K., “ lieligions of Anc. World." 

The contents of the Old Testament were written 
at different times : the various writers were un¬ 
known to each other. Like the writers of the 
New, the greater part of them were exposed to 
suffering and persecution on account of their 
doctrine ; the times in which they wrote were 
remote from each other ; their compositions 
were delivered to the people, and were pre¬ 
served by the priests in their unconnected form. 
One primary object was principally intended 
by each writer, and by every paragraph ; yet all 
these miscellaneous compositions, when they 
are put together, are found to contain a perfect 
history, continued by the testimony of all other 
authenticated histories. The researches of the 
learned and the enterprising have alike contrib¬ 
uted to demonstrate the truth of the narrative, 
which is so wonderfully complete in itself, that 
ingenuity has been in vain engaged for two 
thousand years, in attempting to discover some 
imposition, or to overthrow one recorded fact. 
The history, therefore, contained in the Bible, 
is true, and the system of infidelity is conse¬ 
quently false, or all the writers of the Old Testa¬ 
ment without exception were impostors, or 
dupes, and every history of ancient nations is 
not to be credited, or, what is still more diffi¬ 
cult to suppose, all ancient history is uniformly 
falsified in those particulars which corroborate 
the sacred Scriptures. G. T. 

Not only is the thought of the New Testa 
ment, in all its determining elements and out¬ 
lines, the thought of the Old, but the meanings 
of all its central and distinguishing terms are, 
in origin and substance. Old Testament concep¬ 
tions. An. - Foundations lie in the Old Testa¬ 

ment; repuhlication, explication in the New. All 
the distinctive elements of the constitution of 
the Church of God are found in the Abrahamic 
covenant. The Gospel, therefore, is not a lay¬ 
ing down of new foundations. The old, the 


eternal, the immutable foundations had been 
put down long before. In view of this truth, 
how perfectly natural is the face of the Script¬ 
ures ! The new edition of the old covenant 
does indeed republish and explain with more 
or less clearness and fulness, every essential ele¬ 
ment of the Church ; but it takes care to keep 
us apprised that these are matters already made 
known in the prior revelation. J. C. Styles. 

The complete absence (f all sectionalism lies on 
the face and in the heart of the Old Testament ; 
not only in the declared scope of all the re¬ 
demptive promises, which are always to mm 
through the Jew, but in the very structure of 
Scripture. Moses, it has been rightly said, and 
not Herodotus, is the father of history. For 
Herodotus writes as a Greek, wuth the prepos¬ 
session and prejudices of the Greek : Moses 
writes as a man. Herodotus is sectional, Moses 
is universal. Moses alone has the cosmopolitan 
spirit, the inclusive human outlook and sym- 
jaathy. Only he goes back to the origin of man. 
gives us a histor}", and a philosophy of the his¬ 
tory, of humanity. And we could better afford 
to lose, as reminders of our common origin and 
as incentives to lofty endeavor and far reaching 
hope, the whole literature of Greece and Home, 
than the first eleven chapters of Genesis, for 
these contain the only universal history that an¬ 
tiquity has bequeathed to us. Behrends. 

An important fact to be remembered is the 
gradualness of Divine Kevelation. Like the 
subsequent spread of the Gospel, it was “ first 
the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in 
the ear.” This inchoate, preparatory, and in 
this sense, imperfect character is ascribed tf) 
the Old Testament system, both in the Old Tes¬ 
tament itself and in the New. The whole form 
of the kingdom of God in the earlier disptnsa- 
tion was provisional ; the disclosure of God 
was partial and increasing ; laws fell short of 
the absolute standard of moral duty ; rites were 
adapted to religious feelings and to perceptions 
not yet mature ; the type of character corre¬ 
sponded to the inadequate conceptions of God ; 
the ethical and emotional expressions answered 
to the several stages of revelation to which the}’’ 
pertained. All this ought to be as familiar to 
readers of the Bible as the alphabet Unhap¬ 
pily, it has often been overlooked by Christians 
and persistently ignored by adversaries of 
Christianity. Now an application of the fact of 
the gradualness and partialness of revelation 
will remove most, if not all. of the moral diffi¬ 
culties which are raised with regard to the Old 
Testament. Whoever discerns distinctly this 
fact--which is a perfectly manifest fact—will 





OLD TESTAMENT UNITY. 


49 


have gained a point of view where the major 
part of these difficulties disappear of them¬ 
selves. Without this historical sense, without 
a S3"mpathetic appreciation of the condition of 
mankind in the far-distant ages when the move¬ 
ment of revelation began, the old dispensation 
and the Old Testament can never be understood. 
Those who have no dislike for the New Testa¬ 
ment, but have only hard works for the Old, 
who can honor the heavenly Father of whom 
Christ speaks, but find the Jehovah of the law 
and the prophets repulsive, may be compared 
to one who relishes a ripe and juicy peach, but 
has no patience with the rough and bitter peach- 
stone from which the tree sprang, 0. P. Usher. 

Vice and crime are described, when the pur- 
pose of the Scripture narrative requires, with 
antique plainness of speech shocking to our 
modern taste. The failings and sins of good 
men are recorded with merciless candor. But 
never can one detect a trace of sympathy with 
vileness, cruelty, intemperance, or falsehood. 
Even those terrible denunciations of transgres¬ 
sors which modern readers are often at a loss 
to reconcile with the spirit of the Gospel, draw 
their severity from that intense moral indigna¬ 
tion against wrong in which modern sentiment 
is defective ; and which in those rough times 
was a needful safeguard of moral purity. Yet 
the religion of the Bible is no less remarkable 
for its tenderness than for its severe purity. 
Once in five hundred or a thousand years, when 
morality is on the brink of perishing among 
men, the sword of justice smites and spares 
not. Hostile criticism, blind because hostile, 
fixes on these rare and long-deferred examples 
of divine severity (always prefaced by forbear¬ 
ance and warning) and overlooks the fact that 
the prevailing representation of the divine char¬ 
acter places mercy, compassion, kindness, ten¬ 
derness amjng its foremost attributes. E. R. 

(hnder. -The Old Testament gives us, in its 

weird, solemn, and beautiful scenes, no such 
being as The Great Unknown, or The Great 
First Cause ; but it gives us for our reverence, 
our worship, our obedience, our love, and our 
fear,—a heavenly Father, who bows his head 
over his children in infinite love, mercy, and 
pity. ILirlow. 

Typology. Where Christ and the apostles 
have found a type, or an allegory, or a pregnant 
construction in the Old Testament, we may fol¬ 
low them with confidence ; but beyond the 
limits set by their example in the use of these 
modes of interpretation it becomes us to proceed 

with caution. G. F. W.-Conceiving the 

strictly proper and distinctive sphere of a type 

4 


to lie in the relations oi the old to the new, of 
the earlier to the later, in God’s dispensations, 
—there are two things which, by generel con¬ 
sent, are held to enter into the constitution of 
a type. It is held, first, that in the character, 
action, or institution which is denominated the 
type, there must be a resemblance in form or 
spirit to what answers to it unler the Go.spel 
and secondly", that it must not be any character, 
action, or institution occurring in Old Testa¬ 
ment Scripture, but such only as had their ordi¬ 
nation of God, and were designed by him to 
foreshadow and prepare for the better things of 
the Gospel. For, as Bishop Marsh has justly 
remarked, “ to constitute one thing the type of 
another, something more is wanted than mere 
resemblance. The former must not only re¬ 
semble the latter, but must have been designed 
to resemble the latter. It must have been so 
designed in its original institution. It must 
have been designed as something preparatory 
to the latter. The type as well as the antitype- 
must have been preordained ; and they must 
have been preordained as constituent parts oC 
the same general scheme of Divine Providence. 
It is this previous design and this preordaiticd' 
connection [together, of course, with the re¬ 
semblance], which constitute the relation of 
type and antitype.” We insert, together with 
the resemblance; for, while stress is justly laid 
on the previous design and preordained con¬ 
nection, the resemblance also forms an indis¬ 
pensable element in this verj" connection. 

We lay down the following positions First, 
That the historical relations and circumstances 
recorded in the Old Testament, and typically 
applied in the New, bad very much both the 
same resemblances and defects in respect to the 
realities of the Gospel, which belong to the 
ancient symbolical institutions of worship.; 
secondly, that such historical types were abso¬ 
lutely necessarj^ in considerable number and 
variet)% to render the earlier dispensations 
thoroughly preparative in re.spect to the coming 
dispensation of the Gospel ; and, thirdly, that 
Old Testament Scripture itself contains un¬ 
doubted indications, that much of its historical 
matter stood related to some higher ideal, in 
which the truths and relations exemplified, in 
them were again to meet and receive a new but 
more perfect development. P. F. 

Old Testament Unity. 

The intimate blending of history and re¬ 
ligion, the first great characteristic of the He¬ 
brew Scriptures, is the condition of two other 
characteristics; unity and development. Develop- 





50 


THE OLD TESTAMENT: 


ment implies unity. And the unity is a unity 
of growth, not formal and mechanical, but vital, 
internal, spiritual. Clearly, if the books of the 
Old Testament possess any real unity, it must 
be of this nature. For they do not compose a 
Book in any ordinary sense of the word. They 
are a library, a literature. Their writers differ 
•widely in character, genius, education, position. 
They reflect the most opposite phases of na¬ 
tional life. Diversity of contents and variety of 
form could scarcely be more strongly exemiili- 
fied than in this collection of annals, laws, biog¬ 
raphy, poems, aphorisms, prophetic oracles. If 
the unity of these sacred writings were merely 
artificial and conventional, conferred by au¬ 
thority and custom, it would dissolve at the 
touch of serious examination. If, on the con¬ 
trary, deep below this diversified and broken 
surface we find a unity of thought, an unbroken 
vein of religious teaching, growing richer from 
age to age, then this unity is a fact more im¬ 
portant than the diversity. If natural causes 
cannot explain it, we must infer supernatural. 
If human authors could not (or manifestly did 
not) combine to produce it, the only possible 
explanation is Divine authorship. E. R. Conder. 

The Old Testament historiography is through¬ 
out the special history of the people of God, of 
the kingdom of God in the earth in a definite 
form, the Theocracy. The subject of its records 
is the internal development of this people in 
their covenant-relation to Jehovah, with which 
everything external is connected only as the 
outward and visible form, requiring a constant 
reference to that inward and essential principle. 
Hence it is only where the covenant people 
come in contact with other nations that any¬ 
thing foreign is brought into the circle of Old 
Testament history. Hence also the history be¬ 
comes silent or defective whenever the theo- 
cratic idea recedes as a fact into the back¬ 
ground. Hdvernick. 

Unity of the Old and New Testaments. 

They are both the records of the kingdom of 
God on earth,—the one indicating the form 
which this kingdom assumed when in its pre¬ 
paratory stage, within the limits of a nation and 
the limitations of a stringent legal code, both 
of which were intended, according to the Divine 
plan, to prepare the way for the time when this 
kingdom could become the common property of 
all in a higher and spiritualized sense ; the 
other record showing how this ideal aim and 
goal of the earlier dispensation became a his¬ 
tory and a fact through Christ and his work. 
They both represent the two great historical 


phases of the unfolding and growth of the one 
kingdom of God on earth ; and in this thought 
they find their central idea and their connect¬ 
ing link. They claim to be, and are, the an¬ 
nouncement of the plan of God for the salvation 
of' mankind, and are the lii.storical records of 
how this plan giadually, and through many 
centuries, was unfolded and grew, internally 
and externally, until in Christ and the Christian 
Church it found its consummation and final 
shape. All the Scriptures start out from the 
premises that man, through sin, fell from his 
high estate, and on account nf his transgres¬ 
sions was no longer acceptable in the sight of 
God. .Sin caused a rupture between the Creator 
and the creature ; and this dire fact stands at 
the head of all revelation, and forms the out¬ 
ward occasion of all of God’s deeds for man, 
which all have for their one aim the re-estab¬ 
lishment of the original relation between him 
and his creature, the redemption of man from 
the consequences of sin. 

But, in the nature of things, redemption and 
salvation could not be forced upon man. As 
he had of his owm free will torn himself away 
from God, so, too, he wa.s of his own free will 
to accept the restoration offered. For this, a 
long educational process was necessarj^ This 
God effected through the establishment of a 
covenant or special relation between himself 
and his creature. The establishment of this 
covenant with the whole race through the family 
of Noah proved unsuccessful. Accordingly^ 
God determined to select one man and one na¬ 
tion to be the recipients of this great historical 
mission. That man was Abraham, and that 
people was Israel. In order to make effective 
the terms of this covenant, Jehovah takes Abra¬ 
ham from his native land, away from the idol¬ 
atrous temptations of his family, and removes 
him to the Land of Promise. There he for¬ 
mally enters into the covenant with him, the 
terms of which are, that, if Abraham will have 
faith and implicit confidence in the Lord’s guid¬ 
ance, he shall become blessed, and the father 
of God s chosen people. The covenant with 
Abraham is thus based upon faith (Gen. 15 :6 ; 
Gal. 3 : G ; Bom. 4 : 3). 

When the family grew into the nation, the 
covenant also assumed a national form. In 
order to effect in the nation what the word and 
personal intercourse with God had effected in 
the individual, — namely, the conviction that 
faith in Jehovah was the only means of right¬ 
eousness and acceptance before the Lord, and 
of a restoration of man,—he gives to Israel the 
Sinaitic law. The purpose of this law was in 





CHRIST THE CENTRE OF UNITY. 


51 


nowise to form a norm according to which 
Israel should walk and worship in order to 
prove acceptable before God, for the purpose of 
regaining what had been lost through sin ; but 
rather its object was, by showing Israel what 
the just claims of the Lord of covenant were, 
how little they could comply with these de¬ 
mands, and how much they needed a depend¬ 
ence and faith in the pardoning grace of their 
God. The aim of the law w'as to be a school¬ 
master unto Christ (Gal. 3 : 24). How little the 
law itself claims to be the basis of righteousness 
in the Old Testament economy, is apparent from 
the sacrificial system and its typical character, 
w'hose real import is so well portrayed b}^ the 
author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. 

Side by side with the law and its negative 
purpose of awakening in man the need of divine 
pardon and of a Kedeemer, we find prophecy 
nroclaiming the advent, at the proper time, of 
-him who alone could save and deliver. From 
»he protevangelism in Genesis 3 to the evange¬ 
listic prophecies of Isaiah 53, there is a golden 
chain of divine promises going through the 
whole Old Testament revelation concerning the 
-ioming of a Saviour. The law and the Messi- 
mic prophecies are the two leading features of 
'he Old Testament economy, mutually comple¬ 
mentary, and both combining in effecting that 
education of Israel, and that unfolding and de¬ 
velopment in the kingdom of God. which was 
necessary in order to have man prepared for 
salvation, and salvation prepared for man. 
Their joint mission was a propaedeutic one. 
The one ended with the question for a De¬ 
liverer, and in types and symbols endeavored to 
get a foretaste of the mercies he would bring ; 
the other declared that such a Saviour would, 
at the proper time, make his appearance, sent 
of Jehovah. The legal features of the old dis¬ 
pensation pointed to the need of a Saviour ; the 
prophets proclaimed his advent ; the psalmists 
and other Old Testament writers show how the 
pious grew in this faith, and how their religious 
life and beliefs were developed under such a 
covenant. 

The character of the Old Testament develop¬ 
ment is thus entirely of a preparatory kind, 
which preparation, however, finds its comple¬ 
tion in the New. The Old ends with a ques¬ 
tion, the New furnishes the answer. And just 
as necessary as the question is to the answer, 
and the answer to the question, just so neces¬ 
sary is the Old Testament to the New, and the 
New to the Old. In principle they are the 
same, both basing upon faith all righteousness 
and the restoration to the lost estate. Both 


point to a Kedeemer, to Christ, as the only 
foundation of hope. They differ in this, that 
the Old represents the preparatory state of 
God’s kingdom, and the growth of his jilan for 
man’s redemption in a particularistic form with¬ 
in the national limits of one people and country, 
and under the outer hedge of a rigorous law ; 
the New announces how the promises of the 
Old have become glorious facts through Christ’s 
coming into the flesh, removes the national bar¬ 
rier, and calls into the kingdom of God all the 
nations whom God had so far suffered to go 
according to their own will, and spiritualizes 
the kingdom by a removal of the ceremonial 
features of the law,—that is, those features 
which were intended under the old covenant to 
hedge into a national and local theocracy the 
kingdom—and makes the obedience of faith the 
mark of an acceptable life. Schodde. 

The law, the types, the history, the prophe¬ 
cies, and the promises of the Old Testament all 
progressively unfold and develop the same 
truth, until it appears at last in its New Testa¬ 
ment fulness. Though all testify of the same 
thing, not one of them dould safel}’’ be left out, 
nor yet do we properly understand any one part 
unless we view it in its bearing and connection 
with the others. And so when at last we come 
to the close of Scripture, we see how the account 
of the creation and of the first calling of the 
children of God, which had been recorded in 
Genesis, has found its full counterpart and ful¬ 
filment in the Revelation, which tells the glories 
of the second creation and the perfecting of the 
Church of God. 

That this one grand purpose should have been 
steadily kept in view, and carried forward 
through all the vicissitudes of history, changes 
of time, and stages of civilization,—and that 
without requiring any alteration, only further 
unfolding and at last completion,—affords in¬ 
deed the strongest confirmation to our faith. It 
is also a precious comfort to our hearts ; for wo 
see how God’s purpose of mercy has been always 
the same ; and, walking the same pilgrim-way 
which “ the fathers” had trod, and along which 
God had safely guided the Covenant, we rejoice 
to know that neither opposition of man nor yet 
unfaithfulness on the part of his professing 
people can make void the gracious counsel of 
God. And this it is which we learn from the 
unity of Scripture. A. E. 

Christ the Centre of Unit]! 

The unity of the Old and Nev/ Testaments is 
found in the person and work of Christ. Thus 
it is that “ the Old Testament is not contrary to 





52 


TUE OLD TESTAMENT: 


the New ; for both in the Old and the New 
Testament everlasting life is offered to mankind 
by Christ, who is the only Mediator between 
God and man, being both God and man.” 
Nothing is more remarkable in the Old Testa¬ 
ment, nothing is a more distinct and irrefrag¬ 
able proof of its inspired authority, than this 
interdependence of the two dispensations — 
“ the Old Testament containing the germ and 
nucleus of the New, the new containing the re¬ 
alization and fulfilment of the Old, not as a 
matter of contrivance, but as a matter of broad 
and patent history, so that the two jiarts corre¬ 
spond like a cloven tally.” 

In the Old Testament Christ is prefigured ; in 
the New he is revealed. In his teacning we see 
in all their fulness those constant elements 
which all religion strives more and more clearly 
to express -the holiness and love of God, the 
dignity and brotherhood of. man. And so he 
stands at the centre of all history as the fulfil¬ 
ment of all the yearnings of the past, the justi¬ 
fication of all the hopes of the future. Apait 
from him all the deej^est elements of the Old 
Te.stament become unintelligible. The Law is 
but the slave w'hich leads us to his school (Gal. 
3 :21). He is the bruiser of the serpent’s head 
in Genesis, and the Lamb as it had been slain 
in the midst ot the throne in Revelation ; he is 
the Paschal Lamb of Moses ; the true star and 
sceptre of Balaam’s vision ; the jjromised Son 
of David ; Isaiah’s rod of the stem of Jesse ; 
him whose testimony is the spirit of prophecy, 
and of whom bear all the prophets witness, as 
many as have spoken from Samuel and those 
that follow after. Farrar. 

Christ, then, is the end of the xiistory as well 
as of the law of the Old Testament. It had 
been strange, indeed, if it were otherwise ; 
strange if its historical transactions had not been 
ordained by God to bear a prospective reference 
to the scheme of grace unfolded in the Gospel. 

For wliat is this scheme itself, in its fun¬ 
damental character, but a grant! historical devel¬ 
opment ^ What are the doctrines it teaches, 
the blessings it imparts, and the prospects it 
discloses of coming glory, but the ripened fruit 
and issue of the wondrous facts it records? 
The things which are there written of the in¬ 
carnation and life, the death and resurrection, 
of the Lord Jesus Christ, are really the founda¬ 
tion on which all rests—the root from which 
everything springs in Chri.stianity. And shall 
it, then, be imagined, that the earlier facts in 
the history of related and preparatory dispensa¬ 
tions did not point, like so many heralds and 
forerunners, to these unspeakably greater ones 


to come ? If a prophecy lay concealed in their 
symbolical rites, could it fail to be found also 
in the historical transactions that were often so 
closely allied to these, and always coincident 
with them in purpose ahd design? Assuredly 
not. In so far as God spake in the transactions, 
and gave discoveries by them of his truth and 
character, they pointed onward to the one 
“ Pattern Man,” and the terminal kingdom of 
righteousness and blessing of which he was to 
be the head and centre. Here only the history 
of God’s earlier dispensations attained its proper 
end, as in it also the history of the world rose 
to its true greatness and glory. P. F. 

The gospel of the grace of God—the incarna¬ 
tion, the death, the kingdom of our Lord —is 
the development and the fulfilment of the first 
promise, and, it may be added, of the promise 
made to Abraham and to David. Christ as 
Messiah stands alone in both Testaments,—one 
with his people, and yet apart from them. In 
him alone the types and predictions of the an¬ 
cient law have their real fulfilment. Aogus. 

Old Testament Scripture does contain un¬ 
doubted marks and indications of its historical 
personages and events being related to some 
higher ideal, in which the truths and relations 
exhibited in them were again to meet, and ob¬ 
tain a more perfect development. The proof of 
this is to be sought chiefly in the prophetical 
writings of the Old Testament, in which the 
more select instruments of God’s Spirit gave ex¬ 
pression to the Church’s faith respecting both 
the past and the future in his dispeiihaiions. 
And in looking there, we find, not only that an 
exalted personage, with his work of perfect right¬ 
eousness, and his kingdom of consummate bliss 
and glory, was seen to be in prospect, but also 
that the expectations cherished of what was to 
be, took very commonly the form of a new and 
higher exhibition of what had already been. 
P. F.-The books of the Bible—the two Tes¬ 

taments -have always pointed, with more or less 
clearness, to a coming man (o through 

whom sin is to be forgiven, and the final victory 
over evil is to be achieved. He is first spoken 
of as the seed of the woman (itself a contradic¬ 
tory expression), a brother-man ; then as the 
descendant of Abraham ; then as the other 
prophet taken from the people—a second Joshua 
—of whom Moses speaks ; then as priest after 
the order of Melchisedec, and after the high- 
priesthood of Aaron ; and then finally, when 
the kingdom came to be established in the per¬ 
son of David, as a second David (“ the beloved 
one,” as the name means—for “ David my ser¬ 
vant shall rule over them”), or more commonly 






UNITY IN TEACHING AND SPIRIT. 


53 


as David’s son —the trne Solomon, the prince 
of peace—who is to reign over the church and 
over the nations. 

This pers uial Christ, this realization of types 
and prophecies which may be numbered by 
hundreds, this Gospel Incarnate, appears and 
reappears throughout that economy, not yet as 
an object of exact knowledge, but of hope and 
trust. All the prophets bear witness to him. 
The mothers of the race that knew of his com¬ 
ing wondered, from Eve dowmward, when and 
through whom he w'as to appear ; and our Loid 
claims again and again to have fulfilled these 
types and predictions. We are not dealing, 
therefore, with fanciful interpretations. We 
are repeating the assertions of thegieat Teacher 
himself. The law'—a system of righteousness 
(which it rather demanded than produced) and 
of shadows —w'as given through Moses ; the 
gospel—grace and truth (the realitj', shadows no 
more)—came to be through Jesus Christ. Again 
and again he appealed to prophets who wrote 
and spoke of him ; and rebuked his disciples, 
W'ho w'ero slow to learn and hard to believe 
what, in the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms 
—the Jewish Bible—w'as written of him. An<jus. 
-Our Lord everyw'here refers to the Old Tes¬ 
tament as to the w'ord of God, and the record of 
God’s earlier manifestations of himself to man. 
He has cleared up those especial points in it 
w'hich might have most perplexed us, and he 
represents himself as the perpetual subject of 
its prophecies.' We thus receive the Old Tes¬ 
tament from his hand, and learn while sitting at 
his feet to understand the lessons of the law 
and the prophets. Thus we make Christ the 
centre of both Testaments, and oy so doing we 
cannot be blind to the divinity pervading both. 
For the amazing fact that God should come into 
the world and be in the w'orld cannot by possi¬ 
bility stand alone ; it hallow's the whole period 
of the world's existence, placing all time and 
every place in relation to God ; it disposes us at 
once to receive the fact of the special call of the 
people of Israel ;-it gives an a priori reason 
why there must have been in earlier times some 
shadows, at least, or images, to represent dimly 
to former generations that great thing which 
they w'ere not actually to wdtnfss ; it leads us to 
believe that there must have been some pro- 
jihetic voices to announce the future coming of 
the Lord, or else “ The very stones must have 
cried out.” T. Arnold. 

Unity in Teaching and Spirit. 

The New Testament is ever Old, and the Old 
is ever entwined w'ith the New The types of 


the Old Testament are shadow's of good things 
to come ; the naiiatives of events and lives of 
persons in Jewush history are “ w'ritten for our 
instruction there is a deep-rooted identity 
of the Old and New' Testament in the levelalion 
of one God of perfect justice and truth ; the 
law is fulfilled in Christ to all them that be¬ 
lieve ; the spiritual Israel are the true j^eople of 
God ; and even the language and imageiy of 
(he Old, the words themselves as well as the 
thoughts contained in them, become instinct 
with a new life, and seem to interpenetrate 
with the Gospel. Joweil. -An immense in¬ 

tercommunion of strength and security the tw'o 
great departments of Scripture give to each 
other—the Old Testament by its proj^hecies 
mightily confirming the divinity and inspira¬ 
tion of the New ; and the New by its manifold 
quotations, extending to almost every separate 
book, conferring on the earlier record the whole 
benefit of its own appropriate and distinct evi¬ 
dences. Chalmers. 

The connection of the Old with the New is 
something more than typical, in the sense of 
foieshadow'ing, or formally imagining what was 
to come ; it is also inward and organic. Amid 
the ostensible differences there is a pervading 
unit}' of spirit and design—one faith, cue life, 
one hope, one destiny. And w'hile the Old 
Testament Church, in its outw'ard condition 
and earthly relations, typically adumbrated the 
spiritual and heavenly things of the New, it 
was also, in so far as it realized and felt the 
truth of God presented to it, the living root out 
of which the New ultimately spiang. The be¬ 
ginnings were thereof all that exists in cempar- 

ative perfection now. P, E.-The relation of 

the New' Testament to the Old is such that both 
stand or fall together. The New' Testament as¬ 
sumes the existence of the Old Testament law 
and prophecy as a positive presupposition. We 
cannot have the redeeming God of the New 
Covenant without the Creator and covenant God 
preached in the Old ; w'e cannot disconnect the 
Ptedeemer from the Old Testament predictions 
he came to fulfil. No New' Testament idea, in¬ 
deed, is fully set forth in the Old, but the genesis 
of all the ideas of the New Testament relating 
to salvation lies in the Old Testament. To 
gain the true sense of Scripture we must not 
put aside everything that is Israelitish. The 
history contained in Scripture being the history 
of Israel, is what makes it Holy Scripture ; 
for Israel is the people w'hose history is the 
call to salvation. “ Salvation is of the Jews,"' 
said our Lord to the w'oman of Samaria. 
Not to conceal God from the w'orld, but to re- 







54 


TRE OLD TESTAMENT: 


veal him to the world as the Holy One of whom 
heathenism is ignorant, is the work lor which 
Israel was chosen. In Israel such living forces 
were implanted, that it was only from this peo¬ 
ple that the God-man, the liedeemer uf the 
world, could be born. The whole national fig¬ 
ure of Israel ; the election and the rejection ; 
the curse that lies upon the nation, all these are 
revelations of God to the world. O. 

The basis of theology is the Bible, and that of 
the New Testament is the Old. It is impossible 
to understand the former aright without a pre¬ 
vious understanding of the latter ; for Christi¬ 
anity proceeded from Judaism, and the genius 
of the language in both books is the same. Let 
a man gather into his own mind the abundant 
riches of the former, and he will never become 
in the latter one of those smatterers who, barren 
-"ud without taste or feeling, desecrate thes.e 

sacred things. Herder. -The New Testament 

writers were Hebrews, who took the old Hebrew 
thought, modified and complemented it. They 
had their thinking and their teaching con! inual- 
ly shaped by the institutions and ideas of the 
Old Testament. From the Old Testament they 
drew the greater part of what they taught. To 
attempt, therefore, to reach the real meaning of 
the New Testament without recognizing, not 
merely that there is a connection between it and 
the Old Testament, but as well that Old Testa¬ 
ment ideas are the very centre and soul of it, is 
to ignore all the facts relating both to the his¬ 
torical development of Christianity itself, and 
to the gradual reception of the New Testament 
as authoritative and divine. . . . The New 
Testament has, in no sense, superseded or ab¬ 
rogated the Old ; nor is its teaching a different 
teaching from that of the Old, if, by different, it 
is meant to imply any degree of ojoposition. 
God and man in the Old Testament are not 
other than they are in the New. The God of 
the Old Testament is, in his character, and in 
his essential relations to man, just what God is 
declared to be in the New Testament. There is 
not one way of salvation, one law of life, one 
code of ethics, in the Old Testament, and an¬ 
other, or a different, in the New. God is not 
doing one work in the world according to one set 
of principles, as he is presented to us in the 
Old Testament, and another according to new 
and different principles, as seen in the New. 
The work is, in both cases, essentially the same 
The form of it may change indeed ; but even 
'thus, the new form is only the result and devel¬ 
opment of the old form. God’s purpose for 
man is ever the same ; his essential relations to 
him always unchanged ; the principles on which 


he deals with him for good oa* for ill, eternally 
fixed, for they lie in his own immutable nature. 
It must be, therefore, that the New Testament 
doctrine owes both substance and form to the 
same essentials that underlie and shaj^e the 
teaching of the Old Testament, Kevelation is a 
unity. But it is also a development. S. Barn- 

ham. -Christ and his apostles build on the 

Old Testament revelation concerning the crea¬ 
tion, the fall of man, and the law which witness¬ 
es against sin, all their doctrines, which are 
only developments of the earlier truths on these 
subjects ; and likewise they explain and de¬ 
termine more accurately what of ancient proph¬ 
ecy has been already fulfilled, and what is in 
course of fulfilment in Christian times. The 
grace and the truth of the Gospel are therefore 
unintelligible without the law ; for how can we 
understand the gift of grace without the fact cf 
sin to be forgiven? or how can we understand 
the power of truth unless we are acquainted 
w'ith the shadows which have gone before ? 
•Where the indissoluble connection of the Old 
and New Testament is lost sight of, there inevi¬ 
tably will their contents be misunderstood, and 
perverted at pleasure. Gerl. 

What is unfolded in the Scriptures is one great 
economy of salvation —unum contiyiuum sysUma, 
as Bengel puts it —an organism of divine acts 
and testimonies, which, beginning in Genesis 
with the creation, advances progressively to its 
completion in the person and work of Christ, 
and is to find its close in the new heaven and 
earth predicted in the Apocalypse ; and it is 
only in connection with this whole that the de¬ 
tails can be properly estimated. O.-True re¬ 

ligion, as a system of doctrine and as a stale of 
heart—objective religion and subjective, as John 
Howe called it—has been substantially the same 
in every age. From the earliest times there has 
been a revelation of the unity of God, with in¬ 
timations of a Spirit brooding over the waters, 
the Author and Giver of life ; and of one who 
has in him the divine name, the angel of the 
divine presence ; of the creation and upholding 
of all things by divine power ; of a Providence 
(though the word is not found in the Old Testa¬ 
ment) that sees and guides all ; of a divine law 
fixing the distinctions of right and wrong ; of 
the fall and depravity of man ; of the doctrine 
of forgiveness through vicarious suffering ; of 
the duty and power of prayer ; of human re. 
sponsibility, notwithstanding the certainty in¬ 
volved in the divine foreknowdedge, or even of 
a divine purpose ; of the necessity of personal 
holiness ; of a judgment which will, first or last, 
give every man according to his works. Sim- 








UNITY IN TEACHING AND SPIRIT 


ilarly, subjective religion has never changed. 
It has always been faith and penitence, love and 
obedience ; faith in the divine righteousness 
and mercy, though how these were to be recon¬ 
ciled in the forgiveness of the guilty was long 
imperfectly revealed ; the feeling that we need 
to be forgiven ; the love and the desire of holi¬ 
ness. These beliefs and feelings, when accepted 
by the will and moulding the life, make religious 
men, and have been taught and enforced under 
every economy and in every age. Angus. 

The so-called Pauline doctrines are all based 
by him upon the letter of the Old Testament. 
He was enabled, by the inspiration of the Holy 
Spirit, to grasp and compiehend the fulness of 
meaning that was contained in the letter of Ihe 
Scriptures of the Old Covenant. Five truths 
are stated most fully and systematically in the 
Epistle to the Romans : The univensalitj’ of sin, 
justification by faith only, the doctrine of Elec¬ 
tion, the rejection of Israel and calling of Gen¬ 
tiles, and the ultimate conversion of all Israel. 
Each of these came with the force of a new truth 
to those who heard the Apostle. Each of these 
important doctrines is shown to be contained 
in the ancient Scriptures, where they had lain 
hid for centuries till brought to light by the 
teaching of the Spirit as impressed upon the 
great Apostle to the Gentiles. “ Expositor.” 
-There is no principal phase of the Old Tes¬ 
tament teachings, ceremonial, ethical, or spirit¬ 
ual, which the New Testament writers do not 
take up and adapt to their new conditions. There 
is scarcely one of its great characters who is not 
vividly reproduced in person or doctrine. A 
recent volume reckons the number of Old Testa¬ 
ment quotations in the New at about six hun¬ 
dred. But this makes no account of a multi¬ 
tude of passages which have simply taken on the 
familiar coloring of the ancient Scriptures with¬ 
out directly citing them. It is not too much to 
say that the whole warjD of the New Testament 
is borrowed from the Old. The golden woof 
only is Christian. Bis.sell. 

Devotional Character of ihe Old Testament. How 
precious is the Old Testament as a book of de¬ 
votion and experimental piety ! Where shall 
we find such noble examples of faith which no 
difficulties could overcome, of a hoi^e which no 
disaster cou’d quench, no delays enfeeble, of a 
delight in God and God’s service which cast all 
other joys into the shade, and of a serene, abid¬ 
ing religiousness, which looked at all things on 
their God-ward side, and kept the mind that 


I was stayed on God in perfect peace amid all the 
tumults and griefs and shadows of time ? Not 
even in the New Testament itself are such 
depths of religious experience laid open, such 
illustrations of (he laws and phenomena of the 
spiritual life afforded, as in those records of the 
struggles and the deliverances, the vicissitude.s 
and the victories of the saints of the former age. 
It makes one’s heart strong to study them. It 
stirs us up to quit us like men in the never- 
ceasing spiritual warfare, to read how these men 
of the old time, amid the twilight of their dis¬ 
pensation, strengthened themselves in the Lord, 
and fought their way through to “ the city which 
hath foundations,” where they now rest and 
reign. Brit. Quar. 

Studg of Old Testament. Where the writings o« 
the Old Testament are lightly esteemed, or care¬ 
lessly scanned by Christian teachers, we cam 
never expect to see a just apprehension of th« 
New Testament writings. Most certain it is,, 
that of those who have borne or achieved greau 
things for the cause of God, the greater part 
were wont to feed their spiritual energies at th» 
banquet which these ancient Scriptures jiro 
vided. Paul and Augustine, Luther and Knox, 
Cromwell and Milton, the Puritans and the 
Covenanters, all of them were men whose deep¬ 
est inspirations were drawn from those old He¬ 
brew oracles. Brit. Quar. 

What is, perhaps, more needed than anything 
else to deepen, to give breadth and continuity 
to theological thought, is a deper, closer and 
completer study of the Old Testament Scriptures. 
It was in the lifelong knowledge of these Script¬ 
ures that they had lived whom yet the merciful 
Lord upbraided as foolish and slow of heart to 
believe, whose understandings He had to open 
that they might understand the Scriptures, beginning 
at Moses and all the Prophets, and expounding unto 
them in all ihe Scriptures the things concerning hwi: 
self. Now as then, it is only the Divine Eternal 
Word who, through his in-breathed Holy Spirit, 
can enable men to see clearly throughout the 
Bible its one great subject, which is himself, in 
whose light alone can we see light. Medd. 

Both in the Old Testament and the New wo 
have type and symbol, narrative and precept, 
parable and miracle ; but the sunlight which 
alone can interpret and glorify their highest 
meaning, must come from him who is the Light 
of the world and the Sun of righteousness. 
Farrar. 








o6 


THE OLD TESTAMENT' 


Section 8. 

THE OLD TESTAMENT : 

CRITICAL VIEWS AND METHODS ; CHRONOLOGY ; ASSYRIAN DISCOVERT. 


Critical Views and Methods. Christianity in¬ 
culcates firmness of conviction, while it encour¬ 
ages freedom of investigation. It welcomes the 
most incisive and exhaustive criticism ; but it 
insists that the criticism shall be unprejudiced, 
reverent and righteous in its attitude toward 
the truth. There is a criticism that is simply 
negative and destructive ; it tears down, but 
does not build up ; it takes delight in under¬ 
mining traditional creeds ; it has no faith in the 
good. Opposed to this is the true criticism, 
which holds fast that which is good, all that has 
been tested, while it proves all that is new. It 
is reverent toward the past, and hopeful for the 
future. It cannot grant that men have believed 
only in lies, nor can it admit that the full-orbed 
truth must ever elude man’s search. It believes 
in the Holy Ghost as abiding in the Church. It 
finds the good in the past, the jiresent, and the 
future ; and every grain of gold that it may suc¬ 
ceed in discovering or rescuing, it reverently 
and joyfully adds to its growing treasury, whose 
wealth it guards with sacred jealousy. Behrends. 

There are two views of the Old Testament : the 
historical, or traditional ; and the rationalistic, 
or critical, so called. The one is held by the 
church, the other is held by jrarties and indi¬ 
viduals, sometimes within the church, and some¬ 
times outside of it. The historical or trad tional 
view is : that the books of the Old Testament 
are the infallible word of God communicated to 
a small circle selected out of the people of Israel 
for this purpose. Certain holy men of old spake 
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. These 
books, consequently, do not contain the relig¬ 
ious ideas of the Hebrew race, but the teachings 
of the Supreme Being. The Old Testament, 
though Hebrew in language and modes of ex¬ 
pression and forms of thought, is not Hebrew lit. 
erature, but Divine reve’ation ; because litera¬ 
ture, properly so called, is the natural and spon¬ 
taneous product of a national mind. The Old 
Testament is not the development of the com¬ 
mon Helirew mind, as Greek literature is of 
the Greek mind, and Latin literature is of the 
Roman ; but it is a special disclosure from the 
Divine mind made only to a limited number of 
Hebrews, in order that they might teach the 
Hebrew people as a whole, and through them 
teach the whole world in matters pertaining to 


religion. The religion of the Old Testament, 
consequently, is not one ot the natural religions 
of the globe, but a supernatural religion, differ¬ 
ent from them in kind, intended to enlighten 
their darkness, correct their errors, and do a 
work for sinful man which none of them can do- 

By reason of its Divine origin, the Old Testa¬ 
ment is an independent book. The accounts in 
Genesis of the creation and fall, of the deluge 
and of Babel, were not constructed out of the 
corresponding accounts that are found in the 
archives of ancient nations. These latter are 
not original and co-ordinate materials wrought 
into the Mosaic narrative, but only echoes and 
corruptions of a revelation made by God to 
Adam concerning events that could have no hu¬ 
man spectator, and of a testimony concerning 
events that had human spectators like Seth, 
Enoch, and Noah. The accounts of the crea¬ 
tion, fall, and deluge, handed down in the line 
of Seth and the patriarchs, were finally com¬ 
bined by Moses, under Divine guidance, into a 
history of primeval man, which has an accuracy 
and trustworthiness such as belongs to no un¬ 
inspired legends or myths. 

Originated in this manner, the Old Testament 
religion, unlike the natural and national relig¬ 
ions of the world, is homogeneous in its nature. 
It is pure monotheism, from first to last ; from 
Genesis to Malachi. From beginning to end, 
also, it contains the promise and the doctrine 
of a Redeemer and of Redemption. There is 
no polytheism, deism, or pantheism, in the re¬ 
ligion of Israel as enunciated by Moses and the 
prophets. The Hebrew people themselves, 
from time to time, were more or less idolatrous 
and deistical, but the religion which Jehovah 
gave them through inspired individuals had 
nothing of this tincture. 

In brief, the Old Testament is a revelation, 
not an evolution : a revelation from the Divine 
mind, and not an evolution of the Hebrew 
mind. 

The rationalistic or critical view is : that the 
books of the Old Testament are the product of 
the common Hebrew mind, as this spontaneous¬ 
ly developed in a national literature from age 
to age, The religion of Israel, like the religions 
of Babylon and Assyria, of Egypt and India, of 
Greece and Rome, has no uniform and homo- 



CRITICAL VIEWS AND METHODS. 


57 


geneous character. It begins, like all human re¬ 
ligions, in polytheism, and passes gradually up. 
ward into monotheism. The religion of Israel 
was at first idolatrous. Traces of fetishism and 
polytheism are found in the oldest parts of the 
Pentateuch, which is a composite collection 
made by several unknown compilers, and of 
which only a few brief fragments date back of 
the time of Moses. The religion of the Hebrews 
at the time of Moses and the Exodus, as shown 
by other later fragments incorporated into the 
Pentateuch, was not monotheism, but poljdhe- 
ism, like that of Egypt from which they emi¬ 
grated, and like that of all the surroundin'g peo¬ 
ples. Gradually the Hebrew religion improves, 
through that development of the religious senti¬ 
ment by which man, generally, grows better and 
better. In the eighth century before Christ it 
had become a semi-pagan idolatry, partly mon¬ 
otheistic, as is seen from the writings of the 
prophets, which differ from the Pentateuch in 
this particular. Jehovah, the national god, 
who had previously been worshipped under the 
form of a bullock in both Judah and Israel, be¬ 
gan to be conceived of in a more spiritual man¬ 
ner. In the seventh century before Christ the 
process was complete in a pure monotheism, 
which ever afterward continued to be the re¬ 
ligion of Israel. 

This theory supposes that there was no super¬ 
natural revelation of religious truth to the He¬ 
brew people, but only that ordinary unfolding 
of man’s religious nature, which is common to 
every nation. The books of the Old Testament 
are a history of this unfolding in the case of 
the Hebrews, and are no more infallible and en¬ 
titled to be the rule of religious faith for all 

mankind than any other books or literatures 

• 

which contain similar accounts of national re¬ 
ligions. In brief, the Old Testament is an evo¬ 
lution, and not a revelation ; an evolution of the 
Hebrew mind, and not a revelation from the 
Divine mind. 

Such are the two views of the Old Testament. 
They are antagonistic in every fibre. In the 
entire history of opinions, there are no two 
theories that are more hostile and deadly to each 
other than these. 

The latter of these two views calls itself the 
“ critical ” theory, but the method by which it 
is attempted to be established is wholly uncriti¬ 
cal. Philological criticism, properlj^ so called, 
is founded upon the text of an author, as this is 
settled by manuscripts, and explained by the 
rules of grammar and logic. The text itself 
must be determined by the agreement of manu¬ 
scripts and the general consensus of editors, and 


not by individual judgment and caprice. And 
that interpretation of the text which results 
from the studies and learning of the great ma¬ 
jority of scholars and critics must be regarded 
as the true one, rather than that which is given 
by a small minority. 'J'he Catholic interpreta- 
tion is the most probable interpretation, in 
sacred as it is in secular philology. Such is the 
true critical method universally adopted in pro¬ 
fane literature. 

The pseudo-critical method, rarely found in 
profane literature, has been frequently applied 
to the sacred writings. While the church uni¬ 
versal, patristic, mediaeval, and protestant, have 
been unanimous resjiecting the authenticitj^ and 
credibility of both the Old and New Testaments, 
individuals and schools, from time to time, 
have denied both. They have been of all 
grades, deistic, pantheistic, and atheistic ; 
sometimes scoffing and sometimes serious in 
tone ; but always adopting the same pseudo- 
critical method, in setting up an individual or a 
partisan judgment against the catholic. 

The learning, industry, and perseverance of 
German scholars have been more successful 
than that of any others in attacking the Script¬ 
ures of the Old and New Testament, in the ra¬ 
tionalistic method. The endeavor was first 
•made to destroy the credibility of the life of 
Christ and of the doctrines that depend upon 
it, by assuming and asserting the spuriousness 
of large portions of the four gospels, and their 
late origin. All existing manuscripts and all 
the early testimonies respecting the gospels and 
epistles unquestionably favored the traditional 
opinion respecting their genuineness. Baur 
and Strauss had no new and different manu¬ 
scripts to present to scholars, and no new testi¬ 
mony of any force from the first centuries. The 
only method left to them was conjectural criti¬ 
cism, and a shaping of the text of the gospels 
and epistles to their preconceived idea of Christ, 
and of the supernatural generally. Their prin¬ 
cipal reliance was, the assertion of legendary 
additions to the text, or else of post-apostolic 
authorship, whenever the exigency required it. 
The most arbitrary', and sometimes the most 
whimsical caprice was introduced into New 
Testament exegesis, by this so-called “ critical ” 
method. By it, nearly the entire New Testa¬ 
ment becomes a spurious book, Guericke sums 
up the result of the Tubingen “ criticism” in 
these words : “ Matthew, Mark and Luke are 
post-apostolic, and more or less legendary ; 
John’s gospel arose far down in the second 
century ; the Acts of the Apostles was composed 
long after the death of Peter and Paul, for the 




58 


THE OLD TESTAMENT: 


purpose of cloaking over the dissension between 
these apostles ; the Epistle to the Romans is 
spurious in the last two chapters ; Corinthians 
and Galatians are genuine ; but Ephesians, 
Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians are 
spurious ; the Epistles to Timothy, Titus and 
Philemon are siiurious ; the Epistles of Peter, 
John, James and Jude are all spurious ; the 
Revelation of John is genuine—by which is 
meant, that it is a genuine Ebionitish produc¬ 
tion full of hatred toward Paul and the Pauline 
Christianity,” Such extravagance as this in 
the treatment of a collection of writings, the 
text of which has a stronger support in ancient 
manuscripts than that of Thucydides or Virgil, 
reminds one of Jortin’s remark concerning a 
critic of this class, that “ his craziness consisted 
in rejecting what all the vmrld received the 
opposite folly to which is the receiving what all 
the world rejects.” 

The defence of the New Testament appeared 
in the same country where the attack was made. 
German learning, industry and perseverance 
searched and sifted these postulates and as¬ 
sumptions, and showed their uncritical and un¬ 
scientific character. The authenticity and cred¬ 
ibility of the gospels now rests upon an argu¬ 
ment better worked out in certain directions, 
and more impregnable to a certain class of ob¬ 
jections, than it was previously ; because Nean- 
der, Ebrard, Tholuck, Bleek, Guericke, Christ- 
lieb and others were led to defend the historical 
or ecclesiastical view against the rationalistic 
schools. 

The Old Testament is now the point of attack 
in Germany and Holland, and this attack has 
affected Great Britain and America to some ex¬ 
tent. It is easier to attack the Old Testament 
than the New, because it has a far greater an¬ 
tiquity. Building upon the view already de¬ 
scribed, that the religion of Israel is natural and 
not supernatural, a human literature and not a 
divine revelation—a view presented with both 
genius and learning by Ewald—the school of 
Reuss, Graf, Kuenen, and Wellhausen attempt 
to prove their points by the same pseudo-critical 
method, of postulating the spuriousness and 
late origin of large parts of the Old Testament, 
and particularly of the Pentateuch. Shedd. 

The assault on the Old Testament is only a 
duplicate of the assault on the New Testament 
begun over fifty years ago, which may be said 
to have been fought out to the confusion and 
overthrow of the critics. The problem to which 
these critics addressed themselves was the criti¬ 
cal reconstruction of the New Testament, to 
show how its books were produced, and in what 


way Christianity originated. Miracles were 
declared to be impossible. No amount of testi¬ 
mony could make them credible ; in fact, the 
assumption was regarded as so thoroughly self- 
evident, that no serious argument was attempted 
on its behalf. The supernatural in human his¬ 
tory was dismissed with a contemptuous sneer. 
As a consequence, every account in which the 
miracle was so imbedded as to be involved in its 
integrity and credibility, was rejected as unhis- 
torical, and w'as regarded as legendary. But 
the legend requires time for its appearance and 
general accejDtance. The Gospels, therefore, 
could not have been written by eye-witnesses. 
Full of myth and legend as they are, their liter¬ 
ary production was assigned to the last quarter 
of the second century. For the same reason 
the historical credibility of the book of Acts 
was assailed, and it was pronounced to have been 
written in the interests of peace, to soften the 
antagonisms reported and believed to have ex¬ 
isted between the Apostles Peter and Paul,—the 
representatives, respectively, of formal, and of 
spiritual, religion. As the result, by way of 
compromise, of these hostile schools of apos¬ 
tolic teaching, we have the New Testament and 
the Christian religion. 

These are the two main positions of the 
school of Baur—miracles ar^ incredible, and 
the Gospels are unhistorical. To the mainte¬ 
nance of these positions, Baur brought great an¬ 
alytical skill, indefatigable industry, accurate 
and broad scholarship, while his own work has 
been supplemented by a host of zealous dis¬ 
ciples. But the assault may be said already to 
have spent its force ; and as the smoke clears 
away, four great facts indicate how solidly an¬ 
chored Christianity is in historical reality. 

1, In the first place, the fact has commanded 
increasing recognition, that the Christian 
Church existed before a line of the New Testa¬ 
ment was written. She had her place in the 
world, her living and devoted ministry, her lofty 
message and world-wide mission, her ordinances 
and worship, her membership and martyrs, be¬ 
fore the first parchment of the earliest New 
Testament books was touched by mortal hands. 
Her origin cannot therefore be accounted for by 
a critical analysis of the Gospels and the Epis¬ 
tles. These did not create the faith of the’ 
Church, they are only its public confession, and 
its permanent record. Faith in Christ preceded 
the first written outline of his life, and it wa.s 
vigorous enough to create Christian communi¬ 
ties in all the great cities of the Roman Empire 
long before the close of the first century—com¬ 
munities the zeal of whose membership was so 



CRITICAL VIEWS AND METHODS. 


59 


conspicuous and earnest, that no threats or ter 
rors of martyrdom could repress it. These facts 
are indisputable ; and this sublime primitive 
faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the 
Saviour of the world, whose energy conquered 
the Roman Empire in little more than two and 
a half centuries, in spite of Nero and Celsus, in 
spite of the sword and of the pen, in spite of 
political and literary hostility, is a rock of ada¬ 
mant on which the critical theory has gone 
hopelessly to pieces. 

2. In the second place, even Baur did not 
venture to call in question the authenticity of 
the four great Pauline epistles—Galatians, Ro¬ 
mans, First and St>cond Corinthians. These are 
confessed to be genuine beyond tlie shadow of 
a doubt. They were written within thirty years 
after the crucifixion. There are in tUem no 
interpolations. No subsequent editor has vent¬ 
ured to tamper with them. In them at least, 
the primitive teaching finds authoritative ex¬ 
pression. Baur s wholesale rejeclion of the 
other epistles of Paul has not commanded the 
approval of his disciples. Hilgenfeld admits 
seven, and Renan nine, to be genuine. But 
tne admission of the genuinene.ss of the four 
great Pauline epistles involves the credibility 
of the gospel record, whose salient facts were 
assumed as universally accepted in the teaching 
of the Apostle to the Gentiles. 

3. In the third place, the conversion of the 
man who wrote these confessedly genuine epis¬ 
tles, within thirty years after Chrits’s death, is 
a fact with which the new criticism has been 
unable to deal. Saul of Tarsus has refused to 
melt away in the crucible of these critical fires. 
This man, whatever may be said of the other 
Apostles and of the great body of primitive 
Christians, had all the training and tastes of a 
scholar. He was endowed with the highest in¬ 
tellectual gifts, and his conversion proved to be 
the turning point in the history of Christianity. 
“ It is impossible,” says Canon Farrar, “ to ex¬ 
aggerate the importance of St. Paul’s conversion 
as one of the evidences of Christianity. That 
he should have passed, by one flash of convic¬ 
tion, not only from darkness to light, but from 
one direction of life to the very opposite, is not 
only characteristic of the man, but evidential of 
the power and significance of Christianity. Of 
all who have been converted to the faith of 
Christ, there is not one in whose case the Chris¬ 
tian principle broke so immediately through 
everything opposed to it, and asserted so abso¬ 
lutely its triumphant superiority. We complain 
that nearly two thousand years have passed 
away, and that the brightness of historical 


events is apt to fade, and even their very out¬ 
line to be obliterated, as they sink into the 
‘ dark background and abyss of time.’ Well, but 
are we more keen-sighted, more hostile, more 
eager to disprove the evidence, than the con¬ 
summate legalist, the admired rabbi, the com¬ 
missioner of the Sanhedrim, the leading intel¬ 
lect in the schools—learned as Hillel, patriotic 
as Judas of Gaulon, burning with zeal for tbe 
Law as intense as that of Shammai ? He was 
not separated from the events, as we are, by 
centuries of time. He was not liable to be 
blinded, as we are, by the dazzling glamour of a 
victorious Christendom. He had mingled daily 
with men who had watched from Bethlehem to 
Golgotha the life of the Crucified, not only with 
his simple-hearted followers, but with his 
learned and powerful enemies. The events on 
which he relied had taken place in the full 
blaze of contemporary knowledge. He could 
question living men ; he could anahze existing 
evidence. He had thousands of means close at 
hand whereby to test the reality or unreality 
of the Resurrection in which, up to this time, 
he had so passionately and contemptuously dis¬ 
believed. In accepting this half-crushed and 
wholly execrated faith, he had everything in the 
world to lose—he had nothing conceivable to 
gain ; and yet, in spite of all, overwhelmed by 
a conviction which he felt to be irresistible, Saul, 
the Pharisee, became a witness of the Resurrec¬ 
tion, a preacher of the Cross.” Let me add the 
acknowledgment of Baur, made shortly before 
his death in 1860, that “ no psychological or 
dialectical analysis can explore the inner mys- 
ter}' ol the act in which God revealed his Son in 
Paul,” and that in “ the sudden transformation 
of Paul from the most violent adversary of 
Christianity into its most determined herald,” 
he could see ‘‘nothing short of a miracle.” 
The confession is fatal to the theory of the 
great critic. The conversion of Paul is an inex¬ 
plicable event on any theory that denies the 
supernatural in Christianity, and that discredits 
the historical credibility of the gospels. 

4. But there is a fourth fact that has con¬ 
founded the critics, an earlier and greater mir¬ 
acle, to whose reality Paul’s conversion and 
ministry are a living and emphatic testimony, 
a miracle apart from which the primitive Chris¬ 
tian faith and triumph cannot be explained — 
the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Around the 
empty grave of our Lord the battle has been 
fiercest, and the critical defeat has been con¬ 
spicuous. It could not be denied that the early 
Christians believed in a risen Christ. That 
constituted both their message and their in- 








60 


THE OLD TESTAMENT: 


spiration. Hom" came they to believe in his res¬ 
urrection ? How came Paul to believe in it? 
How came they all to believe in it as they did, 
with such absolute and kindling enthusiasm ? 
Various theories have been propounded, the 
theories of fraud, of swoon and of vision, but 
the confession has been extorted that no “ psy¬ 
chological anal 3 'sis can penetrate the inner spir¬ 
itual process by which in the consciousness of 
the disciples their unbelief at the death of 
Jesus was transformed into a belief of nis res¬ 
urrection.” And in this confession Baur is 
followed by Keim, one of the ablest of this crit¬ 
ical school, who declares that we must either 
humbly confess our ignorance, or return to the 
faith of the Apostles who ” have seen the Lord.” 
Thus has the supernatural and historical char¬ 
acter of Christianity been critically established ; 
and the result is that the gospels, which were 
assumed to have been literary forgeries of the 
second century^, have been restored to their 
place as historical sketches of the life of Jesus 
Christ. And this is true, even of that gospel, 
which, more than any other New Testament 
writing, has been the burning point of this 
burning controversy, the gospel of John. 

As the assumptions of the critical school have 
been utterly discredited in explaining Chris 
tianity, they must prove equally insufficient to 
account for the religion of the Old Testament. 
The main positions are these two, and they are 
.the old faces on a new field : 1. Miracles are 
incredible. 2, The earlier books of the Old 
Testament are consequently unhistorical, full of 
legendary tales, of unknown authorship and 
late date, literary “ discoveries,” or forgeries 
of different periods, the resultant of a long con¬ 
flict between hostile schools of Jewish thought 
—the priestly and the prophetic—a conflict 
brought to an end in the victory of the priests 
under the leadership of Ezra, to whom Moses 
must yield the authority so long attributed to 
him. Ezra, not Moses, is the author of the 
Pentateuch, and the father of the Jewish re¬ 
ligion. In him the freedom of the ancient re¬ 
ligion was displaced by a cast iron formalism. 
It was Ezra, who, under the guidance of Eze¬ 
kiel’s vision, wrought into a compact and com¬ 
plete ceremonial ritual the oral priestly tradi 
tions of more than twelve hundred years, and 
who succeeded in securing its immediate, uni- 
versal and enthusiastic adoption as of Mosaic 
origin and authority. 

But we have seen that in the criticism of the 
New Testament, ih.e first assumption has broken 
down. The conversion of Paul, and the resur¬ 
rection of Christ defy all “psychological and 


dialectical analysis.” They are miracles—evi- 
dences of the supernatural in Christian liistoiy. 
The “higher criticism,” so-called, is theretore 
disqualified by its self confessed failure, to re¬ 
construct the Old Testament history on the as¬ 
sumption that a miracle is impossible and in¬ 
credible. Yet this IS the veiy pith and marrow 
of the assault. 

As to the second claim that Ezra, the repre¬ 
sentative of the priestly class, rather than 
Moses, is the author of the Old Testament re¬ 
ligion, and that the books bearing the great law¬ 
giver’s name never existed until after .the captiv¬ 
ity, several things maj^ already be said : 1. In 
the first place, the working principle of this 
theory^ according to w'hich the sacred books 
and institutions of Judaism are the slow growth, 
and the final precipitate, of conflicting types of 
tradition,—the priestly' and the prophetic—is 
identical with the w'orking principle of Baur, 
according to wdiicli the Christian books and the 
Christian Church represent the conflict and the 
confluence of two hostile types of tradition and 
thought, —the schools of Peter and of Paul ; and 
that assumption has been proved to be utterly 
without foundation. A philosophy that has 
broken dowm in dealing with events so recent 
as those of New Testament history', cannot be 
trusted as a leader in Old Testament interpreta¬ 
tion. 2. In the second place, the theory' must 
assume that the Old Testament literature and 
religion are the product of deliberate and sy's- 
tematic impostirre. Hilkiah must have forged 
the book of Deuteronomy, and Ezra the book of 
Leviticus, while numerous literary creations 
and interpolations were added by unknown 
members of the priestly class. The supposition 
is so violent that only' the ainjolest evidence can 
make it credible. 3. It is assumed, in the third 
place, that the people w'ere so utterly credulous, 
that they received at Ezra’s hands, promptly, 
without one word of protest, and enthusiasti¬ 
cally, a collection of writings, and a religion said 
to have been of Mosaic origin and authority', 
utterly unknown to their fathers. There have 
been instances of superstition, and of successful 
imposture ; but where is there to be found the 
most distant approach to so stupendous a fraud, 
so deliberately planned, so immediately success¬ 
ful, so heartily accepted, so reverently' transmit¬ 
ted and defended ? 4. At the same time, it 
appears that Hilkiah, Ezra, and their helpers, 
have done their work so bunglingly, that we, 
living more than 2000 years later, are able to 
convict them of the literary' forgeries, of which 
their contemporaries were utterly ignorant, and 
of which not a hint was given for many' cen- 







CRITICAL VIEWS AND ,METHODS. 


61 


tunes afterward. 5, In addition to the improb¬ 
ability of these assumptions, there are two great 
facts that are indisputable and impregnable. 
The first of these is the commanding personal, 
ity of Moses, whose spirit and energy pervade 
the entire Old Testament dispensation, and are 
the very iron in the life-blood of Israel,-the 
man who deliberately turned from the palaces 
of the Pharaohs to be the champion of a de¬ 
spised and oppressed race, lie is for the Old 
Testament what Paul is for the NeAV, — its 
mightiest historical figure. No one lias ventured 
to evaporate him into a legend, or to deny him 
some share at least in the composition of the 
book of Exodus. The Decalogue is his un¬ 
doubted work. He who gave to the world those 
ten commandments could have been no ordi¬ 
nary man. That single chapter stamps him the 
mightiest of human legislators. There is noth¬ 
ing strained in the late Dean Stanley’s com¬ 
ment, “ The ten commandments delivered on 
Mt. Sinai have become imbedded in the heart 
of the religion which has succeeded. Side by 
side with the Prayer of our Lord, and with the 
Creed of his Church, they appear inscribed on 
our churches, read from our altars, taught to 
our children, as the foundation of all morality, 
blard, stiff, abrupt as the cliffs from which they 
were taken, they remain as the firm, unyielding 
basis on which all true spiritual religion has 
been built and sustained. They represent to us, 
both in fact and in idea, the granite foundation, 
the immovable mountain on which the world is 
built up : wfithout which all theories of religion 
are but as shifting and fleeting clouds ; they 
give us the two homely, fundamental laws, which 
all subsequent revelation has but confirmed and 
sanctified —the law of our duty toward God, 
and the law of our duty toward our neighbor.” 
He to whom the world is so deeply indebted, 
w’ho has carved so deep a place for himself in 
its moral history could not have been the victim 
or the disciple of a superstitious faith. He 
was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, 
as Paul was taught in the schools of Tarsus. 
He had the training and the tastes of a scholar. 
He turned his back upon the honors that 
awaited him at the most imposing royal court 
of his day, to share the fortunes of a “ half- 
crushed and wholly execrated ” race. His de¬ 
liberate choice, maintained through eighty years 
of self-denying service, is utterly inexplicable, if 
Abraham is a legendary being, and Jehovah’s 
covenant with him imaginary and m 3 dhical. 
As the critical theory is completely shattered by 
the conversion of Paul to Christianity, so it lies 
broken at the feet of Moses, whose choice is 


equally significant, w^hose ministry has been at 
least equally" powerful. The second impreg¬ 
nable fact is, that the Temple existed at least 
six hundred j'ears before Ezia instituted his re¬ 
forms ; and hence the Levitical ritual cannot 
have been of such late origin, nor can the five 
books of Moses have been unknown at that 
earlier day. Sooner or later, the defeat that 
the legendary school of criticism has suffered 
on New Testipnent ground, wull overtake its 
champions in their assault on the Law and the 
Prophets. We stand on historical ground. We 
have not believed cunningly-devised fables. 
Better still, these facts of history are of eternal 
significance ; they convey to us a message of 
Divine grace and life. These Scriptures are 
full of good things, and we will not part with 

« 

them. They have been tried through manj’^ gen¬ 
erations, and in many lands. Our fathers lived 
and died in the faith which they nourished. 
And we have tried them ; therefore wfill we 
hold them fast. Behi'ends. 

The result of the past struggle is the complete 
intrenchment of the New Testament behind the 
buhvarks of historical facts, a better historical 
conception of the religion of Christ and its 
histor}^ a vast enrichment of Biblical Theolog 3 % 
and in particular the complete vindication of 
the Joannine origin of the fourth gospel. The 
few enfeebled disciples of the once tyrannical 
school of Baur, such as Volkmar, Holsten and 
several others, are afraid now even to whisper 
the strange gospel w'hicli but two or three dec¬ 
ades ago the^’ and their cor'frerfs were preach¬ 
ing from the house-tops. The signs are almost 
daily increasing that the views of the Old Testa¬ 
ment critics that have attracted so much atten. 
tion during the past five to ten years, have also 
seen their best days, and that the inevitable law 
of history, that truth will eventually crush false¬ 
hood, is undermining their foundation also, sav¬ 
ing for the benefit of Christian scholarship that 
little or least residuum of truth which these 
views may contain. Schodde 

O. T. Chronology. Ancient chronology, with¬ 
out the Bible, would be involved in inextrica¬ 
ble confusion. Chronological inconsistencies 
abound in the most authentic historians of an- 
tiquitjL Sir Isaac Newton, by his study of the 
scriptures, has detected great errors in the 
chronology of the ancients. It is only by a 
rigid adherence to the scriptural standard of 
dates and eras, as Dr. Hales has well said, that 
the historical inquirer can hope to avoid the 
mazes, the deserts, and the quicksands of an- 
cient and primeval chronolog.v. That the script¬ 
ural accouut of times is the fountain and meas- 




62 


THE OLD TESTAMENT: 


ure of pagan chronology, has been evinced by 
Eusebius, Bochart, Melanchthon, Preston, and 
others. Bochart affirms the derivation of the 
Chaldean chronology from the sacred annals of 
the Hebrews. Wines. 

Chronology is not minutely mapped out in 
the Bible The order of succession is given 
without reference always to the scale of time ; 
the facts themselves, as staled in the book of 
Genesis, ma}^ all be Irue ; the succession of 
events there recorded may be also true and cor¬ 
rect , the creation, the temptation and fall, the 
dispersion, the flood, the after-dispersion and 
migration uf the nations—these all may be true 
as facts, and yet we may not be able to adjust 
. to them properly a sliding scale of Chronology 
in respect to years. Yet, in this matter of 
Chronology, there are internal evidences of 
K.ruth in this early Hebrew narration, as con¬ 
trasted with other ancient stories, in these two 
principles : First, the absence of those immense 
■^ague periods which precede the historical 
chronologies of all other people ; the absence of 
that legendary jihase of things w’hich is so 
marked in the history of the Egyptians and 
^Imdoos. And secondly, there is no attempt in 
his early history to magnify the Jewish people. 
Lvery other nation of antiquity sets out to mag 
nify itself as descended from the gods—perhaps 
as having originated upon the soil it occupies, 
and, being thus favored of Heaven, as having 
come down from an immense antiquity. 

Now, there is no such endeavor to magnify 
the Jewish people in this Biblical story. It 
does not place the beginning of Man in the 
country destined to be their country, but off in 
the far East ; and it gives the history of Man as 
Man, and with no attempt at self-glorification. 
All this is significant of the historical in con¬ 
trast with the mythical style. J. P. T. 

As part of the Scripture genealogies is definite 
and part indefinite, we have no means of de¬ 
termining satii-factorily what is the length of 
man’s history. The consequence is, that, apart 
altogether from recent geological disquisitions, 
different dates and jieriods have been stated 
and resolutely defended. Usher, Hales, Peta- 
vius, Jackson, Poole, and Bunsen have pub¬ 
lished widely varying results. IF. Fraser. 

The extreme uncertainty attending all at¬ 
tempts to determine the chronology of the Bible, 
is sufficiently evinced by the fact that one hun¬ 
dred and eighty different calculations have been 
made by Jewish and Christian authors, of the 
length of the period between Adam and Christ. 
The longest of them make it six thousand, nine 
hundred and eighty-four, and the shortest, 


three thousand, four hundred hnd eighty-three 
years. Under these circumstances, it is very 
clear that the friends of the Bible have no occa¬ 
sion for uneasiness. If the facts of science or 
of history should ultimately make it necessary 
to admit that eight or ten thousand years have 
elapsed since the creation of man, there is 
nothing in the Bible in the way of such conces¬ 
sion. The Scriptures do not teach us how long 
men have existed on the earth. Their tables of 
genealogy were intended to prove that Christ 
was the Son of David and of the Seed of Abra¬ 
ham, and not how many years have elapsed be¬ 
tween the creation and the advent. C. Hodge. 

Some of the data necessary for harmonizing 
all the facts of the Old Testament history and 
chronology we ma^’’ no longer have ; but this at 
least maybe said, that for each difficulty a cred¬ 
ible hypothesis maybe, and has been suggested, 
as, for example, in Hengstenberg’s able exami¬ 
nation of the objections to the Pentateuch ; in 
the case of the genealogies ; and the taxing 
under Cyrenius. In such instancec we may 
favor one or another of the hypotheses ; if one 
be not correct another may be ; or we may leave 
the difficulty without solving it, yet also with¬ 
out saying that it cannot be solved. Humility 
and not arrogance best befits us, where the mat¬ 
ter at stake is of such vital moment. And every 
candid person will allow that the chronology 
and historv of the Old Testament are not in- 
volved in any such inextricable confusion as 
that of the contemporary ancient nations. 
Moses, on all historical grounds, is more trust¬ 
worthy than the fragments of Manetho, with 
their fluctuations between 300 and 500 kings ; 
the records of India have been in vain ransacked 
fo show a greater antiquity than that of our 
sacred books ; the 30,000 years of China have 
been all brought this side of the deluge ; Nin¬ 
eveh w\as declared a myth, and w’c are witness¬ 
ing its resurrection ; no ancient zodiac reaches 
beyond 747 b.c. ; the hieroglyphs of Egypt 
have not disproved our venerable documents. 
While the two Greek historians of Egypt are 
every day proved more and more untrustworthy, 
our Scriptures have been constantly receiving 
fresh increase of evidence to their truthfulness. 
The sceptical canon, in defiance of all sound 
rules of testimony, that the Scriptures ard to 
be considered guilty until proved innocent, lias 
been recklessly applied : and the Scriptures 
have stood even this hard test, Coleridge con¬ 
cedes that the errors in detail may be reduced 
to some half score of apparent discrepancies— 
“a petty breach, or a rat-hole in the walls of 
the temple.” 




HEBREW CHRONOLOGT. 


G3 


And over against these difficulties and objec¬ 
tions we may put the wonderful congruity of 
I the Scriptures in all other things : their cohe¬ 
rent unity, their pervading plan, their matchless 
morality, their majestic simplicity and simple 
majesty, their fitness to all times and men, 
their divine efficacy and life-giving power ; 
their redemptive economy, their unsurpassed 
intiueiice ; and in view of these, well ask, what 
are all such objections in the comparison and 
contrast ? They are at the utmost but as the 
spots on the sun, as straws floating upon the 
surface of a stately river which irrigates all the 
lands through which it passes, and bears upon 
its bosom innumerable barks freighted with im¬ 
mortal hopes and destinies. Every one of these 
difficulties might be unsolved, and the main ob- 
■ject of the book still secured. Let some points 
of unimportant and remote chronology and 
history remain, for which we have no more 
than a fair hypothesis—what is this, in any 
candid judgment, in comparison with the broad 
fact, that for all the problems and questions of 
man’s eternal destiny, the Bible has a definite 
and an authoritative response ? H. B. S. 

Ilebreu} Cironology—Hi more important Points of 

Divergence. 

By general consent the birth of Christ is made 
the central point of all sacred chronology, the 
Christian ages being reckoned forward from 
that point (a d.) and the Jewish or earlier ages 
being reckoned backward (b.c.). Going back¬ 
ward from the Christian era, there is general 
agreement and no reasonable ground for diver¬ 
sity till we reach the period of the Judges of 
Jsrael. The cardinal points are : 

B c. 

The decree of Cyrus for the restoration of 

the Jews.536 

The duration of the captivity, from the 

fourth year of Jehoiakim, 70 years .... 606 
(But counted from the fall of the city under 
Zedekiah, 52 years only.) 

From the revolt, first year of Rehoboam to 

the fall of the city. 388 years.976 

To the founding of the temple, beginning 

of Solomon’s fourth year, 37 years... .1013 

This last epoch has chronological importance 
—the foundation of the temple laid— a.d. 1013. 

The first disputed, diversely estimated, point 
is the period of the Judges ; yet the proof texts 
.and authorities cover the period from the Ex¬ 
odus to the temple. Usher makes the period of 
the Judges 339 years ; Jahn and many others, 
450. Usher relies on 1 K. 6 :1 : “In the 480th 
year after the children of Israel were come out 
of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Sol¬ 


omon’s reign over Israel ... he began to build 
the house of the Lord.” His computation runs 
thus : Moses 40 years ; Joshua 40 ; Samuel and 
Saul 40 ; David (2 Sam. 5 :4, 5) 41 ; Solomon 
up to the founding of the temple 3 ; Judges — 
to fill out 480—339. 

The long period for the Jiidges rests primarily 
on Acts 13 ; 20, which states that “ after having 
divided to them the land of Canaan by lot, God 
gave them judgeji 450 years until Samuel the 
prophet.” Placing 450 in the above computation 
in place of 339—an excess of 111 years—we find 
the date of the Exodus b.c. 1604 instead of 
Usher’s figures a d. 1491. In support of this 
long period for the Judges may be urged : (1.) 
The authority of Paul as above (Acts 13 : 20) 
which makes this period 450 years. (2.) 
Josephus makes the interval from the Exodus 
to the founding of the temple 592 years, and 
not 480. The Jews of China also make it 592— 
facts which favor the supposition that the He¬ 
brew text of 1 K. 6 : 1 is in error. It cannot be 
supposed that either Josephus or the Chinese 
Jews adjusted their figures to harmonize with 
Paul. (3.) The internal dates in the Book 
of Judges demand the long period and cannot 
be harmonized with the short one. Thus Judges 
11 :26 shows that the Hebrews had then dwelt 
in Heshbon, Aroer and along the coast of Arnon 
300 years. These years lie between the en¬ 
trance into Canaan and the beginning of Jeph- 
thah’s judgeship. We have then this computa¬ 
tion : 

TEARS. 

300 years, minus 17 years for the term of 

Joshua, is.283 

Add for Jephthah (Judg. 12 ; 6). 6 

For Ibzan 7 years ; for Elon 10 ; for Abdon 8 

(according to Judg. 12 :8, 11, 14).25 

Servitude to the Philistines (Judg. 13 ; 1)... 40 
Samson (Judg. 15:20 and 16:31) not less 

than. 20 

Eli (1 Sam. 4 :18). 40 

A period without dates (narrated Judg. 17-21) 
estimated at. 40 

Makes a total of. .454 

It is entirely impossible to bring these in¬ 
ternal dates in the history within the short 
period of 339 years for the Judges. We must 
therefore accept the long period—450 years— 
and place the Exodus in 1013-|-591 =b.c. 1604. 

The next period of conflicting authorities is 
the Sojourn in Egypt. The issue lies between 
the long period, 430 years, and the short one, 
215 years. The first proof text is Ex. 12 :40 : 
“ Now the sojourning of the children of Israel 
who dwelt in Egypt was 430 years.” Next is 
Gen. 15 ; 13 ; “ Thy seed shall be a stranger in 














64 


THE OLD TESTAMENT: 


a land not tbeirs and shall serve them ; and 
thej' shall afflict them 400 years —which is 
quoted substantially by Stephen, Ac. 7 : 6. On 
the other hand stands Gal. 3 : 17, which makes 
the giving of the law on Sinai 430 years after the 
covenant made with Abraham. The interval 
from that covenant to Jacob's standing before 
Pharaoh is readily computed thus : From the 
cov'^nant with Abram, he being then 75 years 
old (Gen. 12 :4) to the birth of Isaac, Abraham 
100 years old (Gen. 21 :5) is 25 years. From 
birth of Isaac to birth of Jacob (Gen. 25 ; 26) 
60. Jacob standing before Pharaoh (Gen. 47 : 9) 
at 130, the sum of which numbers is 215. Ac 
cording to Paul, this would leave for the so¬ 
journ in Egypt but 215 years. Reverting now 
to the obviously conflicting proof-texts above 
cited, we may note that Ex. 12 ; 40 is read vari¬ 
ously—the Septuagint (Vatican text; adding after 
“dwelt in Egypt,” the words—“and in the 
land of Canaan while the Alexandrian text 
of the Septuagint adds also—“ they and their 
fathers.” Both these additions appear also in 
the Samaritan text and in the Targum Jona 
than ; while the Masoretic Hebrew is supported 
by the more reliable Targum of Onkelos ; also 
by the Syriac and the Vulgate. These additions 
as in the Septuagint are clumsily made. The 
dwelling in Canaan, referring to Abraham and 
Isaac, should come in before the dwelling in 
Egypt if at all, and not after. The diversity be¬ 
tween the two texts of the Septuagint is sus¬ 
picious. The authority of the old Hebrew text 
stands unshaken. The passage Gen. 15 :13 is 
strong to the same purport, since it was “ in a 
land not his own" (i.e. not Canaan), and was a 
state of tyrannous oppression which was to con¬ 
tinue 400 years—points which forbid us to in¬ 
clude in this 400 years the life-history of Abra¬ 
ham, Isaac and Jacob. As to Paul (Gal. 3 .17) 
his readers had before them only the Septua¬ 
gint ; he would therefore naturally follow its 
authority, and the more readily because the dif¬ 
ference between that and the Hebrew in the 
length of the interval was a point of no impor¬ 
tance to his argument. 

The evidence from the lapse of generations 
during the sojourn in Egypt is of great, not to 
say decisive, importance to our question. Here, 
however, opinions as to its bearing differ 
totally. One of the test passages is Ex. 6 :16-20, 
which makes the whole age of Levi 137 years ; 
of Kohath, his son, 133 ; of Amratn —apparently 
his son and the father of Moses, 137. The age 
of Moses when he stood before Pharaoh (Ex. 
7 : 7) was 80. Kohath was born in Canaan ; his 
father was older by several years than Benjamin ; 


presumably, therefore, his children were older ; 
yet Benjamin had ten sons when he went down 
into Egypt (Gen. 46 : 21). If we suppose that* 
Kohath was 25 when he went into Egypt, then 
he lived there 108 years. Amram lived there 
137, and Moses at the Exodus had lived 80, 
With these given generations and ages, this 
computation is stretched to its utmost extent 
since it supposes Kohath’s death at 133 and 
Amram’s birth to have occurred in the same 
year ; also Amram’s death at 137 and the birth 
of Moses to be in the same year ; yet the sum 
is only 325, which is less by 105 years than the 
long period. With these data the short period 
(215) might be readily provided for. But several 
circumstances combine to show that there mu.st 
be several omitted links between the Amram 
here spoken of, and Kohath. For in this gene¬ 
alogical list (Ex. 6 ; 16-20) we have but two 
names between Levi, the tribe-father, and 
Moses, viz. Kohath and Amram. But between 
Joseph, a younger tribe-father, and Zelophehad, 
a contemporary of Moses, there are four inter¬ 
vening names (Num. 26 :28-33) ; between Judah 
and Bezaleel there are six (1 Chron. 2 : 3-5, 
18-20) ; between Joseph (through Ephraim) and 
Joshua, there are nine (1 Chron. 7 : 22-27). 
Again, we have in Num. 3 : 27, 28, a census of 
the four Kohath families. The males, from 
one month and upward, are 8600. If we set off 
one fourth of these to Amram (i.'e. 2150) and re¬ 
member that the Amram who was father to 
Moses had but one other son, Aaron, known 
to this genealogy"), with four sons, and that 
Moses had but two, we shall see it is utterly im¬ 
possible that the male offspring of Moses and of 
Aaron could number 2150. Therefore, Amram, 
the immediate son of Kohath, must have been 
several generations back of the Amram who was 
father of Moses. The genealogy of Jochebed, 
the mother of Moses, might also be explained, 
but space forbids. The vast increase of Hebrew 
population, from the 70 souls who went down 
into Egypt to the 600,000 men of age for war 
who went out (Ex. 12 : 37), suggests a longer 
(ime than 215 years. The evidence on the 
whole preponderates decisively against the 
shorter and in favor of the longer period, 430 
years. Cowles. 

[Dr. Cowles next considers in detail the three 
other doubtful periods : (1) Between Abraham 
and Terah ; (2) Between the Creation and the 
Flood ; (3) Between the Flood and the call of 
Abraham ; and submits his conclusions.] 

Reviewing the points made in this examina¬ 
tion of Hebrew chronology, it will be seen that 
we extend the time beyond Usher’s system. 



HEBREW CHRONOLOGY. 


65 


(a.) In the period of the Judges at least 111 
years ; (b.) In the sojourn in Egypt 215 years ; 
and (omitting the interval between Terah and 
Abram as uncertain), (c.) In the interval from 
the flood to the call of Abram (if the Septuagint 
be followed) at least G50 years, and perhaps 
750 ; and (d.) In the period from the creation 
to the flood, 606 years—a total of 1582 or 1682 
years. Or, to put the case in another form, we 
put the Exodus in the year (b.c.) 1603 ; 
Jacob’s going into Egypt, b.c. 2033 ; the call 
of Abram, b.c. 2248 ; and by the Septuagint 
the flood, 3265 or 3365 ; and finally, by the Sep¬ 
tuagint, the creation, b.c. 5527 or 5627. 

This approximates toward harmony with the 
reported results of the Indian chronology which 
locates the creation b.c. 6174 ; also the Baby¬ 
lonian, B.c. 6158, and the Chinese, b.c. 6157— 
the excess of the latter above the longest sacred 
chronology being only 530 years. The approach 
toward harmonj' in these three not sacred chro¬ 
nologies—the Indian, the Babylonian and the 
Chinese.—the extreme difference being only 17 
years—is certainly a remarkable fact. Cowles. 

Mr. Poole’s discoveries, verified by Mr. Airy’s 
calculations, harmonize with the Septuagint. 
And on the basis of those discoveries he fixes 
the date of the Exodus within four years of Dr. 
Hales’s Chronology, and synchronizes all later 
biblical dates with the Egyptian monuments. 
Is not a chronology which, determined from in¬ 
dependent sources, harmonizes with that of the 
most ancient translation from the Hebrew 
Scriptures,—dating from the third century be¬ 
fore our era,—which brings into an intelligible 
form the lists and records of ancient authori¬ 
ties, which meets all the requisitions of known 
history, and makes the monuments, the moon, 
and the stars alike witnesses for its accuracy, 
likely to prove the true chronology of Egypt and 
of the Bible ? That this chronology carries back 
the flood a few hundred years no more invali¬ 
dates the fids of Bible history, than the pre- 
adamic ages of geolog^y invalidate the account 
of the creation given by Moses. Since biblical 
chronology is not satisfactorily ascertained from 
internal evidences, we may well seek to adjust 
the data of the Bible to a system so well estab¬ 
lished as this of Mr. Poole. Eightly viewed, 
his results, as he himself affirms, “ vindicate 
the Bible, showing that the monuments of 
Egypt in no manner, on no point, contradict 
that sacred book, but confirm it.” J. P. T. 

To the question, whet.her the Bible is explic¬ 
itly committed to a short system of chronology 
for the human race, we think that an unpreju¬ 
diced examination must answer in the negative. 


It should be remembered that the chronologi¬ 
cal figures in the margins of our reference Bibles 
were not prepared by an inspired writer, but by 
Archbishop Usher, whose chronological scheme 
has by no means a clear field, but is one of 
nearly two hundred schemes drawn up from the 
fragmentary data of the Bible. It is easily seen, 
even in some of the most formal genealogies of 
the Bible, that the .main object of the writer 
was not to furnish a complete and accurate 
chronology, but rather to indicate lines of de¬ 
scent and facts of relationship. For example, 
in the genealog}^ of Christ as given in Matt. 
1 :1-17, the writer doubtless knew that many 
links were omitted ; as where it is said that 
“ Joram begat Ozias” (verse 8); whereas, if 
every link had been given according to 1 Chron. 
3 :11, 12, it would have read “ Joram begat 
Ahaziah, Ahaziah begat Joash, Joash begat 
Amaziah, and Amaziah begat Ozias.” A still 
more instructive case occurs in Ezra, where 
Azariah is called the ” son of Meraioth,” and 
this in a genealogical table ; whereas, according 
to 1 Chron. 6 : 7-11, Azariah was the sixth gen¬ 
eration from Meraioth. Again, in 1 Chron. 
26:24, we read: ” Shebuel the. son of Ger- 
shom, the son of Moses, was ruler of the treas¬ 
ures.” This was in David’s time, several hun¬ 
dred years after Moses. Yet Gershom was the 
son of Moses, while Shebuel was twelve or fif¬ 
teen generations from the person whoso son he 
is said to be ; and this the writer, and those for 
whom he wrote, must have known. 

From this it is plain that the Jews, like other 
oriental nations, introduced their genealogical 
tables not so much to furnish an accurate chro¬ 
nology in years as to emphasize the fact of lineal 
descent and consanguinity ; so that we even 
find it said in Gen. 10 :15-18 that Canaan begat 
not only tw'o individuals that are mentioned, 
but also nine tribes or nations w^hich are speci¬ 
fied ! Such are the indefinite materials from 
which the so-called systems of biblical chronol¬ 
ogy are made out. From which it is clear that 
chronology was not one of the things which the 
Bible set out to teach, but that the sacred writ¬ 
ers have left the subject so open that it will be 
very difficult for archaBologists to come into col¬ 
lision with the general chronological statements 
of the Scripture. G. F. W. 

It requires no great scholarship to satisfy 
ourselves that the computation of the date of 
Adam, as made from the received Hebrew, or 
the Septuagint or Peschito versions, will differ 
by many centuries ; that the figures in Genesis 
5 have been tampered with in early days ; that 
genealogies even in the New Testament are pur- 






G6 


THE OLD TESTAMENT: 


posely curtailed ; that one man is sometimes 
said to be the son of another, though elsewhere 
it appears that many generations have inter¬ 
vened between them ; and that the genealogical 
lists after the flood refer, partially at least, to 
the descent, not of individuals, but of nations, 
one nation being said to have begotten other 
nations. As, therefore, it is evident that these 
lists of names are intended to indicate only the 
line of descent, and not every step on the road, 
as they have ‘ suffered in transmission, and as 
we cannot always in the earlier records distin¬ 
guish between nations and individuals, we need 
not consider ourselves bound to any chronology 
deduced from them. J. II. Gladstone. 

There are two main sources of difficulty in 
determining the true chronology of Old Testa¬ 
ment events. One is the use of letters for 
figures from the earliest times ; the other the 
application of the term “ son” to descendants 
of later generations. Letters, so like as are 
many of the Hebrew alphabet, might easily lead 
to errors on the part ot copyists in the numer¬ 
ous manuscripts written through thousands of 
years. B. 

Inspiration does not guarantee the infallibil¬ 
ity of copyists, and it is undeniable that many 
seeming inconsistencies may be traced to the 
carelessness of scribes. Many of the much- 
talked-of discrepancies betw^een the books of 
Kings and Chronicles, as well as a few of those 
presented in the New Testament, are at once 
accounted for in that way ; for the slightest 
change in a letter or a word, such as a weary 
transcriber after a long day’s v/ork would be 
very liable to make, accounts for the disagree¬ 
ment, and the emendation being made, harmony 
is at once restored. This is especially the case 

■ in those statements in the Old Testament which 
relate to numbers ; for as in the Hebrew lan¬ 
guage there were no numerals, but the letters of 
the alphabet were made to do duty for figures, 

'and as some of these letters differ from others 
■only by the merest hair-stroke, it is easy to see | 
rhpw in the process of transcription errors have 
' Crept in. W. M. T. 

May we not regard it as highly probable that 
‘the ;numbers in the three versions, Hebrew, 

■ Samaritan, and Septuagint, have suffered cor¬ 
ruption, and that the real space between the 
Deluge and the Call of Abraham exceeded even 
the Septuagint estimate ? If the Flood is placed 

; about b.c. 3600, there will be ample time for 
'the production of such a state of society and 
such a condition of the arts as we find to have 

■ existed in Egypt a thousand years later, as well 
• as for ■,the- changes of johysical type and lan¬ 


guage which are noted by the ethnologist. 
The geologist may add on 2000 years more for 
the interval between the Deluge and the Crea¬ 
tion, and may perhaps find room therein for his 
“palaeolithic” and his “neolithic” periods. 
G. K. 

The principal advocates of the Long Chronol¬ 
ogy are Jackson, Hales, and Des-Vigiioles. 
They take the LXX. for the patriarchal gener¬ 
ations, and adopt the long interval from the Ex¬ 
odus to the Foundation of Solomon’s Temple, 
The Short Chronology, from Jerome’s time the 
recognized system of the West, has had a multi¬ 
tude of illustrious supporters (Usher, Newton, 
Petavius, Michaelis, Gesenius, Stuart, Clinton, 
etc.), and is adopted in the margin of the A. V. 
Usher may be considered as its most able ad¬ 
vocate. He follows the Hebrew in the patri¬ 
archal generations, and takes the 480 years from 
the Exodus to the Foundation of Solomon’s 
Temple. The Babbinical Chronology, partially 
received, chiefly bj' the German school, accepts 
the biblical numbers, but makes the most arbi¬ 
trary corrections. 



Hales. 

Jackson. 

Usher. 

Petavius. 


B.c. 

B.c. 

B C. 

B. C. 

Creation. . 

5411 54-^ H 

4004 3988 

Flood. 

8155 8170 

‘2 4« 

Ai)rom leavee Haran. 

2078 2028 

1921 

1901 

Exodus. . 

104811598 

1491 

1.581 

foundation of Solomon’.-* Temple. 

1027 

1014 

1012 

1012 

DLStruciiou of Solomon s Temple. . .. 

586 

586 

588 

589 


Die. B. 


Assyrian Discovery. 

The product of each new source of knowledge 
is apprehended only by slow degrees. A long 
time is needed to exhaust it. Patient thought 
is needed to set it in its right relations with 
the stock of truth already on hand. Scientific 
advance is through guesses—more or less rash— 

I destined often to ephemeral life, and marking 
only the approximations of the mind to sound 
and accurate learning. No department of science 
can make real progress without constant and 
searching criticism, in order that zeal may not 
outrun knowledge, nor brilliant conjecture do 
duty as secure fact. But when the matter of re¬ 
search is closely related to our sacred documents, 
where truth is most needful, and mistake most 
disastrous, then such criticism, both calm and 
intrepid, is demanded with especial emphasis. 
And it is from this standpoint that it ought to 
be profitable to survey the great subject of As¬ 
syrian DISCOVERT. The cuneiform inscriptions 

























A SS Till A BIS 00 VER Y. 


do not explain all the things that need expla- 
nation, from Genesis to Malachi, and they intro¬ 
duce grave problems of their own. But it is, 
for all that, largely by their aid, supplemented 
by modern discoveries in other archaeological 
fields, that the inquiries about ancient peoples, 
which the eager mind of our day is putting so 
restlessly, can receive answers that begin to 
satisfy. We are coming, by degrees, to a-time 
when we may construct a full and accurate his¬ 
tory of those lands and those centuries which 
saw the growth, the development, the proud 
culmination, the ruin, and the partial recovery 
of the Hebrew national life. Our interest in 
that life is unique. It was the life which pre¬ 
served to the world the knowledge of the Lord 
of lords ; the life of the people to whom the laAV 
was given, and the promises were intrusted, 
and the prophets spoke, and the special deliver¬ 
ances of God were vouchsafed, that from their 
midst might spring the Deliverer of all men. 

Assyria has not spoken her last word to men, 
and probably will not in our day ; Egypt is full 
of voices, only half interpreted ; the Hittites, 
who once defied Assyria, and marched out to 
fight Egypt with undaunted front, have hardly 
yet begun to speak again, after a long stillness. 
Other w’ords beside, uttered ages ago, but not 
yet audible to modern ears, may be on their way 
to us, out of the remote distance of the cen¬ 
turies. It is for us to catch these messages and 
understand them, that we may fit them into the 
great fabric of apprehended and acknowledged 
truth, to the enrichment of ourselves, and (hose 
who shall be reached by our ministrj% and to 
the glory of our common Lord. F. Brown. 

The study of Assyrian now reposes on as sure 
and certain a basis as the study of any ancient 
language, a knowledge of which has been tra¬ 
ditionally handed down to us ; and the antiquity 
of its monuments, the copiousness of its vocab¬ 
ulary, the perfection of its grammar, and the 
syllabic character of the writing—which ex¬ 
presses vowels as w'^ell as consonants—all com¬ 
bine to make it of the highest importance for 
the study of the Semitic languages. Its recov¬ 
ery has not only shed a flood of light on the 
history and antiquities of the Old Testament, 
it has served to illustrate and explain the lan¬ 
guage of the Old Testament as well. Sayce. 

The advantages which Assyriology offers to 
ihe student of the Bible are very great. 

(1.) In the first place, Assyriology has given 
to the ancient Hebrew literature and life a new 
.netting. Whenever we learn to know a people 
in its racial connections, then we are beginning 
to know it, then it begins to take its rightful 


b? 

place among the peoples of the earth, then the 
fibres of human sympathy begin to reach out 
on this side and that, there are points of con¬ 
tact, there are lines of interest ; we can estimate 
its W'hole character more wisely when we learn, 
even imperfectly, its genesis and its relation¬ 
ships ; what it has accomplished in the w'orld 
takes on a new aspect, either by resemblance cr 
by contrast, when put by the side of the doings 
of its sister people ; the forms of its thought 
become more intelligible, or more striking ; the 
quality of its literature receives some explana¬ 
tion, and the external features of that literature 
cease to be solitarj^ and strange to us ; the peo¬ 
ple and all that belongs to it come more fully 
into our world, and range themselves alongside 
of us and our neighbors and our ancestors, and 
take on a familiarity which is yet new and 
fresh, and full of meaning. It is a distinct and 
great advantage, when, without any lowering of 
its unique claims, or any diminution of the 
special characteristics imparted to it by the 
divine agency in its production, the volume of 
sacred w^ritings, before whose authority we 
bow, associates itself more intimately, on its 
human side, with the history of mankind at 
large. Nothing has done so much to establish 
these connections as the inscriptions of Baby¬ 
lonia and Assyria. 

(2) Assyriology brings into clear light the 
essential difference between the Hebrews and 
other ancient peoples. The thing which every 
earnest Bible scholar is most concerned for is 
that root-element which distinguishes the He¬ 
brew people from all other ancient peoples, and 
the Hebrew writings from all other ancient lit¬ 
eratures. The one great distinctive feature of 
the literary monuments of the Hebrews is that 
they were informed by a spirit to which the 
inscriptions of Nineveh and Babylon are utter 
strangers. There is a truth of spiritual concep¬ 
tion, a loftiness of spiritual tone, a conviction 
of unseen realities, a confident reliance upon an 
invisible but all-controlling power, a humble 
worship in the presence of the supreme maj¬ 
esty, a peace in union and communion with 
the one and only God, and the vigorous germs 
of an ethics reflecting his will, which make an 
infinite gap between the Hebrew and his brother 
Shemite “ beyond the river,” that all likeness 
of literary form does not begin to span. 

(3.) In thinking of the uses of Assyriology in 
Old Testament studj^ our minds turn most 
readily to the positive historical confirmations 
and explanations which have been awakened by 
the blow of the excavator’s pick, and risen up 
before us out of the ground. And in this as- 






68 


THE OLD TESTAMENT. 


pect of it Assyriology is a mine of wealth. It 
proves, speaking broadly, and leaving out of 
account for the time the occasional difficulties 
which it presents, that among the nations of I 
antiquity, whose literary remains have come 
down to us, the Hebrews were the only outsid¬ 
ers who really knew much about the great 
Asiatic empires. The stamp of honesty and 
competency is thus put upon their historical 
documents, if they needed it. The Egyptians 
were too far away, and came too seldom into 
any relations with Babylon and Nineveh, to be 
of first-rate value as witnesses to their deeds. 
The Hebrews, with their nearer position, and 
more frequent and memorable contact, had also 
a conscientiousness and skill in annalistic writ¬ 
ing which make their evidence in regard to the 
history of their neighbors important and trust¬ 
worthy, though, of course, disconnected. The 
inscriptions which show us this, give us thereby 
a new ground of confidence in Hebrew history 
as a whole. F. Brown. 

It is notew'orthy how these researches are 
affecting the old authorities. Herodotus, 
Manetho, Ctesias, and most early w^riters suffer 
greatly by the contact ; Berosus less, though we 
know him but in fragments. The only ancient 
historical authority that walks in safety down 
the centuries by the side of all these unexpected 
disclosures, and is constantly becoming vindi¬ 
cated from hostile criticism, is the sacred Script¬ 
ures. While, in all this vast range of research, 
very few authenticated facts seem to conflict 
with those frank narratives, many a new dis¬ 
covery is coming to their confirmation. The 
old Table of the nations (Genesis 10) acquires 
fresh interest and value. A land of Cush (Gen¬ 
esis 2 :13), long remanded to Africa alone, is 
found in Western Asia. The land of Shinar re¬ 
appears in old Sumir, with its burned “ bricks 
for stone” and its “pitch for mortar.” The 
life and times of Abraham fall into their proper 
setting, both in Assyria and in Egypt, The 
marauding monarchs of the East put in an ap¬ 
pearance, and Arioch (Eriaku) dwells in Ellasar 
or Larsa. Belshazzar also, long lost and even 
denied to history, comes forth from a buried in¬ 
scription, and Cyrus declares the capture of 
Babylon, “ without fighting,” to have been 
made on just such a riotous feast-day as the 
Scripture describes. Thewffiole book of Daniel, 
notwithstanding one or two remaining difficul¬ 
ties, is found to be so suffused with Babylonian 
life, customs and institutions as to make it en¬ 


tirely impracticable, says Dr, W. H. Ward, to- 
bring down the date, as has been attempted, 
three hundred years. And whereas the book of 
Judith is thus revealed a sheer invention, the 
book of Daniel, on its historic side, stands firmer 
than ever. In Egypt, where Herodotus is found 
wanting. Genesis steadily gains new confirma¬ 
tion. Von Bohlen, who assailed its historic ac¬ 
curacy fifty years ago, was extinguished in the 
encounter. And Mr. K, S. Poole has not hesi¬ 
tated to assert that the effort to reduce the date 
of these narratives many hundred years is 
wholly incompatible with their minute con¬ 
formity to all the circumstances of the age of 
the Hamessides, and that the late Egyptian 
discoveries “ emphatically call for a reconsid¬ 
eration” of that position. The excavation in 
the earth will undermine the castle in the air. 
S. C. B. • 

It is inconceivable, that if the Biblical his¬ 
tory, covering the space of time and dealing as 
it does with the affairs of most of the great na¬ 
tions of antiquity, were a fictitious narrative, 
modern historical science, with its searching 
methods and its exact and extended knowledge 
of the past, should not long ere this have dem¬ 
onstrated the fact, and completely overthrown 
the historical authority of the sacred volume. 
But it is not even pretended that this has been 
done. As the stores of antique lore have been 
unlocked, and our acquaintance with the an¬ 
cient world has increased in extent, precision, 
and accuracy, it has become more and more ap¬ 
parent that such a confutation of the historical 
character of the sacred records is impossible. 
G. R. 

As emphasizing the immense advance made 
in archaeological discovery during the last half 
century the following paragraph from the Bib. 
Repository, 1841, is cited. B. 

“It is much to be lamented that all the 
ancient archives of Nineveh and Babylon and 
Tyre and Thebes and Memphis have perished. 
For, that thej" once possessed very ample his¬ 
tories and annals, we have abundant testimony. 
Their loss is but poorly supplied by the com¬ 
paratively modern Greek and Jewish historians, 
or by the Christian fathers. It is to the Bible 
chiefly, that we must have recourse for infor¬ 
mation relative to all that vast period which 
elapsed anterior to the time at which Herodotus 
commences his elaborate and interesting his¬ 
tory.” Dr. P. Lindsley. 








THE PENTATEUCH: ITS STRUCTURE. 


09 


Section 9. 

THE PENTATEUCH ; 

STRUCTURE ; EVIDENCES ; MOSAIC AUTHORSHIP. 


The Pentateuch is the Greek name given to 
the five books, commonly called the Five Books 
of Moses, In the time of Ezra and Nehemiah it 
was called “ the Law of Moses,” or “ the Book 
of the Law of Moses,” or simply ” the Book of 
Moses.” This Avas beyond all reasonable doubt 
our existing Pentateuch. The book which was 
discovered in the Temple in the reign of Josiah, 
and which is entitled “ the Book of the Law of 
Jehovah by the hand of Moses,” was substan¬ 
tially, it would seem, the same volume, though 
it may afterward have undergone some revision 
by Ezra. The present Jews usuallj' call the 
whole by the name of Torah, i.e., “ the Law,” 
or Toraih JSlosheh, “the Law of Moses.” The 
division of the whole work into five parts was 
probably made by the Greek translators, for the 
titles of the several books are not of Hebrew but 
of Greek origin. The Hebrew names are merely 
taken from the first words of each book, and in 
the first instance only designated particular 
sections, and not whole books. The mss. of the 
Pentateuch form a single roll or volume, and 
are divided, not into books, but into larger and 
smaller sections, called Pershiyolh and Sedarim. 
P. S. 

The Pentateuch has the air and manner of * 
history ; the Jews have always regarded it in 
that light ; and modern historical, geographi¬ 
cal, and archmological inquiries are found to 
bear witness to its truth. Internally, the nar¬ 
rative is consistent with itself ; externally, it is 
supported by all that has any claim to be con¬ 
sidered sober earnest in the histories of other 
nations. G. R. 

The five books of the Pentateuch form a con¬ 
secutive whole : they are not merely a collection 
of ancient fragments loosely strung together, 
but a well-digested and connected composition. 
The great subject of this history is the estab¬ 
lishment of the Theocracy. Its central point 
is the giving of the Law on Sinai, and the sol¬ 
emn covenant there ratified, whereby the Jewish 
nation was constituted “ a kingdom of priests 
and a holy nation to Jehovah,” The book of 
Genesis (with the first chapters of Exodus) de¬ 
scribes the steps which led to the establishment 
of the Theocracy. Abraham is the father of 
the Jewish nation; to Abraham the Land of 
Canaan is first given in promise. It is a part 


of the writer’s plan to tell us what the Divine 
preparation of the world was, in order to show, 
first, the significance of the call of Abraham, 
and next, the true nature of the Jewish theoc¬ 
racy. He begins with the creation of the world, 
because the God who created the world and the 
God who revealed himself to the fathers is the 
same God. The book of Genesis has thus a 
character at once special and universal. It em¬ 
braces the world ; it speaks of God as the God 
of the whole human race. Its design is to show 
how God revealed himself to the first fathers of 
the Jewish race, that he miglit make to himself 
a nation who should be his witnesses in the 
midst of the earth. Five principal persons are 
the pillars, so to speak, on which the whole 
superstructure rests, Adam, Noah, Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob. A specific jilan is preserved 
throughout. The main purpose is never for¬ 
gotten. God’s relation to Israel holds the first 
place in the writer’s mind. It is this which it 
is his object to convey. The history of that 
chosen seed, who were the heirs of the promise 
and the guardians of the Divine oracles, is the 
only history which interprets man’s relation to 
1 God. By its light all others shine, and may be 
read when the time shall come. Die. B. 

The primary object of the Pentateuch, both 
in its record of primeval and patriarchal ex¬ 
perience, and in its detailed recital of the con¬ 
stitution and laws conferred upon the Israelitish 
community, was to furnish the groundwork of 
a revelation of God, embracing every point of 
view in which to infinite Wisdom it appeared 
desirable for the Creator and Governor of the 
universe to manifest himself to creatures made 
capable of knowing him. However diversified 
its contents, this grand aim of the record is 
never lost sight of ; and that object is effected 
by making it simultaneously a revelation of man 
himself, and whose character is to be learned, 
not so much from abstract statements as from 
an infallible narrative of his acts and utter¬ 
ances ; particularly when taken in connection 
with the Divine requirements expressed in the 
law, and with the provision graciously made for 

his varied necessities. D. M.-These earlier 

books give rather the history of a revelation 
than the revelation itself ; and both the history 
and the revelation are imperfect. Much must 





70 


THE PENTA TEUGII: 


have been told and enjoined of which no record 
is given in Scripture. In Eden, man must have 
known much more of God and of duty than is 
set forth in Genesis. There must have been a 
law defining right and wrong before the Deca¬ 
logue. We read of men calling on the name of 
the Lord (Gen. 4) long before we learn that they 
were taught to pray. They offered sacrifices, 
both of thanksgiving and of expiation, centuries 
before there is any record of a Divine command 
in relation to either. Nor is this true of posi¬ 
tive institutions only. There seem to have 
been prophecies of a future judgment addressed 
to the antediluvians ; but we read of them only 
in the Epistle of Jude. There we learn for the 
first time how Enoch foretold that the Lord was 
to come with tens of thousands of his holy ones, 
and was to execute judgment on the ungodly 
for their deeds of ungodliness. We have no in¬ 
timation, it is sometimes said, in the earlier 
books of the Bible, of a future life. The re¬ 
wards of the Jewish economy belong to the pres¬ 
ent life, and none of them to the next. Hence, 
it is added, the Jews had no knowledge of such 
a life, which is “ brought to light ” only by the 
gospel. But this view is a mistake, both in 
fact and in the principle of interpretation on 
which it rests. The Jews must have known as 
much, at least, as the Egyptians, as the Bud¬ 
dhist, the Brahmin, the American Indian. The 
language of the Psalms, and the comments of 
the New Testament on Abraham, on Moses, on 
the worthies of Hebrews 11, all show that those 
men sought a home on the other side of the 
grave, and believed in a city, not of tents, but 
with foundations at once steadfast and lasting. 
The Pentateuch may not tell us how or when 
that life was revealed, nor point to that life as 
the reward of obedience to the law ; but it was 
an object of faith and hope, and must therefore 
have been the theme of a divine intimation— 
given either through man’s nature or by an act¬ 
ual announcement. Angus. 

The Pentateuch in its statements is marked 
by a perfect simplicity and sobriety. In its nar¬ 
rative it contains not a word of embellishment, 
of exaggeration, or of depreciation. It casts 
over all its facts a pure “ dry light.” It records 
events without comments. It supports no the¬ 
ories and takes no sides. A severe simplicity 
governs the style as well as the statements. 
The natural and the superhuman events are re¬ 
corded in the same quiet way. It consistently 
pursues a definite historic end. It opens the rec¬ 
ord of God’s dealings with man, and of the facts 
adjacent ; God’s communications, the human 
channels of his mercies, and the reception 


which they met. It has the severe and unmis¬ 
takable tone of a great utterance to and for sin¬ 
ning man. To its great historic end everything 
is subordinated. The narrative of the Penta¬ 
teuch is pre-eminently true to Jiuman nature, both 
in its regenerate and its unregenerate condition. 
Even such sublime faith as that of Abraham and 
of Noah, in kind if not in degree, the world has 
long since been forced to recognize as a fact. 
The attendant human weakness, wherebj' an 
Abraham could timidly equivocate and a Noah 
become intoxicated, the church in. every age has 
sadly learned to be also true to life. They are 
real characters, not ideal creations. And, fear¬ 
less and impartial in its tone, the Pentateuch 
does not pause to apologize or explain. Some¬ 
times w’hen a word would have precluded a 
cavil, that word is withheld. The Pentateuch 
thus carries, in the strongest form, every mark 
of a veritable history. S. C. B. 

The Pentateuch contemporaneous with the Law. 
Through a period of over a thousand years (back 
from the time of Christ) we have notices of a 
work containing the Laws which governed the 
Jews. We find that the various names by which 
it is called, beginning with the New Testament, 
in all the works whidli have come down to our 
time, are repeated in an unbroken series back 
to the time of Joshua. “The Law,” “The 
Law of Moses,” “ The Law of the Lord,” “ The 
Book of the Law by the hand of Moses,” “ The 
Book of the Law of the Lord,’’ are used as 
names to designate the Pentateuch from the 
days of Paul to the days of Joshua. And 
farther, the passages which are quoted by all this 
series of writers from the book referred to under 
these names are contained in the Pentateuch, 
and are often quoted with verbal exactness, 
even when the language is peculiar. Still 
further, peculiar words and phrases are used fre¬ 
quently in all these writings, obviously taken 
from “ The Law,” showing that it was a book 
whose contents were familiar to these writers. 
The whole atmosphere of these books is fragrant 
with the incense which rose from the Law, and 
the whole elaborate, magnificent ritual of the 
nation found imbedded in it. Our Pentateuch 
must have existed in their day, or all historical 
evidence is false and worthless. Stebbins. 

The New Testament is historically a continua¬ 
tion of the scheme of which the Pentateuch is 
the commencement. It also purports to be doc- 
trinalJy the development of the older dispensa¬ 
tion ; the realization of its types, and the ful¬ 
filment of its promises and prophecies. Even 
the historical narratives of the Pentateuch are 
made to assume in the New Testament a doc- 



EVIDENCES. 


trinal connection with the Gospel. Thus the 
account of the creation has its parallel and 
complement in the New Testament intimations 
of a “new creation.” The deliverance of the 
Israelites from bondage in order to their enter¬ 
ing into covenant with God and their occupancy 
of the land of promise, with all the correlative 
institutions, as priesthood, sacrifice, etc., are 
all represented by New Testament writers as 
having their counterparts in a higher and spir¬ 
itual form in the Christian economy. D. M. 

The following points are so firmly established 
that no criticism can ever overthrow them. 1. 
That the Pentateuch in its present form is ca¬ 
nonical and iheopneusHc, composed, arranged, 
and incorporated in the codex of the Sacred 
Scriptures of the Ancient Covenant with the co¬ 
operation of the Holy Spirit. 2. That it is au- 
thenUc: so far as its Divine origin is concerned, 
authentic because it is canonical ; and so far as 
its human origin is concerned, authentic and 3Io- 
saiCj because even though everything contained 
in it may not have been written by the pen of 
Moses himself, yet the composition of all the 
rest and the arrangement of the whole was com¬ 
pleted within the circle of his assistants, pupils, 
and contemporaries, and to a great extent was 
certainly performed under his supervision and 
by his direction. 3. Even if the separate por¬ 
tions of the Pentateuch are not all the produc¬ 
tion of one and the same pen, they form one 
complete work, and the whole is uniform, well- 
planned, well-arranged, and harmonious. 4. 
The Pentateuch in its present form constituted 
the foundation of the Israelitish history, whether 
civil, religious, moral, ceremonial, or even lit¬ 
erary. It is a historical fact, better established 
than any other in antiquarian research, that the 
Pentateuch is the basis and the necessary j)re- 
liminary of all Old Testament history and liter¬ 
ature, both of which—and with them Christian¬ 
ity as their fruit and perfection—would re¬ 
semble a tree without roots, a river without a 
source, or a building which, instead of resting 
on a firm foundation, was suspended in the air, 
if the composition of the Pentateuch were rele¬ 
gated to a later period in Jewish history. The 
references to the Pentateuch occurring in the 
history and literature of the Old Testament are 
so numerous and comprehensive, and they bear 
on so many different points, that we maintain 
that its five books, and all the portions of which 
it is at present made up, is the basis and the 
necessary antecedent of the history of the Jew¬ 
ish people, commonwealth, religion, manners, 
and literature. The existence of the nation of 
Israel, whether looked at on its brighter or its 


darker side—in its prosperity, in its fall and 
restoration, in its iDeculiar and unparalleled 
forms of development, in its religious views, its 
political institutions, its ceremonial arrange¬ 
ments, its literary productions, etc. (all of them 
things in which it stood quite alone in the an¬ 
cient world)—the Israelitish nation, we say, in 
all these respects, is utterly incomprehensible, 
except as the Law of Moses constituted the 
groundwork of its entire history. K. 

There is not the slightest hint in the histori¬ 
cal books that the laws found in the Pentateuch 
were ewicted or revised in any later time than that 
of the Mosaic age. It professes to contain only 
those laws and rites which were prescribed by 
Moses. There is not a particle of reliable evi¬ 
dence, either external or internal, that a single 
law recorded in the Pentateuch was the work of 
the period subsequent to the time of Moses. 
New laws are given, new regulations are estab¬ 
lished on the banks of the -Jordan, such as the 
changed condition of the people would require, 
after they had passed over and taken possession 
of the promised land. No fundamental laws 
were made afterward of which we have any rec¬ 
ord. All appeals are made to the law of Moses. 
The style and language of the Pentateuch, its 
peculiar phrases and “ archaic words,” shows 
that it must have been written^some centuries 
before any other of the extant Hebrew writings, 
thus remitting its composition to several gener¬ 
ations before the time of David. Governed by 
its language we must date the Pentateuch as 
early as the Mosaic Age. The contents of the 
Pentateuch, the journal-like arrangement of its 
events and laws, the constant assumption or 
implication that it was written in a camp and 
many of its laws adapted only to camp life, the 
amendments of laws w'hen on the borders of 
the promised land to fit them to the changed 
condition and wants of the people, the inven¬ 
tories of gifts, the record of specifications for 
materials and work for sacred use, the story of 
incidents which caused pew laws to be enacted 
or old ones amended, the obviously undesigned 
coincidences of events separated by many chap¬ 
ters and much time, confirm the previous his¬ 
toric and linguistic evidence of the composition 
of the Pentateuch in the Mosaic age, and prove 
its direct or indirect Mosaic authorship. Steb- 
bins. 

In all the Old Testament books we have in¬ 
numerable references to the facts contained in 
the Pentateuch ; references made by many dif¬ 
ferent writers, in many different ages. Hence 
the Israelitish nation must have had, from the 
origin of their commonwealth, a great, stand- 





72 


TEE PENTATEUCH: 


ing, and authoritative record of these facts ; and 
this record must have been the Pentateuch it¬ 
self. For, if there had been no such history to 
serve as the common guide of all these authors, 
it must have been morally impossible for them, 
in such a vast number of allusions and quota¬ 
tions, and these extending to such a multitude 
of minute details, to avoid innumerable incon¬ 
sistencies with each other. Can we believe that 
the wit of man is equal to the task of framing 
a fictitious history, in which all these manifold 
references, citations, and rehearsals, dispersed 
through the works of so many authors, writing 
for so many different objects, and in so many 
different styles and ages, should be introduced 
and harmonized without a single jar, and with 
such an air of verisimilitude and originality, 
that all the world should mistake the fabrication 
as the common fountain and source of the very 
books, out of which it was formed ? Consider ! 
“ All these multiplied and various compositions 
unite in presupposing tlie existence and the 
truth of the Pentateuch, and uniformly refer to 
and quote it as the onlj^ true and genuine ac¬ 
count of the ancient history and known laws of 
the Jews. They recite its facts ; they refer to 
its laws ; they celebrate its author ; they ap¬ 
peal to the people, to the kings, to the i^riests ; 
they rebuke and threaten them for neglecting 
the law of Moses, as contained in the Penta¬ 
teuch ; and, what is most decisive, they never 
once give the least hint of any rival law, of any 
new compilation, of any doubt as to its authen¬ 
ticity.” {Graves.) 

Of the external historical proofs of the genu 
ineness and authenticity of the Pentateuch, 
the sum is this. The evidence for the existence 
of this writing all along down from the return 
of the Jews out of captivity to the present time 
is so strong that none dispute it. At this point 
we enter upon debated territory. Yet the Pen¬ 
tateuch could not have been compiled at this 
time, but must have been the same writing 
which the Jews received as the law of Moses be¬ 
fore the captivity, because it was evidently well 
known both to Jews and heathen during the 
captivity ; because the law enforced by Ezra re¬ 
quired sacrifices of the people, to which thej^ 
Avould never have submitted but in obedience 
to a code of established and unquestionable 
authority ; because many persons, who were 
present at the laying of the foundation of the 
second temple, had seen the first, and must 
have known the law then in use, and therefore 
could and would have detected and exposed a 
fabricated cod*; because three distinct copies 
sff the writing can be traced,—one brought by 


the returned Jews (Hag. 2 :11), a second carried 
by Ezra (7 ; 14, 25) and a third taken by Nehe- 
miah (1 : 7-9)—manifestly not borrowed from 
each other, yet all agreeing in their statements ; 
and because the Samaritans, the bitter enemies 
of the Jews, as well before as after the captiv¬ 
ity, acknowledged it as of divine origin and 
authority. Again, our copy of the Pentateuch 
must have existed prior to the division of the 
tribes into the separate kingdoms of Israel and 
Judah, because the monarchs and people of the 
former, not less than those of the latter, owned 
its authority as the code of the w'hole Jewish 
race before that event, notwithstanding it was 
repugnant to their interests as an independent 
state, and interposed the greatest obstacle to 
the peculiar policy adopted from the first and 
steadily pursued to the end by the Israelitish 
kings. Further, the Pentateuch, as we have it. 
must have preceded the establishment of mon¬ 
archy among the Hebrews, because it not only 
does not exhibit a regal form of government, 
but expressly opposes that description of polity, 
noticing it as an innovation that would arise 
in the progress of ages, and seeking, b^'^ various 
admirable enactments, to counteract its innate 
tendencies to despotism and tyranny. And 
further still, this venerable writing must be 
coeval w’ith the origin of the Hebrew state, be¬ 
cause, during the interval which elapsed be¬ 
tween the first formation of the government and 
the establishment of monarchy, no change was 
made in the form of polity, no occasion arose 
for fabricating a code, no conceivable interest 
could be promoted by such a procedure, and no 
man or body of men appear to have possessed 
an influence sufficiently commanding to give 
currency to the imposition. Superadded to all 
these considerations is the still more forcible 
fact, that a long catalogue of Jewish writers, 
stretching from the age of Moses himself down 
to the birth of Christ, have acknowledged and 
cited the Pentateuch, in every possible form of 
acknowledgment and citation, as the true and 
authentic history and code of their nation ; and 
that, among the many disputes and differences 
of opinion which the Jews have had about the 
Mosaic law, there never was any such dispute 
or difference as this, w'hether Moses was the 
author of the writing, or whether it contained a 
credible account of the foundation and early 
annals of their state ; even the Sadducees, 
learned men and free-thinkers, who rejected all 
the other books held sacred by their country¬ 
men, acknowledging the Pentateuch as genuine 
and divine. The world may be challenged to 
produce a chain of evidence, of equal strength, 




MOSAIC A UTHORSHIP. 


73 


in support of the genuineness and authenticity 
of any other ancient writing. E. C. W. 

The essential and systematic unity of the 
present Pentateuch as a composition is affirmed 
by such analysts as Ewald, Tuch, Knobel, Hup- 
feld, in the strongest terms, and is too obvious 

to be disputed. S. C. B.-That there is a 

unity of design in the Pentateuch which can 
only be explained on the supposition of a single 
author, who must have been Moses, is the 
ground taken by Hengstenberg, Havernick, 
Drechsler, Banke, Welte, Keil, Professor Doug¬ 
las, Professor Bartlett. Die. B. 

Mosaic Authorship. A literary work exhibit¬ 
ing such marks of connection and order it is 
natural to ascribe to one author. Moses was a 
man of learning (Acts 7 :22), a writer (Exod. 
17 :14 ; 24^: 4), a poet (Exod. 15 ; Deut. 32), a 
law-giver, and a public leader. He was also a 
witness and a chief mover in all the events re¬ 
counted from the second chapter of Exodus to 
the last of Deuteronomy. It is therefore ante¬ 
cedently most probable that he w^as the author 
of the Pentateuch. Apart from the few passages 
which have the appearance of a later date, the 
w'ork remains still a perfect whole from the be¬ 
ginning to the death of Moses, when it closes. 
It is also expressly affirmed in the book itself 
that Moses wrote certain parts of it, if not 
the whole (Ex. 17 :14 ; 24 :4 ; Nu. 33 :2 ; De. 
31 : 9, 22, 24-26). Hence the probability is, that 
the whole work, being complete in itself, is the 
production of him to whom great part of it is 
by itself ascribed. As the whole book is also 
the first part of a progressive work, to be con¬ 
tinued for many ages, it is natural that certain 
explanatory notes may have been inserted by 
the direction of the Divine Author. As Moses 
may have elucidated the documents that c^me 
down to him by a few verbal changes and addi¬ 
tions, so may his continuator have added a few 
notes of explanation to his finished work for 
the benefit of a later generation. This proba¬ 
bility is turned into an established certaint 3 % by 
testimony of the most satisfactory kind, as soon 
as we go beyond the work itself into the suc¬ 
ceeding portions of Sacred Scripture. In the 
very first chapter of the book of Joshua we read 
of the book of the law, which is plainly ascribed 
to Moses (vs. 7, 8). Other references to the 
book of the law by Moses are found in subse¬ 
quent passages of Joshua (8 : 31-34 ; 33 : 6 ; 
24 :26). Similar testimonies are extant in the 
following books : Jud. 3 :1-4 ; 1 K. 2 :2, 3 ; 
8 ; 53 ; 2 K. 18 :4 ; 23 : 25 ; 2 Ch. 25 : 4 ; 34 : 14 ; 
35 :12 ; Ez. 6 :18 ; Neh. 8:1; 13 :1. Our Lord 
after his resurrection said, “ These are the words 


which I spake unto you while I was yet with 
you, that all things must be fulfilled which 
were written in the law of Moses, and in the 
larophets, and in the Psalms concerning me.” 
It is only needful to say that the law of Moses 
here means the Pentateuch, and that this pas¬ 
sage is only a single sample out of the concur¬ 
rent testimony of the New Testament to the 
Mosaic authorship of this book. M. 

The claim of Moses to the authorship of the 
Pentateuch was a matter of universal tradition, 
and never called in question either by Jews or 
Christians, for at least three thousand j'ears 
after its publication, till Thomas Hobbes of 
England, about a.d. 1650, advanced the bold 
hypothesis that the first five books of the Bible 
were called the books of Moses, not because he 
wrote them, but because they relate to transac¬ 
tions in wdiicli he acted a prominent part. Sub¬ 
sequent to the time of Hobbes, the Mosaic ori¬ 
gin of the Pentateuch has been assailed by a 
multitude of learned men, among whom the 
most distinguished are Spinoza, Simon, Leclerc, 
Volney, Hasse, Nachtigall, Vater, Bertholdt, De 
Wette, and Gesenius. 

The five books of Moses are written in pure 
Hebrew, with some diversity of style, such as 
naturally springs from the diversity of the sub¬ 
jects of which it treats ; but throughout with 
the utmost simplicit}’’, combined with an admi¬ 
rable force and vividness of expression. Of their 
inspiration and canonical authority no doubt 
has ever been entertained by the Church. 
Moses conversed with God “ face to face, as 
man speaketh unto his friend” (Ex. 33 :11) ; 
he was privileged to address God at all times 
(Ex. 25 : 22 ; Num. 7 :89 ; 9:8), and was in¬ 
vested with the power of working miracles (Ex. 
8 :19), et al. He affirms that what he deliv¬ 
ered was b}' the command, and at the sugges¬ 
tion of the Almighty ; and the sacred writers of 
the New Testament uniformly acknowledge the 
inspired authority and divine legarion of Moses. 
The Pentateuch, immediately after its composi¬ 
tion, was deposited by the ark in the tabernacle 
(Deut. 31 :26) ; it was read every Sabbath day 
in the synagogues (Luke 4:16; Acts 13 :15, 
27 ; 15 :21), and in the most solemn manner 
every seventh year (Deut. 31 :10), et seq.; the 
supreme ruler in Israel was obliged to copy it 
(Deut. 17 :18, 19 ; 27 : 3) ; the people were com¬ 
manded to teach it diligently to their children 
(Lev. 10 :11 ; Deut. 6 : 6-9), and it was pre¬ 
served by the Israelites with the most vigilant 
care, as the divine record of their civil and re¬ 
ligious polity. Its being thus guarded as a 
sacred deposit, is the surest guarantee that it 





74 


THE PENTATEUCH: 


has descended to us in a general uncorrupted 
purity. Bush. 

Every fresh examination of the topography 
and geography of places described or alluded 
to in the Pentateuch, shows that the writer had 
that exact local information which could proceed 
only from personal observation. ‘ ‘ The Old 
Testament,” says Legh, “ is beyond all com¬ 
parison the most interesting and instructive 
guide of which a traveller in the East can avail 
himself.” “ Wherever any fact is mentioned 
in the Bible history,” says Wilkinson, “ we do 
not discover anything on the monuments which 
ten is to contradict it.” These and similar facts 
‘ have led such unprejudiced historians and 
writers as Ritter, Heeren, Leo, Schlosser, Luden, 
Ideler, Wachler, and others, to recognize the 
books of Moses as authentic history. The 
principal facts of the Pentateuch are acknowl¬ 
edged by Heeren, in his “ History of An¬ 
tiquity,” to be historically established. John 
von Muller says of the tenth chapter of Genesis, 
that “ the data are, geographically, altogether 
true. From this chapter universal history ought 
to begin.” “ The record of God’s miraculous 
Providence,” says Luden, in his “History of 
Antiquity,” “ in regard to the Israelites, the 
oldest monument of written history, did not pre¬ 
serve the people faithful toward God.” “ We 
have come to the decided conviction, ” remarks 
Leo, ” after examining what has been lately 
written on this subject, that the essential parts 
of the law, as w^ell as a great portion of the his¬ 
torical accounts, which form the groundwork of 
the Pentateuch, and cannot be entirely separated 
from the laws, as they show their import and 
design, were written by Moses himself, and that 
the collecting the whole into one body, if not 
done by Moses himself, certainly took place 
soon after his time, perhaps during his life, and 
under his own eye.” B. B. E. 

The time when the Pentateuch was reduced to 
its present form may be determined with toler¬ 
able certainty. On the one hand, the fact that 
the existence of the Pentateuch and its laws is 
presupposed by the history and literature of 
Israel, of which in fact they formed the basis, 
compels us to fix upon a period as near to the 
time of Moses as other circumstances will allow. 
On the other hand, there are certain features in 
the Pentateuch itself which bring us below the 
lifetime of Moses, to the period of the complete 
occupation of the promised land. The latter 
portion of Joshua’s life and the first years of 
the period of the Judges are the limits within 
which, in all probability, the completion of the 
Pentateuch falls. K. 


While we might well stand firm on the posi¬ 
tion of Schultz, that Moses was both the Jeho- 
vist and Deuteronumist, using the older Elohis- 
tic records and composing the whole Pentateuch 
except the concluding part of Deuteronomy 
(and the glosses that have since crept in), we 
might, if we chose, hold with Kurtz that the 
most of Deuteronomy and large portions of the 
Pentateuch being written by Moses in person, 
the remainder was arranged and compiled under 
his direction before entering the promised 
land ; or perhaps we should occupy no unwar¬ 
rantable position if we* held, with Delitzsch 
formerly, that the completion of the whole 
work, of which Deuteronomy and much else 
were by the hand of Moses, was reserved for 
one or more of his trusted associates, as Eleazer 
the priest, and Joshua, who was a^rophet, or 
some one of the elders on whom the spirit of 
God rested. S. C. B. 

It is not intended to assert that Moses was 
the original composer of all the documents con¬ 
tained in the Pentateuch. The Book of Genesis 
bears marks of being to some extent a compila¬ 
tion. Moses probably possessed a number of 
records, some of greater and some of less an¬ 
tiquity, of which under Divine guidance he 
made use in writing the history of mankind up 
to his own time. It is possible that the Book 
of Genesis may have been even mainly com¬ 
posed in this waj" from ancient narratives, regis¬ 
ters and biographies, in part the property of 
the Hebrew race, in part a possession common 
to that race with others. Guided by God’s 
Spirit, Moses would choose among such docu¬ 
ments those which were historically true, and 
which bore upon the religious history of the 
human race. Pie would not be bound slavishly 
to follow, much less to transcribe them, but 
would curtail, expand, adorn, complete them, 
and so thoroughly make them his own, infusing 
into them the religious tone of his own mind, 
at the same time re-writing them in his own 
language. Thus it would seem that Genesis 
was produced. The remainder of his history 
he would write from his own knowledge. And 
it is not intended to deny that the Pentateuch 
may have undergone an authoritative revision 
by Ezra. And this would account at once- for 
the language not being more archaic than it is, 
and for the occasional insertion of paientheses 
of the nature of a comment. It would also ex¬ 
plain the occurrence of “ Chaldaism” in the 
text. G. R. 

That Moses was the author and writer of the 
Pentateuch was tne belief of all Jewish and 
Christian antiquity. The sacred narrative itself 





MOSAIC AUTIIOUSIIIP. 


75 


contains assertions of this authorship. Thus, 
Ex. 17 :14, after a memorable battle, “ The 
Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial 
in the book as though there were a 

regular account kept in a well-known book. 
Again, Ex. 24 :4, “ Moses wrote all the words 
of the Lord.” So Ex.’34 : 27, ” The Lord said 
unto Moses, Write thou these words.” In 
Num. 33 :2, we read that “ Moses wrote their 
goings out according to their journeys by the 
commandment of the Lord.” In Deut. 17 : 18, 
19, it is commanded that the king, who should 
hereafter reign, should ” write him a copy of 
this law in a book out of that which is before 
the priests the Levites and in Deut. 31 ; 9, 
10, 11, at the very end of the Pentateuch, we 
read, ” Moses wrote this law, and delivered it 
unto the priests the sons of Levi,” command¬ 
ing, that “ at the end of every seven years” 
they should ” read this law before all Israel in 
their hearing.” Several times Moses himself in 
Deuteronomy names ‘‘this law,” and “the 
Book of this law” (Deut. 28 :61 ; 29 : 19, 20, 
29), as though he had written a book for his 
people to keep. E. H. B. 

The art of writing already existed, and was 
largely in use before the time of Moses. The 
ancient Egyptians were a race of indefatigable 
writers. Everything was done in writing. In 
all pictorial representations the scribe was 
ubiquitous. The occasion and urgent motive for 
such a composition were also in existence. Not 
only had a nation sprung into life, and found 
its independence and its institutions ; it had 
also found its God. Here was a grand epoch 
that solemnly called for memorials and records, 
and for an historic review of the way in which 
their God had led them. The aim and method 
of the Pentateuch spring from and are in per¬ 
fect harmony with the occasion. The book is 
the legitimate outgrowth of that occasion. 
Moses had motive, opportunity, qualifications 
to meet the demand and compose the work. 
jHe was pre-eminently the man to appreciate 
the occasion, to feel the impulse, and to use 
the facilities. That Moses was the responsible 
author of the Pentateuch is shown by positive 
evidence, varied, abundant, uncontradicted. 
The books nowhere contain the slightest allu¬ 
sion to any other authorship than that of 
Moses. He is repeatedly mentioned as a writer 
engaged in the composition, and there is abso¬ 
lute silence concerning any other writer. The 
later books of the Old Testament ascribe the 
authorship of the Pentateuch without limita¬ 
tion to Moses, specially citing four of the five 
books in their statements. It was the undis¬ 


puted testimony of the Jewish nation, at and 
before the time of Christ, that the Pentateuch 
as a whole was written by Moses. Christ and 
the writers^ of the New Testament indorse the 
ascription of the Pentateuch to Moses. The 
positive testimony lies wholly on one side ; 
not a hint can be found in any historic quarter 
that any person later than Moses composed 
either the volume or any integral part of it. 
Collateral indications corroborate this testimony. 
The existence of the Pentateuch can be traced 
almost up to the time of Moses, in the allusions 
and references of the subsequent books of the 
Old Testament. Egyptian words and other 
traces of Egyptian residence are found in these 
five books ; also traces of the wandering in the 
wilderness. A corroborative circumstance of 
great weight is found in the inability of the de- 
niers of the Mosaic authorship to suggest even 
a plausible substitute. S. C. B. 

Internal evidence in favor of the Mosaic author¬ 
ship briefly stated. (1) The book is exactly 
such a one as a writer of the age, character and 
circumstances of Moses might be expected to 
produce. Its style is archaic. The life de¬ 
scribed, the ideas, the characters, have about 
them the genuine air of primitive antiquity. 
The student of the original observes that the 
very words themselves, the constructions, the 
grammatical forms, bear similar traces of a re¬ 
mote authorship, being often such as had be¬ 
come obsolete even before the composition of 
the Book of Joshua. (2) The wu-iter shows a 
close acquaintance with Egypt, its general as¬ 
pect, history, geography, manners, customs, 
productions and language, which would be nat¬ 
ural to Moses, but which cannot be shown to 
belong naturally, or even probably, to any later 
Israelite, down to the time of Jeremiah. Heng- 
stenberg {Egypt and Moses) has irrefutably estab¬ 
lished the exactitude and vast extent of the 
author’s Egyptian knowledge, which is now 
allowed on all hands. His argument does not 
admit of compression, since it depends mainly 
on the multiplicity and minuteness of its de¬ 
tail ; but the impression which it leaves may be 
stated briefly as follows :—That either a person 
born and bred in Egypt about the time of the 
Exodus wrote the Pentateuch, or that a writer 
of a later age elaborately'’ studied the history and 
antiquities of the Egyptians for the purpose of 
imposing a forgery upon his countrymen, and 
that he did this with such skill and success that 
not even modern criticism, with its lynx-eyed 
perspicacity and immense knowledge of the 
past, can detect and expose the fraud or point 
out a single place in which the forger stumbled 






7G 


THE PENTATEUCH: 


through ignorance. (8) The writer is also fully 
aware of all the peculiar features of the Sinaitic 
peninsula, and has a knowledge of the ancient 
condition and primitive races of Canaan, quite 
beyond the reach of any one who lived much 
later than Moses. This is natural enough, sup¬ 
posing that the work was composed Moses, 
but would be very forced and artificial in a 
writer of a later age, even if we suppose such a 
writer to have any means of acquiring the in¬ 
formation. G. R. 

The author of the Pentateuch and the giver of 
the Levitical I^aw had an intimate acquaintance 
with Egypt, its literature, its laws and its re¬ 
ligion. The language and the legislation of the 
Pentateuch has Canaan only in prospect. It is 
patent throughout that the wording, both of the 
laws and of the language of the lawgiver, looks 
forward to a future in Canaan, (See Ex. 
12 ; 25-27 ; 13 :1, 5 ; 23 : 20-33 ; 34 :11 ; Lev. 
14 : 34 ; 18 : 3, 24 ; 19 : 23 ; 20 : 22 ; 23 : 10 ; 
25 : 2 ; Num. 15 : 2, 18 ; 34 : 2 ; 35 : 2-34 ; 

Deut. 4:1; 6 :10 ; 7 :1 ; 9 :1 ; 12 :10, etc.) 

It has been objected, that the writer of the 
Pentateuch knew too much of the geography of 
Palestine for one who had never been there, 
and that this is an argument against its Mosaic 
origin. This surely cannot be a valid objec¬ 
tion, when we remember, first, that Moses with 
his kuowledge of the history of Genesis and of 
the wanderings of the old Patriarchs, must have 
become familiarized with the geography of the 
land of these wanderings ; secondly, that Pales¬ 
tine was well known to the Egyptians, who re¬ 
peatedly traversed it from the reign of Thoth- 
mes I. ; thirdly, that Moses had lived for forty 
years in the wilderness of Sinai feeding the 
flocks of Jethro, and with his active mind and 
his deep interest in the country of his fore¬ 
fathers, ho was sure to have inquired about, 
most probably even to have visited, the neigh¬ 
boring plains of Palestine ; fourthly, that he 
had taken pains to ascertain all the character of 
the country, of its people, its cities and its for 
tresses by means of spies, and that probably for 
many years, as every wise general would do, 
when preparing to invade a hostile and power¬ 
ful people, E. H, B. 

The Pentateuch professes to be the work of 
Moses. The author does not formally an¬ 
nounce himself, but by the manner in which he 
writes implies that he is Moses. This is so 
clear and palpable that even the antagonists of 
the genuineness are forced to allow it. “ The 
author of the last four books,” says one, “ wishes 
to be taken for Moses.” “ The writer of Deu¬ 
teronomy,” says another, “would have men | 


think that his whole book is composed by 
Moses.’’ And Strauss remarks naively enough, 
“ The books which describe the departure of 
the Israelites from Egypt and their wanderings 
through the wilderness, bear the name of 
Moses, who, being their leader, would undoubt¬ 
edly give a faithful history of these occurrences, 
unless he designed to deceive ; and who, if his 
intimate connection with Deity described in 
these books be historically true, was eminently 
qualified by virtue of such connection to pro¬ 
duce a credible history of the earlier periods. 
G. R. 

Abraham, as the direct representative of 
Shem, would be the natural depository of what¬ 
ever knowledge God had given either to the 
antediluvian or the patriarchal world. And 
this knowledge, carefully guarded and preserved 
as a most precious deposit, would account for 
the pure faith of Abraham and the family to 
which he belonged. These documents Moses 
would use under the guidance of God's Holy 
Spirit ; but it would have been impossible for 
any one, without miraculous intervention, to 
pen narratives which run so exactly alongside 
the Chaldean legends unless he had possessed 
the records of which the legends are the debased 
form. Their preservation from the time of 
Abraham to the age of Moses was a matter of 
course. 

Nothing, too, was more natural than that the 
man who had been the head and leader in 
Israel’s exodus from Egypt, and whose office it 
was to form it into a nation, should give its 
history from the very first. He was brought 
up in all the learning of the Egyptians, he lived 
in a great crisis of his people’s history, he had 
himself been the prime mover in noble deeds, 
and whatever archives and documents existed 
belonging to the race, would be in his custody. 
He had abundant leisure in the wdlderness at 
Kadesh. And no man had such a call upon 
him to show who Israel was, and what were the 
covenant rights of the race, as the hero who 
was leading them to Canaan to win those rights 
by the sword. He had to justify their war of 
conquest ; he had to ennoble the people and 
teach them who and what they were ; and he 
had to make them worthy to fulfil the high des¬ 
tiny of a family in whom, as he taught, all the 
nations of the earth were to be blessed. Never 
had man such a call upon him to write the 
origin of a nation as Moses, and no one can 
read the Pentateuch without feeling that Israel’s 
mission and holy calling and the blessing con¬ 
tained within it for all mankind were motives 
I strong and urgent, all-constraining and ever 



WORK OF RATIONALISTIC CRITICS. 


present in the writer’s mind. Furthermore, 
who but Moses could have traced the origin and 
growth of Israel as a nation from the Paradise 
of Adam on the Euphrates to the moment when 
it was finally mustered for the conquest of Ca¬ 
naan ? Moses did combine the varied materials 
and knowledge necessary for the work, but be¬ 
sides Moses the7'e is no one. R, P. S. 

Special Points in support of Mosaic Authorship. 

To the Hebrew nation Moses was always the 
first and greatest of men. The writer of Exodus 
is unconscious of his possessing any personal 
greatness at all. The points in the personality 
of Moses on which this writer lays the greatest 
stress, are his deficiencies in natural gifts and 
his numerous imperfections of temper and 
character. No notice is taken of his courage, 
wisdom and faith in the performance of his 
mission from the time of his second appearance 
before Pharaoh (Ex, 7 :10). Nothing calls forth 
from the writer a single sentence of approval. 
Now this humble estimate of the deliverer and 
this reticence are quite intelligible and in har¬ 
mony with the rest of the Scripture, if the au¬ 
thor was Moses. They are wholly unintelligi¬ 
ble on any other hypothesis. G, R. 

Great national observances founded upon and ap¬ 
pealing to the 7ialional and conjemporaneous knoTjol- 
edge of the facts, constitute the highest possible 
form of testimony, and an absolutely insuper¬ 
able barrier to the foisting in of fabulous state¬ 
ments at any period of the national existence. 
Consider such observances as the Passover, 
with its perpetual commemoration of events of 
which the original participants are addressed as 
personal witnesses ; the Feast of Tabernacles, 
going down coeval with the nation’s history ; 
the Feast of Pentecost, containing in its perpet¬ 
ual formula (De. 26 :1-10) a reiteration of the 
doings in Egypt ; the perpetual ordinance for 
the consecration and redemption of the first¬ 
born ; the enforcement of the law of Sabbath 
rest by an appeal to the Egyptian bondage ; and 
it is evident that none but a nation of idiots 
could have received such ordinances on such pre¬ 
texts, unless the pretexts were true. Directly to 
one purpose, also all the continual appeals 
everywhere inwrought with the fundamental 
law of the nation, to remember the transactions 
in Eg 3 ^pt, which the original subjects of that 
law experienced in person. S. C. B. 

Throughout the Book of Exodus, not only the 
actions of Moses but his thoughts and feelings, 
the very words of his colloquies with God and 
of his prayers breathed inwardly to God, are 
declared to us with openness, simplicity, and 


an unmistakable stamp of truth. Who but 
Moses could dare to lay bare to us the secret 
thoughts of Moses, to expose to us the very re¬ 
cesses of his heart ? G. R. «. 

That the Pentateuch is not arranged in an 
orderly manner is in favor of the Mosaic author¬ 
ship. In Palestine the national code would 
have been digested and made uniform. The 
Pentateuch, after the close of the narrative of 
the Exodus, seems to have been written from 
time to time as occasion called for it. Inscribed 
on separate skins the various portions were in¬ 
dependent of one another, and often a consider¬ 
able time elapsed between the writing of one 
portion and that of another. Nearly forty 
years passed between the writing of the cove¬ 
nant-code in Exodus and the popular-code in 
Deuteronomy, and the purpose of the two was 
entirely distinct. R. P. S, 

“Moses” is spoken of as the beginning of 
^‘the Scriptures” (Lk. 24:27). Moses “ wrote” 
and left “writings” concerning Christ (Jn. 5 : 
46). “The Law of Moses—the Prophets—the 
Psalms”—are mentioned by our Saviour (Lk. 24 : 
44), “the Law of Moses” unquestionably de¬ 
noting the Pentateuch. Die. B. 

Sum7nary. The history and legislation of the 
Pentateuch lies at the basis of all the subse¬ 
quent history of the Old Testament. It is pre¬ 
supposed in the Psalms. It is presupposed in 
the Prophets. Moses’ authorship has the ex¬ 
plicit sanction of our blessed Lord himself. 
The prior existence of the Pentateuch is shown 
b}’’ its being interwoven with all subsequent 
portions of the history and. literature of Israel 
that it cannot be torn from it without the de¬ 
struction of the whole. It is upon this immov¬ 
able foundation that the traditional view 'se¬ 
curely reposes. The tradition is imbedded in 
the Scriptures from first to last, and can only 
be surrendered when the inspired volume itself 
is abandoned as untrustworthy, and Jesus ceases 
to be trusted as an infallible teacher. W. H. G. 

Work of Rationalistic Critics. 

The Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch is a 
thing which hitherto has not been disproved ; 
and the ingenious attempts of the modern re¬ 
constructed criticism to resolve the work into 
its various elements, and to give an account of 
the times when, and the persons by whom, they 
were -written, even if they had no other fault, 
must be pronounced premature ; for, until it is 
shown that the book was not composed by its 
reputed author, the mode and time of its com¬ 
position are not fit objects of research. The 
theological student may congratulate himself 




78 


THE PENTATEUCH: 


that this is so, and that he is not called upon to 
study and decide between the hoevty different 
views, each more complicated than the last, 
which continental critics have put out on this 

apparently inexhaustible subject. G, E.-Ge- 

senius, De Wette, Ewald, and Bleek say that 
Deuteronomy was composed long after the rest 
of the Pentateuch. Von Bohlen, Vater, Vatke 
and Keuss assert that it was written first, and is 
the source of the ceremonial parts of Exodus, 
Leviticus, and Numbers. Some put the Elohist 
before the Jehovist ; others reverse the order. 
Ewald finds seven different documents, and five 
different authors, in the Pentateuch ; others see 
two different documents, and two different au¬ 
thors. Shedd. 

There is an utter disagreement among the 
leading critics respecting the documents of 
Genesis. Some assert one Elohistic document, 
others two, and others three. In like manner 
some make one Jehovist ; some more. Some 
make the Jehovist identical with the compiler ; 
others make him a different person. Some 
make two, others three, others four, Ewald 
seven documents by different authors the ma¬ 
terials of Genesis. Ever)’’ one can understand 
that there is a great difference whether the 
Elohistic and the Jehovistic portions be each 
assigned to one person or be divided among 
two, three, or more persons. In these differing 
assignments and divisions the most celebrated 
critics convict each other of false criticism. 
They may all be wrong, but only one can be 
right. Considering, further, that one suiDposes 
the documents to be pre-Mosaic, others that 
they were written in the times of Joshua or the 
Judges, or in the time of David, or some cen¬ 
turies later, how uncertain the principles of 
their criticism appear, and how valueless their 
conclusions! With such facts can any sane 
person be willing to give up the belief of cen¬ 
turies for such criticism as this? Mg Caul. 

In the same portion, presenting every appear¬ 
ance of narrative unity, they find the strangest 
juxtapositions of passages from different au¬ 
thors, and written at different times, according 
as the one name or the other is found in it. 
There are the most sudden transitions even in 
small paragraphs having not only a logical but 
a grammatical connection. One verse, and even 
one clause of a verse, is written by the Elohist, 
and another immediately following by the Je¬ 
hovist, with nothing besides this difference of 
names to mark any difference in purpose or in 
authorship. Calling it a compilation will not 
help the absurdity, for no other compilation 
was ever made in this way. To make the con¬ 


fusion worse, there is brought in, occasionally, 
a third or a fourth writer, aneilitor, or reviewer, 
and all this without any of those actual proofs 
or tests which are applied to other ancient writ¬ 
ings, and in the use of which this “ higher criti¬ 
cism,” as it calls itself, is so much inclined to 
vaunt. T. L. 

Views—so diverse in themselves—start from 
a common assumption, and arrive at a common 
result. The assumption is that the Hebrew 
national life developed in accordance with the 
same general principles that have operated in 
other history. The result at which they arrive 
is that the Pentateuch was the outgrowth of the 
Hebrew national life, not its starting-point. 
Vatke put the assumption and the result con¬ 
cretely eight and forty years ago, when he said : 
“ Leviticus must have followed Isaiah, for 
sacerdotalism always follows faith. The Penta¬ 
teuch is the mastei-piece of Hebrew^ literature. 
And Hebrew histor)’ is the masterpiece of an¬ 
cient history. Both require to be accounted 
for. With the Pentateuch as a starting-point, 
all is explained.” Beach. -The critical meth¬ 

ods of Keuss, Kuenen and their school are not 
so much based on a candid examination of all 
the contents of the sacred books of Israel as 
they are deduced from the application of a 
speculative philosophy of human history to 
j these books, and on ingenious attempts to make 
i the philosophy account for the history. Terry. 

I After more than three quarters of a century 
of the ablest and most searching discussion, the 
following facts are to be observed ; (1) The lack 
of any absolute or general agreement among 
the anatomists of the Pentateuch as to the num¬ 
ber of parts of which it is formed ; (2) still less 
agreement in the assignment of the several por¬ 
tions to their supposed originals ; (3) and no 
thoroughly self-consistent theory of a supposed 
methodical combination of documents in what¬ 
ever mode, has yet been broached—unless it is 
some such “ supplementary hypothesis” as vir¬ 
tually recognizes one proper author. . . . The 
attempts to invalidate the traditional view in 
regard lo the authorship of the Pentateuch may 
all be characterized as effort to set aside the 
usual laws of evidence by evasions and side- 
issues,—chiefly unwarranted inferences or un- 
foTinded assertions. In other words, they stead¬ 
ily divert the attention from the central features 
of the case to a maze of minor discussions, 
either without bearing on the question or unsup. 
ported by satisfactory proof. We are not to be 
diverted by a labyrinth of petty assumj)tions 
and ingenious, but arbitrary, suppositions, from 
the great decisive features of evidence, which, 








<JONCL UDINO THO UOE TS. 


79 


if they are as old as the hills, are also as firm. 
The great principles of evidence cannot be set 
aside. S, C. B. 

The work of the German and Dutch critics 
upon the Mosaic documents has been that of 
great literary critics, not archfeologists. The 
Egyptian documents emphatically call for a re¬ 
consideration of the whole question of the date 
of the Pent deuch. It is now certain that the 
narrative of the history of Joseph, and the so¬ 
journ and exodus of the Israelites, that is to 
say, the portion from Genesis 39 to Exodus 
15, so far as it relates to Egypt, is substantially 
not much later than 1300 b.c., in other words 
was written while the memory of the events 
was fresh. The minute accuracy of the text is 
inconsistent with any later date. It is not 
merely that it shows knowledge of Egypt, but 
knowledge of Egypt under the Ramessides and 
yet earlier. The condition of the countiy, the 
chief cities of the frontier, the composition of 
the army, are true of the age of the Ramessides, 
and not true of the Pharaohs contemporary with 
Solomon and his successors. These [and many 
similar] arguments have not failed to strike for¬ 
eign Egyptologists who have no theological bias 
These independent scholars, without actually 
formulating any view of the date of the greater 
part of the Pentateuch, appear uniformly to 
treat its text as an authority to be cited side by 
side with Egyptian monuments. Poole. 

The more the Pentateuch is studied, the more 
impossible it is to prove or to believe that it is 
post exilic. Saying nothing of its close con¬ 
nection with Egypt, and almost total disconnec¬ 
tion with Babylon, such a burdensome religious 
constitution as that of the Pentateuch could 
not have been imposed, in the time of Ezra, 
upon a nation that previously had known noth¬ 
ing, or only a little, of it. That an agricultural 
people, after having lived for centuries with no 
such arrangement, should all at once and sud¬ 
denly agree to cease from labor one day in every 
seven, and one whole year in every fifty years ; 
that all of the male population should be will¬ 
ing to go up three times annually to Jerusalem 
for religious services ; that they should go 
through a round of numerous and expensive 
sacrifices ; and lastly should contribute one 
tenth of their whole income to religion—that a 
people, not having done this previously, should 
suddenly make such an entire revolution in 
their manners and customs, is unheard of, and 
inexplicable by anything that appears in the 
condition of the Jewish nation on their return 
from Babylon. That an enslaved people, not 
yet a nation, fleeing out of Egypt under the 


guidance of a leader like Moses supported by 
the immediate presence of Jehovah in miracles 
and wonders, should be willing to adopt sud¬ 
denly, and for the first time, such a burden¬ 
some system, is probable enough ; but that a 
people a thousand years old, with no such guide 
as Moses, and no such supernaturalism as that 
of the Red Sea and Sinai, should be willing, is 
incredible. Shedd. 

Concluding Thouglds. 

If a belief in Christ really stands in such 
close connection with a belief in Moses as the 
Saviour testifies, then the consequence follows 
—to which the criticism of the opj)onents of the 
genuineness is necessarily driven—namel}^ the 
rejection of the authority of Christ. “ And 
thus,” says Sack, “ the dawning of literature in 
its oldest productions, which are otherwise 
from the nature of the case involved in obscu- 
rit 3 % may be proved by the words of Him who 
claimed the name of ‘ the Truth ’ to be even 
still the first and surest testimony for all in¬ 
quiry which retains confidence in the words of 
Christ.” Ildvernick. 

On any view that does not pass the bounds of 
reason, ” the law came by Moses.” The recol¬ 
lection of the leadership of Moses, of his grand 
and dominating agency in the deliverance of 
the people from bondage, and in laying the 
foundations of their theocratic polity, was in¬ 
delibly stamped upon the Hebrew mind. It 
might almost be said that the voice of the great 
Lawgiver reverberates down the subsequent 
ages of Hebrew history, until the appearance 
of him whose teaching fulfilled, and in that 
sense superseded, the utterances of them “ of 
old time.” Ewald has dwelt impressivelj^ on 
the living memory, the memory of the heart, 
transmitted from father to son, of the great re¬ 
demption from Egyptian slavery,—the stand- 
ing type of the mighty spiritual deliverance 
to be achieved by a greater than Moses. G. P. 
Fisher. 

Not only is our ancient Pentateuch not a book 
to be ashamed of, but it is a book to glory in,— 
with its wonderful elucidations of the whole 
early condition of our globe and of our race, 
with its own announcement of the most mo¬ 
mentous events and the most vital institutions, 
its clear unfolding of the germs of all subse¬ 
quent life, and its graphic delineations of scenes 
and persons otherwise shrouded in mist or hid¬ 
den behind an impenetrable veil. It is the 
grandest of histories, the noblest series of biog¬ 
raphies, the divine germ of all human institu¬ 
tions, the substructure of all religious hopes, 




80 


THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 


and the primal clew to all the past and the 
future of our race. S. C. B. 

The deeper study of the unity and variety of 
the Pentateuchal narratives and laws, as we de¬ 
fend them against lieuss, Kueiien, and Well- 
hausen, and advance in the apprehension of 
their sublime harmony, will fructify and enrich 
the theology of our day, just as the deeper 
study of the unity and variety of the gospels by 
the school of Neander, in the defence of them 
against Strauss, Renan, and Baur, has been an 
unspeakable blessing in the past generation. 
This having been accomplished, we may look 
forward to a time when our eyes shall be opened 
as never before to the magnificent unity of the 
whole Bible in the midst of its wondrous variet 3 \ 
C. A. Brings. 

The Torah [Law] is the basis of the Old Tes¬ 
tament, and the Old Testament the preparation 
for the religion of Redemption. What the four 
gospels are to the New Testament, that are the 
five books of the law to the Old Testament. 


But not merely do beginning and beginning, 
but beginning and end of the Old and New Tes¬ 
tament canon, Genesis and Apocalypse, run to¬ 
gether like the ends of a circle. The creation 
of the heavens and earth on the first pages of 
Genesis corresponds to the creation of the new 
heavens and the new earth on the last page of 
Revelation. To the first creation which had 
Adam for its end, corresponds the new crea¬ 
tion which takes the second Adam for its be¬ 
ginning. 

Thus does the Holy Scripture form a unity 
compacted into itself, to show that not alone 
this or that book, but the whole is a work of the 
Holy Spirit. The Torah, with its shadow of 
good things to come, is the root, the Apocalypse, 
penetrating into the “ world to come,” is the 
top. Take away the three first chapters of 
Genesis from the Bible, and you take away the 
terminus a quo ; take away the last three chapters 
of the Apocalypse, and you take away the ter¬ 
minus ad quern. Farrar. 


Section 10. 

THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 


The Jews have no title for this book but its 
first word— Bere'^ldih (in the beginning). The 
Greeks called it Genesis (origination). All 
thoughtful men have recognized the value and 
dignity of this book as “ the stately portal to 
the magnificent edifice of Scripture. ’ It is the 
oldest trustworthy book in the world, and con¬ 
veys all the reliable information we possess of 
the history of man, for more than two thousand 
years. The Vedas are ancient hymns and le¬ 
gends : the Zendavesta is a speculation on the 
origin of things : but Genesis is a narrative, 
written with a grave archaic simplicit 3 ^ If is 
characteristically a book of origins and begin¬ 
nings, —it contains the deeply-fastened and 
widely-spread roots of all futurity. There is 
nothing afterward unfolded in the relationships 
of God with man, that is not at least in rudi¬ 
ment, or germ, to be traced in Genesis^ 

By the Jews the authorship of this book has 
always been ascribed to Moses. But it is no 
point of faith that every passage in Genesis 
came first into existence when written by the 
pen of Moses. Enough for us that the writer, 
whether in communicating fresh truth, or in 
corapilfng from pre-existing fragments of his 
tory, was so divinely guided as to form, for all 


time coming, a religious narrative of “ the first 
things” on which our faith may implicitly rely. 
It is no reproach to the book that it is unscien¬ 
tific in language, i.e., a stranger to the technical 
terms and details of modern sciences. This is 
just as it ought to be, if we keep in mind the 
times in which, and the purposes for which, it 
was composed. It would be most incongruous 
if anything but popular language wei’e employed 
in so ancient a book to express physical phe¬ 
nomena. Indeed, the artlessness of the narra¬ 
tive forms alike one of its best evidences and 
one of its principal charms. We are not to peer 
into it, as into a highlj'-elaborated cabinet pict¬ 
ure. It is a simple but magnificent sketch, 
where the outlines are of the boldest, and the 
grouping and coloring declare a master’s hand. 
D. F. 

The Book of Genesis is not an ill-digested col¬ 
lection of fragmentary documents, but a care¬ 
fully arranged narrative with entire unity of 

purpose and plan. E. H. B.-It is neither 

like the Hindoo Vedas, a collection of hymns 
more or less sublime ; nor like the Persian Zen¬ 
davesta, a philosophic speculation on the origin 
of all things ; nor like the Chinese Yih-king, 
an unintelligible jumble whose expositors could 







THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 


SI 


twist it from a cosmological essay into a stand¬ 
ard treatise on ethical philosophy. It is a his¬ 
tory—a religious history. The earlier portion 
of the book, so far as the end of chapter 11, may 
be properly termed a history of the world ; the 
latter is a history of the fathers of the Jewish 
race. But from first to last it is a religious his¬ 
tory. It is very important to bear in mind this 
religious aspect of the history if we would put 
ourselves in a position rightly to understand it. 
Of course the facts must be treated like any 
other historical facts, sifted in the same way, and 
subjected to the same laws of evidence. But 
if we would judge of the work as a whole we 
must not forget the evident aim of the writer. 
It is only in this w^ay we can understand, 
why the history of the Fall is given with so 
much minuteness of detail, whereas of whole 
generations of men we have nothing but a bare 
catalogue. And only in this way can we ac¬ 
count for the fact that by far the greater por¬ 
tion of the book is occupied with three biog¬ 
raphies. Die. B. 

Whether the hook of Genesis was compiled from 
more ancient documents is a question entirely dis¬ 
tinct from that of the genuineness and authen¬ 
ticity of the book. Moses may have been its 
author, and all its statements absolutely true, 
and yet it may have contained passages w^hich 
he did not write. In a historical work extend- | 
ing through a period of more than two thousand | 
years, it would be very natural that quotations 
should be made from preceding writings of au¬ 
thentic character, provided any such were in 
existence. It is clear that Moses must have de¬ 
rived his knowledge of the events which he 
records in Genesis, either from immediate di¬ 
vine revelation, or from oral tradition, or from 
written documents. The nature of many of the j 
facts related, and the minuteness of the narra- j 
tion, render it extremely improbable that im¬ 
mediate revelation was the source from whence 
they were drawn. That his knowledge should 
have been derived from oral tradition, appears 
morally impossible, w'hen we consider the great 
number of names, ages, dates, and minute 
events, which are recorded. The conclusion 
then seems fair that he must have obtained his 
information from written documents coeval, or 
nearly so, with the events which they recorded 
and composed by persons intimately acquainted 
with the subjects to which they relate. Such 
memoranda and genealogical tables written by 
the patriarchs or their immediate descendants, 
and preserved by their posterity until the time 
of Moses, may have been the sources to which 
he had recourse in constructing his narrative. 

6 


He may have collected these, with additions 
from authentic tradition or existing monuments, 
under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, into a 
single book. 

Certain it is that several of the first chapters 
of Genesis have the air of being made up of 
selections from very ancient documents, written 
by different authors at dift’erent periods. The 
variety which is observable in the names and 
titles of the Supreme Being is appealed to 
among the most striking proofs of this fact. 
This is obvious in the English translation, but 
still more so in the Hebrew original. In Gen. 
1 - 2 : 3, which is really one piece of composition, 
as the title, 5:4, “ These are the generations,” 
shows, the name of the Most High is uniformly 
Elohim, God. In ch, 2 :4—ch, 3, which may be 
considered the second document, the title is 
uniformly Yehovah Elohim, Lord God, and in the 
third including ch. 4, it is Yehovah, Lord, only, 
while in ch. 5, it is Elohim, God, only, except 
in 5 :29, where a quotation is made and Yhovah 
used. It is hardly conceivable that all this 
should be the result of mere accident. The 
changes of the name correspond exactly to the 
changes in the narratives and the titles of the 
several pieces ; and each document uniformly 
preserves the same name, except when a quota¬ 
tion is made, and then, as the fidelity of history 
requires, the name used by the person intro¬ 
duced as a speaker, is inserted. “ Now do all 
these accurate quotations,” says Professor 
Stowe, “ impair the credit of the Mosaic books, 
or increase it ? Is Marshall’s ‘Life of Wash¬ 
ington ’ to be regarded as unw^orthy of credit, 
because it contains copious extracts from Wash¬ 
ington’s correspondence, and literal quotations 
from important public documents ? Is not its 
value greatly enhanced by this circumstance ? 
In the common editions of the Bible the Penta¬ 
teuch occtipies about one huudred and fift}’’ 
pages, of which perhaps ten may be taken up 
with quotations. This surely is no very large 
proportion for an historical work extending 
through so long a period.” Although to an 
English reader the hypothesis of the compila¬ 
tion of the book of Genesis from i>re-existent 
documents may at first sight ajopear strange, y(t 
it will bear the test of close examination. Pa- 
reau, a sober and moderate critic, uses the fol¬ 
lowing strong language ; “ Many have observed 
and proved beyotid a doubt, that the book of 
Genesis is formed of various fragments, writtrn 
b 3 ’- divers authors, and merely compiled by 
Moses, and thus prefixed to his own history.” 
He draws from the fact a strong argument in 
favor of the credibility and historical accuracy 










82 


THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 


of the book, The inspired authority of the 
work is in nowise affected by this theory, for, 
as Jahn has well remarked, some of the docu- 
ments are of such a nature, that they could have 
been derived only from immediate revelation ; 
and the whole being compiled by an inspired 
writer, it has received the sanction of the Holy 
Spirit in an equal degree with his original pro¬ 
ductions. Bush. 

It was suggested long since by Vitringa, that 
Moses may have had before him “ documents of 
various kinds coming down from the times of 
the patriarchs and preserved among the Israel¬ 
ites, which he collected, reduced to order, 
worked up, and where needful, filled in.” A 
conjecture of this kind was neither unnatural 
nor irreverent. It is very probable that, either 
in writing or by oral delivery, the Israelites 
possessed traditions handed down from their 
forefathers. It is consistent with the wisdom of 
Moses, and not inconsistent with his Divine 
inspiration, that he should have preserved and 
incorporated with his own work all such tra¬ 
ditions, written or oral, as had upon them the 
stamp of truth. E. H. B. 

It is the exact knowledge of Egypt V'hich 
claims Moses as the writer of those portions of 
Genesis and Exodus which belong to that coun¬ 
try. And we can see no reason why Genesis 
should have been arranged in a series of gene¬ 
alogical narratives except the fact that when 
Moses became the ruler of Israel all the archives 
of the race came to be at his disposal. B. P. S. 

We have the narrative in Genesis, and we 
have no collateral sources of information what¬ 
ever. This narrative may be accepted or it may 
be rejected, but no man has a right to adopt 
one part and repudiate another. For both 
stand upon precisely the same authority. The 
oft-repeated statement of a succession of editors 
each revising the work of his predecessor is 
nothing but a conjecture. There are no traces 
of tribal or national partialities at work. The 
Jews had too much reverence for their sacred 
records to allow any manipulation of them. Be¬ 
sides, the whole appearance of the early por¬ 
tions of Genesis favors the common view that 
they are ancient records put together by Moses 
in order to show the basis of the great redemp¬ 
tion to be wrought out through Israel and 
Israel’s seed. Had these scanty narratives been 
worked over again and again, as we are told, 
surely the obvious gaps that exist would have 
been filled, the Elohistic and Jehovistic portions 
would have been separated throughout, or else 
interblended more copiously, and the entire 
book would have but one coloring from begin- 


ning to end. It is insisted, therefore, that the 
fragmentar}’^ character of the document, and its 
likeness to an ordinary Collecianea, are the very 
features which, instead of confirming the notion 
of a divided authorship, followed by successive 
revisions, rather establish the traditionary opin¬ 
ion that Moses took the details which came 
down from the patriarchs, and under divine 
guidance wove them into the consecutive his¬ 
tory we now have. Chambers. 

A part of the internal evidence lies in the 
form of the narrative. Its great simplicity, 
purity, and dignity ; the sharp contrast which 
marks it, when laid side by side with the noblest 
forms of collateral tradition ; the manner in 
which it is content to leave the mysterious and 
seeminglj’^ incredible, without toning it down, 
and without trying to explain it—these are some 
of the marks of a record of facts ; of facts ap¬ 
prehended simply and clearly in their real rela¬ 
tions ; and of facts so profoundly impressing 
themselves upon a line of serious men, as to be 
held in tradition clear and unmixed, like bars 
of gold and inestimable jewels transmitted from 
generation to generation. Another part of the 
internal evidence lies in the matter of the nar¬ 
rative. Everything in it is weighty. There is 
not one trivial line. The profoundest themes 
are successively under treatment, and a purely 
original light irradiates them all. Beach. 

With the utmost directness and in smaller 
compass than that of the briefest of the articles 
that to-day stigmatize it as an “ cdd Hebrew 
legend,” this venerable book notes and answers 
the whole round of questions which modern 
thought agrees to reckon as involving the fun¬ 
damental data of history, and to the solution of 
which in detail successive volumes are stdl 
being given. In the form given to the facts, 
from the description of the earth as emerging 
out of chaos to that of Israel about to emerge 
out of Egypt, and from the rejection of Cain’s 
progeny to the dismissal of the Oriental Civili¬ 
zations with incidental allusion, there is always 
deliberate and intelligent rejection of that 
which has become obstructive or indifferent— 
that is to say, a recognition of the eminently 
modern notion of progress as dependent on the 
elimination of the unfit. But all the facts men¬ 
tioned do not become even a background. 
There is a narrowing selective process. ” The 
heaven and the earth” at first appear, but the 
earth alone is taken as the subject of the story. 
Chaos then passes, darkness falls apart, the 
blue vault lifts, the waters shrink, and light, 
air, and solid land emerge. So also the myriads 
of swarming life in its lower forms recede that 




TUB BOOK OF GENESIS. 


83 


man may stand single and conspicuous in the 
foreground. Forthwith his history cleaves apart 
from that of the “ ground from which he was 
taken,” through the inspiration of the breath 
of God ; and the lower creatures are equally 
shut out as furnishing no “ help meet for him.” 
The process of elimination goes steadily on in 
the strictly human history.. Cain “went out” 
and reappeared no more. His stock, like that 
of Ishmael and Esau afterward, is soon dis¬ 
missed from the record. The animalized ante¬ 
diluvians who were “ flesh,” were blotted out, 
and the idolatrous Chaldeans were left out of 
history, w'hile Noah and Abraham alone were 
“selected” as “fitted” to “survive.” The 
same rigid discrimination is exercised in fixing 
tbe range of history. The narrator goes on his 
chosen way avoiding much. He does not 
Ignore, but neither does'*he dwell upon the 
growth of music, handicraft, or the beginnings 
of social and civic institutions. He is not in¬ 
sensible to the overhanging shadow of tbe mas¬ 
sive Assyrian or Egyptian civilizations. But 
they do not awe or divert his thought. He 
leaves Nimrod’s tower unfinished and Pharaoh’s 
palace v/ithout an heir, while he pushes on to a 
shepherd’s tent to detect in Judah and the Mes¬ 
sianic promise the true thread of coming his¬ 
tory. It was a marvellous prescience. For the 
tribe of Judah alone survives in an unbroken 
lineage from that earlier w'orld and all history 
to-day counts backward and forward from the 
date when that Messianic promise was fulfilled. 
J. B. Thomas. 

The book of Genesis is separable into eleven 
documents or pieces of composition, most of 
which contain other subordinate divisions. 
The first of these has no introductory phrase ; 
the third begins with “ this is the book of the 
generations and the others with “ these are 
the generations.” The subordinate pieces, 
however, of which these primary documents 
consist, are as distinct from each other, as com¬ 
plete in themselves, and as clearly owing each 
to a separate effort of the composer, as the 
wholes which they go to constitute. The his¬ 
tory of the fall (Gen. 3), the family of Adam (4), 
the description of the vices of the antedilu¬ 
vians (6 :1-8), and the confusion of tongues 
(11 :1-9), are as distinct efforts of composition, 
and as perfect in themselves, as any of the 
primary divisions. The same holds good 
throughout the entire book. Even these sub¬ 
ordinate pieces contain still smaller passages, 
having an exact and self-contained finish, which 
enables the critic to lift them out and examine 
them, and makes him wonder if they have not 


been inserted in the document as in a moi;ld 
previously fitted for their reception. The mem¬ 
oranda of each day’s creative work, of the local¬ 
ity of Paradise, of each link in the genealogy of 
Noah and of Abraham, are striking examiDles of 
this. They sit, each in the narrative, like a 
stpne in its setting. That these primary docu¬ 
ments came into the hands of Moses from earlier 
sacred writers, and were by him revised and 
combined into his great work, we hold it to be 
natural, satisfactory, and accordant wdth the 
phenomena of Scripture. It seems to have 
been a part of the method of the Divine Author 
of the Scripture to have a constant collector, 
conservator, authenticator, reviser, and contin- 
uator of that book w'hich he designed for the 
spiritual instruction of successive ages. We 
may disapprove of one writer tampering with 
the work of another ; but we must allow the 
Divine Author to adapt his own work, from time 
to time, to the necessities of coming genera¬ 
tions. This implies, however, that writing was 

in use from the origin of man. M.-Every 

investigation into the origin of writing among 
the primitive tribes leads us back to the remot¬ 
est misty antiquity, to a more exact investiga¬ 
tion of which all our present helps are not ade¬ 
quate. Among these tribes, writing is always 
earlier than we can follow it historically, just as 
every original art certainly springs from the 
most direct necessities of life, and may be soon¬ 
est developed by a people extensively engaged 
in commerce ; its use for the purpose of writ¬ 
ing history, or only of fixing laws, lies mani¬ 
festly very early back. Whatever may have 
been the primitive Semitic people to whom half 
of the civilized world are indebted for this in¬ 
estimable gift, so much cannot be mistaken, 
that it appears in history, as a possession of a 
Semitic people, long before the iime <f Moses ; 
and that Israel had already, before his time, 
known and employed it in Egypt, can be as¬ 
sumed without difficulty. Ewald. 

There is no book in the world about which 
more has been written than the Bible, and per¬ 
haps there is no portion of the Bible which has 
given rise to a larger literature than the Book of 
Genesis. Every word in it has been carefully 
scrutinized, now by scholars who sought to dis¬ 
cover its deepest meaning or to defend it against 
the attacks of adversaries, now again by hostile 
critics anxious to expose every supposed flaw, 
and to convict it of error and inconsistency. 
Assailants and defenders had long to content 
themselves with such evidence as could be de¬ 
rived from a study of the book itself, or from 
the doubtful traditions of ancient nations, as 









84 


THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 


reported by the writers of Greece and Kome. 
Such reports were alike imperfect and untrust¬ 
worthy ; historical criticism was still in its in¬ 
fancy in the age of the classical authors, and 
they cared but little to describe accurately the 
traditions of races whom they despised. It was 
even a question whether any credit could be 
given to the fragments of Egyptian, Babylonian, 
and Phoenician mythology or history extracted 
by Christian apologists from the lost works of 
native authors who wrote in Greek. Tne Egyj)- 
tian dynasties of Manetho, the Babylonian 
stories of the Creation and Flood narrated by 
Berosus, the self-contradicting Phoenician 
legends collected by Philo Byblius, were all 
more or less suspected of being an invention of 
a later age. The earlier chapters of Genesis 
stood almost alone ; friends and foes alike felt 
the danger of resting any argument on the ap¬ 
parent similarity of the accounts recorded in 
them to the myths and legends contained in the 
fragments of Manetho, of Berosus, and of 
Philo Byblius. All is changed now. The mar¬ 
vellous discoveries of the last half century have 
thrown a flood of light on the ancient oriental 
world, and some of this light has necessarily 
been reflected on the Book of Genesis, The 
monuments of Egypt, of Babylonia, and of As¬ 
syria have been rescued from their hiding- 
places, and the writing upon them has been 
made to speak once more in living words, A 
dead world has been called again to life b}’’ the 
spade of the excavator and the j^atient labor of 
the decipherer, Sayce. 

Genesis is a Boole of Genealogy. The allusion 
to the “ book of the generations of Adam” in 
the fifth chapter is the earliest hint we have of 
that passage of tradition into written perma¬ 
nence which is the prelude to formal history. It 
is no longer incredible that such a “ book” or 
genealogical register may have existed long an¬ 
terior to Moses. For the “ stunted oblique¬ 
eyed ” dwellers in Babylon had libraries writ¬ 
ten in strange arrow-headed characters more 
than 2000 years n.c., in a language which had 
in Moses’ day gone through its career and be¬ 
come obsolete ; and which scholars agree to call 
by a name still remaining in the Genesis record 
—perhaps as transcribed from one of the orig¬ 
inal registers themselves—that of Accad. J. B. 

Thomas. -At an early date, which cannot yet 

be exactly determined, the Surairians and Ac- 
cadians were overrun and conquered by the 
Semitic Babylonians of later history, Accad 
being apparently the first half of the country to 
fall under the swaj”^ of the new-comers. The 
Accadians had been the inventors of the pic¬ 


torial hieroglyphics which afterward developed 
into the cuneiform or wedge-shaped system of 
writing ; they had founded the great cities of 
Chaldea, and had attained to a high degree of 
culture and civilization. Their cities possessed 
libraries, stocked with books, written j^artl}' on 
papyrus, jrartly on clay, which was, while still 
soft, impressed with characters by means of a 
metal stylus. The books were numerous, and 
related to a variety of subjects. When the 
Semitic Babylonians, the kinsmen of the He¬ 
brews, the Aramaeans, the Phoenicians and the 
Arabs, conquered the old population, they re¬ 
ceived from it, along with other elements of cult¬ 
ure, the cuneiform system of writing and the 
literature written in it. Sayce. 

The unmistakable purpose of these genealo¬ 
gies is manifest in the fact that they give names 
and dates and nothing else. The names thus 
naked of incident are manifestly set like posts 
at definite intervals along the way, to draw the 
eye through their receding line into a sense of 
chronological perspective. The genealogies 
“ do not,” as Perowne remarks, “ interrupt the 
order and connection of the book,” but are a 
“ most essential part of the structure,” and 
” form, so to speak, the backbone of the whole.” 
Ewald emphasizes the fact that Genesis ” at¬ 
tempts very accurate time distinctions and 
therein betrays a genuine historical spirit, op¬ 
posed to the method of the Indian Puranas.” 
He insists that in it an “ exact and continuous 
chronology is attempted,” and that it is “ the 
basis of all effort at chronology from Julius Afri- 
canus and Eusebius ; and itself an effort un¬ 
known to the most cultivated of the other na¬ 
tions.” How deepl^”^ imbedded and how sacredly 
guarded is the idea of historic continuity in this 
book may be inferred from the impression it 
made on subsequent history^ ” The Bible 
genealogies give an unbroken descent of the 
house of David from the creation to the time of 
Christ.” Through these in its opening chap¬ 
ters, the whole of the New Testament binds it¬ 
self upon the whole of the Old, by roots that 
pierce through all the strata down to Adam and 
the first chapter. Paul claimed to be a ‘'He¬ 
brew of the Hebrews,” and to this day the chil¬ 
dren of the “ stock of Abraham” alone boast or 
can pretend to boast of an uninvaded purity of 
ancestral blood. The thread of continuity in 
Genesis seems sometimes momentarily to van- 
ish, as when Abel is dead and Cain gone into 
exile, until it reappears in Seth ; it dwindles to a 
strand in Noah and Abraham, who ” pass over” 
alone bearing the world’s future ; it threatens 
to be cut asunder in Isaac, sole “ heir of the 










FIRST CHAPTER OF GENESIS-PRELIMINARY. 


85 


promise* * by Abraham’s uplifted knife , but it 
is never in fact wholly lost. The torch once lit 
is passed on from hand to hand, never to go out 
or be independently relit. J. B. Thomas. 

Of the Pentateuch itself, the first book, Gene¬ 
sis, is preparatory to the other four. These re¬ 
cord the growth of the family of Jacob, or Israel, 
into the peculiar people ; the. constitution of 
the theocracy ; the giving of a code of laws 
moral, ritual, and civil ; the conquest of part of 
the land promised to the forefathers of the na¬ 
tion ; and the completion of the institutions 
and enactments needed for a settled condition. 
For this order of things the first book furnishes 
the occasion. M. 

We have in these histories a striking, varied, 
and ample development of human nature in dif¬ 
ferent circumstances, in prosperity and adver¬ 
sity’, in public and in private life. They lead us 
to the contemplation of characters of various 
sorts,—men eminent in goodness, and remark¬ 
able for iniquity ; —good men tarnished with 
evil, and wicked men adorned with many vir¬ 
tues. Whether the attention be directed to the 
leading, or to the subordinate characters, each 
forms a useful and interesting object for our 
study. Each may be regarded as a portrait 


drawn by an unerring hand in all the reality of 
truth, without concealment, and without exag¬ 
geration ; adorned with the excellence which 
we ought to seek, or stained with the deformity 
which we ought to avoid. Here, as in all the 
Bible, piety is taught by example. The delinea¬ 
tion of every character, and the narrative of 
every occurrence, furnish instruction, warnmg, 

encouragement, or consolation. Jus. Jones. - 

While most uninspired biographeis write under 
the influences of prejudice, applauding, de¬ 
fending, censuring, or denouncing in teims not 
justified by the facts, it is characteristic of the 
Divine Word to present accurate portraits of 
persons and reliable accounts of events. The 
good deeds of bad men are recorded ; the mis¬ 
doings of good men are not concealed. J. S. V. 

Written in the East, the Bible characters live 
forever in the West ; written in one province, 
they pervade the world ; penned in rude times, 
they are prized more and more as civilization ad¬ 
vances ; product of antiquity, they come home 
to the business and bosoms of men, women, and 
children in modern days. Then is it any exag¬ 
geration to say, “ The characters of Scripture 
are a marvel of the mind ” ? G. Beade. 


Section 11. 

FIRST CHAPTER OF GENESIS—PRELIMINARY. 


The physical world has no meaning, except 
by and for the moral world. It is the universal 
law of all that exists in finite nature, not to have 
in itself either the^reason or the entire aim of 
its own existence. Every being exists, not only 
for itself, but forms necessarily a portion of a 
great whole, of which the plan and the idea go 
infinitely beyond it, and in which it is destined 
to play a part. Thus inorganic nature exists, 
not only for itself, but to serve as a basis for 
the life of the plant and the animal ; and in 
their service it performs functions of a kind 
greatly superior to those assigned to it by the 
laws which are purely physical and chemical. 
In the same manner, all nature, our globe, ad¬ 
mirable as is its arrangement, is not the final 
end of creation ; but it is the condition of the 
existence of man. It answers as an instrument 
by which his education is accomplished, and 
performs in his service functions more exalted 
and noble than its own nature, and foi which 


it was made. The superior being thus solicits, 
so to speak, the creation of the inferior being, 
and associates it to his own functions ; and it is 
correct to say that inorganic nature is made for 
organized nature, and the whole globe for man, 
as both are made for God, the origin and end of 
all things. For him who can embrace with a 
glance the great harmonies of nature and of 
history there is here the most admirable plan to 
study ; there are the past and future destinies 
of the nations to decipher, traced in ineffaceable 
characters by the finger of Him vvho governs the 
world. Admirable order of the Supreme Intel¬ 
ligence and Goodness, which has arranged all 
for the great purpose of the education of man, 
and the realization of the plans of Mercy for his 

sake. Guyot -Revelation is the only key to 

Creation ; the only solution of the enigma of 
its use, as well as of its purpose and destiny. 
The Christian believer alone enters on the study 
of nature aright. He alone feels the ineffable 








86 


FIRST CHAPTER OF GENESIS 


majesty of that august temple of the Creator, 
and treads its aisles with the humility which 
leads to wisdom and kneels at its altars with 
becoming devotion. Alford. 

The volumes of nature and of revelation both 
teach us the being of a God ; both ascribe to 
him the same perfections of knowledge, wis¬ 
dom, power, and goodness ; both tell us that 
he created the world, and prepared it for be¬ 
coming the abode of man. Both date the crea¬ 
tion of man about 6000 years back ; and if a 
change so great as his introduction to the earth 
then took place, it is most reasonable to believe 
that great accompanying changes, such as are 
described in the first chapter of Genesis, were 
made on his account. King. 

The Book of Genesis is history. It is the his¬ 
torical introduction to the four following books 
of the Pentateuch and to all following reve 
lations. The first chapter, as the inseparable be¬ 
ginning of the whole, must be historical also. 
The Lord stamps it as real history when he re¬ 
capitulates its contents on the Fourth Com 
mandment and makes it the basis of the ordi¬ 
nance of the Sabbath. He treats it as authorita¬ 
tive history when he makes Gen. 1 :27 ; 2 :23, 
24, the foundation of his doctrine concerning 
marriage and divorce. McGaul. 

In this account of creation we are not to look 
for statements adjusted to science, but for state¬ 
ments adapted to the average mind of Hebrew 
readers in the age of Moses, written for their 
comprehension, instruction and spiritual cult¬ 
ure. H. C.-A statement of the scientific as¬ 

pects of the case, had it been revealed to the 
narrator, would have found, for more than three 
thousand years, not only no person capable of 
comprehending, but none capable of receiving 
it. Such a narrative would have been, down to 
the present century, a hopeless stumbling-block 
at the threshold of the sacred word. But the 
sacred history avoids everything that is scien¬ 
tific, and is, as was indispensable, completely 
popular in its method. S. C. B. 

To give to Moses a lesson on the origin of the 
universe, to construct a complete and consecu¬ 
tive system of astronomy and geology, of physics 
and chemistry, of botany and zoology, would 
have had the double disadvantage of making 
science useless and faith impossible. The Bible 
does not relieve science of the necessity of 
bringing to light the immense wealth of the 
facts, the relations of cause and effect, the 
means employed and the ends aimed at which 
make up their unity, and of discovering the 
laws which govern them. Science, on the other 
hand, does not enable us to dispense with—on 


the contrary, it demands as necessary,—that 
Word from on high which shall convey to us the 
real meaning of this magnificent w hole. Godet. 

That the assumed standpoint of view from 
which these processes of creation are contem¬ 
plated is on this earth and not elsewhere in the 

universe is certain from the fact that it was 

« 

written to be read and understood by men and 
not by angels. Hence we must expect the facts 
to be presented as they would have appeared to a 
supposed observer upon our globe. H. C.——And 
this fact has even suggested to Godet, Kurtz, 
Miller and others, the idea of an original revela¬ 
tion in vision, by a series of what might be 
called dioraoiic representations passing before 
the mental eye, opened and closed by its suc¬ 
cession of darkness and light. Such a supposi¬ 
tion is by no means necessary. It is enough to 
recognize the unmistakable fact that the de¬ 
scription is phenomenal, chiefly visual or opti¬ 
cal. This feature appears beyond question in 
the case of the heavenlv bodies, described not 
as they are, the sun a luminary, the moon a re¬ 
flecting satellite, but as they appear in the 
heavens, the one to rule the day, the other the 
night. S. C. B. 

The great acts of creation, primal, unique, 
and solitary, impress the writer’s mind as so 
many manifestations of a world inchoate and 
progressive, till pronounced “good” by its 
Maker. As such he presents them to the reader 
in descriptive language. Of the causes, proxi¬ 
mate, mediate and ultimate, in the production 
of the world, he would not be understood as 
speaking, except to unfold this ail-pervading 
and overshadowing idea, the cause of all, and the 
poM'er in all, is God. His narrative of the crea¬ 
tion of the world is what, and not how. In- 
dee^l, what other moulding or casting of creation 
in language could have been truly a revelation 
universal and perpetual to man ? Those six 
great acts of God will always speak the same 
phenomenal language, and so this narrative 
will always be intelligible. W. Barrows. 

The object is to show the preparation made 
for man, and the place assigned to man on this 
earth and under heaven. So, the ordering of 
the earth, and sea, and sky, in six periods, each 
marked by an evening and a morning, or fading 
and growing light, is drawn out in a brief 
sketch, and this lies on the first page of the 
Bible. It is simply a sketch of God’s arrange¬ 
ment of a dwelling-place for man—in illustra¬ 
tion of which we may notice the importance as¬ 
signed to the moon above the stars. It is named 
one of the “ two great lights,” solely because of 
its superior usefulness to man. In fact, the 






PRELIMINARY. 


87 


main Interest of the first chapter, after the first 
verse, is intended to rest on its conclusion, the 
origin of the human race at present inhabiting 
the earth. The interest of the Bible, and of all 
religious history, revolves round the Adamic 
race, formed for the subjugation of the earth, 
gifted with intellect, conscience, and dignit 3 % 
and beginning their career in happy communion 
with Jehovah-God. D. F. 

Not even the highest inspiration could have 
been intended to give the Biblical writers the 
clear insight into natural science which was re¬ 
served as a reward for tbe patient toil of later 
generations. Its purpose was to enable them to 
enunciate the truths of Divine Kevelation, as 
far as they were connected with physical rela¬ 
tions, in a form which should not militate 
against the objective truth of these relations, 
and should leave room for all future discoveries* 

in that region. ChrislUeb. -The creative 

document is a grand and glorious introduction 
to the rest of Holy Scripture. It was not in¬ 
tended to teach geology or astronomy, though 
rightly understood it does not contradict these 
sciences. Its real object was to set forth, two 
main truths—the first, that all the laws and 
workings of nature are the workings of God ; 
the second, that of all this working man is the 
final cause. In every stage of creation God is 
the active principle pervading all ; of all that is 
done man is the end, and the earth was made 
such as it is that it might be a fit stage for hu¬ 
man activity. R. P, S. 

Revelation uses its own language. This is 
not the scientific, or the. language of natural 
causality, as it is employed to set forth the rela¬ 
tions of cause and effect in their mediate de¬ 
pendencies It is not the philosophical, or the 
language through which there are supjrosed to 
be exhibited the reason, the necessity, or the 
occasions of the creative energy, irrespective of 
its particular sequences. It is not the meta¬ 
physical, dealing alone with ideas, laws and 
forces regarded from a higher plane than the 
natural. It is not the poetical, except as used 
for occasional illustration, and in connections 
in which the marks of the poetic character are 
not easily mistaken. In distinction from all 
these, the language of the Bible, in setting forth 
the creative acts, or other natural or cosmical 
truths, is strictly phenomen d, that is, it takes as 
representative of the remote energy—-remote 
either in time, or causal sequence, or both — 
those last phenomena or appearances through 
which these remote energies finally manifest 
themselves directly to the senses, and which 
are, therefore, the same for all ages and all men 


—never varying like the language of science or 
philosophy, but as uniform and unchanging as 
God has made the laws of the human senses to 
which they are addressed. These ultimate ap¬ 
pearances or “ ike things that are seen," thus fur¬ 
nish the name to the unseen ultimate causality, 
or the remote creative energy they represent as 
its last outward result. Thus, in phenomenal 
language, to make i\\& firmament, is to bring into 
being, and into action, that system or series of 
physical law, or laws, which terminates in the 
manifestation so named, and so also used as the 
common phenomenal name of its causality, how¬ 
ever much or however little of that causality 
may be scientifically kno vn in its chain of se¬ 
quences T. Lewis. 

There is a very striking passage in which 
Augustine deals w'ith the only account which 
the world possesses of the history of Creation. 
Considering the age in which it was written, 
considering also the vague notions entertained 
by Augustine himself and by all the world in 
his time on the rank and importance of the nat¬ 
ural sciences, it is surely one of the most re¬ 
markable passages ever written by theologian 
or philosopher. “For myself,” he says, “I 
dec'are boldly and from the bottom of my 
heart, that if I were called to write something 
which was to be invested with supreme author- 
it 3 % I should desire most so to write that my 
words should include the widest range of mean¬ 
ing, and should not be confined to one sense 
alone, exclusive of all others, even of some 
w'hich should be inconsistent with my own. 
Far from me, O God, be the temerity to sup¬ 
pose that so great a prophet did not receive 
from thj’^ grace even such a favor ! Yes ; he had 
in view and in his spirit, when he traced these 
words, all that we can ever discover of the 
truth, even every truth which has escaped us 
hitherto or which escapes us still, but which 
nevertheless may j-^et be discovered in them.” 
Certain it is that w'hatever new views may now 
be taken of the origin and authorship of the 
first chapter of Genesis, it stands alone among 
the traditions of mankind in the wonderful sim¬ 
plicity and grandeur of its words. Speciall^^ re¬ 
markable, miraculous it really seems to be, is 
that character of reserve which leaves open to 
reason all that reason may be able to attain. 
The meaning of these words seems always to 
be a meaning ahead of science, not because it 
anticipates the results of science but because it 
is independent of them, and runs, as it were, 
round the outer margin of all possible discov¬ 
ery. Argyll. 

It is only as the fulness of the time comes, in 





88 


FIRST CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 


the brighter light of increasing scientific knowl¬ 
edge, that these grand old oracles of the Bible, 
HO apparently simple but so marvellously preg¬ 
nant with meaning, stand forth at once cleared 
of all erroneous human glosses, and vindicated 
as the inspired testimonies of Jehovah. Hugh 

Miller. -By proving the record true, science 

pronounces it divine ; for, who could have cor¬ 
rectly narrated the secrets of eternity but God 
himself ? . . . The grand old Book of God 
still stands ; and this old earth, the more its 
leaves are turned and pondered, the more will 
it sustain and illustrate the sacred Word. 
Dana. 

There are two books from w^hence I collect 
my divinity ; besides that written one of God, 
another of His servant nature, that universal 
and public manuscript, that lies expanded unto 
the eyes of all ; those that never saw Him in 
the one, have discovered Him in the other : this 
was the scripture and theology of the heathens. 
Nor do I so forget God as to adore the name of 
nature ; which I define not with the schools, 
the principle of motion and rest, but that 
straight and regular line, that settled and con¬ 
stant course the wisdom of God hath ordained 
for the actions of His creatures, according to 
their several kinds. T. Browne. 

That the glorious universe we see around us 
is the work of an Almighty Creator, the true 
and 'living God, is taught in the first sentence 
of the Bible, and affirmed throughout all the 
later books of Scripture. It holds the foremost 
place in the two main creeds of the Christian 
Church, and there is taught in the words, “ I 
believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker 
of heaven and earth, and of all things visible 
and invisible.” The Law, the Psalms, and 
the Prophets abound in testimonies to this 
great truth. It is declared strongly and plainly 
in the Gospels and Epistles of the New Testa¬ 
ment, and is proclaimed anew in the song of 
the heavenly elders, and in the oath of the 
mighty Angel, in that great prophecy which 
crowns and completes the written messages of 
God. This truth is not set before us in the 
Bible with nice definitions or metaphysical 
subtleties, which might only obscure its simple 
grandeur. But it plainly includes two main 
ideas, that there is a self existent Being, the 
supreme and all-wise Creator ; and that all 
other beings are creatures which receive their 
being as the gift of His bounty, and depend from 
the first on His good pleasure alone. Birks. 

-Throughout the sacred word this great fact 

that God is onr Creator, involving the whole 
sphere of God in nature, stands as the first 


witness to his true divinity, the first proof that 
in him we live and have our being—the ground 
of the first claim upon us for supreme homage,, 
worship, trust, love and obedience. The first 
lessons taught in Eden were taken from this 
great and open volume of natural religion. In 
that great conflict of ages against idolatry, the 
one final appeal was wont to be made to this 
great fact of God’s Creatorship. H. C. 

The Mosaic doctrine of creation rests on the 
two fundamental thoughts, viz. : that the pro¬ 
duction of the world proceeded from the Word 
and from the Spirit of God. The form of the 
creation of the world is the speaking, or the 
word of God : God says that the things shall 
be, and they are. This means that the world 
originated through a conscious, free divine act; for 
the word “ said ’ ’ is simply the utterance of 
conscious and free will. This excludes, first, 
every theory of the origin of the world by which 
the divine being Himself is drawn down into 
the genesis of the world ; and secondly, the 
theory according to which the divine productive 
activity was conditioned at least by something 
existing originally outside of God, and thereby 
limited. O. 

The leading passages of Scripture on the 
relation of the Eternal Son to the work of 
Creation are 1 Cor. 8:6; Col. 1 : 15-17 ; Heb. 
1:2; John 1 ; 2. Mtdd. 

All the laws and purposes which guide the 
creation and government of the Universe reside 
in him, the Eternal Word, as their meeting- 
point. The Apostolic doctrine of the Logos 
teaches us to regard the Eternal Word as hold¬ 
ing the same relation to the Universe which 
the Incarnate Christ holds to the Church. He 
is the source of its life, the centre of all its de¬ 
velopments, the mainspring of all its motions. 
All things must find their reconciliation at 
length in Him from whom they took their rise 
—in the Word as the mediatorial agent, and 
through the Word in the Father as the primary 
source. The Word is the final cause as well as 
the Creative agent of the Universe ; the goal, as 
He was the starting-point. J. B. L. 

Our Lord is called the Word or Wisdom of 
God in two respects ; first, to denote His essen¬ 
tial presence in the Father, in as full a sense as 
the attribute of w'isdom is essential to Him ; 
secondly. His mediatorship, as the Interpreter 
or Word between God and His creatures. He is 
called the Word of God as mediating between 
the Father and all creatures ; biinging them 
into being, fashioning them, giving the world 
its laws, imparting reason and conscience to 
creatures of a higher order, and revealing to 








PRELIMmARY. 


89 


them in due season the knowledge of God’s 
will. Newman. 

In Col. 1 : 15-20 a threefold affirmation is 
made as to our Lord’s relation to created exist¬ 
ence. First of all, in Him the creative energy 
has its original and eternal living centre ; for 
the declaration is not only that by Him all things 
were made, but in Him they were made— i.e., 
the creative energy not only passed through 
Him, as the volume of a river’s waters passes 
through its rock-hewn channels, but the ere 
ative energy dwells in Him, belongs to Him, as 
the life of His life, rooted in Him essentially 
and eternally. Nor alone are all things made 
by Him, but in Him they consist, that is in Him 
they stand together ; in Him the universe of cre¬ 
ated existence finds its unity and its coherence. 
Not only is the creative energy in Christ, not 
only does the universe find its coherence in 
Him, but He is the universal Governor of nature 
and of history. For Him all things exist, to 
serve His purpose and to manifest His glory. 
Or, to put the whole doctrine into a single 
phrase, Jesus Christ is the first cause, the effi¬ 
cient cause, and the final cause of all created 
existence. Bthrends. 

On any other hypothesis than that of divine 
inspiration, this first chapter of Genesis is the 
most unaccountable production ever written by. 
the pen of man. This chapter was written by 
a man who lived far back in the early infancy 
of human knowledge—a man who had not, and 
could not have, any knowledge whatever, any 
least conception or suspicion, of the actual re¬ 
ality of the vast development of which he was 
telling the story. And yet of that develop¬ 
ment, going on through countless ages, he has 
followed the order of events in a full and com¬ 
prehensive outline—an outline so true and ex- 
act that not one mistake or defect can be 
pointed out in it from beginning to end. How 
could such a thing be ? But one thing can be 
said,—“ All Scripture is given by inspiration of 
God.” E. L. Clark. 

Holiness, sublimity, truthfulness,—these are 
the impressions left upon the mind of the 
thoughtful reader of the First of Genesis. It is 
equally evident, too, that it is the offspring of 
one conceiving mind. It never grew like a 
myth or legend. It is one total conception, per¬ 


fect and consistent in all its parts. It is no 
imitation. Copies may have been made from 
it, more or less deformed,.but this is an original 
painting. The evidence is found in its sim¬ 
plicity, unity, and perfect consistenc}^ ; while 
in all others the marks of a traditional deriva¬ 
tion are to be detected. Overloaded additions, 
incongruous mixtures, inharmonious touches, 
all prove that the execution and the original 
design, the outline and the deformed or crowded 
filling up, are from different and very dissimilar 
sources. We are shut up to the conclusion of 
its subjective truthfirlness, and its subjective 
authenticity. At a very early day to which no 
profane history or chronology reaches, some 
man who was not a philosopher, nor a poet, 
nor a fable-maker but one who ” walked with 
God,” and was possessed of. a most devout and 
reverent spirit—some such man, having a power 
of conception surpassing the ordinary human, 
or else inspired from above, had present to his 
soul in some way, and first wrote down, or ut¬ 
tered in words, this most wonderful and sub¬ 
lime account of the origin of the world and 
man. He believed, too, what he wrote or ut¬ 
tered. T. L. 

Where did Moses get all this knowledge ? If 
he in his day possessed the knowledge which 
genius and science have attained only recentl}'’, 
that knowledge is superhuman. If he did not 
possess the knowledge then his j^en must have 
been guided b}’^ superhuman wisdom. Faith 
has therefore nothing to fear from science. So 
far, the records of nature fairly studied and 
rightly interpreted have proved the most.valu¬ 
able and satisfying of all commentaries upon 
the statements of Scripture. The ages required 
for geological development, the infinity of 
worlds and the immensitj’’ of space revealed by 
astronomy illustrate, as no other note or com¬ 
ment has ever done, the Scripture doctrines of 
the eternity, omnipotence and wisdom of the 
Creator. Let then Science pursue her bound¬ 
less course and multiply her discoveries in tUe 
heavens and the earth. Let Criticism also con¬ 
tinue her profoundly intere.sting and important 
work. Faith need feel no fear, being assured 
that neither can “ do anything against the 
truth, but for the truth.” McCauL. 







90 


THE BEGINNING. 


Section 12. 

THE BEGINNING. 

Genesis 1:1,2.'^ 

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was waste and 


2 void ; and darkness was upon the face of the 

face of the waters. 

1. In the beg^inniiig Oocl created 
the heaven and the eartli. This great 
introductory sentence of the book of God is 
equal in weight to the whole of its subsequent 
communications concerning the kingdom of 
nature. It assumes the existence of God ; for 
it is he who in tb.e beginning creates. It as¬ 
sumes his eternity ; for he is before all things : 
and as nothing comes from nothing, he him¬ 
self must have always been. It implies his 
omnipotence ; for he creates the universe of 
things. It implies his absolute freedom ; for 
he begins a new course of action. It implies 
his infinite wisdom ; for a kosmos, an order 
of matter and mind, can only come from a 
being of absolute intelligence. It implies his 
essential goodness ; for the Sole, Eternal, Al¬ 
mighty, All-wise, and All-sufficient Being has 
no reason, no motive, and no capacity for evil. 
It presumes him to be beyond all limit of time 
and place ; as he is before all time and place. 
It asserts the creation of the heavens and the 
earth ; that is, of the universe of mind and mat¬ 
ter. This creating is the omnipotent act of 
giving existence to things which before had no 
existence. This sentence assumes the being of 
God, and asserts the beginning of things. Hence 
it intimates that the existence of God is more 
immediately patent to the reason of man than 
the creation of the universe. And this is agree¬ 
able to the philosophy of things ; for the exist¬ 
ence of God is a necessary and eternal truth, 
more and more self-evident to the intellect as it 
rises to maturity. This sentence denies athe¬ 
ism ; for it assumes the being of God. It de¬ 
nies polytheism, and among its various forms 
the doctrine of two eternal principles, the one 
good and the other evil ; for it confesses the 
one eternal Creator. It denies materialism ; 
for it asserts the creation of matter. It denies 
pantheism ; for it assumes the existence of God 
before all things, and apart from them. It de¬ 
nies fatalism ; for it involves the freedom of 
the Eternal Being. ,M. 

We wander back in quest of the origin of our 
race and of the world we inhabit till we meet 


deep : and the Spirit of God moved upon the 

* 

this sublime declaration, Li the beginning, God. 

-We traverse the whole field of speculative 

philosophy and reach the same sublime result. 
In the beginning, God. We roam thiough the 
interminable ages and cycles of ages in the eras 
of geology, and the weary mind comes at length 
to the same terminus. In the beginning, God, 
Everywhere it is written. There is a Goil—a 
living God, a personal God, a present God. 
Whence came this.sublime conception of God, 
which has never been exce'eded by any philoso¬ 
phy since ? Whence this wondrously true and 
accurate outline of the course of creation, in an 
age of the world when there was no philosophy 
nor science equal to such conceptions and dis¬ 
coveries—in an age when all the wisdom of the 
world upon such matters has shown itself to 
have been utterly and hopelessly at fault ? 
Whence came this account of the creation but 
from God himself, by direct communication to 
man? J. P. T. 

God, who is in a high sense the Author of 
Scripture, does not argue His own existence any 
more than a human author begins his book by 
proving that he himself actually lives. God is. 
What is the conclusion of long arguments 
elsewhere is the starting-point of the Bible. 
The name of God is stamped on the forehead of 
His book. D. F. 

By the positive exclusion of eternity from the 
existence of the universe, and by repelling the 
idea of accidental creation, the fact of a begin¬ 
ning is raised in the Bible not only above all 
the entangling speculations of recent philos¬ 
ophy, but above the boldest reasonings of mod¬ 
ern scepticism. Those who have pushed the 
discoveries of science to their present limit tell 
us that however much further they may here¬ 
after proceed, they have no hope of gaining the 
least insight into that origination of matter of 
which the Scriptures speak. This point they 
regard as beyond the aim of the sciences, for 
each is restricted to its own facts and laws, and 
is necessarily silent in reference to history ante¬ 
cedent to itself. “ To ascend to the origin of 
things,” says Sir John Herschel, “ and specu- 







GENESIS 1 : I, 2. 


91 


late on creation, is not the business of the nat¬ 
ural philosopher.” W. Fraser. 

The writer to the Hebrews affirms that this 
doctrine—God the original Creator of matter — 
is accepted hy faith, i.e. upon the credit of God’s 
own testimony. “ By faith we understand that_ 
the worlds were framed by the word of God so 
that things which are seen were not -made of 
things that do appear” (Heb. 11 :3). Not being 
constructed out of matter previously apparent, 
they must have been made by the direct jjro- 
duction of matter not before existing. H. C. 

Keason as well as faith demands that we deny i 
independency to whatever is created, and de¬ 
voutly confess that God is “ all in all.” In 
Him, by whom they were formed, “ all things 
consist —in Him all “ live and move and have 
their being.” He is the author and giver of 
life, and in the strictest sense it may be affirmed 
that every day, not less than the first, is a ^ay 
of creation ; every moment the word of power 
is pronounced from the height of the Eternal 
Throne-“let there be light” and life. This 
belief constitutes the basement-princi]3le of all 
religion, and is the sentiment from which piety 
must take its spring. The notion of indepen¬ 
dency and of eternity, suggested by the regular 
movements of nature, are thus thr-own off from 
the surface of the visible world, and go to en¬ 
hance our impressions of the glories of Him 
who alone is eternal, unchangeable and inde 
pendent. I. T. 

It is an assured truth and a conclusion of ex¬ 
perience, that a little or superficial knowledge 
of philosophy may incline the mind of man to 
atheism, but a further proceeding therein doth 
bring the mind back again to religion : for in 
the entrance of philosophy, when the second 
causes which are next unto the senses do offer 
themselves to the mifid of man, if it dwell and 
stay there it may induce some oblivion of the 
highest cause : but when a man passeth on 
further and seeth the dependence of causes 
and the works of Providence, then, according 
to the allegory of the poets, he will easily be¬ 
lieve that the highest link of Nature’s chain 
must needs be tied to the foot of Jupiter’s chair. 
Bacon. 

The eternity of matter is to this day the 
foundation of the pagan idea. This principle 
is not only a metaphysical falsehood ; it is the 
denial of liberty to God and man, a denial 
which makes an end of all morality. If any 
matter whatever was necessary to the Creator, 
He could not have formed a world absolutely 
good, but only the best world possiblo ; and 
man can be just as little master over his own 


body, as God over matter. But this night of 
darkness and of gloom which overshadows the 
conception of God, of the world, and of man, is 
dispersed at the first word of Divine revelation : 
“ in the beginning God created." Everything, 
substance and form, came into being at the fiat 
of the creative will, which is free and omnipo¬ 
tent. Hirsch, 

There must have been a commencement of 
the motions now going on in the solar system. 
Since these motions, vhen once begun, would 
be deranged and destroyed in a period which, 

1 however large, is yet finite, it is obvious we 
cannot carry their origin indefinitely backward 
in the range of past duration. The argument 
is indeed forced upon our minds, whatever 
view we take of the past history of the world. 
Some have endeavored to evade its force by 
maintaining that the world, as it now exists, 
has existed from eternity. But the doctrine of 
a resisting medium, once established, makes 
this imagination untenable, compels xis to go 
back to the origin, not only of the present 
course of the w'orld, not only of the earth, but 
of the solar system itself ; and thus sets us 
forth upon that path of research into the serii s 
of past causation, where we obtain no answer of 
which the meaning corresponds to our ques¬ 
tions, till we rest in the conclusion of a most 
provident and most powerful creating intelli¬ 
gence. Whewell. -Within a finite period of 

time past, the earth must have been, and within 
a finite period of time to come, the (arth must 
again be, unfit fur habitation of man as at jxres- 
ent constituted, unless operations have been or 
are to be performed, which are impossible 
under the laws to which the known operations 
going on at present in the material world are 
subject. There cannot he uniformity. The earth 
is filled with evidence that it has not been going 
071 forever in the present state, and that there is a 
process of events toward a state b7finitely differ¬ 
ent from the present. Sir IF. Thompson. 

There is not an existing stratum in the body 
of the earth which geology has laid bare, which 
cannot be traced back to a time when it was 
not ; and there is not an existing species of 
plants, or animals, which cannot be referred to 
a time when it had no place in the world. 
Their beginnings are discoverable in succeeding 
cycles of time. It can be demonstrated that 
man also had a beginning, and all the species 
contemporary with him, and that, therefore, the 
present state of the organized world has not 

been sustained from eternity. LyeU. -These 

statements corroborate those prophetic descrip¬ 
tions which are definitely historical, and forbid 








93 


THE BEGINNING 


modification (Ps. 102 : 26 ; Isa. 34 : 4 ; 51 :6 ; 
2 Pet. 3 ; 10 ; Eev. 21 :1). W. Fraser. 

Beginning'. lieshiih, the Hebrew word for 
“ beginning,” is without the definite article. 
“ In Reshith,” Moses says, not in the Reshith, 
Eiohiin created, etc. “ The meaning, then, is” 
In Reshith (anteriority), i.e. in former times, 
of old, God created ; and the article is omitted 
to exclude the application of the word to the 
order of creation. The words refer to “ time or 
duration,” not to order, and mean, not “ In the 
beginning of creation he created,” etc., but of 
old, in former duration, God created. How long 
ago is not said. The Hebrew word is indefi¬ 
nite. McGaul. 

Oocl. Eloh’m. From the same Saxon root 
as good, thus beautifully expressing the Divine 
benignity as the leading attribute Of the most 
generous term for the Deity, and corresponding 
almost invariably to two Hebrew words, both 
from a common root— ul, to be strong. An. 

Elohbn occurs for the most part in the plural, 
and yet is connected, as here, with a verb in 

the singular. Bush. -The root probably 

means to be lasting, binding, fir7n, strong. Hence 
the noun means the Everlasting, and in the 
plural, the Eternal Powers. It is correctly ren¬ 
dered God, the name of the Eternal and Supreme 
Being in our language, which perhaps origi 
nally meant lord or ruler. M. 

When Moses is describing the primal creative 
act of God, he joins a singular verb to a plural 
noun. Language, it would seem, thus submits 
to a violent anomaly, that she may the better 
hint at the mystery of several Powers or Per¬ 
sons who not merely act together but who con¬ 
stitute a single Agent. The Hebrew language 
could have described God by singular forms, 
such as El, Eloah, and no question would have 
been raised as to the strictly Monotheistic force 
of those words. The Hebrew language might 
have amplified the idea of God thus conveyed 
by less dangerous processes than the employ¬ 
ment of a plural form. Would it not have done 
so unless the plural form had been really neces¬ 
sary, in order to hint at the complex mystery of 
God’s inner life, until that mystery should be 
more clearly unveiled by the explicit Revela¬ 
tions of a later day ? H. P. L.- E/ohim. After 

carefully considering the various hypotheses, 
such as that of the plural of majesty of the Rab¬ 
bins, and the primitive polytheism supposed by 
certain rationalists, I can see no better reason 
than an attempt to give a grammatical expres¬ 
sion to that plurality in unity indicated by the 
appearance of the Spirit as a distinct actor in 
the next verse. Dawson. 


God is the eternal, independent, and self- 
existent Being ; the Being whose purposes and 
actions spring from Himself without foreign 
motive or influence ; He who is absolute in 
dominion ; the most pure, the most simjjle, the 
most spiritual of all essences ; infinitely benev¬ 
olent, beneficent, true, and holy ; the cause of 
all being, the upholder of all things ; infinitely 
hajDpy because infinitely perfect and eternally 
self-suflicient, needing nothing that He has 
made ; illimitable in His immensity, inconceiv¬ 
able in His mode of existence, and indescribable 
in His essence ; known fully only to Himself, 
because an infinite mind can only be fully com¬ 
prehended by itself. In a word, a Being who, 
from His infinite wisdom, cannot err or be de¬ 
ceived, and, from His infinite goodness, can do 
nothing but what is eternally just, and right, 

and kind. A Clarke. -So great a revelation 

had never been made to man, for it disclosed 
the existence of the One eternal holy, just and 
good God,—a God of wisdom and order, as 
well as purity and truth, and implied His right 
to our absolute obedience and love, as the work 
of His hands. There remained only another 
self-disclosure, of still greater condescension, 
when He declared Himself to mankind in the 
person of His incarnate Son. b'et/de. 

Create (5am), give being to something new. It 
has God always for its subject. Its object may 
be anything ; matter (5:1); animal life (5 : 21) ; 
spiritual life (5 :27). The verb in its simple 
form occurs forty-eight times (of which eleven 
are in Genesis, fourteen in the whole Penta 
teuch, and twenty-one in Isaiah), and always in 

one sense. M.-In the first two chapters of 

Genesis we meet with four different verbs to 
express the creative work of God, viz. to create ; 
to make ; to form ; to build. The word bara 
is evidently the common word for a true and 
original creation, and there is no other word 
in Hebrew which can express that thought. 

E. H. B.-Bara never appears as the word for 

human creations, differing in this from the syn¬ 
onyms “ asak, ” “ yatzar,” “yalad,” which are 
used both of men and of God—it is never used 
with an accusative of the material, and even 
from this it follows that it defines the divine 
creative act as one without any limitations, and 
its result, as to its proper material, as entirely 
new ; and as to its first cause, entirely the 

creation of divine power. Delii. -There is 

one special sense in which God can make and 
man cannot, viz. that of bringing into existence 
what had no existence before. Over against 
this, place the fact that the word “ bara” is 
used of God’s making forty-eight times and of 










GENESIS 1 : 1, 2. 


93 


man^s making never, and we conclude that the 
Hebrew^ expressed by this word that distinctive 
power of God which man never can even ap¬ 
proach--viz., the power to give exisience to 
matter, to mind and to life. In passages where 
this sense of “ bara” is appropriate, there can 
be no question that it is the real meaning, 

H. C.-It occurs in this chapter only on three 

occasions, the first creation of matter in the first 
verse, the first introduction of life in the fifth 
day, and the creation of man in the sixth day. 
Bard is thus reserved for marking the first in¬ 
troduction of each of the three great spheres of 
existence—the world of matter, the world of 
life, and the world spiritual, represented by 
man in this visible economy—all three of which, 
though profoundly distinct in essence, are in¬ 
timately associated, and together constitute all 

the universe known to us. Guyot. -As hara* 

is exclusively appropriated to God so God alone 
is called Bor6, Creator. Creation is therefore, 
according to the Hebrew, a Divine act. 

The idea of creation out of nothing, that is, that 
God did not produce the world out of anything 
outside of himself, is in accordance with the 
doctrine of Mosaism. IIow later reflection laid 
hold of the simple utterances of the record of 
creation, and carried out farther the thoughts 
contained in them, is especially shown in Ps. 
104 (which is really a commentary on Gen. 1). 

O.-That the first verse of Genesis teaches 

that the original creation of the world in its rude 
and chaotic state was from nothing, while in 
the remaining part of the chapter the elabora¬ 
tion and distribution of the matter thus created 
is taught, the connection of the whole section 

shows sufficiently clearly. Gesenius. -This 

creation of things from nothing speaks an in¬ 
finite power. The distance between nothing 
and being, hath been always counted so great, 
that nothing but an infinite power can make 
such distances meet together ; either for noth¬ 
ing to pass into being, or being to return to 
nothing. To imagine so small a thing as a bee, 
a fly, a grain of corn, or an atom of dust, to be 
made of nothing, would stupefy any creature in 
the consideration of it ; much more to behold 
the heavens with all the troop of stars, the earth 
with all its embroidery, and the sea with all 
her inhabitants of fish, and man, the noblest 
creature of all, to arise out of the womb of mere 
emptiness. Indeed God had not acted as an 
almighty Creator if he had stood in need of any 
materials but of his own framing. Ckarnock. 

Tlic heaven and the earth. There is 
no single word in the Hebrew language corre¬ 
sponding to our English word universe. The 


phrase “ the heaven and the earth” is the near¬ 
est equivalent to it, and is here doubtless used 
to signify the whole system of which our earth 
forms a part : the sun, the planets with their 
satellites, and the fixed stars, with all that be¬ 
long to them. So Moses understood the ex¬ 
pression, for he afterward wrote ; “ The Lord 
made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in 

them is.” Armstrong. -Consequently these 

uncounted tenants of the skies, along with our 
own planet, are all declared to be in existence 
before the commencement of the six days’ crea¬ 
tion. The subsequent verses reveal a new ef¬ 
fort of creative power, by which the pre adamic 
earth, in the condition in which it appears in 
the second verse, is fitted up for the residence 
of a fresh animal creation, including the human 
race. M. 

‘ The simplest exposition seems to be that ver. 
1 is not meant to be a title of the whole, but 
rather the declaration how a first creation of 
heaven and earth as prima m'deria preceded the 
process portrayed from the second verse on¬ 
ward ; compare how Job 38 :4-7, supposes a 
prius preceding the creation of the earth. By 
the absolute BereshVh the divine creation is 
fixed as an absolute beginning, not as a working 
on something which already existed, and heaven 
and earth is wholly subjected to the lapse of 
time, which God transcends ; compare Ps. 

90 : 2 ; 102 : 26. O.-The first verse may be 

understood as relating to a primeval creation, 
complete in itself, but which, by some catas¬ 
trophe, had become desolate and dark (as de¬ 
scribed in ver. 2)—in vhich case the work of 
the six creative days would be a restitution or 
new creation of the earth which had become 
desolate. The narrative bfioi'e us does not decide 
this point. The writer does not inform us 
whether the earth had been created “ without 
form and void,” or whether and by what process 
it had become such. Besides this account and 
the hymn of creation (Ps. 104), we have another 
description of several points in the process of 
creation, in Job 37 :3, etc. Therein it is de¬ 
clared that when the Almighty founded the 
earth, the morning stars rejoiced, and the sons 
of God sang in praise of the divine .wisdom and 
power then displayed. Hence the morning 
stars and sons of God must have existed previous 
to the six creative days. K. 

Inasmuch as every one of the six days’ works 
opens with AimI Ooci said, it is required by 
the symmetry of the narrative that the first 
day’s work should begin at ver. 3, and that vv. 
1, 2, should be regarded as introductory matter. 
This being so, we have in it three propositions. 












94 


THE BEOINNING. 


First, originally God created the heaven and 
the earth. Secondly, at a certain time form¬ 
lessness and darkness prevailed. Thirdly, the 
Divine Spirit wrought upon this chaotic state. 
And thus the way is prepared for the six-days’ 

work. Alf. -The length of time that may 

have elapsed between the events recorded in 
the first verse (of the first chapter of Genesis) 
and the condition o^ the globe, as described in 
the second verse, is absolutely indefinite. How 
long it was, we know not ; and ample space is 
therefore given to all the requisitions of geol¬ 
ogy. The second verse describes the condition 
of our globe, when God began to fit ic up for 
the abode of man. The first day’s work does 
not begin till the third verse. This is no new 
theory. It was held by Justin Martyr, Basil, 
Origen, Theodoret, and Augustine—men who 
came to such a conclusion without any bias, 
and who certainly were not driven to it by any 
geological difficulties. Eidie. 

Objections. The view that the geological ages 
might be contained in the time between the be¬ 
ginning and first day, involves a strained inter¬ 
pretation of the passage, and is contradicted by 
the fact that no chaotic period intervenes be¬ 
tween the human period and the preceding 

tertiary ages. Dawson. -1. The sacred writer 

gives no intimation of such an interval. There 
is no indication that it was present to his mind, 
and no reason for it in the connection. 2. It 
assumes that the writer has given us only an 
account of a part of the Creator’s work ; that for 
unknown ages the earth was peopled with vege¬ 
table and animal life, of which no record is 
made. 3. Scientific investigation shows that 
no such convulsion, as is assumed in this the¬ 
ory, occurred at the period preceding the crea¬ 
tion of man. 4. It is an unworthy conception 
of the Creator and his work. Why was the crea¬ 
tion extended through six natural days, when 
a single divine volition would have brought the 
whole universe into being, with all its apparatus 
for the support of life, and its myriads of living 
beings? Its extension through six successive 
periods, of whatever duration, can be explained 
only by the operation of those secondary 
causes, which the structure of the earth itself 
proves to have been active in its formation, re¬ 
quiring ages for their accomplishment. T. «T. C. 

2 , This verse cuts clear of the universe at 
large, or even of the solar system, and confines 
itself to “ the earth.” This fact would seem to 
preclude the view advanced by high scientific 
authorities, that in a subsequent verse the di¬ 
viding of the waters from the waters was the 
separation of the earth from the nebula of 


which it was a part, and forces us to a simpler 
and narrower explanation. “ The earth” — to 
which our attention is now confined—was after 
its creation “ without form and void,’’ literally 
“wasteness and emptiness,” in other words a 
chaotic mass, described by two tirchaic Hebrew 
words, and in the next breath designated as 
“ the deep perhaps because no other than 
this last term could so vividly describe the vast, 
confused, unstable, and, it may be, heaving and 
roaring mass of material in its earlier stages, as 

the vast ocean abyss. S. C. B.-The verb in 

this sentence is in the jiteifect state, and there¬ 
fore denotes that the condition of confusion 
and emptiness was not in progress, but had 
run its course and become a settled thing, at 
least at the time of the next recorded event. M. 

-Unless the context forbids, it may just as 

M^ell be understood in the prefer past ;—“ and 
the earth had been without form, and void.” 
How long no one may know. The iohn and 
bohu may have been a rudimentarj' chaos which 
bad never yet assumed order—such as we may 
suppose to have been the condition of perhaps 
many an elemental world—or it may have betn 
a chaos to w'hich some world or system had been 
reduced from some previously better state. It 
may have lain long in ruins ; it may have gone 
through an immense number of older c^'cles ; 
or it may be that it was now for the first time 
made the subject of a creation, that is, according 
to the Latin word, an orderly growing through 
harmonious laws, or, according to the Hebrew 
conception, a separating, a dividing, a clearing 
up, a bringing into order, an arranging of out¬ 
ward relations, by which it comes in harmony 
with the exact measurements of universal, ob¬ 
jective time, and is thus prepared for the abode 
of life, happiness and rationality. T. L. 

Tlic Spirit of God. Science cannot tell 
how the change from the chaotic, the desolate 
and the empty, was effected. Moses informs us 
that it was by the action of the Divine Spirit. 
According to the Old Testament, the Spirit of 
God is the quickening principle of the world, 
and all life is an outgoing from God. McCaul. 

-Hovetl. It is significant that the same 

science which has bound “ the heavens and the 
earth” in a single belt of law —which has estab- 
lished a positive beginning for them —which 
has detected the traces of a single hand in the 
uniform structure of all, and so illustrated the 
first word of Scripture concerning the origin 
of the universe, — has given us, as its last solu¬ 
tion of the secret of the unfolding earth, the 
one word, “ motion" —motion, of which light, 
heat, and electricity, are “ modes,” and of which 








GENESIS 1 : 3-13, 


95 


matter is but the phenomenal vehicle. Is it 
not curious —after learning from Hebrew schol¬ 
ars that the “ moving” of the Spirit (which in 
the Scripture was followed at once by light) 
means ]iterally a “ trembling,” as of brooding 
■wings—to read from Professor Tyndall’s pen 
the statement that “ the splendor of the starry 
firmament is the transported shiver of bodies 
countless millions of miles distant”? After 
four thousand years, once more man “ thinks 
God’s thought after him”—the word with which 
science ends its inquiry after the origin of 
things is the same with which Moses began his 
“ book of origins”—“ the Spirit of God moved 
upon the face of the waters.” J. B. Thomas. 

The word conveys the idea of brooding over 
—cherishing—the act of incubation which a 
fowl performs when hatching its eggs, and the 
particular form of the verb implies a continu¬ 
ance of this action. It was not the self develop¬ 
ment of powers inherent in matter. The cre¬ 
ative movement was made by the will of God ; 


and as if to refute the doctrine of Pantheism, it 
is expressly stated that the action was not in 

but upon the face of the waters. Jamieson. - 

We render it brooded; or it might be trans¬ 
lated, hovered. Either of these words would 
present the primary image, or conception, bet¬ 
ter than the term in our common version. Any 
one may be as certain of its meaning as the best 
Hebrew scholar, by just turning to Deuteronomy 
32 :11,—“ As the eagle hovers, or broods, over its 
young." It is the same word and the same con¬ 
ception. T. L. 

The drama of creation opens with chaos, and 
the Holy Spirit brooded over the waters ; then 
chaos became cosmos, order. The Spirit gar¬ 
nished the heavens. Ail the beauty of the 
world, physical as well as spiritual, is from the 
Holy Spirit. He gives wisdom, inspires prophets, 
wOi’ks in regeneration and sanctification, and 
enkindles love to God. This is not speculation. 
This is what God reveals. A. A. Hodge. 


Section 13. 


FIKST, SECOND, AND THIRD DAYS. 
Genesis 1 :3-13. 


3 And God said, Let there be light : and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was 

4 good : and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the 

5 darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. 

6 And God said. Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the 

7 waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were 

8 under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament : and it was so. And 
God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second 
day. 

9 And God said. Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and 

10 let the dry land appear : and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth ; and the gather¬ 
ing together of the waters called he Seas ; and God saw that it was good.* And God said. Let 

11 the earth put forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit tree bearing fruit after its kind, wherein 

12 is the seed thereof, upon the earth : and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, herb 
yielding seed after its kind, and tree bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after its kind : 

13 and God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. 


First Day. Vast in its outline, this remark¬ 
able history is yet so scrupulously strict in its 
minuter details, that it may be read without 
dubiety, not only in the midst of the exactest 
records of antiquity, but in the light of those 
modern discoveries in physical science which 
bear most directly on its statements. In reli¬ 
ableness and in consistency it stands alone. 
The myths of heathenism regarding the origin 
of the world can be easily separated from it. 
While it contains every element of truth which 
imparts to them any coherency which they pos¬ 


sess, it gives no place to their grotesque and 

deformed traditions. W. Fraser. -When the 

Pentateuch was written mankind was absorbed 
in the grossest idolatry ; and that idolatry, for 
the most part, originated in the neglect, the 
perversion, or the misapprehension of certain 
truths, which had once been universally known. 
Moses therefore commences his narrative, by 
relating the creation of the world by the one 
true God, in opposition to the Egyptian doc- 
trines of the necessary eternity of the world, 
and an infinite succession of similar worlds. 








96 


FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD DAYS. 


G. T.-Tn no other passage, perhaps, does the 

incomparable pre-eminence of these creative 
acts of the one Jehovah above the confused and 
uncertain creative efforts of the Assyrian pan¬ 
theon so clearly appear. Here is the one God, 
who unites in himself everything divine which 
the heathen world divided among its many gods. 
Here the creation is not a necessitated emana¬ 
tion from his essence, or from wild chaos, but 
something brought into existence by the free 
will of the Absolute One. Here is an ascending 
gradation of acts of creation to the supreme aim. 
This supreme aim is not, as in the Babylonian 
account, one or another concurrent cause, not a 
God, not a new Lord of heaven, but an image 
of God, a King of the earth, the synthesis of 
Spirit and Nature.” We have here, on the 
threshold of the revelation of God to men, a 
tradition of creation free from mythological ad¬ 
ditions ; here the true idea of God is announced 
in the midst of a heathenism sunk far and wide 
in unbelief and apostasy, and in this announce¬ 
ment we have the foundation of all true re¬ 
ligions and culture. In the Babylonian account 
of creation, a multitude of conceptions con¬ 
cerning God and divine things betrays what we 
may call the childhood of the people ; but the 
creative agency of God, as exhibited in the first 
chapter of Genesis, is so perfect that the purest 
knowledge of God is unable to improve upon it 
in the least. 0. 

And Ood said. This is the word which 
gives the key-note to the narrative, the burden, 
ten times repeated, of this magnificent poem. 
To say is both to think and to will. In this 
speaking of God, there is both the legislative 
power of His intelligence, and the executive 
power of His wull ; this one word dispels all 
notion of blind matter, and of brute fatalism ; 
it reveals an enlightened Power, an intelligent 
and benevolent Thought, irnderlying all that is. 
At the same time that this word, “ And God 
said," appears to us as the veritable truth of 
things, it also reveals to us their true value and 
legitimate use. Beautiful and beneficent as the 
work may be, its real wmrth is not in itself ; it 
is in the thought and in the heart of the Author 
to whom it owes its existence. Whenever we 
stop short in the work itself, our enjoyment of 
it can only be superficial, and we are, through 
our ingratitude, on the road to an idolatry more 
or less gross. Our enjoyment is only pure and 
perfect when it results from the contact of our 
soul with the Author himself. To form this 
bond is the true aim of Nature, as well as the 
proper destination of the life of man. Behind 
this veil of the visible universe which dazzles 
me, behind these blind forces of which the play 
at times terror-strikes me, behind this regularity 
of seasons and this fixedness of laws, which al¬ 
most compel me to recognize in all things only 
the march of a fixed Fate, this word, “And God 
said," unveils to me an Arm of might, an Eye 


which sees, a Heart full of benevolence which 
is seeking me, a Person who loves me. Godei. 
-If we remove the term GOD from this chap¬ 
ter, we leave behind a mystery of darkness ; 
when we reinsert the term GOD we import the 
nobler mystery of light. In a very plain sense 
there is, so far as the visible creation is con¬ 
cerned, less mystery with a Creator than without 
one ; since there is nothing hut mystery on the side 
of atheism. Here is the Christian standpoint, 
and here the Christian resting ground—God the 
mighty and holy Maker of all things. J. P. . 

3. Let lliere toe liglif. The most ele¬ 
gant critic of the heathen world has produced 
the opening of this narrative, as the most strik¬ 
ing specimen of the true sublime which could be 
jDresented. “ God said-what? Be light ; and 
light was. Be earth, and it was so.” Enc. Alt. 

-The substantive verb is used here, and not 

either the words “ create” or “ made.” It was 
the manifestation of what had been previously 
in existence —Let light be, or, rather. Light shall 
be, not the formation of an element, or mattfr, 
which had no being at all till the divine com¬ 
mand was issued. Where all had been involved 
in darkness, there was an alternation of light ; 
and as unbroken gloom had reigned previous to 
this happy change, so, in describing the physi¬ 
cal arrangement that was now established, this 
natural sequence is preserved, and the evening 
is reckoned before the morning. Jamieson. • 

It is now an established truth, that Light is 
in its nature entirely independent of the sun. 
It is a vibration of the ether, in which the sun 
is, in our time, no doubt, the chief agent, buji 
which may be produced by the action of many 
causes. Science proves that there is a light, 
other than that of the sun, which possesses all 
the properties required by vegetation, and that 
this light existed at the beginning of the world. 

Godet. -The phenomena of light have been 

proved to be a result of molecular action, and 
to be dependent upon fundamental qualities of 
matter as now constituted. Man has ascertained 
the wave-lengths in the vibration of molecular 
force corresponding to light of different parts 
of the spectrum, and also other laws of light. 
He has found, moreover, that the laws < f heat 
and of electrical and chemical action are so in¬ 
volved with those of light that all these condi¬ 
tions are convertible and one in molecular 
origin. Dana. 

4 , God saw that the light was good ; that is. He 
predestined it for its multiform uses in the 
economy of vegetative and animal life, and in 
the development of the human intellect. And 
it was He who separated the light from the 







GENESIS 1 : 3-13. 


97 


darkness ; He retained the control of the force 
which He had crea,ted, and appointed of His 
foreknowledge the alternations of day and night, 
in like manner with all the forces of nature 
afterward to be discovered in scientific research 
—heat, electricity, galvanic currents, chemical 
afiinities, actinic rays, whatever they were— 
they came at Q-o'd’s command, they were fore- 
seen by Him as good, and designed for their 
uses, and they are retained in His power of 

guidance. Hill. -Every created work is to us 

an evidence of God’s mercy and wisdom ; to 
Himself a source of fresh joy. The expression 
so constantly repeated, ‘ ‘ God saw that it was 
good,” dechires to us that God is the holy source 
of all good, and that in this world there lies no 
incentive to sin, but sin is the fault of man. 

Gei-l. -The sacred writer has it, from the first, 

in his purpose to affirm the absolute goodness 
of the Divine works: and this formula is only 
another and a more detailed method of saying 
that all creation followed the behest and the 
character of its maker, himself all good. Alf. 

5. Evciiiiij^;^ and iiioriiiit^r, 4»iie clay. 
The evening is mentioned first because the 
darkness preceded the light. On the ground of 
this recorded order of things in the sacred nar¬ 
rative, the Jews commenced their day of twenty- 

four hours from the evening. Bush. -Beyond 

all question the word “ day’ ’ is used abundantly 
(and therefore admits of being used) to denote 
a period of special character, with no particular 
reference to its duration. We have a case in 
this immediate connection (Gen. 2 :4), where it 
is used of the whole creative period (see Eccl, 
7 :14 ; Joel 2:2; Luke 19 :42, etc,). H. C. 

-In the Hebrew Scriptures the word day is 

used : (1) For past or future time, without 
limit (Isa. 30 :8 ; Prov. 31 : 25). (2) For a future 
prophetic period of indefinite limit (Isa. 2 :11, 
17 ; Ezek. 38 ; 14), (3) For a period of time, in 

history (Jud. 18 : 1 ; 1 Sam, 8 :18). (4) For a 

season of the year (Prov. 25 :13). (5) For a pe¬ 
riod of life, as of old age (Eccl. 12 : 3). (6) For 

any specified time of indefinite length (1 Sam. 
3:2). T. J. C. 

There are the days which Ood divided—sxii>er- 
naturally divided by his own direct immediate 
power originating a new thing, or a new work, 
in nature—and there are the days of which ho 
said, “ let the sun divide them,” natural days, 
measured off in the regularly returning course 
of nature, and marking the interior divisions of 
that nature instead of being its exterior chrono¬ 
logical bound. Here is this wondrous differ¬ 
ence patent on the very face of the account. 
Can we read of these two kinds of days so strik¬ 


ingly contrasted in their natural and supernat¬ 
ural character, their God-made and sun-made 
modes of division, and yet believe that they 
must be exactly alike in all the other features 
with which we are familiar as belonging to our 
solar periods ? , . . The Bible does not teach 
that the creative days were twenty-four hours 
long ; but leaves a great latitude in this re¬ 
spect, determining nothing about their dura¬ 
tion, except that the}’ must be in some kind of 
conceived harmony with the growths and proc¬ 
esses assigned to each. Hence this view of 
indefinite periods may be applied in various 
ways. It may be supposed fo embrace the 
whole physical history of our earth from its 
earliest condition of being, or it may refer 
merely to the successive steps by Mhich an old 
chaotic earth was renewed, and a new division 
of land and water, a new vegetation, a new ani¬ 
mal life, etc., were made to succeed older 
growths and older creations, which had long 
before run through their cycles. The writer 
would confess his partiality for the first suppo¬ 
sition, as the second burdens the conceptive 
faculty with the idea of a series of great crea¬ 
tions, as well as of great periods in each crea¬ 
tion. T. L, !. 

The Second Day. 

6-8, And God said. Let there he a firmament 
(expansion, ‘"rakiah”) to divide the voa'ers, and 
he called the firmament IBaven. This was the 
sky, that pure and transparent expanse of air 
above us, the atmosphere with its inexhaustible 
springs of life and blessing, providing th© neces¬ 
sary means of nourishment to every kind of liv¬ 
ing beings that were to appear on earth. This 
sky rests on the waters of the earth, and like a 
firm arch supports the oceans of heaven. Thus 
it divides the upper from the lower, waters, the. 
sea from the clouds which rise from it, that in 
turn they also may become a spring of blessing, 
and fruitfulness to the dry land when it shall 
have been emancipated from the dominion of 

the sea. K.-We, describing the expanse, 

would say that it lay between, or separated, the 
clouds and the earth. But the historian spesks 
as things would have appeared to a spectator at 
the time of the creation. A portion of the 
heavy, watery vapor was carried into the upper 
regions, and rested there in dense clouds, which 
still obscured the sun ; while below, the whole 
earth was still covered' with water, for the dry 
land had not yet appeared. Thus we see the 
propriety with which the firmament is said to 
have divided “ the waters from the waters.” 
Kit. -This harmonizes .with "what is known of. 



















98 


FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD DAYS. 


the processes of evaporation to wliich the clouds 
are subject as they float above us —lakes of 
water in the azure vault. The firmament sus¬ 
tains the waters collected in its scattered clouds, 
and separates them from those resting on the 
surface of the earth. Take, in connection with 
this, what Solomon has written, “ All the rivers 
ran into the sea ; yet the sea is not fall unto 
the place from whence the rivers come, thither 
they return again” (Eccl. 1:7); and we may 
fairly press the question. Can any brief descrip¬ 
tion more exactly set forth what has been ascer¬ 
tained as to the settled course of evaporation ? 

ir. Fraser. - 7. Waters above tlie lir- 

inaaieat. The quantity of water suspended 
in the atmosphere is enormous ; and the rains, 
the springs, and rivers which fertilize the earth 
and sustain its inhabitants, are only the over¬ 
flowings of this vast aerial reservoir, upheld by 
the laws established by God. Dawson. 

An unscientific reader knows little about the 
manner in which the volume of the atmosphere 
surrounds the earth ; but I imagine that he 
could hardly glance at the sky when rain was 
falling in the distance, and see the level line of 
the bases of the clouds from which the shower 
descended, without being able to attach an in¬ 
stant and easy meaning to the words, ” expan¬ 
sion in the midst of the waters.” And if, hav¬ 
ing once seized the idea, he proceeded to ex¬ 
amine it more accurately, he would perceive at 
once, if he had ever noticed anything of the 
nature of the clouds, that the level line of their 
bases did indeed most severely and stringently 
divide ‘‘waters from waters,” that is to say, 
divide water in its collected and tangible state 
from water in its divided and aerial state ; or 
the waters which pill and flow from those which 
rise and float. I understand the making the 
firmament to signify that (so far as man is con¬ 
cerned) most magnificent ordinance of the 
clouds ; the ordinance that as the great plain of 
waters was formed in the face of the earth, so 
also a plain of waters should be stretched along 
the height of air, and the face of the cloud an- 
: swer the face of the ocean ; and that this upper 
;and heavenly should be of waters, as it were, 

; glorified in their nature, no longer quenching 
■ the fire, but now bearing fire in their own 
'bosoms ; no longer murmuring only when the 
'winds raise them, or rocks divide, but answer¬ 
ing each other with their own voices from pole 
to jmle ; no longer restrained by established 
^-shores, and guided through unchanging chan- 
:nels, but going forth at His pleasure like the 
armies of the angels and choosing their encamp- 
-ments on the height of the hills : no longer hur¬ 


ried downward forever, moving but to fall, nor 
lost in the lightless accumulation of the abyss, 
but covering the East and the West with the 
waving of their wings, and robing the gloom of 
the farther infinite with a vesture of divers 
I colors, of which the threads are j^urple and 
scarlet, and the embroideries flame. Ruslcin. 

§. Ootl called tlic iiriiiamciit heav¬ 
en. We have here an interesting and instruc¬ 
tive example of the waj’^ in which words expand 
in their significance from the near, the simple, 
the obvious, to the far and wide, the complex 
and inferential. The heaven, in the first in¬ 
stance, meant the open space above the surface 
in which we breathe and move, in which the 
birds fly and the clouds float. This is the at¬ 
mosphere. Then it stretches away into the 
seemingly boundless regions of space, in which 
the countless orbs of luminous and of oiDaquo 
surfaces circumambulate. Then the heavens 
come to signify the contents of this indefinitely 
augmented expanse, —the celestial luminaries 
themselves. Then, by a still further enlarge¬ 
ment of its meaning, we rise to the heaven of 
heavens, the inexpressibly grand and august 
presence-chamber of the Most High, where the 
cherubim and seraphim, the innumerable com¬ 
pany of angels, the myriads of saints, move in 
their several grades and spheres, keeping the 
charge of their Maker, and realizing the joy of 
their being. M. 

Third Day. 

9-13. We have now a purer and a clearer 
sky ; but still our earth is drenched with water, 
and unfit for production. The water must be 
partly removed, and confined wdthin proper 
bounds ; and this is the work of the third day 
of creation. “ And God said, ‘ Let the waters 
be gathered together into one place ; and let 
the dry land appear.’ ” The historian adds, 
‘‘ And it was so but he gives us no details of 

the operation. Kit. -The third day witnessed 

two consecutive and connected acts of creation 
—the separation of the sea from the dry land, 
and the clothing of the latter with vegetation. 
The creative word of the third day set free the 
earth from the dominion of the sea, which till 
then had engulphed and covered everything. 
The dry land is the habitation of the.noblest of 
God’s creatures ; therefore the creative word of 
Omnipotence liberated it from the dominion of 
the sea, and assigned to the latter its bounds, K. 

The gathering of the waters into one place im¬ 
plies no more than that they were, from this day 
forward, to be collected into one vast body, and 
restrained within bounds in a place by them- 









GENESIS 1 : 3-13. 


99 


selves, so as to admit of the exposure of the 
earth’s soil. The “ place founded for them” 
was, of course, the depths and hollows in the 
earth’s crust, into which they were immediately 
withdrawn, ngt through direct supernatural 
agency, but by their own natural gravitation. 
The Configuration of the dry land is not de¬ 
scribed ; but there is reason to believe that the 
original distribution of land and water was the 
same, or nearly the same, as it is at present. 

Whilelaw. -The sacied singer possibly hints 

at the process in Ps. 104 : 6-8 : “ The deep as a 
garment thou didst spread over it ; above the 
mountains stood the waters. At thy rebuke 
they fled ; at the voice of thy thunder they 
hasted away. They go up the mountains ; they 
go down the valley’s ; unto the place that thou 
hast founded for them.” This descrii)tion is 
highly poetical, and therefore true to nature. 
The hills are to rise out of the waters above 
them. The agitated waters dash up the stirring 
mountains, but, as these ascend, at length sink 
into the valleys, and take the place allotted for 
them. Plainl}’^ the result was accomplished by 
lowering some and elevating other j^arts of the 
solid ground. Over this inequality of surface, 
the waters, which before overspread the whole 
ground, flowed into the hollows, and the ele¬ 
vated regions became dry land. This disposi¬ 
tion of land and water prepares for the second 
step, which is the main work of this day ; 
namely, the creation of plants. M. 

The language conveys the thought of a proc¬ 
ess of some kind, longer or shorter. There is 
that which looks like a causation, a train of se 
quences, -or, in other words, an energizing of 
natural powers producing natural results. We 
have every reason to believe that the earth and 
water, as they existed at the beginning of the 
third day, possessed, in the main, the natural 
properties which they now possess, the same or 
a similar gravity, the same density, the same 
resistance, the same laws of fluidity, of press¬ 
ure, of repulsion ; and that the same or similar 
effects would have followed from their action 
upon each other, according as that action was 
slower or more rapid, that is, took place in a 
longer or shorter time. And so, also, in respect 
to the processes of evaporation and aridifica- 
tion ", they must have had some analogy at least 
to the same processes as they now take iflace. 
This is only saying, that if there is a nature, 
there must be a harmony, a consistency in it. 
Such an apparent process of moving waters 
could not have taken place throughout all the 
wide earth and ocean, within the time of a few 
hours, without utterly deranging all such causal 


dependence, even if we suppose the laws of 
nature to have been much more rapid in their 
action than they have been since ; of which, 
however, there is no intimation in the account. 

T. L. 

12. 4jrras§, herb yielding^ §ccd, friiif 
free bearing' fruit. The plants now cre¬ 
ated arc divided into three classes, — grass, herb, 
and tree. In the first, the seed is not noticed, 
as not obvious to the eye ; in the second, the 
seed is the striking characteristic ; in the third, 
the fruit, ” in which is its seed,” in which the 
seed is enclosed, forms the distinguishing mark. 
This division is simiile and natural. It pro¬ 
ceeds upon two concurrent mark<,—the struct¬ 
ure and the seed. In the first, the green leaf 
or blade is prominent ; in the second, the 
stalk ; ,in the third, the woody texture. In the 
first, the seed is not conspicuous ; in the sec¬ 
ond, it is conspicuous ; in the third, it is en¬ 
closed in a fruit wdiich is conspicuous. It ap¬ 
pears from the text that the full plants, and not 
the seeds, germs, or roots, weie created. The 
land sent forth grass, herb tree, each in its fully 

developed form. M.-The earth brought 

forth plants, yet they were made after their 
species, and, w'hen made, a new relation was 
established between solar light and the earth, 
by which not only a new beauty was given to 
the world, but a new pow’er of producing those 
marvellous organic compounds on which animal 
life, with all its further endow^ments, would be 
founded. If one looks at the structure of a 
leaf, with its vessels and fibres drawing into it 
the soil w'ater taken up by the stem ; its micro¬ 
scopic sac-like cells piled loosely on each other, 
its hygrometric breathing pores opening and. 
shutting with every atmospheric change, and 
considers that this delicate organ is fitted for 
exi^osure to wind, sun, and rain, and through 
all to avail itself of undulations transmitted 
through 90,000,000 of miles of space, by means 
of which it can convert all the gases of putres¬ 
cent matters from the soil and air into the end¬ 
less variety of products of the plant, wm have 
before us a marvel of adaptation perhaps in¬ 
ferior to no other in affording an inductive argu¬ 
ment for design. Dawson. 

An immense advance in the career of Creation 
is marked by these j^hrases : ” whose seed is in 
itself, yielding fruit afl^-r Us kindD These are 
expressions you w'ould never apj)!}'’ to anything 
inorganic, but only to living things, w'bich do 
have seed in themselves, and which do yield 
fruit after their kinds. These phrases mark 
the eternal boundary betw'een the organic w'orld 
and the inorganic ; betw'een life and absence of 











100 


FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD DATS. 


life. Strikingly, too, these phrases, “yield¬ 
ing fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself,” 
involve the doctrine of the invariability of 
species. G. D. B.-The doctrine of the trans¬ 

formation of species is most decidedly contra¬ 
dicted by facts. Not only has no new species 
originated during the period of human history, 
but even the lignites (or woody coal), which go 
back to a much earlier time, exhibit the exist¬ 
ing flora. The present Swiss Alpine plants are 
the descendants of the Alpine drift flrora, but, 
thjugh living under different physical condi¬ 
tions, it IS impossible to distinguish those of 
the present daj’’ from plants of the drift flora 
of Iceland and Greenland. It is the same with 
marine animals. No new species has haJ its 
origin since the drift period. Nor is this pecul¬ 
iar to the drift. The same facts are true of 
preceding geological periods. The same species 
maintain their existence through long cycles, 
and often, in all parts of the globe, present pre¬ 
cisely the same characteristics. The formation 
immediately following any earlier period, and 
belonging to a new epoch, may contain some 
species inherited from the preceding period, 
but the greater part of the species show us a 
new type, and present distinct characteristics. 
There are no forms which would indicate a 
fusion of species. Ileer. 

The system of the transformation of species 
is no less refuted by science than by the in¬ 
stincts of common-sense. It rests upon no tan¬ 
gible fact, on no principle of scientific observa¬ 
tion or historic tradition. All the facts ascer¬ 
tained, all the monuments collected in different 
ages and different places, respecting the exist¬ 
ence of living species, disprove the hypothesis 
of their having undergone any transformation, 
any notable and permanent change. Guizof. 
-In the expressions, “ yielding seed,” “ hav¬ 
ing seed in itself,” the words describe with 
wonderful precision the characteristic of a living 
species, distinguishing it from mineral or inor¬ 
ganic substances. Beings having powers of 
growth and reproduction were now facts. With 
reference to the introduction of life, science has 
no explanation ; for no experiments have re¬ 
sulted in making from dead matter a living 
species. We can only say, “ God created.” 
The growing plant is on a higher level than that 
of ordinary molecular law ; for it controls and 
subordinates to itself chemical forces, and 
thereby is enabled to make out of mineral mat¬ 


ter chemical compounds and living structures 
which the forces without this control are inca¬ 
pable of. Only when growth ceases, and death 
consejpiently ensues, does ordinary chemical 
law regain control, and then decomposition 
commences. More than this, the living being, 
before it dies, produces germs which develop 
into other like forms, with like powers ; and 
thus cycles of growth are continued indefinitely. 
In making its tissues, the living plant is storing 
force for the sustenance and purposes of beings 
of a still higher grade—those of the animal 
kingdom ; beings that cannot live on mineral 
materials. There is, hence, reason for believing 
that the power which so controls and (xalts 
chemical forces, raising them to the level re¬ 
quired by the functions of a plant, cannot come 
from unaided chemical forces ; and much less 
that which carries them to a still higher level, 
—that of the living, sentient animal. Dana. 

Whence came that original first Life ? The 
answer to this question maikf) the boundary¬ 
line between theism and atheism, between 
plan and chance, between personal will and im¬ 
personal law, between first cause and eternal 
necessity, between God and zero. Whence, 
then, came that first Life? Is there any better 
answer, any answer more profoundly philosoph¬ 
ical or gloriously satisfying, than the child¬ 
like answer of the far-off, hoary witness of the 
Creation Panorama? “ God said : ‘ Let the 
earth bring forth grass.’ God said : ‘ Let the 
waters swarm with the moving creature that 
hath life.’” This “God said,” this Eternal 
Word, who in the beginning was with God and 
was God : this“ God said ” of Moses and “ God 
Word ” of John—this it was who on the Third 
Day spoke life-givingly, germinatingly ; and, 
lo, in a way perhaps forever inscrutable to us, 
the Immaterial took on itself the material, the 
life organized itself into the body. G. D. B. 

All that God does is in prosecution of a plan, 
an eternal idea come to utterance. The tree 
. ripens to the grade of a purpose that was ripe be¬ 
fore the tree, and before the Third Day. It is all 
one whether we say that the plan is deposited 
in the seed, or that God builds the plant each 
moment against the pattern of His thought, as 
the mason lays bricks close to the plumb-line. 
It all sums up into the same result. There 
are no planless seeds, no purposeless scions. 
They follow a plan. Nature works from a copy. 
C. H. P. 









GENESIS 1 : 14-25. 


lOi 


Section 14. 


FOURTH, FIFTH, AND HALF OF SIXTH, DAYS. 

Genesis 1 ; 14-25. 

jl4 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the 

15 night ; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for clays and years : anti let them be for 

16 lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth ; and it was so. And God 
made the two great lights ; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the 

17 night : he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light 

18 upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the 

19 darkness : and God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a 
fourth day. 

20 And God said. Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, 

21 and let fowl fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created the 
•great sea-monsters, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth 
abundantly, after their kinds, and every winged fowl after its kind : and God saw that it was 

22 good. And God blessed them, saying. Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the 

23 seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And there was evening and there w'as morning, a 
fifth day. 

24 And God said. Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle, and creep- 

25 ing thing, and beast of the earth alter its kind : and it was so. And God made the beast of 
the earth after its kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that cieepeth upon the 
ground after its kind ; and God saw that it wm good. 


14-19. On the Fourth Day, the Sun and 
Moon were seen in the firmament of heaven. 
The fact of their previous creation is involved 
in the stability of the earth as a member of the 
solar system. It is not said that they were first 
created on the fourth day ; and of the stars, 
many of which must have existed myriads of 
years before their light reached the earth, it is 
simply said, “He made the stars also,” not when 
He made them. The “ fourth day” seems to 
mark the period during which the air was 
cleared of its thick vapors so that the heavenly 
bodies became visible. Stress is laid on their 
ruling as well as lighling the day and night. 
God said :—“ Let them be for signs, and for 
seasons, and for days and years." They were 
designed, as they have ever since been used, to 
mark out the periods of human life ; to incul¬ 
cate the great lesson that “ to everything there 
is a season, and a time to every purpose under 

the heaven.” P. S.-14. He made Iavo 

lights. The original word for “ made” is not 
the same as that which is rendered “create.” 
It is a term frequently employed to signify con¬ 
stituted^ appointed, set for a particular purpose or 
use. As the rainbow was made or constituted a 
sign, though it might have existed before, so 
the sun, moon, and stars maj’^ be said to have 
been made or set as lights in the firmament cn 
the fourth day ♦:hough actually called into ex¬ 


istence previously. Bush. -L,i|^]i3K. Lumi¬ 

naries, or light-bearers, spoken of lamps and 
candlesticks (Ex. 25 : 6 ; Num. 4 ; 9, 16). The 
narrative onlj' tells what suu, moon, and stars 
are in relation to the earth. When the clouds 
and mists are dispelled from its suiface, the 
seas confined within their boundaries, and the 
first vegetation springs up ; then the sky is 
cleared up, the sun, moon, and stars appear and 
assume their natural functions, marking days 
and nights, seasons and years ; and God makes 
or appoints them, the sun to rule the day, and 
the moon to rule the night. E. H. B. 

The astronomy which deals especially with 
the physical nature and structure of the heav¬ 
enly bodies as they are made known to us by 
the spectroscope and improved telescope, testi¬ 
fies that the sun and planets have all had a 
beginning. It ev'en ventures to attempt to fix 
the date of the sun’s beginning. “ We may 
saj",” wTites Professor Langley, “ w i h some¬ 
thing like awe at the meaning to which science 
points, that the whole past of the sun cannot 
have been over eighteen iniBion years ; and its 
whole future radiation cannot last so much 
more. Its probable life is covered by about 
thirty million years. No reasonable allowance 
for the fall of meteors, or for all other known 
causes of supply, could possibly raise the whole 
term of its existence to sixty million yeai-s. 







102 


FOURTH, FIFTH, AND HALF OF SIXTH, DAYS, 


This is substantially Professor Young’s view.” 
Avmsiromj. - Tlie slurs also. The pur¬ 

pose of the sacred narrative being to describe 
the adaptation of the earth to the use of man, 
no account is taken of the nature of the stars, 
as suns or planets, but merely as signs in the 
heavens. The words in the text may be a kind 
of parenthesis, not assigning the special time 
of the creation of the stars. E. H. B. 

The sun and moon were certainly made to 
give light upon the earth, and to rule the earth’s 
seasons, whatever other designs may have been 
in their creation, or their appointment with ref¬ 
erence to our own world. The interpretation 
does not demand it, and yet we may extend the 
same view to the stars. The light they give the 
earth could hardly have been in the writer's 
mind at all, but the other use may have been 
intended They rule the seasons and the years ; 
that is, they regulate our knowledge of them ; 
and in the early ages of the world, were almost 
the only means for this end. They furnished 
the rule or canon by which they were deter¬ 
mined. The first nations had no other alma¬ 
nac than the rolling heavens. Spring and sum¬ 
mer, ploughing, soving, and reaping time, were 
regulated by the rising and setting of certain 
constellations. Their Tise in this respect is re¬ 
ferred to, not only by the Greek and Latin 
poets, but also in the Bible. “ Canst thou bring 
out Mazzaroth in its seasons?” The “bands 
of Orion” are the iron chains of the wintry 
frosts and storms ; the “ sweet influences of 
Pleiades’ ’ represent the return of the genial 
vernal season, and of that reviviscence of nature 
of which tho heliocentric rising of this beauti¬ 
ful constellation was the well-known rule or 
signal. Let astronomy be carried ever so far 
theoretically, the great practical uses of the stars 
to us will continue to be the accurate determi¬ 
nation of the year, the regulation of the seasons, 
and the safe navigation of ships. For these 
uses, therefore, if not created, they were at least 
appointed, and revealed to our earth. T. L. 

Divide tlie day from tlic iiig^lit. That 
we may sleep and wake at healthful intervals, 
the Framer of our bodies and Father of our 
spirits has mercifully divided the day from the 
night ; at every sunset dropping the curtains of 
His evening, and so inviting to repose ; at every 
sunrise lifting the curtains of His morning, and 
so inviting to labor ! For days and years. 
In all ages of the world men have accepted the 
motions of the heavenly bodies as the measure 
of duration or time. It is these motions, these 
sunrises and sunsets, these new and full moons, 
these morning and evening stars, these transits 


of the meridian, which have enabled men to 
divide time into seconds, minutes, hours, days, 
weeks, months, seasons, years, decades, cen¬ 
turies, millenniums. It is also to these mo¬ 
tions of the heavenly bodies that we owe such 
words as dial, clock, chronometer, journal. Sab¬ 
bath, anniversary, era, almanac, calendar, chro¬ 
nology, even that august word - History. Sun, 
moon, and stars are man’s natural chronometer. 
G. D. B. 

Without an accurate measurement of the day 
and year, there could be no chronology ; with¬ 
out chronology there could be no history ; with¬ 
out history there could be no national or generic 
experience ; without such exijerience there 
could be no progress ; and without progress 

there could be no civilization. Take away, 

> 

then, all outward measures of time, and formed 
as we now are of soul and body, it would be like 
removing the regulator, or balance wheel, of tho 
whole system. The inner as well as the outer 
machinery wmuld run down. Our souls would 
become chaotic, our thoughts unregulated ; our 
life a dream, in which past phenomena, present 
sensations, and future imaginations would be 
mingled in hopeless confusion. For the want 
of such a regulator, man with his boasted intel¬ 
lect would sink below all that is known of the 
condition of the savage. T. L. 

The works of the first three days and the last 
three correspond with one another. On the 
first day is light created ; on the fourth day, the 
lights in heaven ; on the second, the visible 
heaven with the waters ; on the fifth, the fishes 
of the sea and the fowls of the air : on the 
third, the dry land, with its clothing of vegeta¬ 
tion ; on the sixth, the land animals and man— 
on the first three days the inanimate substances, 
on the last three the living inhabitants, are pro¬ 
duced. In the vegetable world the dry land at¬ 
tains its destined purpose, as the animal world, 
and indeed the whole creation, attains its end in 
man. All the following history is written only 
for man; and therefore the sun, moon, and 
stars, and the whole host of heaven, appear only 
as lights in the firmament of heaven. Of tho 
inhabitants of heaven nothing is told us. GerL 

The Fifth Day. Verses 20-23. 

21. Created. The wmrd harei is used for 
the second time. On the first day a new admis¬ 
sion of light into a darkened region is expressed 
by the word “ be.” On the second day a new 
disposition of the air and the water is described 
by the verbs “ be” and “ make.” These indi¬ 
cate a modification of that which already existed. 
On the third day no verb is directly applied tu 





OENESTS 1 : 14-25. 


103 


the act of divine power. This agency is thus 
understood, while the natural changes following 
are expressly noticed. In the fourth the words 
“ be,” ” make,’ and “ give” occur, where the 
matter in hand is the manifestation of the heav¬ 
enly bodies and their adaptation to the use of 
man. In these cases it is evident that the word 

create” would have been only improperly or 
indirectly applicable to the action of the Eternal 
Being. Here it is employed with propriety ; as 
the animal world is something new and distinct 
summoned into existence. 

22. lSles§e(l llieiii. We are brought into 
a new sphere of creation on this day, and we 
.meet with a new act of the Almighty. To bless 
is to wish, and, in the case of God, to will some 
good to-the object of the blessing. The bless¬ 
ing here pronounced upon the fish and the fowl 

is that of abundant increase. M.-The word 

translated “moving creature,” is the noun of 
the verb which in the same verse is rendered 
“ to bring forth abundantlj’.” Thus we see, 
that the astonishing fecundity with which they 
were endowed, is the prevalent idea of this de¬ 
scription. Indeed, there is no phrase in human 
language in which, both by noun and verb, this 

N 

idea could be more forcibly expressed than in 
the Hebrew original. And yet all language fails j 
to convey an idea of the amazing extent of that 
“ abundance” in bringing forth, with which 
these creatures were endowed on the day of 
their creation. Kil. 

According to Moses, plants and animals, with the 
exception of man, were not brought into bemg as 
single individuals, or as pairs at the most, but 
when God spake He said: “Let the waters 
sw^arm with swarms of living creatures.” The 
result of such a work of creation was at once to 
people the air, the earth, and seas with many 
individuals or pairs of every species intended to 
inhabit them. To such a creation as this the 
fossiliferous rocks testify. Not at one point on 
the earth’s surface only does a particular species 
appear, but at many points at the same time, 
and these points far distant from each other. 
Armstrong. -The earliest life was a long ma¬ 

rine era, and the geologist, Le Conte, uncon¬ 
sciously echoes the very words of the Scripture 
when he says that the “ early ‘ seas literally 
swarmed with living beings,” beginning in the 
Cambrian,—and that 10,074 species have been 
found in the Silurian rocks alone. Sea life was 
the first main exhibition. And a mighty ex¬ 
hibition it was. For following close upon these 
Silurian species, and in fact beginning there, 
came the vast outburst of fishes that fill the Old 
Bed Sandstone, or Devonian, so full. But “ the 
winged creature,” says the narrative, was to fly 
“ over the face” (Hebrew) of heaven. And in 
this same Devonian series they begin with the 
ephemeris — Platepbemera antiqua — of five 
inches spread of wings and two other species 
of neuroptera, expanding in the Carboniferous 


into a dozen other known species, one with a 
seven-inch spread, and culminating in the Ju- 
i rassic and onward, with those many kinds of 
monstrous winged creatures. Pterosaurs or fly¬ 
ing lizards—some of them extending their wings 
tw'enty-five feet from lip to tip, and well-nigh 
darkening the face of the sky—followed at 
length or accompduied by the true bird with 
feathers—the archieopteryx, also of the Juras¬ 
sic, and by numerous species in the Cretaceous. 
But still another mark of this wmnderful era 
were the great monsters of sea and land, the 
“stretched out” creatures. A singular de- 
scriiJtion ; and a marvellous 'fulfilment does 
science record. Huge reptiles and amphibians, 
in vast variety. The world offers, at the pres¬ 
ent time, of living si>ecies, not more than six 
species fifteen feet in length, the largest of 
them not longer than twent.v-five ; but then, 
from the Caiboniferous through the Cretaceous 
periods, not less than one hundred and seventy- 
five known species, ranging from tweniy, 
thirty, forty, fifty, to eighty feet in length, and 
one—tke titanosaur of the Jurassic — a hundred 
feet in length and at least thirty feet in height. 
S. C. B. 

20,29. creature tiaat liatSa 

life—livinj; er<‘a!iire that iiioveiia. 

The appearance of all these forms, so infinitely 
various, of organic life, animal and vegetable, 
is attributed in Genesis to a series of Divine 
commands: “and God said,” —without, how- 
i ever, thereby either denying or even omitting 
expressly to notice the instrumentality of nat¬ 
ural agents, as witness the expression : “ let the 
waters bring forth, ... let Vie land bring forth." 
'‘And God said," —there we see the principle 
that life alone is callable of begetting life. 
“ Let the carZ/i, . . . let the bring forth,” 

—there we see the co-operation of Nature freely 
granted. GoJet. -The physical laws may ex¬ 

plain the inorganic world ; the biological law 
may account for the development of the or¬ 
ganic ; but of the point where they meet, of the 
strange border-laud between the dead and the 
living, science is silent. It is as if God had placed 
everything in earth and heaven in the hands of 
nature, but had reserved a point at the genesis 
of life for His direct appearing. Drummond. 

All life, vegetable or animal, has for its start¬ 
ing-point the organic cell ; that is a fact which 
no man of science now disputes. But whence 
comes the cell itself? Is it the result of some 
happy combination of the elements of inorganic 
matter? or is it a sudden apparition in the 
midst of this,—a phenomenon entirely inexplic¬ 
able without the act of a creator? Godet. -A 

minute examination has not, up to this time, 
discovered any power capable of originating life 
but life itself. Inanimate matter cannot be¬ 
come living except under the influence of mat¬ 
ter already living. This is a fact in science 












104 


FOURTH, FIFTH, AND HALF OF SIXTH, DAYS. 


which seems to me as well ascertained as the 
law of gravitation. And I am ready to accept 
as an article of faith in science, valid for all 
time and in all space, ihai life is produced hy life, 
and only hy life. Wm. Thompson. 

In all departments of philosophy, human cu¬ 
riosity is stopped, at an earlier or at a later 
stage, by an impassable barrier—it meets what 
is inscrutable. The constitution of the elements 
in the material world is inscrutable ; the gravi¬ 
tating force, and the principle of chemical affin 
ifcy—the nature of light, and the principle of 
vegetable life—these things are utterly inscru¬ 
table : so also is the principle' of animal life ; 
and so, in like manner, but not more so, is 
mind. At all these points alike, and as to each 
of them for the same reasons, we reach a limit 
which the human mind has never yet passed. 
I. T. 

The doctrine that God created plants and ani¬ 
mals in the beginning, “ after their kind,” has 
prevailed for three thousand years, from Moses 
until now, among the best, noblest, and wi.sest 
of men. It has been no crude fancy of igno¬ 
rant peasants alone. Among its firm believers 
are all the prophets and all the apostles, most 
of the Greek philosophers, and Christian di¬ 
vines and men of science for fifteen centuries, 
the intellectual lights and standard-bearers of 
the leading nations of the earth. It includes 
among its disciples and adherents nearly all the 
great names, like Bacon, Kepler, Boyle, and 
Newton, by whom the chief advances of modern 
science have been made. Its true birthplace is 
in no flint-weapon manufactory, or bone-cavern 
—in an “ era of profoundest darkness.” It is 
in thick darkness of a very opposite kind, when 
Moses, learned in all the wisdom of the Egyp¬ 
tians—the foremost, wisest, and noblest of all 
living men, drew near to the presence of Je¬ 
hovah, talked with Him face to face in the holy 
mount as a man speaketh with his fiiend. and 
received from Him those messages which have 
enlightened and cheered the minds and hearts 
of sinful men through every later age of the 
world’s history. Birks. 

According to Moses, at their creation special pro¬ 
vision was made that each several kind of plant and 
animal should continue Us kind hy natural gmera- 
tion. On this point science, long at variance 
with the Mosaic cosmogony, is now in harmony 
therewith. In the higher forms of plant and 
animal life, that the offspring was the product 
of a parent like itself has been long known and 
universally admitted. That this same law ob¬ 
tains among the lower orders, even the lowest, 
science has now demonstrated. Armstrong. - 


Sexen times is the phrase, “ af/er his (or their] 
kind," repeated, in four verses. Like the pre¬ 
vious, solemn iteration of the same phrase in 
the story of the genesis of the plants, it almost 
stands like a prophetic caveat against the mod¬ 
ern hypothesis of the mutability of species. 
Alike according to Moses and the observed facts 
of nature, the tree, whose seed is in itself, bear.i 
fruit after its kind ; the fish of the sea bears 
fishes after its kind ; the bird of the air bears 
birds after its kind ; the beast of the land bears 
beasts after its kind. G. D. B. 

The record in Genesis sets forth that God 
created grass, herb, and then fruit tree ; “ each 
after his kind also reptiles, fish, fowl and 
land-animals, each “ after his kind and finally 
man “ in the image of God.” Over against 
this the modern theory (of Darwin) holds that 
all the animals of our globe “ have descended 
from at most only four or five progenitors, and 
plants from an ecpial or lesser number and 
moreover, that man has in this respect no pre¬ 
eminence above the beasts, but has descended 
in the same line with them from some one of 
the four or five progenitors of (he great animal 
kingdom. More still the author sajoj in the 
same connection—“ Analogy would lead me one 
step further, viz. to the belief that all annuals 
and plants have descended from soine one proto¬ 
type.” Not merely does he build upon assumed 
facts where no known facts are—which is build¬ 
ing upon nothing—but where no facts can he, 
which is building not merely uj)on negatives 
but upon impossibilities. There is no room for 
his assumed facts where he locates them. If 
Geology proves anything it proves that vege 
table and animal life commenced on our planet 
as soon as the planet was ready and not sooner, 
and that we have the remains of the earliest liv¬ 
ing organisms in the oldest fossil-bearing rocks. 
His scheme is therefore conditioned upon im¬ 
possibilities and must be false. That plant life 
shades off by almost imperceptible stages till it 
comes so near to the low^est forms of animal life 
that the dividing line is scarcely if at all percep¬ 
tible, no scientist disputes. But the ultimate 
reason for this remarkable fact is not to facili¬ 
tate the transit of generations from the one 
province to the other. Of such transit there is 
not the first shade of evidence. The reason is 
that the Great Author of nature out of his in¬ 
finite resources has filled both kingdoms perfectn/ 
full of life-forms so that no territory between 
their respective domains lies unoccupied. It is 
simply a fecundity of life-forms or species, an¬ 
alogous to the fecundity of living representa- 
fives under most of these species- all alike 







GEJVESIS 1 : 24, 25. 


105 


traceable to the infinite resources of the Crea¬ 
tor’s wisdom and power. H. C. 

First Haxf of the Sixth Day. Verses 24, 25. 

2«>, The waters now are peopled ; the 
air is peopled ; and terrestrial animals alone are 
wanting. Accordingly, on the sixth day, God 
is described as resuming his creative work, in 
the words “ Let the earth bring forth the liv¬ 
ing creature after his kind, cattle and creeping 
thing, and beast of the earth after his kind.” 
The term “ living creature,” seems to be merely 
a collective designation of the animals which are 
there indicated according to their kind. Under 
the term of “ cattle,” are included the ruminant 
herbivora, generally gregarious and capable of 
domestication. The “ beasts of the earth” are 
the carnivora or beasts of prey in their various 
kinds. The name by which they are designated 
comes from a word signifying “ life” or “ liv¬ 
ing,” and is well suited to the vivacious, active, 
and vigorous character which they display in 
comparison with the animals which crop the 
herb of the field. Under the remaining class, 
rendered by ” creeping thing,” we have not only 
the minor quadrupeds that seem to creep rather 
than walk, and such as creep on many feet, but 
all that glide along the surface of the soil—the 
serpents, annelides, etc. The idea throughout 
this classification is that of creeping. Kit. 

The fiat of the fifth day reads : “Let the waters 
bring forth abundantly.” The words which 
follow describe the lower orders of animals, or 
the Invertebrates, together with all Vertebrates 
excepting Mammals (or quadrupeds and man). 
The fiat of the first half of the sixth day begins 
with “Let the earth bring forth,” and the 
words that follow describe the Mammals, the 
division of Vertebrates of which Man is the 
head. The succession in the living tribes given 
in the chapter is : (1) Plants (third day) ; (2) 
Invertebrates and the lower Vertebrates (fifth 
; (3) Mammals, or the higher Vertebrates 
(first half of the sixth day) ; (4) Man, the head 
of Mammals (second half of the sixth day). 
Science might say that the principle’s of zoologi¬ 
cal classification would have been conformed to 
more closely if the work of the fifth day had 
ended with the Invertebrates, leaving all the 
Vertebrates to the sixth day. Bat this arrange¬ 
ment, viewed in the light of the philosophy of 
history, is no improvement ; since the record, 
like the rest of the Bible, has special reference 
to Man, in whom is the consummation of all 
history. The sixth day’s work includes only 
that particular division of Vertebrates, to which 
Man himself belongs, whose common character¬ 


istic, that of suckling their young, is, through 
the feelings of subjection, reverence and affec¬ 
tion it occasions, of the highest value as a means 
of binding child to parent, man to man, and 
man to his Maker. Dana. 

The Mosaic cosmogony preserds us with a cer¬ 
tain order of creation —\\z. : (1) “ Grass, herbs, 
and trees”— i.e., the vegetable kingdom, and 
this before the sun, moon, and stars were “ set 
in the firmament of heaven to give light upon 
the earth (2) fishes, including all the numer¬ 
ous inhabitants of the waters, together with 
“great sea-mons'ers,” and “ birds,” or flying 
creatures, including insects; (3) “cattle, and 
creeping things, and beasts of the earth.” 
Plants- alone are capable of feeding directly 
upon inorganic matter. Animals, although the 
ultimate composition of their food is the same 
with that of plants, are incapable of digesting 
that food until it has undergone the preliminary 
organization which it acquires in assuming a 
vegetable form. Armstrong. -The most im¬ 

portant function of the plant in the economy of 
nature is, with the aid of the sun’s light, to turn 
inorganic into organic matter, and thus prepare 
food for the animal. Nothing else in nature 
does this important work. The animal cannot 
do it, and starves in the midst of an abundance 
of the materials needed for the building up of 
its body. The plant, therefore, is the indispen¬ 
sable basis of all animal life ; for though ani¬ 
mals partially feed upon each other, ultimately 
the organic matter they need must come from 

the plant. Guyot. -Matter is brought into 

being. It is rudimental. The Holy Ghost— 
whose special province is process, evolution, 
organization—broods over the elemental abyss. 
There are dividings and combinings, and, at 
length, there is a becoming of light, with (doubt¬ 
less) its kindred agents, such as heat, electri¬ 
city, magnetism. Processes go on, and the at¬ 
mosphere is constituted. The new agents be¬ 
come additional forces in the great laboratory ; 
and there results the mineral kingdom, with its 
gradations of rocks, clays, chemical compounds, 
and crystalline formations. The mineral king¬ 
dom is a preparation for higher planes of being. 
From the organizing processes of the brooding 
Spirit the floral world has a becoming. All that 
have gone before have been made tributary to 
this. It takes them up and assimilates them, 
transforming them into living organisms of 
root, and tnfnk, and bough, and frond, and 
flower, and fruit, and seed. The vegetable sys* 
tern is a prophecy of something higher. It has 
scant meaning if it is to find its end in itself. 
In due time the animal world appears. It gath- 










.106 


SUGGESTIONS OF THE CREATIVE HISTORY 


ers up into itself the elenieuts of all below it, 
and exalts them into the more complex and 
nobler organisms of flesh and blood, bone and 
sinew, nerve and brain, sensation, instinct, 
affection, and will. An. 

The world is to be regarded throughout as 


being, in respect to its foundation, the act of 
God, or crealion ; according to its development, 
nature^ according to its appearan'-e, cosmos; 
and according to the plastic life-principle lying 
at its base, it is cBon. T. L. 


Section 15. 

SUGGESTIONS OF THE CREATIVE HISTORY. 


If by the sagacity of one infernal mind, a single planet has been seduced from its allegiance, 
and brought under the ascendancy of him who in the Scriptures is called the god of this world, 
and if the errand on which the Redeemer came was to destroy the works of the devil, then let 
this planet have all the littleness which astronomy has assigned to it—call it, what it is, one of 
the smaller islets which float on the ocean of immensity—it has become the theatre of such a 
competition as may have all the desires and all the energies of a divided universe embarked upon 
it. It involves in it othe.r objects than the single recovery of our species. It decides higher ques¬ 
tions—it stands linked with the supremacy of God, To an infidel ear, all this may carry the 
sound of something wild and visionary along with it ; but though only known through the 
medium of revelation, after it is known who can fail to recognize its harmony with the great 
lineaments of human experience V Who does not recognize in these facts much that goes to ex¬ 
plain w'hy our planet has taken so conspicuous a position in the foreground of history ? OiiaJmers. 

-As Judea was the least and most despised country of the earth, and yet “ the (jlorions land " 

(De! 11; 16, 41) ; as Bethlehem was least among the thousands of Judah (Mic, 5 : 2) and yet the 
Sun of Righteousness arose there (Mai. 4 :2), so our solar system is the Judea of the universe, 
and our insignificant earth the Bethlehem of this holy land— poor and despised, yet precious 
above all. When at first Jehovah founded the earth, the morning stars looked on with songs of 
praise ; when the eternal Word full of grace and truth, left the throne of glory to clothe Himself 
with our nature, the hosts of heaven burst forth into this hymn ; “ Glory to God in the highest, and 
on earth peace, good will toward men." Again when the Son of man shall return in the clouds, sur¬ 
rounded with all the glory of his eternal Godhead, to renew heaven and earth and to consummate 
all things, shall those messengers of his power and goodness, in whose presence even now here is 
joy at every new progress of the kingdom of God upon earth, behold with rapturous delight the 
unfolding of that mystery of godliness, into which they now desire to look, and in louder tones 
and loftier strains shall they enchoir their never-ending Hallelujah, Kurtz. 


1, Summary Points. 

These lessons emerge unforced from the rec¬ 
ord, That creation did not create iiself. That 
matter is not God’s coeval, but his creature and 
servant. That God only had no beginning, and 
that all things else began to be by his will. 
That the whole universe is one harmonious s.ys- 
tem, the work of one God ; the projection of his 
thouQfht, the transcript of his plan. That such 
plan bore the stamp of a preconceived progress ; 
and evolved itself in orderly successions, stage 
after stage, toward a foreseen terminus or goal. 
That each form or type of life was made “ after 
its kind,” and owes its characteristic endow¬ 
ments to creative ordination, not to fortuitous 
development. That man has not developed into 
what he is from some bestial type, but holds 
his prerogatives as a gift direct from the Al¬ 
mighty. That we owe no worship to nature, 
and all worship to God. G. Rorison. 


In this account of the creation of plants and 
animals we note the following particulars : (1) 
It is a creation out of pre-existing materials, 
and not, like that of the universe, out of noth¬ 
ing ; (2) the origin of life, like the origin of mat¬ 
ter, is traced directly to God himself ; (3) that 
special provision is made that each several kind 
of plant and animal shall continue its kind by 
natural generation ; (4) that plants and animals 
are brought into being not singly, nor in pairs, 
but in great numbers ; and (5) that this crea¬ 
tion is said to have been effected in a certain 

order. Armstrong. -The history is that of 

creative ascent from dead matter to life ; from 
invertebrate life to that of the backbone ; from 
the life of the backbone in the fish-reptile series 
to that of the breast ; from the life of the breast 
to that of the plenarily-endowed brain. G. Ro¬ 
rison. 

1. Moses, who in his first sentence sets God's 
personality in clear relief against the universo 








SUMMARY POINTS. 


107 


(which is not “ evolved ” out of, but “ made” 
oy him), keeps it distinct throughout from con¬ 
fusion with natural forces. 2. God, though 
put at the beginning, is not left there, having, 
as the Deists taught, “ made a w'orld, and 
standing apart to see it go.” The work of cre¬ 
ation is represented as progressive, and God is 
continually present and continually interven¬ 
ing, and according to our Lord's testimony he 
“ worketh hitherto.” 3. The successive en¬ 
trance of the physical, the vital and the mental 
factors into the problem of the growing world 
is clearly recognized. But the divine intelli¬ 
gence is always put before and exalted above the 
divine power; “God said” before “God 
made.” The order of creation also is teleologi¬ 
cally and not genealogically determined. Grass 
and herb appear before beast and man, not to 
beget but to feed them. 4. The supposed con¬ 
tinuity of development is broken across by dis¬ 
tinctly epochal divisions, across wdiose border, 
whatever may transpire within them, the genetic 
lines do not extend. It is worthy of passing 
notice, as hinting of what we possibly have yet 
to learn of the significance of the sacred record, 
that fishes, birds and reptiles —-which are so 
strangely isolated from other creatures and 
grouped together as the product of “ the 
waters” in a single day—are now said to be cor¬ 
respondingly united and isolated by a unique 
physiological circumstance. They are literally 
“ of one blood,” the blood disk in them all 
being oval, while in other creatures it is round. 
The agenc}'^ of second causes is uniformly recog¬ 
nize 1 and no “ flisliing of atoms” into perfect, 
form is hinted at. But it is not the vegetable 
world, but the waters” that bring forth aquatic 
creatures, nor does the Creator “ form man” of 
the “ beast-i of the earth,” but of the “ dust ” 
of the earth. There is in each case a distinct 
return to the elemental, and a creative w'ord. 
J. B. Thorii'is. 

The narrative is in keeping, as far as it goes, 
with the facts of astronomy and geology, of 
botany, zoology and ethnology. It agrees -vsith 
the cosmogonies of all nations, so far as these are 
founded upon a genuine tradition and not upon 
the mere conjecLures of a lively fancy. Finally, 
it has the singular and superlative merit of 
drawing the diurnal scenes of that creation to 
which our race owes its origin in the simple 
language of commo.i life, and juesenting each 
transcendent change as it -would appear to an 
ordinary spectator standing on the earth. It 
wa^ thus sufficiently intelligible to primeval 
man, and remains to this day intelligible to us, 
as soon as w’e divest ourselv>^s of tjje narrowing 
preconceptions of our mcdern civilization. M 

The whole record show’s remarkable freedom 
from merely local or national peculiarities, dhe j 
Euphrates and the Mesopotamian plains intlu- 
ence the Babylonian cosmogony ; the Nile gives | 
character to the Egyptian ; sunny slopes and 
contrasting heights determine the Grecian ; 
and valley gloom, forest depths, and wdntry 
storms, the Scandinavian. It is easy to trace 
the physical basis of distinct cosmogonies. The 
bases themselves may vary, but their connec¬ 
tion with religious beliefs is always uniform. 
Even nalional myths about creation have not 
preserved their original cast. They have varied 


w’ith the history of the people. While the re¬ 
ligious tendency of the national mind, and the 
traditional basis as to the mere fact of creation, 
have remained, the form of the cosmogony has 
been completely changed ; it has been so 
moulded as to suit the different physical con¬ 
formation and other varied conditions of the 
new’ country in which the people have settle d. 
But no such process or influence is ever trace¬ 
able in the Bible account. There is nothing 
local ; nothing contingent ; nothing dependent 
on the traditions of any country ; not a line 
which indicates any such antecedent inflirencc. 

W. Fi'aser. -In all the other cosmogonies we 

discover the peculiarities of nation, of age, of 
partial modes of thinking. In the Mosaic there 
is nothing national. It is altogether separate 
from the Jewish national history. It stands 
away back of the earliest annals in w’hich their 
national characteristics begin to make them¬ 
selves manifest. Thus, standing at the head of 
all history, it belongs to all nations. It is no 
more distinctively Jew-ish, as far as the known 
history of this people is concerned, than it is 
Egyptian, or Greek, or Babylonian, iinless we 
regard as Jew ish peculiarities the grandeur and 
purity of its theism. T. L. 

The cosmogony of the Babylonians represents 
the beginning of things as in darkness and 
w’ater, w’here nondescript animals, hideous mon¬ 
sters, half-men and half-beasts, appeared, and 
after this, a w’oman—who personates the cre¬ 
ative spirit or principle-was split into two 
parts, and the heaven and the cartn produced 
by the division. Then Belus, the supreme di¬ 
vinity, cut off his own head, and his blood 
trickling down and mingling with the dust of 
the earth, produced human creatures having in¬ 
telligence and spiritual life. According to the 
Phoenician cosmogony, thatw’hich first apj)eared 
was an ether or a mist diffused in space. Then 
arose the wind, the representative of n otion, 
and from this agitation proceeded a spiritual 
God, from whom again in turn proceeded an 
egg — which is so common a feature of the cos¬ 
mogonies of antiquity—the division of which, 
as in the case of the w’oman, produced the 
heavens and the earth. The noise of thunder 
awakened beings into spiritual life. The Egyp¬ 
tian cosmogony was in general harmony w ith 
the Phoenician, Its principal divinity was Ptab, 
the world-creating power, who shaped the cos¬ 
mic egg, which again appears here, as in the 
Phoenician. There followed from Ptah a long 
succession of gods, with various offices and 
pow’ers -solar, telluric, psychical—from v horn 
at length proceeded demigods, and from these 
iigiiin heroes, until the lintc of our common hu¬ 
manity wois established. According to Grote, 
“ the mythical world of the Greeks opens with 
the gods, anterior as well as superior to man ; it 
gradually descends, fiist to heroes, and next to 
the human race. Along with the gods are 
found various monstrous natures, ultra-human 
and extra-human, who cannot with propriety 
be called gods, but w’ho partake w-ith gods and 
man in the attributes of free-will, conscious 
agenev’, and suscepti'oility of pleasure and pain 
— sucii as the Harpies the Gorgons, the Sirens, 
the Sphinx, the Cyclops, the Centaurs, etc.” 
After violent contests among these gigantic 










108 


SVGGE8T10N8 OF 1HE CREATIVE HISTORY. 


creatures and forces, there arises a stable govern¬ 
ment of Zeus, the chief among the gods. First 
appears Chaos, then the broad, tirm, flat Earth, 
with deep and dark Tai tarns below, and from 
these proceed vaiijus divinities and creatures, 
some grand and terrible, some simply mon- 
strons ; their relations to each other violate all 
notions of decency and morality; their wars 
and slaughters, their gross and abominable 
crimes, issue in successive creative products 
upon the earth, which terminate at last in the 
appearing of man. J. P. T. 

The Biblical cosmogony is distinguished by 
the absence of everything fanciful and absurd, 
with which the others teem. The Biblical be¬ 
trays nothing of a local or national chaiacter, 
whereas the others are indelibly stamped with 
them. The Biblical is characterized by correct 
and worthy conceptions of the Creator, the rest 
either ignore Divine interposition, ascribe eter¬ 
nity to matter, introduce some demiurgic prin¬ 
ciple, or exhibit a supreme Being in a way de¬ 
grading, confused, and indistinct. The Biblical 
is simple, grand, and consistent, embodying all 
the truths in heathen cosmogonies, but free 
from their chaotic, grotesque, and self-contra¬ 
dictory representation D. M. 

The Mosaic account is a record of the steps by 
which Cxod made the world. The Pagan myths 
are, for the most part, iheogonies as well as cos¬ 
mogonies,—that is, they give the generation of 
the univcirse, including Gods as well as men. 
They make us all the children of one mother. 
When we come to trace strictly the leading 
idea, plants, animals, men, and divinities, even 
the highest Gods, are all, in some way, devel¬ 
opments from one unaidevl and eternal nature. 
The language of Pindar (Nem. vi.) would give 
the spirit of almost every cosmogony, but that 
of the Bible. ‘ ‘ One race of Gods and men, from 
one mother breathe we all.” And this mother 
is nature, or, as expressed in the grosser form, 
the earth. Gods, indeed, are mentioned, ” Gods 
many,” and demigods in vast numbers, but the 
highest gods are only the older powers, the first¬ 
born of this universal parent. In this one re¬ 
spect, how immense the difference between all 
such mythologies and the Mosaic narrative ! 
How irre.sistible the argument from this alone, 
that it must have hal an origin, not only totally 
distinct from, but immeasurably above, them all. 
In the one, God is the supernatural cause as 
well as the supernatural governor of nature, in 
the others, the Divinity (if for convenience we 
retain the name), is only Nature’s first-born, her 
highest or oldest development. 

In whose mind was born this wondrous vision, 
in all the rigid truthfulness of its unity and 
consistency ? Whence this remarkable order of 
ideas so different from what some would regard 
as the natural offspring of that simple, unphil- 
osophical, unscientific age .-’ Whence this pe¬ 
culiar chronological aspect, this succession of 
periods, rising from the chaotic, the unformed, 
through such regular and harmonious gradations: 
into higher and higher forms of life? What is 
there like it, or to be at all compared with it, in 
any mythology on earth? There it stands, high 
above them all, and remote from them all, in 
its air of great antiquity, in its unaccountable¬ 
ness, in its serene truthfulness, in its unap¬ 


proachable sublimity, in that impress of divine 
majesty and ineffable holiness which even the 
unbelieving neologist has been compelled to 
acknowledge, ami by which every devout reader 
feels that the first page in Genesis is forever 
distinguished from any mere human produc¬ 
tion. T. L. 

2. Order and Orgarazation, Eno and Adaptation, 
teslifg that the Universe is a Creation oj God 
Creation is the production of order. What a 
simple but compreheimive and pregnant prin¬ 
ciple is here ! Order is the law of all intelligible 
existence. Everything that exists, that has 
been made by God or produced by man, of any 
permanent value, is only some manifestation of 
order in its thousandfold possibilities. Every’- 
thing that has a shape is a manifestation of 
order. Well ordered stones make architecture ; 
w^ll-ordered words make good writing ; well- 
ordered facts make science. Disorder makes 
nothing at all, but unmakes everything. Stones 
in disorder produce ruins ; an ill-ordered social 
condition is decline, revolution, or anarchy ; 
ill-ordered ideas are absurdity^ ; ill-ordered facts 
are chaos. J. 6’. Blackie. 

Astronomy testifies to a wonderful < ider per¬ 
vading the universe, mathematical in its accU- 
racy% in so far as the bodies astrunomy has to 
deal with are concerned ; zoology and botany 
testify to an equally^ wonderful order prevailing 
throughout the kingdom cf organic nature—a 
wonderful adaptation of living creatures to their 
environments, and of th,e parts and organs of 
these living creatures to their functions, which 
are utterly inconsistent with the idea of tin ir 

being the pioduct of chance. G. D. A.-The 

conception of the constancy^ ( f (he order of na¬ 
ture has become a dominant idea of modern 
thought. To persons familiar with the facts 
upon which that conception is based, and com¬ 
petent to estimate their significance, it has 
ceased to be conceivable that chance should 
have any place in the universe, or that events 
should depend upon any' but the natural se- 
cpience of cause and effect. lluxl<y. 

If there be an order and harmony', there must 
be an orderer, one that “ made the earth by His 
power, established the world by His wisdom, 
and stretched out the heavens by His discre¬ 
tion” (Jer. 10 :12). Order being the effect, can¬ 
not be the cause of itself. Order is the disposi¬ 
tion of things to an end, and is not intelligent, 
but implies an intelligent orderer ; and there¬ 
fore it is as certain that there is a God as it is 
certain there is order in the world. Order is 
an effect of reason and counsel ; this reason 
and counsel must have its residence in some 
being before this order was fixed. The things 
ordered are always distinct from that reason and 
counsel whereby they are ordered ; and also 
after it, as the effect is after the cause. No 
man begins a piece of w'ork but he hath the 
model of it in his ow'n min'd ; no man builds a 
house or makes a watch but he hath the idea or 
copy of it in his own head. This beautiful 
world bespeaks an idea of it or a model, since 
there is such a magnificent wisdom in the make 
of each creature, and the proportion of one 
creature to another ; this model must be before 
the world, as the pattern is always before tb.. 




OIWER, ORGANIZATION, LAW. 


109 


thing that is wrought by it. This therefore 
must be in some intelligent and wise agent, and 
this is God. Charnock. 

Kant defines or-ganization “ a product of nature 
in which all the parts are mutually ends and 
means.” Hence, every part of an organized 
structure is necessarily indicative of wisdom ; 
but whenrour view is extended to the boundless 
varieties of organized life, we are convinced 
that the resources of creative wisdom are 
boundless ; they can have no limitation. Every 
variety of life has an organization of its own, 
from which arise the numerous types of being' 
scientifically divided into classes, orders, genera, 
and species. The diversified forms of being are 
astounding. Botanical science has arranged 
and classified from eighty to a hundred thou¬ 
sand species of plants ; new discoveries are 
continually increasing the number ; and to 
these must be added the extinct species embed¬ 
ded in geological deposits. ’ Zoology has num¬ 
bered upward of a thousand species of quad¬ 
rupeds, five thousand species of birds, an equal 
number of fishes, a hundred thousand species 
of insects ; while of reptiles, shell-fish, crusta¬ 
ceans, worms, radiates, zoophytes, and animal¬ 
cules, the numerous species defy the industry 
of man to ascertain. In these multifarious 
species, what diversity in size, from the micro¬ 
scopic plant to the gigantic pine, from the monad 
that finds a world in a drop of water to the 
iguanodon and the whale ! What diversity in 
shipe, in colors, in habits, in instincts, in 
pliysical conformation ! The earth, the air, the 
ocean, are crowded with life, and the varieties 
of organization are as numerous as the condi¬ 
tions under which life is capable of subsisting. 
It is as if the Creator had called these endless 
varieties of being into existence for the purpose 
of displaying the inexhaustible opulence of His 
wisdom, of showing to Hi.s intelligent creatures 
that the resources of His knowledge and power 
are absolutely infinite, W. Cooke. 

Matter —the lowest order—is a general sub 
stratum for all the others. Aided and fashioned 
by the principle of life, it performs higher func¬ 
tions in the plant and animal. Matter, plant 
life and animal life perform higher intellectual 
and moral functions under the guidance of the 
human soul. Every one of the lower powers, 
a.ssociated with a higher element, becomes in¬ 
strumental : the higher as a cause, the lower as 
a condition of existence, or as an instrument, 
b )th co-operating to a common progress. But 
after each of these factors has j)erformed its 
part, something yet remains to be explained. 
The result, varied as it may be, is ’never arbi¬ 
trary confusion, but order and beauty ; and this 
shows the constant and indispensable super 
vision of God over his work. Guy of. 

The mystery of the universe and the meaning 
of God’s world are shrouded in* hopeless obscu¬ 
rity, until we learn to feel that all laws suppose a 
lawgiver, and that all working involves a Divine 

energy, Madaren. -A law supposes an agent 

and a power ; for it is the mode, according to 
which the agent proceeds, the order according 
to which the power acts. Without the presence 
of such an agent, of such a power, conscious of 
the relations on which the law depends, pro- 
ducing the effects which the law prescribes, the 


law can have no efficacy, no existence. Hence 
we infer that the intelligence by which the law 
is ordained, the power by which it is put into 
•action, must be present, at all times and in all 
places, where the effects of the law occur ; that 
thus the knowledge 'and the agency of the Di- 
■vine Being pervade every portion of the uni¬ 
verse, producing all action and passion, all per¬ 
manence and change. The laws of matter are 
the laws which He, in his wisdom, prescribes to 
his own acts ; His universal presence is the 
necessary condition of any course of events ; 
His universal agency the only organ of any effi¬ 
cient force. \\ hewell. -The laws of nature 

can no more administer themselves than the 
laws of the land. Just as the laws of the land 
imply the existence of an authority, a magis¬ 
trate, who will act on them and assert thtm, so 
the laws of nature bear witness to an unseen 
force, or power, or person, who imposes and en¬ 
forces them, rewaiding those who obey, punish¬ 
ing those who violate them. This power we call 
God. We know of no adequate source of uni¬ 
versal law save the Maker of heaven and earth. 
So that our first and simplest conception of 
God, the conception we derive from the facts of 
the physical universe, is that He is the source of 
physical law. . . . Science knows of no pan¬ 
theon. There must be one dominant and su¬ 
preme power which rules over all. And this 
power, which sits behind the laws of nature, 
must be inconceivably great and wdse. If it 
were not wise and strong beyond our reach of 
thought, the universe, instead of being a har¬ 
mony of invariable and beneficent sequences, 
would break into ruinous and irremediable con¬ 
fusion ; disaster would tread on the heels of 
disaster, and the end would be destruction and 
death. What, then, shall we call this power? 
how name it ? We call it God. Others, hiding 
their ignorance in unmeaning and self-contra¬ 
dictory phrases, may call it “ the stream of ten¬ 
dency,” ignoring the fountain from which the 
stream flows. We say that law implies a law¬ 
giver, that jiower implies a person from whom 
it proceeds ; and we worship God as the sole 
source of the forces and laws of nature, Brit. 
Quar. 

The laws of nature are not to be confounded 
with causes. There can be no laws of a thing 
until the thing itself is caused or made. They 
presuppose such causes, or volitions, of which 
they are the effects or manifestations. In other 
words, they are the rules by which God is 
pleased to regulate the phenomena of nature. 
The existing form of the phj^sical constitution, 
therefore, is entirely dependent on the will of 
God. Every one of its laws, when creation is 
viewed on a comprehensive scale, is, for any¬ 
thing we know, as strictly provisional as any of 
the temporary enactments of the Jewish ritual. 
J. H. 

If it be a fact of universal experience that 
man’s will, wffiile unable to suspend or alter a 
single law of nature, is yet able to change and 
guide the succession of events to an incalculable 
extent, we cannot reasonably think that the 
Creator of man has less power over the course 
of the world. If we believe in Him at all, w’e 
must credit Him with the ability to exert, if so 
He wills, a directing influence over the course 






110 


SUGGESTIONS OF THE CREATIVE HISTORY. 


of events without the necessity of suspending 
or abrogating any one of the laws which have 
been impressed by Him on nature. The touch 
of his hand cannot be less efficacious than the 
touch of man’s hand. Providence may guide 
and rule without in the least degree violating 

natural law and order. B. Maillaud. -1 exer 

cise a discretionary providence within a limited 
scope. 1 may make my field an orchard, a des¬ 
ert, or a wilderness. Possessed of wealth, I 
may send with it comfort and joy through a 
score of else wretched homes ; or, by my pe¬ 
nuriousness, may make my own home cheerless 
and desolate. There is here no infraction of 
general laws ; but I insert my own will so as to 
make these laws do my bidding. Can God’s 
power be less than man’s? On the other hand, 
may not man’s action upon nature under law 
interpret God’s action upon nature under the 
laws which He has made supreme, and which 
He no more transcends than He suffers man to 
violate them ? Man disturbs not the normal 
relation between cause and effect, or antecedent 
and consequent : no more does the Divine Prov¬ 
idence. But as man, to effect his purposes, so 
lays hold on the course of Nature as to modify 
the current of events, yet without deranging the 
laws of causation ; in like manner may the Di¬ 
vine will interpose with reference to man’s 
deserts or needs, so that the laws of causation 
sh dl be undisturbed, and yet events shall flow 
in an entirely different channel from that which 
they would have taken had man's deserts or 

needs been other than they are. Pedbodif. - 

If we mean by law the observed regularity with 
which God works in nature as in grace, then, in 
our contact with law, we are dealing, not wiili a 
brutal, unintelligent, unconquerable force, but 
with the free will of an intelligent and moral 
Artist, who works, in his perfect freedom, with 
sustained and beautiful symmetry. Where is 
the absurdity of nsking Him to hold his hand 
or to hasten his work? He to whom we pray 
may he trusted to'grant or to refuse a prayer, as 
may seem best to the highest Wisdom and the 
truest Love. If He really work§ at all ; if some¬ 
thing that is neither moral nor intelligent has 
not usurped his throne—it is certain that “ the 
thing that is done upon earth He doeth it Him¬ 
self.” H. P. L. 

So far from general laws being able, as super¬ 
ficial thinkers imagine, to produce the beautiful 
adaptations which are so numerous in nature, 
they are themselves the results of nicely bal¬ 
anced and skilful adjustments. So far from 
being simple, they are the product of many ar¬ 
rangements. They are not agencies, but ends 
contemplated by Him who adjusted the physical 
agencies which produced them. As such they 
become the rules of God’s house, the laws of 
His kingdom ; and whenever we see such laws, 
we see the certain traces of a Lawgiver. McGosh. 

-We are, by the discovery of the general 

laws of nature, led into a scene of wider design, 
of deeper contrivances, of more comprehensive 
adjustments. Final causes, if they appear driven 
further from us by such extension of our views, 
embrace us only with a vaster and more majestic 
circuit. Instead of a few threads connecting 
some detached objects they become a stupen¬ 
dous network which is wound round and round 


the universal frame of things. Our conviction 
that the arlist works intelligently is not de- 
stroj'ed, though it may be modified and trans¬ 
ferred when we obtain a sight of his tools. Our 
discovery of laws cannot contradict our persua¬ 
sion of ends. WhewelL. 

So far as the management of the material uni¬ 
verse is concerned, God has declared uTimistak- 
ably that He has no favorites. He has given to 
material forces a law which cannot be broken. 
His sun shines on the evil and on the good, and 
His rain falls on the just and on the unjust. 
The great blessings of life come to us all alike. 
The cradle, and the mother’s tendeiness, and 
the mirth of boyhood, and the lover’s jojq and 
old age, and the smile of children, and night 
and day, and seed-time, and harvest, and sum¬ 
mer, and winter, are for the poor man quite as 
much as for the king. And we shall all be 
equal at the last- all classed according to life’s 
natural ranks, fathers, s('ns, brothers, friends—• 
not rich, nor wise, nor noble. There is in na¬ 
ture nothing provisional, nothing provincial. 
“ The sun,” says a wise writer, “ smiles equally 
over Arctic wastes and over teeming cities, and 
glances alike Irom the sw'ord of an Attila and 
from the ciucifix of a Xavier.” What science 
calls the uniformity of nature, faith accepts as 
the fidelity ( f God. It is thus that He disci¬ 
plines us through obedience and patience, and 
rebukes the wdld sophistiy of temptation by ir¬ 
remediable decrees. We trust Him more be¬ 
cause there is no devilish element in nature, no 
wild impulse rushing, with eruptions of curse 
and blessing, into space. And when we thus 
see nature making such superb provisi( n for 
our joy in all the lavish prodigality of her mani¬ 
fold mysteries ; when we see her steadily wain- 
ing us against the causes of our misery and our 
degradation ; when w'e see her rebuking, by her 
magnificent indifference, the petulances of our 
sorrow and the faithlessness of our despair ; 
when we see her granting to us a splendid do¬ 
minion over her elements by faithful oViedience 
to her laws ; w'hen w'e see her constantly educ¬ 
ing good out of evil ; then w’e are glad and not 
angry that her steps are measurecl, her excep¬ 
tions rare, her laws unchangeable. Farrar. 

3. Creation, not Evolution, ike origin of living or¬ 
ganisms, plant and animal. 

Though the narrative is, on the whole, sin¬ 
gularly non-committal in regard to any specific 
scientific doctrine, there are a few points on 
which it is positive. It teaches that : 1. The 

primordial creation of matter, the creation of 
the system of life, and the creation of man, are 
three distinct creations. 2. They are not simul¬ 
taneous, but successive. 3. Gods action in the 
creation is constant. As already observed, each 
of these great orders of things is introduced by 
the word hara, so that Moses seemed to distin¬ 
guish the three great groups of phenomena as 
distinct in essence. According to this, the 
evolution from one of these orders into the 
other—from matter into life, from animal life 
into the spiritual life of man—is impossible. 
Guyot. -Suppose the world to be in its condi¬ 

tion of inorganic progress, we have no scientific 
ground for supposing that it could pass to a 
higher state, possessing living beings, by any 








CREATION, NOT EVOLUTION. 


Ill 


parturient powers within. Or if Life exists, we 
still get no hint as to the evolution of the four 
sub-kingdoms of animal life from a universal 
germ ; nor as to the origin of the Class-types, 
Order-family, or Genus-types, or those of 
Species, each of which is a distinct idea in the 
plan of creation. Nature, in fact, pronounces 
such a theory of evolution absolutely false. 
The perpetual presence of Mind, infinite in 
power, wisdom, and love, and ever acting, is 
manifest in the whole history of the past, Dima. 

During the y^re-Adamite periods, which were 
of enoriious duration, the existing general laws 
of nature were in force, though the dispositions 
of inorganic nature were different in different 
periods, and the animals and plants of succes¬ 
sive periods were also different from r ach other. 
The introduction of new species of animals and 
of plants, while indicating advance in the per¬ 
fection of nature, does not prove spontaneous 
development, but rather creation. Dawson. 
-Transmutation of species, unknown to ex¬ 
perience, is equally unknown to geolog 5 ^ Type 
after type appears and disappears , but none 
melts into a something not itself. Each creat¬ 
ure, throughout the lung succession, comes in 
as it goes out and goes out as it came in. 0. 

Rorison. -The geological record is imperfect. 

But, as Sir liodHrick Murchison has long ago 
proved, there are parts of that record which are 
singularly complete, and in those parts we have 
the proofs of creation, without any indication 
of development. The Silurian rocks, as regards 
oceanic life, are perfect and abundant in the 
forms they have preserved, yet there are no fish. 
The Devonian Age followed tranquilly and with¬ 
out a break ; and in the Devonian sea suddenly 
fish appear -appear in shoals and in forms of 
the highest and most perfect type. There is 
no trace of links or transitional forms between 
the great class of mollusks and the great class 
of fishes. There is no reason whatever to sup¬ 
pose that such forms, if they had existed, can 
have been destroyed in deposits which have pre¬ 
served in wonderful perfection the minutest 
organisms. So much for the past. As regards 
the present, organisms are known to reproduce 
life, but always life which is like then* own. 
And if this likeness admits of degrees of differ¬ 
ence, the margin of variety is not known to be 
ever broad enough for the foundation of a new 
species. That any organism can ever yiroduce 
another which varies from itself in any truly 
specific character is an assumption not justified 
by any known fact. No organism is ever seen 
to exert such a power now. Many indications 
tend to show that all organisms have been 
equally incapable of modification since the j 
earliest monuments of man. Argyll. \ 

It has been said that at the starting-point of 
existence all plants and animals are alike. As 
a late writer puts it, “ The apple which fell in 
Newton’s garden, Newton’s dog Diamond, and i 
Newton himself began life at the same point.” ! 
It is true, that with our best microscopes we ! 
have not yet been able to di.scover any struc¬ 
tural difference in these first cellules of the 
apple, the dog, and the man. But the fact that ! 
the apple-cellule always develops into an apple, ! 
the dog-cellule into a dog, and the man-cellule ! 
into a man, furnishes irrefragable proof that | 


there is a radical difference in these cellules, 
either in structure or in the nature of the vital¬ 
ity with which they are endowed, though our 
microscopes may not be able to discover it. 

This whole class of change's lakes place under ihe 
law of varaiHon of growth-devtlopuieul. Co-ordi¬ 
nate w'ith this law, we find another law* limiting 
the lange of these variations. In the case of 
the acorn, under the law of variation, it de\tl- 
ops into the mature oak, and then the opeiation 
of the law, as a law of life, ceases. The oak 
dies, and by chemical agencies is resolved into 
its original elements. Its material falls back 
from its condition cf organic matter to that of 
inorganic matter again. But before its death 
the mtiture oak had produced its acorns, and 
from these acoins other oaks grow just as the 
first oak did ; and so this whole series of 
changes is repeated time after tin e. The life- 
story of the silk-worm, the frcg, n an, and even 
the parasitic tape-wmrm in this i aiticular is the 
same with that of the oak. The law cf limita¬ 
tion in Uie case of growth-development may be 
thus stated : Variation, extreme as it maybe, never 
extends beyond the life of the individval p ant or ani¬ 
mal in which it occurs. Grow’th-development 
runs a certain definite round, and then w'e are 
brought back to the same starting-point again, 
by growdh-develcpment an oak will never be¬ 
come anything but an oak, a silk-worm will 
never become anything but a siik-worm to the 
end of time. Armstrong. 

Competent Testimony. Who ever recalls to 
mind the lamentable failure of ail the attempts 
made very recently to discover a decided sup¬ 
port fur the generatio cvquivoca in the low’er 
forms of transition from the inorganic to the 
organic wmrld, will ft el it doubly serious to de¬ 
mand that this theory, so utterly discredited, 
should be in any w^ay accepted as the basis of 
all our views of life. All r( ally scientific experi¬ 
ence tells us that life can be jiroduced from a 

living antecedent only. Virchow. -In^ Bas- 

tian’s experiments, after eveiy expedient to 
secure sterility, life did apjrear inside in myriad 
quantity. Therefore, he argued, it was sjDon- 
taneously generated. But the phalanx of ob¬ 
servers found two errors in this calculation. 
Professor Tyndall repeated the same experi¬ 
ment, only with a precaution to insure absolute 
sterility suggested hy the most recent science— 
a discovery of his own. He maniimlated his 
experimental vessels in an atmosphere which, 
under the high test of optical purity the most 
delicate known test—w^as absolutely geimless. 
Here not a festige of life appeared. He varied 
tlie experiment in every diiection, but matter in 
the germless air never yielded lile. 'J he other 
error wuis detected b 3 ' Mr. Dalliiiger. He found 
among the lower forius of life the most surpris¬ 
ing and indestructible vitality. Man}* animals 
could survive much higher temperature than 
Dr. Bastian had applied to annihilate them. 
Some germs almost refused to be annihilated — 
they were all but fire-proof. These experiments 
have practically closed the question. A decided 
and authoritative conclusion has now taken its 
])lace in science. Spontaneous generation has 
had to be given up. And it is now recognized 
on everv hand that life can only come from the 
touch of life. Huxle}* categorically announces 











112 


GEOLOGICAL HISrOliT AND THEOIUEB OF CREATIVE DAYS. 


that the doctrine of Biogenesis, or life only 
from life, is “ victorious along the whole line at 
the present day.” And even while confessing 
that he wishes the evidence were the other waj^ 
Tyndall is compelled to say, “ I affirm that no 
shred of trustworthy experimental testimony 
exists to prove that life in our day has ever 
appeared independently of antecedent life.” 
Diurninond. 

We are in the presence of the one incom¬ 
municable gulf—the gulf of all gulfs—the gulf 
which Mr. Huxley’s protoplasm is as powerless 
to efface as any other material expedient that 
has ever been suggested since the eyes of men 
first looked into it—the mighty gulf between 
death and life. Sli'iiixj. -Breeds {i.e., varie¬ 

ties) among animals are the work of man ; 
species were created by God. Agassiz. -Not¬ 

withstanding observations reaching back for 
thousands of years, and made on hundreds of 
species, we do not yet know a single example of 
intermediate species obtained by the crossing of 
animals belonging to different species. Qv.alre- 

/ages. -The founding of new forms by the 

union of different species, even when standing 
in close natural relation to each other, is abso¬ 
lutely forbidden by the sentence of sterility 
which Nature pronounces and enforces upon all 
hybrid offspring. And so it results that man 
has never seen the origin of any species. Crea¬ 
tion by birth is the only kind of creation he has 
ever seen ; and from this kind of creation he 
has never seen a new species come. Argyll. 

In all this great museum there is not a particle 
of evidence of transmutation of species. Nine 
tenths of the talk of evolutionists is not founded 
on observation, and wholly unsupported by 
fact. Moreover, the talk of the great antiquity 
of man is of the same value. There is no such 
thing as a fossil man. This museum is full of 
proofs of the utter falsity of these views. Mr. 
Etheridge (of the British Museum).-The doc¬ 

trine of evolution, as held by a prominent school 
of German and English biologists, I regard as 
equally at variance with science, revelation, and 
common-sense, and destitute of any foundation 
in fact. Dawson. 


Man is not an ape transformed and perfected 
by some dim imperceptible fermentation of the 
elements of nature and by the operation of 
ages. This assumed explanation of the origin 
of the human species is a mere vague hypothe¬ 
sis, the fruit of an imagination ill comprehending 


the spectacle that nature presents, and therefore 
easily seduced to form ingenious conjectures. 
These their authors sow in the stream of events 
unknown and of time infinite, and trust to tin m 
for the realization of their dreams. The prin¬ 
ciple of the fundamental diversity and the per¬ 
manence of species, firmly upheld by Cuvier, 
Flourens, Coste, Quatrefages, and by all exact 
observers of facta, remains dominant in science 

as in reality. Guizot. -Evolutii.n cheats us 

with the semblance of a man without the reality. 
Shave and paint your ape as you may, clothe 
him and set him upon his feet, still he fails 
greatly of “ the human form divine and so it 
is with him morally and spirituallj'^ as well. We 
have seen that he wants the instinct of immor 
tality, the love of God, the mental and spiritual 
power of exercising, dominion over the earth. 
Dawson. -The possession of intellect and con¬ 

science ; the capacity for distinguishing between 
truth and error, right and wrong ; the ability to 
communicate thought Ty language, and to orig- 
inaie the fine arts—painting, sculpture, archi¬ 
tecture—and to start and carry forward all that 
is embraced in our modern civilization, to say 
nothing of anatomical differences, make be¬ 
tween the ape and man not as wide a gulf, it 
may be, as that which separates between the 
living and the non-living, but a gulf as utterly 
impassable. Armstrong. 


Who creates or evolves? Whither do the 
atoms come, or go ? These questions remain as 
before. Science has not found a substitute for 
God. And yet, in another sense, these tj[ues- 
tions are very different from before. Science 
has put them through its crucible. It took 
them from theology, and delibeiately proclaimed 
that it would try to answer them. They are 
now handed back, tried, unanswered, but with 
a new place in theology and a new power with 
science. Science has attained, after this ordeal, 
to a new respect for theology. If there are an¬ 
swers to these questions, and there ought to be, 
theology holds them. And theology, likewise, 
has learned a new respect for science. In its 
investigations of these questions science has 
made a discovery. It has seen plainly that 
atheism is unscientific. It is a remarkable 
thing that, after trailing its black length for 
centuries across European thought, atheism 
should have had its doom pronounced by sci¬ 
ence. H. Drummond. 


Section 16. 

GEOLOGICAL HISTOBY AND THEORIES OF CREATIVE DAYS. 


The Geological History of the Earth. The ma¬ 
terials of the earth are so arranged that we can 
read its history. Beginning with the founda¬ 
tion, upon which the vast struolure rests, we 
find that it is granite and the different ingredi¬ 
ents of granite. Examining this underlying 
rock we discover no evidences of life during its 


formation. There are no remains of plants or 
animals of any kind. How long the matter of 
the globe remained after its creation before it 
took this form, even, we cannot tell. How 
long it remained bare, naked granite, we are 
totally ignorant. It must have been age upon 
age ; for “ of old he laid the foundations. ’ 















THE GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE EARTH. 


113 


The forraation next above this is called the 
Silunan. The rocks of this period are, chiefly, 
the sandstones, slates, and limestones. Includ¬ 
ing the older and newer formations, they are 
not less than thirty thousand feet in thickness. 
An examination of this layer will disclose fossil 
lants, and the fossil remains of the four great 
ranches of the animal kingdom—the Eadiates, 
typified in the star-fish and sun-fish ; the Mol’- 
lusks, in the clam and land-snail ; the Articu¬ 
lates, represented by worms and insects ; and 
the Vertebrates, by fishes, birds, and mammals. 
The fish, however, is the only vertebrate which 
then existed. What is still more remarkable is, 
that, though we find more than a thousand dif¬ 
ferent fossil species, and though there are three 
hundred thousand living species of the same 
classes now in the waters, yet not one can be 
found among those which at present swim the 
sea, or creep across the earth, that does not 
differ in its species from every one of those that 
lived, died, and were buried in the great Si¬ 
lurian Pei’iod. 

The next page in this wonderful book is called 
the Old Red Sandstone. In the State of New 
York it is fourteen thousand feet thick. In it 
we find the remains of numerous plants, and 
the four branches of the animal kingdom, as 
in the last ; but, though there are a thousand 
different species, though the remains are such 
as to show that the waters of this period must 
have swarmed with life, still it may be safely 
stated that but feio, if any, species of animal or 
plant found in the preceding, and that none 
found in the present age existed during the 
formation of the old red sandstone. 

Next above this formation, we reach the age 
in which the coal we use to warm and light our 
dwellings was formed and deposited. It is called 
the Carboniferous Period. The growth of vege¬ 
tation in this age transcends all Calculation. 
Immense forests sprang up. The exuding sap, 
i.e., petroleum, flowed down into the limestone 
and iron-cased vats or basins, and was there 
preserved. The undergrowth of the forests 
consisted of at least three hundred different 
varieties of fern. The sunlight was excluded 
from all those forests. The geologist, the chem¬ 
ist, and the botanist tell us the}" were never 
touched by an illuminating sunbeam. More 
than tropical heat extended to the polar regions. 
These are conditions the most perfectly adapted 
for vegetable development, but the most fatal 
to animal life. As we should expect, though 
the limestone and iron which constitute the in¬ 
troduction of this period abound in the remains 
of a great variety of land insects and reptiles, 
not one of any kind or class of air-breathing 
animals or insects can be found in the coal 
formation proper. But when the supplies had 
been stored up in vast quantities, when the car- j 
bon and poisons had been taken up from the at- | 
mosphere by the develojDment of vegetation, to 
which, indeed, it owed its growth, then those 
ancient forests w’ere suddenly checked in their 
development. They were sunk beneath the 
ocean, and stratum after stratum of sandstone 
and limestone were piled over that forgotten 
vegetation, hiding it for centuries, and pressing j 
it, like a modern peat-press, into solid rock, j 
That rock is our coal. I 

8 


The next deposit above the coal is the Fw 
R<d Sandstone. In this the poisons of the at¬ 
mosphere having been absorbed, we again find 
the remains of air-breathing animals. The 
birds of the period especially claim our atten¬ 
tion. They were found in such abundance that 
we may term it the Bird Epoch. They con¬ 
sisted of at least thirty-five different sptcies : 
in some cases, of enormous size. They M tre 
rulers of the hills and vales of earth for cen¬ 
turies ; but, like every other race that had pre¬ 
ceded them, they at length perished. 

The next period is very properly called the 
Reptilian Age. Reptiles flourished at this date 
as vigorously as plants had in the coal period, 
and as the birds had in the age just preceding. 
There were at this time gigantic reptiles, 
seventy feet in length, which could walk the 
earth, swim the sea, or fly the air, eqoall\ well. 
But they met, at length, a sudden and total ex¬ 
tinction, and left only their skeletons to ac¬ 
quaint us with the facts of their existence and 
nature. 

Ages again pass, and new orders appear. They 
constitute what is called the Chalk or Cieiacfoits 
formation. If we could have visited the earth 
during the period of these deposits, we should 
have found it inhabited, century after century, 
by the minutest shell animals, man}' species of 
which are imperceptible without the aid of the 
microscope. It may projrerly be called the 
Shell-msect Age. How unlike the age of mon 
ster birds and reptiles which preceded ! Where 
is the development theory? But after these 
little animals had done their work, —after their 
accurrrulated remains had provided the vorld 
with its chalk, its marble, and the different 
varieties of carbonate of lime,—then their age 
and reign ceased. 

We now approach comparatively near the 
earth’s surface, and may begin to talk of modern 
times. Above the Cretaceous, lies tlie last of 
the Tertiary, or the Mammal deposits. Yrsiting 
the earth at this stage of its construction, the 
race of mammals would especially have attracted 
our attention and excited orrr sirrprise. “ They 
agreed,” says Cuvier, “ neither specifically, nor 
everr for the most part generically, with any 
hitherto discovered in the living creation.” 
But during the entire age of magnificent forests 
and mighty mammals, the earth at no lime and 
in no place echoed to the voice of man, or felt 
the impress of his footfall. All these oiders 
were destroyed, not by the advancing civiliza¬ 
tion of man, but by the command of God. Amid 
some of the most terrible convulsions that have 
ever shaken the earth these races expired, with 
as sudden death as that of the savage monsters 
of an earlier age. The disruption of the 
earth’s crust, extending W. 16° S., and E. 16 
N , through which the chain of the great Alps 
was forced up to its present elevation, which, 
according to M. D’Orbigny, was simultaneous 
with that which forced up the Chilian Andes,- 
a chain which extends over a length of three 
thousand miles of the western continent,—ter¬ 
minated tVie Tertiary Age, andpreceded immedi¬ 
ately the creation of the human race and its con¬ 
comitant tribes. The v'aters of the seas and 
oceans, lifted up from their beds by this im¬ 
mense perturbation, swept over the continents 








114 


GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE EARTH. ■ 


with irresistible force, destroying instantane¬ 
ously tlie entire llora and fauna of the last terti¬ 
ary period, and burying its ruins in the sedi- 
meutaiy deposits which ensued.” (Lardner.) 

After this, the earth, which had witnessed at 
least twenty-seven different exterminations and 
recreations, was itself buried under the freez¬ 
ing waters of the Glacial and Drift j^eriod. This 
constitutes the first formation of the last geo¬ 
logical layer -the Diluvian. During the drift 
and the modified drift periods. North America, 
to the depth of two or three thousand feet, was 
covered with the sea. The submergence of the 
British Isles is beyond question. The earth 
was at that time swept with oceanic currents 
loaded with icebergs which had been wrenched 
off from the mountain i^eaks. Northern Ger¬ 
many, Poland, and Kussia are overspread with 
bowlders from Sweden, Laphtiid, and Finland. 
Granite rocks have been thrown down upon Ice¬ 
land, though the island itself was formed from 
lava, These bowlders, disconnected from the 
ice-floats to wdiich they had been attached, sank 
through the flood of waters, and were anchored 
where they now remain. 

That the whole earth, at one time or another, 
has been under water, is the uniform testimon^y 
of science. Says Humboldt, “ The highest 
peaks of the Alps were once beneath the ocean’s 
surface.” “ All land,” says Lyell, ” has been 
under water.” “ It seems,” says Hitchcock, 

that the surface of the globe has been a shore¬ 
less ocean.” “ The highest mountains,” says 
Tenney, “ have once been the ocean’s bottom.” 
The same sublime and startling record is in¬ 
scribed upon every mountain peak and range 
around the globe, east and west, north and 
south, far and near. Long after the sandstones, 
coal, lime.',tones, and animal remains of earth 
had been formed and deposited, long after the 
ancient river-c mrse.i had found the sea, all 
things were ingiilfed under the waters of the 
drift, which were laden with ice-floats and 
which bore upon their bosoms the ruins of past 
generations. The surface bowlders and erratic 
stone-5 found in every country confirm the state¬ 
ment that this was the condition of the world, 
and that it occurred just hf'fore the present, or 
the human era. 

Tliere is lio language or speech at human 
command which more exactly expresses the 
condition of the earth after these mighty vicis¬ 
situdes of which we have been speaking had 
taken place, and during the drift, when the 
world WMS ingulfed in dark, turbid, and frozen 
waters, than the oiiginal text of the old Hebrew 
prophet : ‘ The earth had become a waste and 
a void, darkness was upon the face of the roar¬ 
ing deep, and the soul of God was brooding 
U()on the face of the waters.” Was there any¬ 
thing in the apfiarently insane and boisterous 
play of the great physical catastrophe of the 
nine distinct and long-continued eras we have 
been considering, anything in the turbulence 
and mighty clamor of the drift period, which 
could repeople the earth with living inhabitants? 
There was nothing. Had not the voice of God 
been heard above the waters, they had remained 
as tliey were L. T. Townsend. 

Grouping comprehensively some geological 
fact-5 we note '1) Vast strata of rock-formations, 


widely diverse from each other, too diverse to 
have been formed under the same circumstances 
and conditions of our globe. Some—the lowest 
in relative position—appear to have been once 
in a state of fusion under intense heat, while 
others—in general all the higher rocks —seem 
to have been deposited under water. Mineral- 
ogically, these rocks differ from each other very 
widely and also from the fused rocks. (2) 
Again, some are manifestly composed of frag¬ 
ments of pre-exisiing rocks, broki n off and worn 
by long-continiaed attrition and then compacted 
—known as i^udding-stone—the breccias. (3) 
Yet again ; immense strata of these intermedi¬ 
ate and higher rocks contain fossil organic re¬ 
mains, some of vegetables, others of animals or 
of bf>th, and also in \ery great Aariet^’. More 
marvellous still ; they are found occurring in 
groups, bearing a well-defined relation to each 
other, so that one stratum of rock contains 
species of vegetables and also of animals in a 
measure adapted to each other, and adjusted to 
the condition of the earth’s surface and climate 
at one and the same lime. Another stratum 
shall contain a different group, to Si-me extent 
new and j'et not altogether so, but la])ping on 
with some of the earth’s old inhabitants lepro- 
fluced, and omitting other species. (4) Again, 
immense beds of coal are iound, undoubtedly 
of vegetable origin, differing somewhat wichly 
from each other as having been formed from 
diverse vegetable and forest material, and under 
various degrees of heat and pressuie. No small 
amount of time must be given for the gr< wth 
anel eleposition of these mountain piles of tree 
and fern. The charring of these coal pits of 
nature was provided for in the ‘‘ fervent heat ” 
of the earth just below the surface, coupled with 
13ressure brought upon them it would seem by 
convulsions and ujibreakings, to Avhich the 
earth’s crust has been many times subjected. 
(5) Limestone, largely of animal origin, de¬ 
mands in like manner time for the growdh of 
the animals whose shelly incasements, accumu¬ 
lating age after age, have made such ample pro¬ 
vision of limestone and of lime for the use of 
man. H. C. 

The widest and most imjDortant generalization 
of modern geology is, that all the materials of 
the earth's crust, to the greatest depth to W'hich 
we can penetrate, are of such a nature as to 
prove that they are not unchanged and primitive 
rocks, but the results of the operation of causes 
of change now in progress. They may be such 
things as conglomerates, sandstone.s, shales, and 
slates, all of which are the debris of older rocks, 
broken down into pebbles, sand, or mud ; or 
they may be limestones, made up of the ruins of 
corals and shells ; or beds of coal and metallic 
ores, accumulated by the agency of vegetable 
matter ; or they may be substances analogous 
to the lavas and ashes of modern volcanoes ; or 
they may be rocks that are aqueous in their 
origin, and now hardened and altered by heat. 
But everywhere we see the evidence of change 
under natural laws still in force. Dawson. 

The earth’s surface has at no very remote 
period experienced considerable elevations and 
depressions and changes of temperature Es¬ 
pecially there are proofs of an extraordinary 
period of glaciers and icebergs, by means of 




COSMOGONY OF GENESIS. 


115 


which huge bowlders have been transported 
from their ancient beds and scattered afar, and 
vast masses of debris, rocks ground down and 
pnlrerized, mixed with sand, gravel, and small 
stones, have been heaped up along the line of 
the glaciers and spread over their track. It is 
not easy to conceive the full measure of viiWi^ 
resulting from this great ice-flood and glacier 
movement, in grinding the surface of the rocky 
strata and mixing this finel}’^ pulverized matter 
with decomposed vegetable elements to prepare 
soil for our earth’s surface. H. C. 

Cosmogony of Gfnesis. 

Prof. A. Guyoi. 

[Condensed from the Paper read before the 
Evangelical Alliance at New York. For his full 
and final treatment of the subject, see the vol¬ 
ume entitled “ Creation.” The views therein 
expressed are substantially those of Professor 
Dana, Principal Dawson, Dr, Godet, and many 
other Christian scientists and scholars.] 

The iidroduc'ion to the work of the six days is 
comprised in the first and. second verses, in 
which we have the primordial creation of the 
matter of the universe, and a description of its 
original state. The primitive state of matter 
when first created is described in the second 
verse. We take the word “ earth” to be in this 
verse an equivalent to matter in general. The 
use of the concrete word “earth,” instead of 
the generic or abstract word “ matter,’’ is com 
mon to most languages, and was here anece?- 
sity, as such a word as “ matter” does not exist 
in the Hebrew language. We feel then justified 
in understanding aarefs, in this early stage of 
the history of the universe, as meaning the 
primordial cosmic material out of which God 
was going to organize the heavens and the 
earth. The same reasoning applies to the 
waters of the second verse. The Hebrew word 
maim does not necessarily mean “ waters,” but 
applies as well to the fluid atmosphere ; it is 
simply descriptive of the state of cosmic matter 
comprised in the word earth. 

The sense of these two words being thus set¬ 
tled, every word of the second verse becomes 
clear and natural. The matter just created was 
gaseous ; it was without form, for the property 
of gas is to expand indefinitely. It was void, 
because homogeneous and invisible. It was 
dark, because as yet inactive, light being the 
result of physical or chemical action. It was a 
deep, for its expansion in space, though indefi¬ 
nite, was not infinite, and it had dimensions. 
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face 
(outside, and not inside, as the pantheist would 
have it) of that vast gaseous mass, ready to act 
upon it, and to direct all its subsequent activity, 
according to a plan revealed by the great works 
which follow. 

The. central idea of the second verse is the 
state of matter when created. The Spirit of 
God, moving upon it, announces and prepares 
the work of the six coming days. The descrip¬ 
tion applies, therefore, to the matter of the uni¬ 
verse and the earth, and not to the earth alone 
as a globe already made, which would be no be¬ 
ginning. 

The First Day's work was the production of 


light. At God’s command movement begins. 
This is no creation, but a simple manifestation 
of the activity of matter. Under the acti( a of 
gravity that immeasurable body of gaseous mat¬ 
ter contracts ; atoms conglomerate into mole¬ 
cules ; nearer approach begets continual chemi¬ 
cal combinations on a multitude of points ; in 
the more concentrated part light and heat aro 
produced, and the result is the appearance in 
the dark space of heaven of a large luminous 
mass, the primitive grand nebula, the prototype 
of those thousands of luminous clouds observed 
by the astronomer floating in the empty wastes 
beyond our starry heavens. Thus God (lividid 
the light from the darkness —that is, the light of 
the nebula from the dark outside matter, as yet 
inactive, and from the empt}’^ space around. 
And God called the light day, and the darkness 
he called rngld —both specific names— without 
reference to any period of time. And the evening 
(the dark chaotic time preceding) and the m< rn- 
ing (the glorious light of that vast luminous 
mass) were the frst day —the first great period 
of development, under God’s guidance, of that 
world of matter just created ; a day measured 
by the v-ork assigned to it. 

Yke Second Day's work is the organization of 
the heavens. “ And God said, Nt ihne be an ex¬ 
panse (firmament) m the nndst (/ii.e. iraiers, and 
let it divide the waters from the watns; and God 
called the expanse heaven." 

The central idea of this day’s woik is division 
or separation. The vast prinjitive nebula of the 
first day breaks up into a multitude of gaseous 
masses, and these are concentrated into stars. 
IMotion is everywhere. Gravitation and the 
chemical forces tend to concentrate matter 
around various centres, and thus to isolate them 
from each other ; centrifugal force tends to dis¬ 
perse them. Under the laws of the forces of 
matter and motion—established bj" God himself, 
and under his guidance—these numberless 
bodies, of all forms and sizes, which fill the 
space and adorn our heavens, combine into 
those worlds and groups of worlds whose won¬ 
derful organization it is the province of astion 
omy to discover. But the text speaks of wnUrs 
//ic heavens, and of waters vrder the Joav- 
ens. The latter are determined by the work of 
the third day, by which it appears that they are 
the matter out of which our globe was made, 
the M'aters above being the matter which formed 
the heavenly bodies. 

The Third Day has tw'o W'orks. The first is 
the formation of the material globe of the earth. 
The main idea is condensation of matter into 
the solid globe, its liquid covering and gaseous 
envelope. Here, as usual, Moses gives us the 
final result of the work, and not the process by 
which it was produced. For that we must ask 
geology. Guided by the general facts of geol¬ 
ogy, and aided by the light derived from chem¬ 
istry, physics, and astronomj^ we may distin¬ 
guish, in the gradual formation of the physical 
globe, before the introduction of life, four 
lieriods : 1. The nebulous. 2. The mineral in¬ 
candescent. 3. The period of the hot oceans. 
4. The period of the cold oceans. 

In the first the matter of the earth was a part 
of the hot atmosphere of the sun. In the slow 
process of contraction, consequent upon its cool- 



116 


THEORIES OF CREATIVE DAYS. 


ing, the sun left it behind in the form of a gas¬ 
eous ring. The ring breaks in several places, 
and is rolled up into a globular mass, which, 
according to the laws of motion, rotates upon 
itself, and revolves around its parent body 
nearly in the plane of its equator, and with the 
velocity imparted to it by the sun itself. The 
new globe, born from the old matter of the sun, 
now enters, as a (jaseous m lss, into the first 
period of its separate existence. Loss of heat 
by radiation causes further concentration. The 
molecules, brought nearer together and to the 
proper temperature for chemical action, now 
combine. A vast, long-continued, and ever- 
renewed conflagration, with an enormous devel¬ 
opment of heat, takes place, and the result is 
an incandescent melted mineral body, surround 
ed by a vast luminous atmosphere. The earth 
is a sun. This is the second period of its his¬ 
tory. 

The cooling continues : a liard crust is formed 
on the surface of the melted body of the globe, 
and, when the temperature becomes low enough 
to admit of the formation of water, the ocean — 
which was before a part of the atmosphere in 
the shape of vapor -is deposited on the solid 
surface of the globe. The temperature of this 
first ocean must have been very high, owing to 
the immense weight of the atmosphere resting 
upon it. It has been calculated that when the 
deposition began, the temperature of the first 
waters could not have been less than 600° Fahr. 
This geological phase, though it is one through 
which a cooling globe must have necessaril}' 
passed, has not, thus far, received the attention 
it deserves. Let us try to see what this state of 
things implies, for it is important for the ex 
planation of the fourth day. The oceans were 
not only very warm, but must have been highly 
acidulated ; for all the acids, which form a 
large part of the thousands upon thousands of 
feet of rocks deposited since, must have been 
then in the atmosphere. These hot and acid 
waters, resting upon the old mineral crust, 
must have decomposed it, and a new series of 
chemical combinations have been formed, to 
which, perhaps, we may refer the deposition of 
the lowermost crystalline rocks which are at the 
base of the new terrestrial crust—the only one 
we actually know. By these powerful chemical 
actions the earth was transformed into a vast 
galvanic pile, emitting constant streams of elec¬ 
tricity, which, reaching the ethereal space at 
the boundary of the thick atmosphere, became 
luminous. During this third period the earth 
was still surrounded by a photosphere of sub¬ 
dued brilliancy : it was a nebulous star. 

The process goes on ; the physical and chem¬ 
ical forces, thus far so active, subside and enter 
into a state of quiescence ; the photosphere dis¬ 
appears ; the globe becomes an extinct body ; 
the ocean cools down to the mild temperature 
of our tropical seas, and is ready for the intro 
diiction of living beings. The age of matter is 
over ; the age of life is at hand. The fourth 
period was that of ihe durk planet and the cool 
ocpjins. 

This fourth period, and perhaps the latter 
part of the third, are represented in the geolog¬ 
ical strata by the so-called azoic rocks, which 
are found in all continents. Here also we have 
evidence of the appearance of the first land 


above the waters of the ocean. Considerable 
surfaims and low mountain chains, both in the 
Old and New World, belong to this age. Geol¬ 
ogy explains 'very i3lausibly the sinking of the 
large surfaces—now containing the oceans— 
and the rising between them of the continents 
and mountains, by the gradual shrinkage of the 
cooling interior, forcing the hard external crust 
—now too large—to mould itself on the smaller 
sphere by folding into mighty wrinkles. This 
process could not be better described than by 
the words of Moses : “ Let the waters be gath¬ 
ered together in one place, and let the dry land 
appear” — implying that the land was formed 
already under the surface of the ocean, and was 
subse(]uently raised above it. The first work 
of the third day closes the age of matter ; for, 
if science is right in its view of the origin of 
our solar sj'stem, the sun, moon, and stars of 
the fourth day were then in existence, but in¬ 
visible to the earth. 

But in this third day there is a second work, 
entirely unlike the first, belonging to the age of 
organic life—the creation of the plant— a crea¬ 
tion, indeed, of a new principle, though it is 
not designated in the text by hard, because it is 
but the peristyle of the temple of true life, the 
condition of its existence. We say that it is a 
creation ; for in it mutter is controlled by an 
immaterial principle, directing its forces so as 
to make it assume new forms unknown to the 
mineral. In the plant, as in every organized 
being, there is an inward principle of individ¬ 
uality not possessed by the crystal ; a variety of 
functions and organs working together toward 
a common aim for the benefit of the individual ; 
an inward growth, with a beginning and a defi¬ 
nite end, and a reproduction which perpetuates 
the species—phenomena which are all absolutely 
foreign to inorganic matter. These character¬ 
istics are admirably summed up in the eleventh 
verse. If we should understand the text as 
meaning that the whole plant king<lom, from 
the lowest infusorial form to the highest di¬ 
cotyledon, was created at this early da}', geology 
would assuredly disprove it. But the author 
mentions every order of facts but once, and he 
does it at the time of its first introduction. 
Here, therefore, the whole system of plants is 
described in full outline, as it has been devel¬ 
oped, from the lowest to the most perfect, in 
the succession of ages. 

Fourth Day. —The sun and moon are not cre¬ 
ated, they existed before, but now enter into 
new relations with the earth. During the jige 
of matter the intensity of chemical action was 
a source of permanent light —the earth was self- 
luminous—the light of the sun, moon, and stars 
bnng merged in the stronger light of its photo- 
sjihere, and therefore invisible to it. But after 
the disappearance of its luminous envelope, our 
glorious heavens, with sun, moon, and stars, 
become visible, and the earth depends upon this 
outside source for light and heat. 

F>fih Day. —The work of this day is the crea¬ 
tion of the lower animals, up to the birds. 
“ Anri God creatrd qre.ot whales, and evtry crra'iire 
wh‘ch m >veth, winch ihe waiei's brought forth ahnu- 
danlly, and every winged fowl.” The order of 
their appearance is that discovered by geology : 
the water animals first, together with the large 
amphibious, the great whales (marine monsters), 




OBJECTIONS TO THE COSMOGONY OF PROF. GUYOT. 


117 


anti other reptiles, and then the birds. This 
corresponds with the first geological ages, the 
paleozoic and the mesozoic, up to the tertiary 
epoch. 

Sixth Diy .—The sixth da}', which is the third 
of the era of life, contains two works, as did the 
third da}A of the era of matter : first, the creation 
of the higher animals especially living on the 
dry land, or the mammalia —it corresponds with 
the tertiary age ; and, second, the creation of 
man in the quaternary age. 

Here end the working days of the Creator. 
All his other works God had declared to be 
good ,* but on the sixth day “ God sclud svtrylhing 
that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” 
The work of the whole week is now finished, 
and perfect as God will have it for his purpose 
—the education of man. Now begins the stve'dh 
day, the day of rest, or the Sabbath of the earth, 
when the globe and its inhabitants are com¬ 
pleted. Since the beginning of this day no new 
creation has taken place. God rests as the 
Creator of the visible universe. The forces of 
nature are in that admirable equilibrium which 
we now behold, and which is necessar}? to oar 
existence. No more mountains or continents ai e 
formed, no new species of plants or animals are 
created. Nature goes on steadily in its wonted 
path. All movement, all progress has passed 
into the realm of mankind, which is now ac¬ 
complishing its task. The seventh day is, then, 
the present age of our globe ; the age in which 
we live, and which was prepared for the devel¬ 
opment of mankind. The narrative of Moses 
seems to indicate this fact ; for at the end of 
each of the six working days of creation we find 
an evening. But the morning of the seventh is 
not followed by any evening. The day is still 
open. When the evening shall come the last 
hour of humanity will strike. Ouyoh 

[A full discussion of the subject from a sim¬ 
ilar standpoint will be found in Prof. Dana’s 
“Geology,” and various articles in the Bib. 
Sacra ; in Dr. Godet’s “ Studies in the Old 
Test. in Principal Dawson’s “ Archaia 
and in Macdonald’s “ Creation and Fall.”] 

Of the Nebular Theory in its present form La 
Place is the author. Perhaps the first sugges¬ 
tion came from Sir W. Herschel. It has been 
adopted by Madler, defended by Pfaff, and its 
truth taken for granted by Humboldt. It sup¬ 
poses that the whole solar system was originally 
one mass of vapory or nebulous matter which, 
according to the laws of gravitation, assumed 
the form of an immense sphere. This sphere 
received (from without) an impulse which 
caused it to revolve on its axis from west to 
east. In consequence of this revolving motion, 
it became flattened at the poles and swollen 
in the equatorial region, and in consequence of 
the greatness of the centrifugal force at the 
equator and the contemporaneous condensation 
and contraction of the nebulous mass a free 
revolving ring, similar to that of Saturn, de¬ 
tached itself in the region of the equator. This 
ring not being of uniform density, and in con¬ 
sequence of contraction, broke in one or more 
places, and these fragments, in obedience to the 
laws of gravitation, became a sphere or spheres, 
that is a planet or planets, all necessarily revolv¬ 
ing from west to east round the parent mass. 
Another ring was formed in like manner and 


another planet came into existence ; and so on 
until the whole solar system was complete. A 
similar process took ])lace with regard to some 
of the planets, and thus they got their moons. 
McCaxd. 

Half a century ago Dr. Whew'ell discussed 
under the name of the nebular hypothesis that 
theory of rotation which had been indicated by 
Herschel, and more largely taught by La Place, 
as the probable method through which the solar 
system has taken its form. Ciirefully abstaining 
at that early date from a formal judgment on 
the hypothesis, he appears to discuss it with 
favor, and he shows that this hypothesis, which 
assumes “a beginning of the present state of 
things,” is in no way adverse to the Mosaic 
cosmogony. The theory has received marked 
support from opposite quarters. In the “ Ves¬ 
tiges of Creation” it is frankly adopted ; the 
very curious experiment of Prof. Plateau is de¬ 
tailed at length on its behalf, and the author 
considers, with La Place, that the zodiacal light 
on which Humboldt in his “ Kosmos” has dwelt 
at large may be a remnant of the luminous at¬ 
mosphere originally diffused around the sun. 
Dr. McCaul, in his very able argument on the 
Mosaic record, quotes Humboldt, Pfaff, and 
Madler—a famous German astronomer —as ad¬ 
hering to it It appears on the whole to be in 
possession of the field ; and McCaul observes 
that, “ had it been devised for the qxpress pur¬ 
pose of removing the supposed difiiculties of the 
Mosaic record, it could hardly have been more 
to the purpose.” IF. E. Gladstoue. 

[On the other hand], Mr. Proctor, in an essay 
on the new star in Andromeda, juits himself 
among its opponents in such decided language 
as this : 

” If any occurrence in the star depths could 
possibly shake men’s faith in that theory—or 
rather speculation, for so La Place regarded it 
—the sudden appearance of a new star in the 
midst of a mass of stellar matter should do so. 
A theory which has been accepted by astron¬ 
omers under the mistaken idea that there aie 
no i^hysical objections against it, and by physi¬ 
cists under the equally mistaken idea that ob¬ 
served astronomical facts absolutely require it ; 
a hypothesis according to which a mass of gas, 
far rarer than hydrogen at atmospheric pressure 
(nay, almost infinitely rarer), and having a span 
of about six thou.sand millions of miles, rotated 
for millions of years as a coherent whole—such 
a theory may be expected to retain vitality 
under almost any conceivable shock. Other¬ 
wise, assuredly the discovery that sudden and 
rapid changes, not the inconceivably slow 
changes imagined by La Place, affect star clouds 
of enormous size, might be expected to destroy 
men’s faith in an idea which its celebrated au¬ 
thor never regarded as more than a guess, and 
which, with the knowledge of physical laws 
possessed in our time, should have been long 
ago rejected as obviously erroneous.” 

Objections to the Interpretation of Prof. 

Guyot and others. 

1. By those who favor the nebular hypothesis as the 
best sustained 

“ Heavens and earth” never mean materials, 
and that meaning would not agree with the 





118 


THEORIES OF CREATIVE BAYS. 


context. The connecting “and” of Gen, 1 :2 I 
shows that the earth is the same spoken of in { 

the hrst, not the materials. McCiul. -A use 

of the word “ toaters” so extraordinary and un¬ 
paralleled cannot be admitted. Nowhere else 
do we find attached to it the vestige of such a 
meaning. The context is wholly against such 
an interpretation. E. F. Barrows. 

Genesis speaks of days ; but the periods im¬ 
plied by the stratilications and the fossils they 
contain must each have consisted of millions of 
centuries. Further, according to Genesis, ani¬ 
mal life did not begin upon the earth till after 
the appearance of the plants, whereas the oldest 
strata that contain vegetable remains exhibit 
already some debris of crustaceans and of corals 
—monuments of an animal life which must have 
existed contemijoraneously with that primitive 
vegetation. At the same time that the rich 
carboniferous flora developed itself, there ex¬ 
isted also different species of fish, and one 
breathing vertebrate (the lahyrinihodon). These 
are differences of which we are not to deny the 
importance. Godet. 

Though the Mosaic language implies that the 
six days of which he speaks are six periods of 
time, it does not follow that they are to be 
identified with the six periods commonly re¬ 
ceived in geology. The impossibility of identi¬ 
fying these periods is evident from the fact 
that of the work of two days in the Mosaic ac¬ 
count geology know.s nothing and astronomy 
nothing certain ; namely, that of the first and 
the fourth. After the original creation of heaven 
and earth and the condition of the earth, Moses 
mentions the evocation of light and the creation 
of the ether in which the heavenly bodies move, 
as effected in the first two days. So far as the 
record is concerned, these two days may include 
the whole of the primary, secondary and terti¬ 
ary formations with all their products, their 
flora and their fauna. The object of the Mosaic 
narrative is to explain the origin of the universe 
and its parts. So soon, therefore, as he has 
mentioned the light and the ether he advances 
at once to the preparation of the earth for man ; 
and thus the third day presents the dry land in 
its present state. “ When the seas had settled 
into their new beds and the outlines of the land 
were permanently defined, the latest and great¬ 
est act of creation was accomplished by clothing 
the earth with the vegetation which now covers 
it, peopling the land and the water with the 
animal tribes which now exist, and calling into 
being the human race. . . . A striking physical 
difference between the present and all formal 
periods consists in the different divisions of 
the earth’s surface into climatological zones, 
each zone having its peculiar fauna and flora. 
In all former ages and periods, including those 
which immediately preceded the present, no 
traces of climate difference have been found ’’ 
(Lardaer). In this is a striking coincidence with 
the Mosaic statement, which represents the 
earth as existing for a long period before the 
sun became its source of light and heat, a period 
during which there could have been no climatic 
difference ; and consequently the fauna and 
flora of warm climates are found in the pre¬ 
human period (when there was apparently one 
uniform high temperature over the whole 


earth) in latitudes where they could not now 
exist. Here is an instance of the extraordinary 
scientific accuracy of the Mosaic account. 
McGaul, “Aids to Faith,” p. 250 ff. 

Had we been told, that instantly, by the 
Divine fiat, the earth was covered with vegeta¬ 
tion of the largest and most perfect kind, that 
in a moment there stood forth in all their 
physical perfection the “ creeping hyssop,” 
the rose of Sharon, and the waving cedar of 
Lebanon, that in the twinkling of an eye, from 
being a barren, inanimate, and solitary waste, 
our world was swarming with animals of every 
size and species, full grown, and at the maxi¬ 
mum of their strength and beauty, there would 
have been no u 'priori difficulty in believing it. 
There would have been nothing irrational or 
incredible in the account. Such an instantane¬ 
ous production would have been in harmony 
with all our ideas of the Divine i^ower and 
dignity. But it has not been so revealed. A 
different method was taken bj^ the Divine Wis¬ 
dom,—the method to which we give the name 
of nature,—the method of growth, of succe^sion, 
of duration, of the apparent birth of one thing 
out of another, and this, too, through the action 
of a previous nature quickened by a new H onL 
into a new energy, and to the development of 
a new law. Both these suppositions are ra¬ 
tional, both are credible if clearly revealed. But 
how long were these creative daj’S ? The ques¬ 
tion must remain unanswered. They were aits 
iiwffahiles. They were incommensurable by any 
estimates we could ap’ply. The whole question, 
too, is comparative. In one aspect they may 
have been short, in another immensely long. 
The Bible has not told us anything about it. 
The geologist talks of millions and billions of 
jmars. He measures the operations of God and 
nature then, by the movements of the latter as 
they come under his present observation. On 
the other hand, the rigid advocate of the twenty- 
four-hour theory presses him with a great many 
very puzzling questions as to the rationale of 
such a method, which our confident appellant to 
reason and science finds it very difficult to an¬ 
swer. Why so many ages apparently wasted be¬ 
fore the living organizations V Why so many 
thousand jmars otfungi and sea-weed ? Why so 
many ages of shell-fish with their unmeaning 
varieties,—unmeaning, he would say, as long as 
there were no human eyes to admire, and no 
men of science to classify them into generEi, and 
species? Why so many unhistorical centuries 
of zoophytes, and worms, and monstrous rep¬ 
tiles,— all before man appeared ? What wisdom 
ill all this ; what possible design woithy of an 
all-wise and omnipotent Being ; what order, 
what fitness, what beauty ? It is absurdity, it 
is confusion, says the literalist. it is worse than 
chaos, it is worse than atheism, it i«, in truth, 
a godless nature that would work in this man¬ 
ner, and not the eternal Wisdom. Such a priori 
objections may be pressed with great force 
and skill. The geologist, from his mere scien¬ 
tific position, cannot answer a word. It would 
certainly look like a veiy vStrange proceeding. 
But he may press home upon our literalist just 
as many questions which he cannot answer. 
Why a world of waters, then a world with an 
atmosiihere and clouds, then a world of vege- 







SIX DAYS' liECORD NOT jiN ACCOUNT OF GEOLOGICAL CHANGES. 110 


tation, then a world of reptile life, then a world 
inhabited by quadrupeds, each precisely twenty- 
four hours before the other ? And what must 
have been the apparatus for making these days 
of twenty-four hours that had their date before 
the outshining of the celestial luminaries V Did 
the light -go out, and the darkness come back, 
each time, from its submersion in the abyss ? 
Why is there no explanation of the difficulty 
which the writer must have seen to exist, if the 
twenty-four-hour duration had been meant? 
Why is there not the least allusion to it in any 
other part of the Bible in which the creation is 
spoken of, and its marvels made the theme of 
praise and admiration ? What possible conject¬ 
ures can be offered on this head, which will not 
seem more strange, forced, and capricious than 
any positions assumed by the most extravagant 
geologist ? There is no end to such questions ; 
and the maintainer of the twenty-four-hour 
hypothesis cannot answer one of them without 
resorting to that divine arhilrium under which 
the scientific speculatist may take shelter as W'ell 
as himself. T. L. 

2. The Six Days' Record not an Account of Geotoyl- 
cal Chanyes. (Condensed from Kurtz.) 

The Bible says nothing about the formation 
of the earth’s crust and of mountains, and the 
account of the creative days (as well as Ps. lOd) 
presupposes them as already existing. Hence 
the organisms also wdiich lie concealed in these 
strata originated not during but previous to the 
six creative days. The creation of plants and 
animals wffiich the Bible relates is different 
from, and posterior to, that of the organisms 
which geology discloses. Those primeval ani¬ 
mals of which the remains are found buried in 
the strata, like the rocks which hold them, be¬ 
long to a period which Revelation does not de¬ 
scribe. Theirs is a world quite different from 
ours, and which has perished long ago. The 
Bible is only concerned to narrate the creation 
of those animals and iilants wffiich were assigned 
to man. It professes to be a rule of faith, and 
not a manual of geology. 

The vegetable and animal kingdoms of the 
strata are very different from those of our wmrld, 
and it is evident that those plants and animals, 
of which the Bible speaks, were intended to con¬ 
tinue and to remain with man on the earth, 
and not completely to disappear before the ap¬ 
pearance of man. This may be gathered even 
from the terms in which we are told that grass, 
herbs, and trees —each after their own kind— 
had fruit and seed by which to propagate their 
species, from the emphasis with which wm are 
assured that every type of animals was created 
after its own kind, and from the circumstance 
that each obtained the blessing, ‘ ‘ Be fruitful 
and multiply'', and fill the waters and the earth.’ ’ 
Besides, the Bible manifestly refers to the 
creation of organisms which had indeed been 
produced before man, but still, and on that very 
ground, were destined for him. For every 
herb bearing seed, upon the face of all the 
earth, and every tree in which is fruit, was given 
to man for meat ; and with reference to animals 
man was commanded to subdue them, and to 
have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the 
fowl of the air, and over every living thing that 


moved upon the earth, dlie plants on which 
he was to feed, and the beasts over which ho 
was to have dominion, were evidently those 
whose creation is related in that chapter ; hence 
the organisms described in the Bible must also 
be those which were destined to live aiouy with 
man, or, generally speaking, the plants and ani¬ 
mals iiresently existing. The same inference 
mny be gathered from the constant repetition of 
the statement ; “ and God saw that it was 
good.” Being good, these creatures must have 
been destined to continue and not to perish. 
The types buried in the rocks weie not destined 
to continue perpetually, or else have not at¬ 
tained their destination ; they were not created 
for man, and have not been his contemporaries 
on earth. Long before he appeared they hael 
become extinct, and were shut up in their reeky 
graves. Therefore the fossils tf die rocks carmot 
represent those organisms whose ct eation iht' Bible 
relates. It speaks nut of the petrifications and 
Entozoa of geology : it refeis only to those 
beings which were created fm man, partly for 
his nourishment and partly as means of, or aids 
to, his own jieculiar activitjn Gn the other 
hand geology does not treat of those creatures 
which, according to the Scriptures, were called 
forth on the third, fifth, and sixth days, nor can 
this science take notice of them, since their 
types were intended to continue and not to 
perish, and their families were not to be petri¬ 
fied ia strata, but each individual was to decay 
in the ordinary manner, so that their bones 
have mo.stly passed away without leaving any 
trace. As the Bible gives no countenance to 
the idea that the crust of the earth was formed 
on the fifth or sixth day, and implies that sea 
and land had previously already existed, so 
neither does it admit the hypothesis according 
to which the work of the fifth and sixth days is 
relegated into previous days. It does not de¬ 
scribe the origin of the crust of the earth and 
the creation of organic beings as having taken 
place at the same time, but as having occurred 
the one after the other, Hence what geology 
relates belongs to a period anterior to that which 
the history of creation describes. 

This view is further confirmed by another 
conclusion cf celebrated palaeontologists ; that 
a difference of species, types and families is 
found to exist between the various forms of life 
which occur in different rocky formations of 
the primeval world. Thus ylj/as-siz remarks : “ I 
hold it to be demonstrated that the totality of 
organic beings was renewed not only in the iider- 
vals of each of those great periods which we desig¬ 
nate as formations, but also in the stratification <f 
each .separate division (f every formation. Nor do 
I believe in the genetic descent of the living 
species from the different tertiaiy divisions which 
have been regarded as identical, but which I 
hold to be specificaihj different, so that I cannot 
adojittheideaof a transformation of the species 
of one formation into that of another. In 
enunciating these conclusions, let it be under¬ 
stood that they are not inductions derived from 
the study of one particular class of animals 
(such as fishes), and applied to other classes, 
but the results of direct comparison of very 
considerable collections of petrific.itions < f dif¬ 
ferent formations and classes of animals,” 




120 


THEORIES OF CREATIVE HAYS. 


Broun, indeed, refers to some formations that 
occasionally contain specimens similar to those 
of other strata. Bat even if Broun's opinion 
were confirmed, the general fact (which mere 
exceptions could not remove) would still re¬ 
main, that there is {i peculiar genetic relation¬ 
ship, not onl}" between different rocks, but fre¬ 
quently even between the strata of one and the 
same formation and the organic types which 
they contain, and the conclusion would still be 
that each formation had its own independent 
creation, and hence that with every formation 
the act of creation was renewed. But the Bible 
speaks only of one creation of organic life, and 
could, therefore, at most, allude to only one of 
these many creations. But that even this is 
not the case is manifest from the fact that the 
Bible refers to the organisms which were created 
for man, and hence still continue ; while the 
“ transition” and stratified formations only con¬ 
tain types w^hich became extinct long before 
man appeared. 

A further confirmation of this view is found 
in the fact that in the earliest formations plants 
and animals appear simultaneously, while the 
Bible informs us that one kingdom and one 
class of animals was called forth after the other. 

Other objections summarized. It is evident, that 
Ave read only of one general inundation within 
the SIX creative days (Gen. 1 : 2-10) to which, 
on the third day, bounds were assigned which 
were not to be passed till the flood. But the 
theory that identifies the geological with the 
Biblical account of creation, requires that we 
should suppose that a number of inundations 
had taken place in order to account for the 
numerous secondary and tertiary stratifications 
which are thought to have taken place on the 
fifth and sixth days. 

Scripture plainly states that the mountains of 
the earth existed, at any rate, on the third day. 
But this theory re']|uires us to believe that the 
secondary and tertiary (if not the primary) 
strata and rocks had been formed on the fifth 
and sixth days. 

Scripture plainly states that plants only, and 
not animals of any kind, were created on the 
third day, and animals only, but not trees and 
plants, on the fifth and sixth days. But ac¬ 
cording to this theory, these Biblical are the 
same as the geological periods of which each 
has both its plants and animals. 

It is evident that the account in Genesis only 
speaks of three periods of organic creation, 
while geology recounts as many as there are 
stratifications. A"et the above theory identifies 
the Biblical with the geological creation. 

Lastly, it is evident on the one hand that the 
Flora and Fauna of the primeval world had 
perished before man appeared, ^nd hence could 
not have been destined to continue along with 
man on tbe earth ; and on the other hand, that 
according to the clear and unequivocal state¬ 
ments of Scripture the Flora and Fauna created 
during the six days was created for man, and 
destined to continue on earth along with him. 
Yet the above theory confounds these two kinds 
of Flora and Fauna. K. 

Reconciliation of Geology with Genesis. 

1. The method of reconciling the conclusions 


of geology, especially its conclusion respecting 
the great age of the world, with the statements 
of the first chapters of Genesis most popular 
with Christian scientists in our day, is one 
which assumes that the word day in these chap¬ 
ters is to be understood not in the sense of a 
period of twenty-four hours, but in the sense 
of an age, or long period of time, charade)ized 
by something peculiar to it. Understood in this 
sense, Moses’ days of creation correspond to the 
eras of geology ; and the “ morning and even¬ 
ing” are but the opening and closing portions 
of those eras. 

2. A second method of reconciling the con¬ 
clusions of geology, especially its conclusion 
respecting the great age of the world, with the 
statements of the first chapters of Genesis, i>', 
to understand Gen. 1 ; 1 —“ In the beginning 
God created the heaven and the earth”—to refer 
to a period long anterior to that of the events 
recorded in the subsequent poitions of the chap¬ 
ters ; that Moses makes this statement for the 
purpose of teaching us who was the Creator of 
all things, and who, therefore, vas the proper 
object of man’s adoration and wmi’^hip ; that 
then the long ages demanded by geology fol¬ 
lowed ; ages in which the rock-strata with all 
their fossils w^ere deposited, with the exception 
of those in wdiich human remains occur ; and 
of these Moses says nothing, for the sufficient 
reason that their history has nothing to do with 
the religious histor}" of man ; that when God 
begins the subsequent setting in order of the 
earth which is to fit it for the inhabitation of 
man, Moses resumes the narrative in the words, 
“ And the earth was waste and void, and daik- 
ness Avas upon the face of the deep”—thus de¬ 
scribing the chaotic condition to wUich the 
earth was reduced at the time—“ and the spirit 
of God moved upon” {was brooding upon) ” the 
face of the waters.” Then follows an account 
of God’s preparation of the earth as a dwell¬ 
ing-place for man, and the restocking it Avith 
plants and animals adapted to its improved con¬ 
dition ; many of these plants and animals being 
the same in kind with those existing in preced¬ 
ing ages, others entirely new ; and then the 
story of man’s creation is given us, Avith Avhich 
the cosmogony properly closes. Armsirorg. 

[In “Nature and Revelation” (pp. 131-135) 
Dr. Armstrong ansAvers succinctly the chief ob¬ 
jections which have been urged against this 
second method of reconciliation.] 

3. Neither of these methods of reconciling 
the cosmogony of Moses with the demands of 
geology as to the great age of the earth sbould 
be adopted as a finality. Either of them wdll 
fully answer the purposes of Christian apology, 
will suffice to shoAv that there is no real conflict 
on this point between the Mosaic cosmogony 
and the fairly established conclusions of the 
geologist. The time for making out a com¬ 
plete “ harmony” of the two has not yet come. 
It is to be remembered that the Mosaic cosmog¬ 
ony is given us in the language of common life 
— a language iu which things are described as 
they appear, while the geological record is in 
the language of science ; and a harmony of the 
two involves the correct translation of the one 
into the language of the other. That the cos¬ 
mogony of geology is yet very incomplete, and 



THE TRINITY. 


121 


very uncertain, too, especially as regards the 
element of time, every intelligent geologist will 
admit. To be convinced of this, one needs but 
to read Professor Huxley’s address before the 
British Geological Society, published in his 
volume of “ L ly Sermons, ” more particularly 
the part of it concerning “ geological contem¬ 
poraneity.” 

In such circumstances the construction of a 
perfect “ harmony” of the two records is out 
of the question. What we can do, and all we 
can safely do at present is, to collate the two 
from time to time, carefully distinguishing be¬ 
tween the established truths of science and the 
unproved hypotheses of enthusiastic scientists, 
noting the points in which they agree, and 
quietl}'^ leaving seeming discrepancies to be ex¬ 
plained in the future. This is the course which 
the writer has pursued for many years ; and in 
those years he has seen science, in more in¬ 
stances than one, adopt the very doctrines of 
the Mosaic cosmogony "whiph at one time it de¬ 
nounced—e.g , the doctrines of “the unity of 
mankind ” and the laws of “ biogenesis’' and 
“ homogenesis.” Armstrong. 

The enlightened Christian will never doubt? 
that the narrative of Moses will be established 
as true by a perfected geology and astronomy. 
Meanwhile, he is at liberty to rest his mind 
provisionally on any working hypothesis which 
may seem to fulfil best the conditions of the 
jrroblem so far as they are now known. He 
may accept the explanation of Chalmers and 
Hengstenberg, or that of Hugh Miller and 
Shultz, or that of the Westminster divines. He 
may rest there until Moses shall be interpreted 
aright, and the facts in nature shall be discov¬ 


ered. Then a generalization will be reached 
which will include and harmonize all the testi¬ 
mony of God s word and all the phenomena of 
God’s works relating to the matter. E. T. 
Humphrey. 

Whde questions regarding details iiiay be 
urged which, in the present stage of scientific 
inquiry, cannot be satisfactorily answeied, re¬ 
cent discoveries in geology and applications in 
natural philosophy, taken in connection with 
advances in Biblical scholarship, wuirrant our 
anticipating such a combination of results as 
may soon shed light through w hat is still ob¬ 
scure. Meanwhile, we may suggest the piob- 
ability that, while in the six natural days the 
preparation of the earth for man w as consum¬ 
mated through a senes of divinely-instituted 
adjustments, these transactions aiethe outcome 
or crown of processes which had been transpir¬ 
ing through long antecedent periods—but an 
outcome only through the mediately creative 
pow'er of God. The six days’ work, therefore, 
may be representative of those changes and ad¬ 
vances which constitute the previous history of 
our globe as the intended abode of man. Rev¬ 
elation, in'closing the Bible, unfolds the future ; 
Genesis, in its commencement, reveals the dis¬ 
tant past. The Bible sheds light in both 
directions, until it fades in mystery ; but the 
same principles of interpretation can be legiti¬ 
mately applied whether we look into the future 
or the past. We may assume, therefore, that 
as one prophetic description sometimes serves 
to cover widely separated future events, so the 
one historical description in Genesis may 
embrace events in the past lying widely apart. 
W. Fraser. 


Section 17. 

Genesis 1 : 26 and 2:7. 

1. The Trinity. 2. Jehovah Elohim. 


Only where the true idea of God is known is 
the true idea of man and of history understood. 
Israel is the only nation that has a true historic 
sense. The historic recollections of the Israel¬ 
ites have a universal background and range of 
view. Their traditions are not those of a single 
people only, but of a primitive history of the 
race. It is not so with heathen nations. Be¬ 
fore Christ, the world was divided into different 
nationalities, and each nation went back only 
into its own past. It had no other antecedent 
than the land it dwelt in ; it was the offspring 
of that. All beyond their own history, respect¬ 
ing remote beginnings, or view’s of heaven and 
earth, of gods and men, are mere theogonic and 
c ismogonic myths. Auberlen. 

While all nations over the earth have devel¬ 


oped a religious tendency which acknowledged 
a higher than human power in the universe, 
Israel is the only one which has risen to the 
grandeur of conceiving this power as the One, 
Only, Living God. Nor is it possible to explain 
on merely historical grounds how the Hebrew’s 
first obtained and so persistently clung to this 
grand first truth. Their chronicles show con¬ 
tinual lapses into idolatry, and yet they always 
recovered themselves | till, at last, after a bitter 
discipline of national calamities, they finally 
turned with enthusiastic devotion to the wor¬ 
ship of Jehovah. ... If we are asked how it 
was that Abraham possessed not only the prim¬ 
itive conception of the divinity, as He had re¬ 
vealed Himself to all mankind, but passed, 
through the denial of all other gods, to the 






122 


GENESIS 1 : 26 AND 2 : 7 . 


knowledge of the One God, we are content to 
answer that it was by a special divine revelation. 
Max Muller. 

1. The Trinity. 1 : 26, Tet us itiakCo 

Onlj’- a plurality of persons can justify the 
phrase. Hence we are forced to conclude that 
the i^lural pronoun indicates a plurality of per¬ 
sons or hypostases in the Divine Being. M.- 

“ Let Its” (ch. 3 ; 22, One of us). Undoubtedly 
allusion is intended to a plurality in the God¬ 
head, to which, in a later chapter, the “ Angel 
of the Lord,” who is ditferent from God the 
Lord, and yet One with Him, even more clearly 

points. Gerl. -How remarkable that the 

plural term, Elohim, should be applied to the 
Divine Being ; especially W'hen there was not 
the least necessity for so doing arising from the 
Hebrew language itself. How much is this ap¬ 
parent anomaly increased by the fact that these 
plural names are construed with singular verbs, 
pronouns, and adjectives. How awakening and 
suggestive the fact that Elohim, God, thus desig¬ 
nated by a plural appellative, should also speak 
of himself in plural forms : “ And God said. 
Let us make man in our image, after our like¬ 
ness !” while in the declaration, “ My Spirit 
shall not always strive wdth man,” the idea-of 
plurality combined with unity is still more fully 

developed. J. H.-1 see no explanation of 

this plural that is at all satisfactory save that 
which assumes a reference to the persons of the 
Trinity. As one reason for such reference it 
may be suggested as certainly not improbable— 
that the idea of man, God’s chief work in cre¬ 
ation, was coupled with his future history (all 
present to the divine mind)—as fallen, j^et also 
as redeemed, and specially as redeemed hy 
means of the incarnation of the Son of God in hu 
man flesh. Supposing this incarnation present 
to the divine thought, the significance of this 
plural would be—Let us proceed to make in our 
own image this w'onderful being whose nature 
the eternal Son shall one day assume—this man 
w'ho is to bear relations to us so extraordinary, 
so wonderful before the angels, so signal before 
all created minds, so glorious in its results to 
the whole moral universe ! Have not we — 
Father, Son and Holy Ghost—a most surpassing 
interest m the creation of this being, man ? 
H. C. 

What should hinder us from accepting the 
solution, given by the best expositors, ancient 
and modern, and drawn from this considera¬ 
tion, that in the unity of the Divine Essence 
there is a plurality of persons, coequal and co¬ 
eternal, who might say, with truth and pro¬ 
priety, ” Let us make man,” and, “ Man is be¬ 


come as ONE OF us ” ? Of such a personality 
revelation informs us : it is that, upon which 
the economy of man’s redemption is founded ; 
bis creation, as well as that of the world, is, in 
different passages, attributed to the Father, to 
the Son, and to the Holy Spirit ; w'hat more 
natural therefore than that, at his production> 
this form of speech should be used by the di¬ 
vine Persons? Horne. — —If\ on the sixth day 
of Creation, God solemnly called upon the per¬ 
sons of the Trinity to unite in the formation of 
man, saying, ” Let us make man in our image,” 
in due time also He called upon the same Trinity 
to unite in the work of his restoration, —the 
Father accepting the sacrifice, the Son achiev¬ 
ing it, and the Spirit forever sanctifying the re¬ 
deemed. W. A. B. 

In these words, which precede the final act 
and climax of the Creation, the early Fathers de¬ 
tected ’a clear intimation of a Plurality of Per¬ 
sons in the Godhead. Their doctrine is to the 
effect that the verb, ” let us make,” jioints to a 
Plurality of Persons within the Unity of the 
One Agent, while the “likeness,” common to 
all these Persons and itself One, suggests very 
pointedly their participation in an undivided 
Nature. And in such sayings as ” Behold the 
man is become like one of us,” used with refer¬ 
ence to the Fall or ” Go to, let us go down,” 
etc., uttered on the eve of the Dispersion, it is 
clear that an equality of rank is distinctly as¬ 
sumed between the Speaker and those whom he 
is addressing. The true sense of the compar¬ 
atively indeterminate language occurring in this 
chapter is more fully explained by the priestly 
Blessing prescribed in the Book of Numbers 
(G : 23-2G). This is spoken of as a putting the 
name of God, that is to say, a symbol unveiling 
his nature, ujion the children of Israel. Hero 
we discover a distinct limit to the number of the 
Persons hinted at in Genesis as being internal 
to the Unity of God The jiriest is to repeat 
the most holy Name three times. The Hebrew 
accentuation, whatever its date, shows that the 
Jews themselves saw in this reiietition the dec¬ 
laration of a mystery in the Divine nature. 
Unless such a repetition had been designed to 
secure the assertion of some important truth, a 
single mention of the sacred Name would have 
been more natural in a system, the object of 
which w'as to impress belief in the Divine Unity 
upon an entire people. This significant repe¬ 
tition, suggesting without distinctly asserting a 
Trinity in the being of God, did its work in the 
mind of Israel. It is impossible not to be 
struck with the recurrence of the threefold 
rhythm of prayer or praise, again and again, in 








THE TRINITY. 


123 


the Psalter. And to omit traces of the influ¬ 
ence of this priestly blessing discoverable in 
Jeremiah and Ezekiel, observe the crowning 
significance of the vision of Isaiah (G ; 2-8). In 
the adoration of the most holy Three, who are 
yet One, by the veiled and mysteiious seiaphim, 
and in the last inquiry on the part of the Divine 
Speaker, the very terms of which reveal him as 
One and yet more than One, what a flood of 
almost Gospel light is poured upon the intelli¬ 
gence of the elder Church ! H. P. L. 

While the doctrine of the divine Unity was 
taught in the most express terms, there are, at 
the same time, intimations that there subhists 
somehow a plurality in, or compatible with, this 
Unity. Elohim, the most usual, and probably 
the earliest name of God in Hebrew, is a plural 
term, but with very rare exceptions conjoined 
with verbs and adjectives singular. But, seeing 
that in the later Hebrew Scriptures the doctrine 
of a plurality in the divine Essence is unques¬ 
tionably taught, what occasion is there for deny¬ 
ing that its germ is found in the Pentateuch - a 
supposition which would at once account for 
the use of the plural term Elohim ? A passage 
in Deut. 6 :4 is very significant : “ Hear Israel, 
Jehovah our Elohim is one Jehovah.” Here 
plurality and unity are plainly ascribed to Je¬ 
hovah at the same time. “ The only expressible 
idea suggested by such a statement is, that while 
there is but one God, and w’hile that God is 
one in substance, there is, nevertheless, a dis¬ 
tinction of some sort or other coexisting with 
this unity, and comj)atible with it” {Alexatider). 
Further, in various instances, God is introduced 
as speaking to or of himself in the plural. 
Thus, Gen. 1 :26, “ God said. Let us make man 
in OU7' image, after our likeness chap. 3 ; 22, 
“ The Lord God said. Behold, the man is be¬ 
come as one of us and ch. 11 : 7, ” Go to, kt 
us go down, and there (let us) confound their 
language.” Still more remaikable is the lan¬ 
guage of ch. 19 : 24 ; “ Jehovah rained brimstone 
and fire from Jehovah out of heaven.” 

But, besides these intimations generally of 
a plurality in the Godhead, particular mention 
is made of Agents, who are denominated ” the 
Spirit,” and ” the Angel of God,” or “ Jehovah” 
respectively. The agency of the former first 
appears in the creation ; “ The Spirit of God 
moved upon the face of the waters” (Gen. 1 :2), 
preparing the dark chaotic mass for the evolu¬ 
tions which were to follow from the Divine fiat. 
That the “ Spirit ’ ’ in this case is not simply an 
attribute of the Creator, appears from the whole 
tenor of the narrative, and still more from the 
passage where mention is next made of the same 


Agent : “ The Lord said, My Spirit shall not 
always strive with man” (Gen. 6:3). Other 
references are, Ex. 31 :3 : “I have filled him 
(Bezaleel) with the Spirit of God Num. 24 : 2 : 
“ The Spirit of God came upon Balaam ch. 
27:18:” The Lord said unto Moses, Take thee 
Joshua ... a man in w'hom is the Spirit ,” 
that is God’s Spirit, as appears from ch. 11 : 25, 
29. With respect, again,^ to the “Angel of 
God,” or of “ Jehovah,” fuller and more precise 
information is afforded in the Mosaic writings. 
That this was a Divine Agent, and not a created 
angel or messenger of God speaking and acting 
merely in the name of Him by whom he was 
commissioned, appears from various consider¬ 
ations. (1) He makes statements and promises 
which imply the possession of Divine preroga¬ 
tives ; as in the promise to Hagar (Gen. 16 :,10), 
to Abraham (22 :12, 15-17), and to Jacob 
(31 :11-13). It was this same Being to whom 
Jacob subsequently referred as the Angel who 
had redeemed him from all evil, and in whom he 
recognized a powder to bestow blessing (48 :15, 
16). (2) He is addressed as Jehovah and God, 

and is so styled by the w^riter of the Pentateuch, 
showing that it was not through any misconcep¬ 
tion that these appellations weie bestowed. 
Thus the person who appeared to Hagar is four 
times named the Angel of the Lord ; and then 
it is added : ” She called the name of the Lord 
that spake unto her, thou God seest me” (16 :13). 
Tut the most explicit testimony is in Ex. 3 :2-6, 
where it is stated that ” the Angel of the Lord ” 
appeared to Moses in the burning bush ; and 
then is added : ” When the Lord saw that 
Moses turned aside to see, the Lord called unto 
him out of the midst of the bush,” and said, 
‘‘ I am the God of thy father, the God of Abra¬ 
ham,” etc. In reference to this theoj^hany, 
Moses, in his concluding discourse, uses the ex¬ 
pression, “ He that dwelt in the bush” (Deut. 
33 :16), to designate Jehovah, to w he m alone 
he looked for any blessing. (3) The Angel of 
God is represented as distinct from God, in Ex. 
23 :20, 21 : “Behold, I send an Angel before 
thee to keep thee in the w^ay, and to bring thee 
into the place w'hicli I have prepared. Bew-are 
of him and obey his voice, provoke him not ; 
for he will not pardon your transgressions ; for 
uiy name is in him.” Comparing this decla¬ 
ration with chap. 32 : 34 ; 33 :2, where God 
threatened that, in consequence of the Israel¬ 
ites’ idolatry. He himself no longer, but an 
angel, would be their guide, there is an un¬ 
equivocal distinction betw'een the angels referred 
to in the two cases. The one w'as a token of 
favor, and is so regarded in Isa. 63 : 9, the other 




124 


GENESIS 1 : 26 AND 2 : 7. 


was deprecated by Moses as a judgment. Fur¬ 
ther, that the Angel, in the one case at least, 
was not a creature, is proven by the terms : 
“ He will not pardon your sins,” and God’s 

name is in him,” j)lainly showing him to be 
possessed of Divine prerogatives, and to be 
God’s representative or revealer, by his bearing 
the Divine name. Yet the fact, as here de¬ 
clared, that he was sent b}" God, intimated that, 
though he was God, he in some sense or other 
was distinct from him,—a point, however, the 
full explanation of which was reserved to sub¬ 
sequent times. D. M. (See Sec. 43.) 

The Christian Revelatian has unfolded to us 
the truth above all reach of reason,—that in the 
Unity of the divine silbstance is a Trinity of the 
divine manifestations ; and it has instructed 
us, when we would reflect upon that wondrous 
essence which caused and sustains the universe, 

■—the Life of all Life and Soul of all Souls,—to 
regard it as mysteriously threefold,—as jjarting 
into three streams from one eternal source, 
which (stooping to our capacities, relationships, 
and language) it has styled the Father, Son, 
and Spirit. Of what these mighty personages 
are, in iheir own nature, it declares nothing ; for 
no revelation can communicate what no created 
faculty can apprehend. But it tells us, and 
largely, that which alone it imports that we 
should know ; it tells of their relation to vs, of 
the distinctness of their offices, and of our cor¬ 
responding duties. It declares what blessings 
descend from them, what answering tribute 

should rise from us. W. A. B.-All vital 

theological systems consciously or unconsciously 
make the Trinity the foundation, each separate 
truth a column, each connecting truth an arch, 
and Christ the dome which crowns the whole, 
while the work of the Holy Spirit, like the as¬ 
cending spire, leads us to heaven. IL B. Smith. 

The revelation of the Trinity comes from 
God, the source of reason, and, therefore, must, 
in its inner centre, be absolutely congruous with 
God, with his works, with us, and with all else 
in the universe. The Bible from beginning to 
end reveals God as one. He is one because one 
substance, one glorious Spirit ; and one sub¬ 
stance is the foundation of his glorious attri¬ 
butes. He is one because the three persons 
have an inner oneness. The Father is in the 
Son ; the Son is in the Father ; the Father and 
Son are in the Spirit ; the Spirit is in the 
Father and the Son. One in their exterior 
unity, because together they constitute one 
supreme majesty ; the creator, preserver and 
governor of the moral universe is the one God. 
There is, too, an absolute unity of purpose, 


of plan, of co-operation, of method, of work in 
perfect harmony to one glorious end. The 
Father, Son and Holy Ghost are this one God. 
The Bible is full of this truth. From Genesis 
to Bevelation it is implied, asserted and in- 
woven into the texture of the Bible, as the 
soul is in the body. There is a revelation as to 
unity, but there is more as to Trinity. T/ivee 
persons stand face to face with one another ; 
they are objective to one another. The}^ look 
at, individualize, love, speak to, command one 
another ; they form a plan with one another ; 
they distribute the functions of office by mutual 
plans, and with these distinctive functions they 
work together at the same plan, and |.o out and 
come in, and rejoice with one another. God is 
revealed as a Trinity* ■; he is revealed as a unity, 
and the unity is tri-personality—three distinct 
persons—Father, Son and Holy Ghost, one God. 
A. A. Hodge. 

The threefold personality of God has its 
ground in the one, eternal, indivisible essence. 
In three human persons thero are three separate 
and independent natures or essences ; in the 
three Divine Persons there is but one and the 
same numerical nature or essence. In the lat¬ 
ter case, therefore, the w'ord Person is not used 
in the same exact way as in the former , but 
onl}’' to denote such a threefold distinction in 
the one Divine nature as connects itself with 

* 

personal properties and acts, without affecting 
the indivisible oneness. Calvin therefore said, 
repeating a thought of Augustine, that “ the 
word Person was extorted by necessity, by rea¬ 
son of the poverty of language on so great a sub¬ 
ject ; not for the sake of expressing what God 
is, but to avoid passing over, in total silence, 
that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit 
are three.” W. Lord. 

There is one Divine nature or essence com¬ 
mon unto three Persons, incomprehensibly 
united and ineffably distinguished ; united in 
essential attributes, distinguished by peculiar 
idioms and relations ; all equally infinite in 
every Divine perfection, each different from the 
other in order and manner of subsistence ; that 
there is a mutual existence of one in all, and all 
in one ; a communication without any depriva¬ 
tion or diminution in the communicant ; an 
eternal generation, and an eternal procession 
without precedence or succession, without prop¬ 
er causality or dependence ; a Father impart¬ 
ing His own, and a Son receiving His Father’s 
life, and a Spirit issuing from both, without any 
division or multiplication of essence. Barrow. 

-The essence of the Godhead is common to 

the several Persons. They have a common in- 






THE TRINITY. 


125 


telligence, will, and power. There are not in 
God three intelligences, three wills, three effi¬ 
ciencies. The three are one God, and therefore 
have one mind and will. In man the soul and 
body are distinct, yet while united they have a 
common life. We distinguish between the acts 
of the intellect and the acts of the will, and yet 
in every act of the will there is an exercise of 
the intelligence ; as in every act of the affec¬ 
tions there is a joint action of the intelligence 
and will. These are illustrations of the fact 
that in other and entirely different spheres 
there is this commimity of life in different sub¬ 
sistences. This fact of the intimate union, 
communion, and inhabitation of the Persons of 
the Trinity is the reason why everywhere in 
Scripture, and instinctively by all Christians, 
God as God is addressed as a Person, in perfect 
consistency with the Tri-personality of the God¬ 
head. C. Hodge. 

It is an abstract and self-evident truth that no 
being can be one and three at the same time 
and in the same sense ; and, therefore, to affirm 
this, would be to contradict a self-evident proj)- 
osition, and to maintain a palpable absurdity. 
But this is not the doctrine of the Trinity, nor 
does it bear any semblance to it. The doctrine 
that in the Godhead there are distinctions in 
personal consciousness, combined with identity 
of nature and attributes, is nothing more than 
to affirm that a being may be singular in one 
sense and plural in another ; and this involves 
no contradiction. It is perfectly consistent with 
abstract truth, and is illustrated by actual truth ; 
we have numerous illustrations of it in the 
phenomena of Nature. In the constitution fff a 
human being we have a conjunction of unity 
and plurality. A. human being is one, but his 
nature is twofold. W. Cooke. -It is no con¬ 

tradiction to say that in different respects the 
three may be one ; that is, that in respect of 
persons they shall be three, and in respect of 
Godhead, essence, or nature they shall be one. 
The manner of the thing is a perfectly distinct 
question, and its incomprehensibility proves 
nothing but that we are finite creatures and not 

God. R. Watson. -If the Holy Scripture 

teacheth us plainly, and frequently doth incul¬ 
cate upon us that there is but one true God ; if 
it as manifestly doth ascribe to the three Per¬ 
sons of the blessed Trinity the same august 
names, the same peculiar characters, the same 
Divine attributes, the same superlatively admi¬ 
rable operations of creation and providence ; if 
it also doth prescribe to them the same supreme 
honors, services, praises, and acknowledgments 
to be paid to them all—this may be abundantly 


enough to satisfy our minds, to stop our mouths, 
to smother all doubt and dispute about this 
high and holy mystery. Barrow. 

If God reveal himselt to the world as Father, 
Son, and Holy Spirit, it is because he is what 
he reveals himself as being. The Trinity of 
revelation implies and presupposes the Trinity 
of inward being which it thus makes manifest. 
The eternal generation of the Son and proces¬ 
sion of the Spirit involve a Divine im23ulse from 
eternity to creation and redemption. In like 
manner the Trinity of revelation has ontological 
elements. If love be the essence of the Divine 
nature, the impulse to revelation is inherent in 
it. In other words, God’s actions without imj^ly 
inward workings and revelations, and His in¬ 
ward actions and revelations are the nece.'-sary 
IDremises and i^reioarations for His outward 
working. In revelation God reveals /umse/f, and 
the impulse of self-manifestation belongs to His 
inmost being. Chrisllieb. 

When we think of God, the ever-blessed ob¬ 
ject of trust and worship, we think of a Being 
who is one, yet not single. Our God reveaD 
himself as eternally capable of the most perfect 
blessedness, because he was never solitary, even 
when alone. Before creation begar. to rise, 
within the awful depths of an eternity where 
nothing was save God, we alreadiy discern at the 
heart of the infinite De’iy this sacred com¬ 
panionship. God is not now—he never was— 
simply and solely “ I. ” Dykes. 

VVe see in the Trinity the sublimest and com- 
pietest theory of God—a God whose nature is 
neither diffracted by multiplicity, nor yet con¬ 
cluded in singularity ; a God whose essence is 
not to be sought in lone seclusion, but in ever¬ 
lasting self-communication ; whose being is a 
unit, and yet a process—a process of which the 
two associated names. Son and Holy Ghost, are 
the august terms and the perfect method ; a 
God who allies Himself with finite intelligence 
by the co-eternal, mediating word, and reflects 
Himself in human nature and enchurches Him¬ 
self in human society by the ever-proceeding 
sanctifying Spirit. Ri,bie. 

The social quality inheres in personality. All 
life is both self-affirmative and self-communi¬ 
cating. Here, so far as we can discover it, is 
the deejier and necessary ground of the Trinity 
in the Be;ng of God. God is not solitar}^, but 
social, in the essential constitution of His being. 
There has always been in Him an active com¬ 
merce of thought and affection. He has existed 
from all eternity in a life of self-communication, 
not of pure self-contem}3lation. And this social 
propensity is the ultimate spring of creation. 







126 


GENESIS 1 : 26 AND 2 : 7 . 


Not for possession, but for communication of 
Himself, and for the fellowship resulting there¬ 
from, did God create the world and man. And 
when man responds to this movement of the 
Divine mind and heart, by the fellowship of a 
voluntary conformity to God’s holy will, he an¬ 
swers the end of his created being. Bthrends. 

Practical B tsis of the Doctrine. 

The primary Scriptural aspect of the doctrine 
of the Trinity is not speculative but practical. 
In the Scriptures it is a great tiuth, underlying 
the whole Christian revelation, God as Father, 
the source of Redemption ; God as Son, achiev¬ 
ing Redemption ; God as the Holy Spirit, ap¬ 
plying the Redemption to man. It is not a 
barren, abstract truth, but vital, interwoven 
with the whole Christian economy. The doc¬ 
trine has always been vital in Christendom, the 
source of the life and power of Christianity. 
We find God in the plan, God in the work, God 
in the carrying into execution of the economy 
of Redemption. 11. B. Smith. 

We are to seek the foundation of the doctrine 
of the Trinity in that which constitutes the 
peculiarity of the Christian system, that it is a 
scheme of redemption. It is in our conscious 
experience of this redemption, considering this 
consciousness as connected with the whole 
Christian scheme, that we find the true basis 
for this doctrine. We cannot find it in the dif¬ 
ferent relations which God sustains to the world, 
nor can we reach it by any philosophical division 
we may make of God’s natural attributes, nor 
by any reflection upon our natural and neces¬ 
sary conceptions of God. It is not in Natural 
Theology, it is not in the general relation of 
God to the world, that we are to seek the basis 
of the Trinity ; it is found only in connection 
with the Christian system of redemption. 

Twesten. -The Trinity of God is the necessary 

groundwork of the whole Scripture doctrine of 
the atonement for sin, or the reconciliation be 
tween God and man. Transgression has intro¬ 
duced between God and man a new element and 
a new relation. Sin is not an act only, but a 
state, a state of the individual and a state of the 
race. Hence the great need of the race was that 
God should come into it anew in a quickening, 
healing, life-giving, personal mediation. Lost 
humanity was to be restored, how plainly ! only 
by an incarnation of God Himself in the Son, 
making a perfect union of it with His own Spirit 
by the “ Word made flesh.” The Holy Spirit 
ever comes, from the Father and the Son, to 
make the whole work effectual for the Church 
and the heart. We behold, we begin at least 


to behold, why God is forever One—is forever 
Three. Sherlock. -It is the basis of atone¬ 

ment for sin by Divine sacrifice, and regenera¬ 
tion of the soul by Divine influence. Only a 
Divine Saviour could make atonement for sin ; 
only a Divine Spirit can give life to the soul. 
Hence these doctrines stand or fall with the 
doctrine of the Trinity, It is essential to the 
true spiritual worship of God. We worship 
the Father, through the Son, in the communion 
of the Holy Ghost. Roh^e. 

The great advantage which the Christian per¬ 
ceives to belong to him in this doctrine of a 
Trinity is - the covenanted, certain, and un¬ 
changeable purpose of the whole Godhead both 
in establishing the means, and in securing the 
end, of his eternal salvation. He perc ives 
that the means are equal to the end, and that 
the end must be the result of the means ; be¬ 
cause the great Agents who use the means are 
Divine and infinite, can neither be mistaken in 
their views, nor be disappointed in their pur¬ 
poses, Jehovah, “ who fainteth not, neither is 
weary.” is engaged, by an everlasting covenant 
existing in His Divine personality, to create, 
recover, and irreserve the souls of His people. 
Nothing, therefore, can arise which hath not 
been foreseen ; no impediment thrown in the 
way which was not foreknown ; no difficulty 
but which was designed to be overcome. The 
great sin of Adam, that fountain from which 
innumerable streams of iniquity have over¬ 
flowed the world, hath only rendered this cov¬ 
enant more illustrious, by proving that where 
“ sin did abound, grace could much more 
abound,” and that nothing, which concerned 
the happiness or misery of myriads of souls for 
everlasting ages, is too hard for Jehovah.” 
None but Jehovah could reconcile to Jehovah. 
None but himself had either will, or love, or 
power, to accomplish the reconciliation. A. 

Serle. -Yet how could the eternal Jehovah 

sustain toward us so many inconsistent or in¬ 
compatible relationships—be at once our 
Brother-Man, our Spirit Indweller, our unseen 
Father—be Judge, Reconciler, Quickener, if 
Jehovah our God were one Jehovah and nothing 
more? These economic relations of God to 
saved men do naturally lie in the threefold dis¬ 
tinction of the Trinity. They form the several 
functions of the several Divine Persons in the 
one concurrent and sublime enterprise of man’s 
redemption. Dykes 

All implanted wants are wonderfully satisfied 
in the Divine Trinity. In the absolute and one 
only Godhead all man’s highest, purest, largest, 
most far-reaching conceptions, stretching away 






HISTORY OF THE DOCTRINE. 


127 


into the regions of infinitude, eternity, almight- 
iness, have their full and complete exercise. In 
the incarnate Christ, t iking up our humanity, 
the longing for a personal, sympathizing, com¬ 
panionable Deity, is blessedly answered—and 
yet God is there ; there is no loss of the essen¬ 
tial and veritable Deity, In the Holy Spirit, 
the natural desire of the devout mind to con¬ 
nect God with all the operations of the jjresent 
world, the processes of creation, the welfare, 
renewal, revolutions, sanctification of the hu¬ 
man family, finds its lawful verification. Iliini- 

inglon. -The good man that feels the “ power 

of the Father,” and he to whom “ the Son” is 
become “ wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, 
and redemption he in “ whose heart the love 
of the Spirit of God is spread to whom God 
hath communicated the ” Holy Ghost the Com¬ 
forter —this man, though he understands 
nothing of that which is unintelligible, yet he 
only understands the mysteriousness of the holy 
Trinit 3 \ No man can be convinced well and 
wisely of the article of the holy, blessed, and 
undivided Trinity, but he that feels the mighti¬ 
ness of ” the Father begetting him to a new 
life the wisdom of “ the Son building him 
up in a most holy faith ’ and the ‘' love of the 
Spirit of God making him to become like unto 
God.” Taylor. 

The apostolic benediction (2 Cor. 13 :14) sup¬ 
plies to us what we may call the three great 
watchwords of the Christian faith—grace, love, 
and fellowship. There is a triple work ; there 
must be a triplicate of workers to perform that 
triple work, and each Person discharging his 
own individual work. And so here is the doc¬ 
trine of the Trinity, that there are three great 
and effectual works to be wrought upon man. 
God the Father has undertaken one of these ; 
that makes Him real, and His work real. God 
the Son has undertaken another of these ; that 
makes Him real and His work real ; and God 
the Holy Ghost has undertaken to discharge the 
remaining one of these three, and that makes 
the work and the Person of the Holy Spirit to 

be alike real. Maguire. -The Church lives 

but by this truth ; for its life is in the indwell¬ 
ing of Christ, and were Christ not God, His in¬ 
dwelling were a fable and a mockery ; its life is 
in the abiding presence of the Spirit, and were 
the Spirit not a Person Divine, how were He 
thus universally to abide and to intercede with¬ 
out invading the deepest and holiest preroga¬ 
tives of the Eternal God ? how shall not the 
Church adore these as God who do for her. and 
are to her, all that her highest conceptions can 
imagine her God to be and to do ? or in what 


terms shall she define her God which shall ex¬ 
clude the characters and properties that Eeve- 
lation ascribes to her Sanctifier and her Re¬ 
deemer? Her life is blended with the life of 
Christ and of the Spirit ; she breathes but by 
these Divine ministers of the Divine Father ; 
forsaking the blessed truth of their essential 
divinity she abandons the very charter of her 
existence. W. A. B. 

History of the Doctrine. 

The Ante-Nicene Church held the doctrine in 
an undogmatic form, but a catena of their testi¬ 
monies proves that the apostolic fathers made 
a large advance toward later definitions. All 
forms of early creeds direct Christian faith to 
Three Persons, as also their doxologies, such as 
that of Polycarp. Athenagoras repudiates the 
charge of atheism on the ground of believing in 
Three Divine Persons. Theophilus of Antioch 
gives us the term ” Triad,” used after him by 
Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Hijjpolytus, and 
by Tertullian and Novatian changed into Trini- 
tas. Tertullian’s language is very expressive. 
“ All three are one by unity of substance, and 
the unity is developed into a Trinity -Father, 
Son, and Holy Ghost.” Origen is equally' clear. 

Very soon, however, heresies on this particu¬ 
lar doctrine became rife. Praxeas (160-180) 
was the author, promulgator of Patripassianism, 
so-called because it abolished the distinction 
between the Father and the Son who suffered. 
But Sabellius (250) more fully developed the 
error, which from him was taken the name of 
SabeUianism ^ and from his peculiar theory that 
of M'idalism, or the assumption that the one 
Lord appeared first as Jehovah, then more 
clearly as the Son, then more fully and spirit¬ 
ually as the Holy Ghost. The general idea of 
Suhordinationism took various forms, but on the 
whole the Ante- and Post-Nicene fathers labored 
to preserve the Monarchia, or unity of the 
Divine essence, by representing the Father as 
the Fountain of the Deity and its representa¬ 
tive. They laid, however, great stress on the 
derived, but eternally derived, divinity of the 
Son and the Holy Ghost. The term “ subor¬ 
dination,’ ’ which came into use at a later period, 
is an obviously perilous one, from the difficulty 
of admitting a subordination which does not in- 
elude inferiority. Arianism took its name from 
Arius, who reduced the Son to a Divine creature, 
and taught that the Spirit was the first creation 
of that first-born creature, though he maintained 
that both were Persons, and much more in¬ 
timately near to God than to the created uni¬ 
verse. Semi-At ianism, Vihich went as far as it 






128 


GENESIS 1 : 26 AND 2 : 7 . 


could in making the Son the unchangeable 
image of the Father, was not quite so solicitous 
to maintain the dignity of the Spirit. Mace- 
donius of that party has connected his name 
with that of the Pneumatomachoi, or enemies of 
the Spirit. 

The Council of Nicsea (325) against Arius, and 
that of Constantinople (381) against Macedonius, 
vindicated forever the doctrine of the Trinity ; 
the former in relation to the divinity of the 
Son, the latter in relation to the personality of 
the Spirit. The specific relation of the Spirit 
to the Father and the Son, however, was not 
determined till 594, when, at a synod held at 
Toledo, the term “ Filioque” was added to the 
Nicene Creed, which, asserting the Double Pro¬ 
cession, was one main cause of the permanent 
rupture between the churches of the East and 
West. The Athanasian Creed completed and 
fixed the ecclesiastical form of the doctrine, al¬ 
though it does not givo due prominence to its 
redemptional aspect. 

The schoolmen exhausted their subtlety on 
this profound subject, but added nothing of per¬ 
manent value. Nomm'disni, which allowed noth¬ 
ing bat nominal existence to the general nature 
represented by the individual as a specimen, 
obviously though unintentionally led to Trithe¬ 
ism. Realism, which asserted the reality of the 
nature behind the individual, was more faithful 
to the Trinity in Unity. 

The communities of the Reformation retained 
the three creeds, and were generally faithful to 
the doctrine, with this difference in their favor ; 
their exhibition of the absolute Trinity has al¬ 
ways interwoven with it an evangelical refer¬ 
ence to the redemptional aspect of the doctrine. 
After the Reformation most of the ancient types 
of error reappeared in various forms adapted to 
altered circumstances. Socinian Unit irianism 
denied the divinity of Christ and the personal¬ 
ity of the Holy Ghost. Sabellianism reap¬ 
peared in Swedenborg's Trinity of Principles, 
and of the eternal God-man, and in Schleier- 
macher's Philosophy. Arianism, too, revived to 
mould opinion very extensively in later Chris¬ 
tendom ; and subordinationism was exaggerated 
by the Remonstrant divine, especially those of 
the later age of Arrniuianism, and glided down¬ 
ward to Unitarianism. W. B. Pope. 

Hypostasis, a term used in theology to signify 
person. Thus the orthodox hold that there is 
but one nature or essence in God, but three 
hypostases or persons. This term is of very 
ancient use in the Church. Cyril, in a letter to 
Nestorius, employs it instead of prosopos, per¬ 
son, which did not appear to him sufficiently 


expressive. The term occasioned great dissen¬ 
sions, both among the Greeks and Latins. In 
the Council of Nicgea, hypostasis was defined to 
mean essence or substance, so that it was heresy 
to say that Christ was of a different hypostasis 
from his father. Custom, however, altered its 
meaning. In the necessity they were under of 
expressing themselves strongly against the Sa- 
bellians, the Greeks used the word hypostasis, 
the Latins persona, which proved a source of 
great disagreement. The barrenness of the 
Latin language allowed them only one word by 
which to translate the two Greek ones, ousia 
and upostasis, and thus prevented them from 
distinguishing essence from hypostasis. An 
end was put to these disputes by a synod held 
in Alexandria about a.d. 362, at which Atha¬ 
nasius assisted, when it was determined to be 
synonymous with prosopon. After this time 
the Latins made no great scruple in saying tres 
hypostases, or the Greeks three persons. New¬ 
man. 

A trinity of deities is common to all nations. 
The Emperor of China offers once every year a 
sacrifice to the Spirit of Trinity and Unity. 
Lao-tse (600 b.c.) says : Tao is by nature one ; 
the first begat the second ; both together 
brought forth the third ; these three made «11 
things. We are more familiar with the Indian 
Trimurti, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, who are 
represented and worshipped as three persons, 
though the original Divine principle Brahni is 
but one. In a commentary on the Rig Veda it 
is said : There are three Deities, but there i& 
only one Godhead, the great soul. The 
called CVia/dean oracle says, The Unity brought 
forth the Duality which dwells with it and 
shines in intellectual light ; from these jiro- 
ceeded the Trinity which shines through the 
whole wmrld.” The names of the Chaldean 
Trinity are Anos, Illinos, Aos. In like manner 
we find a Divine Trinity among the Babylonians 
(witness the three images in the temple of 
Belus), the Phoenicians (Ulomus, Ulosnrus, 
Eliun), and the Egyptians (Kneph or Amnnm, 
Pthah, and O.siris). The divinities of Greece 
were grouped by mythologers both in a succes¬ 
sive (Uranas, Chronos, Zeiis) and a simultaneous 
trinity (Zeus, Poseidon, Aidoiieus). So, too, 
among the Irish (Kriosan, Biosena, Jiva), the 
Scandinavians (Vhov, Woden, Fricco), the ancient 
Prussians, the Pomeranians, the Wends, and the 
old Americans. Do not all these coincidences 
serve as an indirect proof to compel us to ac¬ 
knowledge that Schelling was right when he 
said, “ The philosophy of mythology proves 
that a Trinity of Divine potentialities is the root 







JEIIO VAII- FA. OUIM. 


129 


from which have grown the religious ideas of 
all nations of any importauce that are known 
to us? . , . This idea does not exist because 
there is such a thing as Christianity ; on the 
contrary, Christianity exists because this idea is 
the most original of all.” Chriatheb. 

2. JEHOVA.H-ELOHIM. 

2:7'. Xlic Ooci, or, in Hebrew, 

Jehovah-Eiohim. This name is here given to 
God, after he had been called simpl}' Elohim. 
Elohim signifies the majesty, power, greatness, 
and glory of God, in the domain of creation. 
Jehovah indicates the covenant-relation in which 
he has placed himself with the better p^rt of 
the children of men, and points to the plan of 
salvation which he purposed to accomplish on i 
their behalf, and which in the fullness of time 

he actually effected. C. G. B.-The sacred 

writer, having recorded the creation as the act 
of God, giving to Him then His generic name as 
the Supreme Being, now passes to the more 
personal history of man and his immediate rela¬ 
tion to his Maker, and therefore introduces the 
more person il name of Gotl, the name by which 
He became afterward known to the patriarchs, 
as ih‘-ir God. The union of the two names 
JEHOVAH Elohim throughout chapters 2 and 3 
is singularly appropriate, as indicating that the 
Elohim of the first chapter is the same as the 
JEHOVAH who appears afterward in the fourth 
chapter, and from time to time throughout the 
history. E. H. B. 

Throughput the Hebrew Scriptures two chief 
names are used for the one true divine Being — 
Elohim, commonly translated God in our ver¬ 
sion, and Jehovah, translated Loed. Elohim is 
the plural of Eloah (in Arabic AVah), a form 
which occurs only in poetry and a few passages 
of later Hebrew (Neh. 9:17; 2 Chr. 32 :15). 

P. S.-It does not occur in the singular in 

the earlier books of Scripture, except in the ab¬ 
breviated form of El. The word is a title rather 
than a name. It is applied to false gods, as well 
as to the true. The heathen nations round 
about the Israelites would have recognized the 
existence and the divinity of El and of the Elo¬ 
him. 

Jehovah, on the contrary, is as clearly a prop¬ 
er name as Jupiter or Vishnu, Elohim and 
Jehovah are therefore as distinguishable as D^us 
and JapiLer; the difference being only in this, 
that, Avhereas the worshippers of Jupiter admit¬ 
ted “ gods many and lords many,” a multitude 
of BU, the worshippers of Jehovah, on the other 
hand, believe in no Elohim except Jehovah. 
E. H. B. 


Where in the Old Testament, in our transla¬ 
tion, the word “ God ” stands, there in the He¬ 
brew is the word “ Elohim,” Where the woid 
“ Lord ” occurs, it is commonly in Heb. “ Je¬ 
hovah.” Elohim is properly a plural, “ the 
Beings to be feared it has, however, the verb 
in the singular. Elohim is the more general 
name, answering somewhat to our word 
“ Deities,” and is'therefore used also of the 
gods of the heathen. This more general word 
“ God ” describes the Almighty in his relation 
as Creator and Lord of the world, whose “ eter¬ 
nal power and godhead” might be known by 
the heathen, as declared in the works of cre¬ 
ation. The word ” Jehovah” represents always 
the living, personal God, in IBs revealed charac- 
i ter, in Us covenanted rea'ions to man. Gerl. 

Jehovah. As is well known, the proper vow¬ 
els of this most difficult and important of all 
the divine names are lost. Expressed without 
vowels, its consonants stand thus : y-h-v-h. 
Judging from its relation to the Hebrew word 
Enyeh in Ex, 3 :13, it is now most fretpiently 
vocalized thus by scholars : Yahveh. Its der¬ 
ivation from the verb of “ being” suggests as 
its root-idea the highly abstract conception of 
the divine self-existence. From the root-idea 
of “being, undetermined from without,” flow 
the two characteristics of God as the God of the 
covenant : (1) freedom or sovereignty in His 
self-determination ; and (2) consistency or faith¬ 
fulness, unchangeableness, in His self-determi¬ 
nation, As free to choose, and yet as bound by 
His choice or promise, he is Jehovah—the Cov¬ 
enant God. Dykes. 

Even the patriarchs, who were led by a Di¬ 
vine light, recognized God rather as ElShaddai,, 
God Almighty, than in his character of Jehovah, 
Yet in no age from the call of Abraham was 
this latter name altogether unknown, though in 
general so dimly apprehended, that at the time' 
of the Exodus, it had, as it were, to be an¬ 
nounced anew. To Abraham its import was. 
made particularly apparent in the transaction of 
Moriah ; and both the name of the locality and 
the proverb connected with it Abraham, 
called the name of the place Jehovah-jireh (Je¬ 
hovah wdll see), as it is said to this day, In the 
mount of Jehovah he will appear’’ (Gen 22 ; 14), 
show that it was a standing memorial in Israel 
of the Patriarchal age. How Abraham himself 
viewed the revelation then made to him, ap¬ 
pears not only from the name Moriah, but 
also from his subsequent constant use of the 
name Jehovah, as, for instance, JEHOVAH- 
ELOHIM of heaven and JEHOVAH-ELOHIM 
of earth (Gen. 24 :3, 12), so that even the patri- 


9 






130 


GENESIS 1 : 26 ANB 2 : 7. 


arch's servant spoke of God as JEHOVAH- 
ELOHIM of his master (ver, 12), and strangers 
like Laban recognized the servant as the 
‘ blessed of Jehovah ’ (ver, 31). This is the 
more remarkable, because previously Abraham 
designated God variously as Jehovah El Elyon, 
Adonai Jehovah, Adonai, and Elohim, So also 
Isaac refers to Jehovah as the author of bless¬ 
ings on nature, and to ElShaddai as the source 
of blessing on Jacob ; and Jacob himself is seen 
in the closing scene of his history, waiting in 
faith for the salvation to be wrought through 
this deliverer : “ I have waited for thy salva¬ 
tion, O Jehovah.” D. M. 

The names E'ohim and Jehovah are not sy¬ 
nonymous, and cannot be so used. The one ex- 
])resses the genus, the other stands for the in¬ 
dividual, and is a proper name. Elohim an¬ 
swers to our own word Gi,d or Deily, and is 
therefore used of false gods as well as of the 
true. Jehovah stands for the personal, living, 
self-revealing Being, and is explained in Ex. 
3 :14 and 34 : 6. It can be applied to none but 
the one true and eternal God, as is said, ‘‘ I am 
Jehovah ; that is my name, and my glory will I 
not give to another.” This distinction is 
strongly marked in the words of Elijah, “ If 
Jehovah be Elohim, follow him.” Here it 
would be impossible to interchange Elohim and 
Jehovah, or to say, “ if Baal be Jehovah.” 
There is an essential difference in signification, 
and, though sometimes either might be used, 
yet there are cases where there is a peculiar 
propriety in using one rather than the other, 
and there are other cases in which one must be 
used, and the other cannot. In the first chapter 
of Genesis Moses might have used either Elo¬ 
him or Jehovah, except in the 27th verse, where 
Elohim was compulsory. But in the opening 
of the Divine teaching it W'as necessary to make 
.clear that God is Creator, that the world was 
not eternal, nor independent ; and also that 
Jehovah is not one among many—not the na¬ 
tional God of the Hebrews—but that Jehovah 
the self-revealer and Elohim the Almighty 
Creator are one. Therefore in the first chapter 
Elohim is used throughout. The Deity is the 
Creator. But in approaching that part of the 
narrative where the personal God enters into 
relations with man, and where Jehovah was 
necessary, Moses unites the names, Jehovah 
Elohim. The union proves identity, and this 
being jiroved, Moses sometimes employs Je¬ 
hovah, sometimes Elohim, as occasion, propriety 
and the laws of the Hebrew language require. 
Me Caul. 

. From an examination of parallel passages con¬ 


taining the remarkable designation, Jehovah- 
Elohim, it appears that the two terms are in 
a;'pos‘tion ; the combination being thus equiva¬ 
lent to “ elehovah, who is Elohim.” An expla¬ 
nation or paraphrase of the designation is jirob- 
ably contained in such passages as Ps. 18 : 32 ; 
Isa. 44 : G ; Deut. 32 : 30. This view is fully 
confirmed by the only other j^assage in the Pen¬ 
tateuch where the same combination occurs 
(Ex. 9 : 30): “ I know ye will not fear Jehovah- 
Eiohim.” So also in 1 Kings 18 ; 21, Elijah rep¬ 
resents that the great issue between the w'or- 
shippers of the true God and of Baal w'as whether 
Jehovah or Baal was lla-El him — ihe proper 
Elohim. D. M. 

In reading the Scriptures, the Rabbins sub¬ 
stituted for Jehovah' the word Adonai [Lord), 
from the translation of which by Kurios in the 
LXX., followed by the Vulgate, which uses 
Dom'mus, we have got the Lokd of our Version. 
Our translators have, however, used Jehovah 
in four passages (Ex. G : 3 ; Psalm 83 : 18 ; Is. 
12 : 2 ; 2G : 4), and in the compounds Jthovah- 
Jirth, Jehovah-Nissi, and Jehovah-Shalom [Jehovah 
shall see, Jehovah is rt'iy Banner, Jehovah is 
react) ; while the similar phrases J< hovah-Tsld- 
kenu and J hovah-Sharnmah are translated, ” the 
Lord our righteousness,” and “the Lord is 
there” (Jer. 23 : G ; 33 : IG ; Ezek. 48 :35). In 
one passage the abbreviated form Jah is retained 
(Psalm G8 :4). The substitution of the w'ord 
Lord is most unhappy ; for, while it in no way 
represents the meaning of the sacred name, the 
mind has constant!}^ to guard against a confu¬ 
sion with its lower uses, and, above all, the di¬ 
rect personal bearing of the name on the reve¬ 
lation of God through the whole course of Jew¬ 
ish history is kept injuriousl}'^ out of sight. 
P. S.-The characteristic Divine name, Je¬ 

hovah, occurs in the Old Testament (A. V.) in 
seven places, in three of which it is in compo¬ 
sition, as Jehovah-Shalom (Judg. G : 24). This 
number has been considerably increased in the 
revision, but the American Committee think 
that the change should be universal. It is well 
known that the Jews cherished a superstitious 
dread of this name, and while jireserving its 
radical letters altered the vowels, so that it is 
not altogether a settled question what those 
vowels were, though all admit that they were 
not those represented by our English word Je¬ 
hovah. Most modern scholars propose to ex¬ 
press them by the form Jahveh. The Greek 
translators did not transfer the word, but ren¬ 
dered it uniformly by kurios, and the English 
translators copied their example by rendering 
with the exceptions noted, Lord ; and where 







MAN'S CREATION 


131 


this occurred in connection with another He¬ 
brew word signifying Lord, they rendered the 
compound phrase “ Lord God,” thuscompietely 
hiding from the oidinary reader the full toice 
of the term. For “ Lord ” simply conveys the 
ideas of authority, power and majesty, which 
are abundantly conveyed by other terms, such 
as El Shaddai. As is well known, God is the 
ordinary title given to the Creator as supreme 
and the object of worship, in which sense it is 
applied to the gods of the heathen ; but Je- 
hocuh belongs alone to the God of Israel uho 
revealtd himself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, 
and it is never applied to any other deity. 
There are Gods many, or many that are so 


j called, but there is only one Jehovah. This is 
the incommunicable name. There are differ¬ 
ences of opinion as to its exact meaning, but 
there is no difference as to its being the chosen 
and characteristic appellation of the God of the 
Scriptures, the One who revealed himself to his 
people and entered into covenant with them, 
Elohini is the God of nature, the creator and 
preserver of men, but Jehovah is the God of 
revelation and redemption ; and this wealth of 
meaning in the latter term is increased if we 
regard it as involving the ideas of eternal and 
immutable self-existence which its derivation 
is generally considered to imply. Chamhers. 


Section 18. 


MAN : CREATION ; NATURE ; ORIGINAL CONDITION. 

Genesis 1 :26, 27 ; 2:7. 

1 :26 And God said. Let us make man in our image, after our likeness : and let them have 

dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over 
27 all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. And God created 
man in his own image, in the image of God created he him ; male and female created he 
them. 

2 : 7 And the Lokd God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils 

the breath of life ; and man became a living soul. 


20. ITIaii. Here the language is definite, 
“ the man,” and in the first half of the verse 
the pronoun is singular and masculine, intimat¬ 
ing that at first only one human being and that 
one the male vms created. Then the writer as 
briefly and clearly describes the subsequent dis¬ 
tinction into sexes. And in noticing this fact 
there is something peculiar, for with regard to 
fish or beasts or cattle he does not mention that 
God created them male and female. With re¬ 
gard to man, short as is the notice, he does re¬ 
late, first that in the image of God created He 
him,” that is, one male ; and then “ male and 
fern lie created He them,” J\fcCaaL 

Instead of saying, “ Let there be man,” as he 
had before said, “ Let there be light,” or giving 
a command to the elements to bring forth so 
noble a creature, he speaks of the work as i-r- 
mediately his own, and in the language of de¬ 
liberation ; implying thereby not any more in¬ 
trinsic difficulty in this act of his power than in 
the creation of the smallest insect, but the su¬ 
perior dignity and excellence of the creature he 
was about to form. Bash. -The fact of Di¬ 


vine deliberation here, and here only, interrupt¬ 
ing the continuous flow of God’s creative acts, 
sufficiently indicates the solemnity of that 
which is to follow. Earth and earth’s tribes 
were prepared ; but now there is a king to be 
set over them,—one like them, but also unlike 
them : a complex being, made up of the dust of 
the earth and of the image of God. AJf. 

Three times in v. 27 the verb created is used 
concerning the production of man ; for, though 
his bodily organization may, like that of the 
beasts, have been produced from already cre¬ 
ated elements (“ the dust of the ground,” ch. 
2:7); yet the complex being, man, “ of a rea¬ 
sonable soul and human flesh subsisting,” was 
now for the first time called into being, and so 
was, unlike the beasts, Avholly a new creation. 

E. H. B.-Of the last work, the sacred record 

says, “ God created Man in his owm image, in 
the image of God created he him.” Three 
times this strong affirmation is repeated in the 
announcement, and three times “ the potent 
word ” hard is used. Man’s commission, as sent 
forth, was “ subdue” “ and have dominion,” in 









132 


MAN'S CREATION. 


which all nature was placed at his feet ; and 
being made in the image of God, he was capable 
of moral distinctions and of spiritual progress, 
lie was thus above nature, while of nature. 
“ With him begins the age of moral freedom 
and responsibility, that of the historical world.’ 

1) ina. -After the further lapse of ages the ele- 

vatory fiat went forth yet once more in an act 
of creation, and with the human, heaven aspir¬ 
ing dynasty the moral government of God, in 
its connection with the world w^e inhabit, 
“took beginning and then creat'on ceased. 
Why ?—simply because God's moral government 
had begun. Hugh M'lHer. 

Three principal features in the Mosaic picture 
will ever claim attention from all thoughtful 
men : -1. The cause ot all things : God. 2. The 
order of things : a continual progress. 3. The 
final object of things ; man ^ not an individ¬ 
ual one amongst the terrestrial creatures ; but 
the very object and aim of creation itself. 

Godet. -Each divine act marks a step in an 

ordered progress culminating at last in man. Of 
him all lower creation prophesies ; to him all 
lower creation tends. The vertebrate structure 
is the endowment of life with power ; the 
mammalian function sujieradds love. But the 
plenary development of neither is possible till 
wisdom is bestowed through the human brain. 
Paleontology, like the Mosaic cosmogony, leads 
up to its “ image of God.” When man is made 
God creates no more. G. Rorison. -The rec¬ 

ord of creation relates specifically to the race of 
man. Besides being prepared /or man, it con¬ 
cerns itself chiefiy, if not exclusivelj^ with what 
belongs to him. Of the creation of angels noth¬ 
ing is said. Respecting the starry heavens a 
brief clause is employed : for what are they all 
to man, in his present state, compared with the 
sun which makes his day, the moon which rules 
his night, and the earth on which he dwells? 
In the account of the vegetable creation, no 
mention is made of timber-trees, the giants of 
the botanical kingdom ; the history is confined 
to the production of grasses, or food for cattle ; 
to herbs, or grain and leguminous plants for his 
own use,and to fruit-bearing trees ; all relating, 
directly or indirectl 3 % to the wants and con¬ 
veniences of mankind. Man himself is described 
as created last ; plainly intimating that all 
which had gone before was only a means of 
which he was to be the subordinate end. And 
not only the process, but even its termination 
is made to subserve his welfare, for it is laid as 
a reason for the institution of the Sabbath, yin. 

In the appearance of man the system of life, 
in progress through the ages, reached its com¬ 


pletion, and the animal structure its highest 
perfection. Another higher is not within the 
range of our conception. For the vertebrate 
type, which began during the palaeozoic, in the 
prone or horizontal fish, becomes erect in man, 
and thus completes, as Agassiz has observed, 
the possible changes in the series to its last 
term. An erect body and an erect forehead ad¬ 
mit of no step beyond. But besides this, man’s 
whole structure declares his intellectual and 
spiritual nature. His fore-limbs are not organs 
of locomotion, as they are in all other mamma¬ 
lians ; they have passed from the I tcomolive to 
the cephalic series, being made to subserve the 
purposes of the head ; and this transfer is in 
accordance with a grand law in nature, wdiich 
is at the basis of grade and development. The 
cephalization of the animal has been the goal 
in all progress ; and in man we mark its highest 
possible triumph. Man was the first being that 
WMS not finished on reaching adult growth, but 
was provided with powers for indefinite exi)an- 
sion, a will for a life work, and boundless as¬ 
pirations to lead to an endless improvement. 
He was the first being capable of an intelligent 
survey of Nature, and comprehension of her 
laws ; the first capable of augmenting his 
strength by bending nature to hi.s service, ren¬ 
dering thereby a weak body stronger than all 
animal force ; the first capable of deriving hap¬ 
piness from truth and goodness ; of apprehend¬ 
ing eternal right ; of reaching toward a knowl¬ 
edge of self and of God ; the first, therefore, 
capable of conscious obedience or disobedience 
of moral law, and the first subject to debase¬ 
ment through his appetites and moral nature. 
Dana. 

The body. Nothing can be conceived which 
would ^surpass the workmanship and the ele¬ 
gance of this fabric. It sets forth pre-eminently 
the Divine art—the art of God in fitting up a 
structure including wuthin itself so many mir¬ 
acles. Whether we look to what is external or 
internal—to what is more essential, or to what 
is rather ornamental, we are e|ually impressed 
and surprised Nor is the comeliness more 
striking than the utility of the various parts. 
How beautifully and aptly subservient is every 
member to the great functions and offices for 
wdiich it was designed ! How adapted is the eye 
for the transmission of light —the ear for the 
conveying of sound—the hand for manipula¬ 
tion —the tongue, with its manifold appendages, 
for the utterance of speech—the bones for 
strength and support—the muscles for locomo¬ 
tion—the lungs for respiration—the heart for 
circulation—the brain for sensation and voli* 









GENESIS I : 23, 27; 2 : 7. 


133 


tion ! How adapted are tbe solids for incessant 
action, and the fluids for continual motion ! 
Not more remarkable is the multiplicity of 
parts which enter into the composition of the 
body—tlie connection between these several 
parts, and the variety of functions which the 
whoie performs, than is the close dependence 
of one function upon another. Such is the 
construction of this wondrous mechanism as to 
contain within itself the means of ministering 
to its owm growth and preservation. It can 
draw^ its supply of materials from without - can 
appropriate to its own use every form of organ¬ 
ized matter, and can convert it by a subtle 
chemistry into blood, and by sending this 
through the w'hole frame can nourish and vivify 
and stimulate every jiart. Here is a mechanism 
which has no parallel ! Here is a workmanship 
which proclai.ms itself to be Divine ! Here are 
the clearest manifestations of infinite wisdom 
and benevolence —and tbe most gloiious ! Fer¬ 
guson. 

In the last work wo have God here giving 
His last stroke, and summing up all into man, 
the wiiole into a part, the universe into an in¬ 
dividual ; so that whereas in other creatures we 
have but the trace of His footsteps, in man we 
have the draught of His hand. In him wore 
united all the scattered perfections of the creat¬ 
ure ; all the graces and ornaments, all the 
airs and features of being were abridged into 
this small yet full system of nature and divin¬ 
ity ; as we might well imagine that the great 
Artificer would be more than ordinarily ex^:ct 

in drawing His own picture. South. -First, 

thou madest the great house of the world, and 
furnishedst it : then thou brouglitest in thy 
tenant to possess it. All thy creation hath not 
more wonder in it than one of us : other creat¬ 
ures thou madest by a simple CTmmand ; man, 
not without a divine consultation : others at 
once ; man thou didst first form, then inspire; 
others in several shapes like to none but them¬ 
selves ; man, after thine own image : others 
w'ith qualities fit for service ; man, for domin¬ 
ion. Man had his name from thee; they had 
their names from man. How should we be con¬ 
secrated to thee above all others, since thou 
hast bestowed more cost on us than others ! 
Bp. II 

The points clearly taught in the Bible about 
the origin of man are that his body was made 
out of pre-existent material, and his soul was 
created out of nothing. . . . The body is gen¬ 
erated. The soul is created by God. At every 
moment of conception God creates a new soul. 
A. A. llodije. -At its first formation the body 


of man, so exquisitely organized, was no more 
than a ma.ss of inert matter, till the Lord God 
endowed it wdth vitality, and “ breathed into 
I his nostrils the breath of life” — literally, lives. 

I Jamieson. 

As to his rational and moral part, he wars not 
formed, but “ created;” brought into being by 
that mysterious energy which speaks existence 
out of non-exi.«.tence. As to Lis material and 
corruptible part, he was-not created—but 
“formed,'’ fashioned out of already existing 
materials, “ the dust of the ground,” After his 
lifeless body had been thus fa.shioned, God 
“ breathed into his nostrils the breath of life 
and thus the created and the formed taking 
union, “ man became a living soul, ’ a simply 
perfect man, new from his Maker's hand, and 
bright in his Maker’s image. Stone. 

“ Man,” says the Si-ripture, “ became a living 
soul.” But the animals, also, are styled nephesh 
hayy >, breath of life, or soul of life, or livivg soul. 
It is the general term for animation, including 
all beyond matter, all the immaterial region, 
whether we call it life, sense, feeling, fhonght, or 
infellect, extending from the lowest sentient to 
the highest rational. As far, then, as this 
phrase (nephesh hayya) is concerned, we could 
{ predif-ate of man no superiority of origin or of 
psychological rank above the beast. Every 
thing depends upon the view we take of the 
different source from which, or different way in 
which the human nephesh hayya came. In the 
Hebrew account, the emphasis is not on the 
word for life, but on the manner of origination, 
j “ And God brea'hed into him the nephesh hayy<i 
I and man became,” —that is, thus “ man became 
a living soul,’' and, of course, a higher soul in 
proportion to the more specially divine and 
I high* r source from whence it came The ani- 
I mation of the other living crea'ures was from the 
! earth, and through the earth, by the common 
! vivification of the Spirit in nature, the Ruah 

I 

i Elohim mentioned in Gen. 1 ; 2,—the brood- 
I ing. cherishing, life-giving, life-sustaining 
I spirit, which is the genial source of all physical 
j animation. But God breathed into man the 
j breath of life; in a sense higher than the term 
: would bear when applied to the animals, he 
I made this inspiration or inbreathing ti) be the 
medium of endowmient with moral, rational, 
and religious faculties ; still more than this,— 
over all, and above all, he made a covfnant with 
him. The word is not in the first of Genesis, 
but its spirit -is there, and the term itself is 
most expressly predicated of the transaction 
when referred to in other parts of the Old Tes¬ 
tament. He thus places him above nature, noi 











134 


MAN’S NATURE. 


merely in his psychological constitution, but in 
his objective relation to the divine. Here, then, 
is the crowning distinction between man and 
the physical world in all its grades of existence. 
And this is the glory of the human soul, that 
unlike the animal, it can be in this forensic or 
covenant relation to the universal law-giver. 
Deity binds himself to give his creature life and 
immortality, T, L. 

The epithet which we translate Uvltvj, the 
Arabic renders a 7'<iiional soul; and none but a 
rational deserves the name of a living soul. 
For all other forms or souls, which are of an 
earthly extract, do both depend on and die with 
the matter out of which they were educed ; but 
this being of another nature, a spiritual and 
substantial being is therefore rightly styled a 
living soul. The Chaldee renders it a speaking 
soul. And it deserves remark, that the ability 
of speech is conferred on no other soul but 
man’s. Other creatures have apt and excellent 
organs ; but no creature except man, whose 
soul is of a heavenly nature and extraction, can 
articulate the sound, and form it into words by 
which the notions and sentiments of one soul 
are in a noble, apt, and expeditious manner 
conveyed to the understanding of another soul. 
And, indeed, what should any other creature 
do with the faculty or power of speech, without 
a principle of reason to guide and govern it ? 
It is sufficient that they discern each other’s 
meaning by dumb signs ; but speech is proper 
only to the rational or living soul. However we 
render it, a living, a rational, or a speaking soul, 
it distiuguisheth the soul of man from all other 

souls. Flavel. -Life is the one universal soul 

which, by virtue of the enlivening Breath and 
the informing Word, all organized bodies have 
in common, each after its kind. This, there¬ 
fore, all animals possess, and man as an animal. 
But, in addition to this, God transfused into 
man a higher gift, and specially inbreathed— 
even a living (that is, self-subsisting) soul, a 
soul having its life in itself, “ And man be¬ 
came a living soul.” He did not merely possess 
it, he became it. It was proper being, his truest 
self, the man in the man. None, then, not one 
of human kind so poor and destitute but there 
is provided for him, even in his present state, 
” a house not built with hands.” Ay, and a 
house gloriously furnished. Co’eridge. 

Man was made last because he was worthiest. 
The soul was inspired last, because yet more 
noble. No air, no earth, no water was here 
used to give help to this work ; thou, that 
breathedst upon man and gavest him the Holy 
Spirit, didst also breathe upon the body and 


gavest it a living spirit ; we are beholden to 
nothing but thee for our soul. Our flesh is 
from flesh, our spirit is from the God of spirits. 

Bp. II. -First God breathed the light of sense 

iipon the face of matter ; then he breathed the 
light of reason into the face of man ; and still 
by the illumination of his Spirit he breathelh 
and inspireth light into the faces of his chosen. 
Bacon. 

Mans Dual Nature. In man two elements 
were combined ; the one Divine, the other 
purely human—the one the form of c'ay, the 
other the breath of Diu ne life breathed into it. 
Thus man is of twofold origin. In respect of 
his body, he belongs to the animal sphere, and is 
the highest product of nature. In so far as a 
godlike .sphil dwells in him, he is above nature, 
and the offspring of God. In virtite of this two¬ 
fold character, he forms the link between God 
and nature, and is the representative of God, 
the Priest and the King of Nature. The in¬ 
dwelling of the breath of the Lord constitutes 
him the image of God, destined for, and capable 
of, Divine wisdom and power, holiness and 
blessedness. K. 

The dualisUc view holds that man consists of 
body (basar, soma, corpus) and soul (ruach, 
pneuma, psyche, animus), and of these two ele¬ 
ments onl}". Trichotomy makes a distinction 
between pneuma, spirit, and psyche, soul, and 
holds that the latter is the sentient nature 
which we have in common with the brutes (un¬ 
derstanding, desire, feeling), while the former 
denotes our higher peculiar nature (reason, 
conscience, will). The point at issue therefore 
is, whether these two terms, the animal soul 
and the rational soul, with their varied appli¬ 
cations, denote two distinct entities, or are 
simply the names of two different power.s of one 

and the same substance.- Positive evidence (f 

bipartite nature. (1) The Scripture account is a 
plain statement of a material body framed out 
cf the dust of the earth and the vital principle 
derived from God. There is not even a hint of 
any third factor in man’s nature. Body and 
soul, these only, are mentioned. How could 
there have been an omission of the term for 
spirit (ruach), if that also had been included as 
a distinct element in the creative process':* (2) 
Further, the way in which the terms .soul and 
spirit are employed for the most part m the 
Scripture is decisive against the theory of tri¬ 
chotomy. It i-i true that the latter term is some¬ 
times used to denote the higher functions or 
faculties of the inner man. But in general the 
two terms are used interchangeably, and often 
indifferently as parallel and equivalent exprea* 









GENESIS 1 : 26, 27 ^ 2 : 7 . 


135 


sions. Mark says (8 :12) that our Lord sighed 
deeply in spirit, and also records him as saying 
(14:34), “My soul is exceediog sorrowful.'’ 
Both terms are used to designate the animatinir 
principle of the body (Jno. 12 :25 and James 
2 : 2G), and both to designate that which is the 
subject of eternal salvation (1 Cor. 5 :5 and 1 
Pet. 1 :9). Both stand for the life of beasts 
(Eccles. 3 :19—21 and Bev. 16 ; 3). Each is used 
over and over to express the whole inner man, 
the proper personal self. Both are applied with¬ 
out distinction to deceased persons (Rev. 6 :9 
and Heb. 12 :23). They cannot therefore be 
regarded as distinctive hypostases, as separate 
constituent parts of man’s natural constitution. 
(3) Moreover, the estaV)lished usage of the Script¬ 
ure is to recognize only a twofold division of 
man. The sacred writers speak of “ soul and 
body” and also of “ spirit and body,” but they 
never discriminate soul and spirit. In one 
case, these two are placed close together, viz.: 
in Mary’s Magnificat, Luke 1 :46, 47. 

My soul doth magnify the Lord, 

And mj' spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. 

But the parallelism shows that both words 
mean the same thing. Our Lord’s solemn utter¬ 
ance in Matt. 10 : 28 is pertinent here. “ Fear 
not them which kill the body, but rather fear 
him which is able to destroy both soul and body 
in hell (Gehenna).” Here it is plain that the 
soul and the body are all that there is of man. 
So in the interesting passage in the sixteenth 
Psalm, quoted and argued from by the Apostle 
Peter on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2 :25-31), 
there is mention made of only two elements, 
the soul that was not left in (rather, given over 
to) Hades and the flesh that did not see corrup¬ 
tion. These two being provided for, nothing 
else was left to desire. Ghamhera. 

From the point of view of Holy Scripture, 
man is a composite being, made up of two ele¬ 
ments of opposite nature and origin. The being 
which resulted from the combination of these 
two elements is described by the expression “ a 
living soul and thus, continues Genesis, 
“man became a living soul”—words repro¬ 
duced by Paul almost literally (1 Cor. 15 :15). 
This expression “ living soul ” is not applied to 
the breath of God considered in itself and as 
separate from the body, but it describes man in 
his entirety, as the result of the union of the 
two contrasted elements. If Holy Scripture, 
speaking of the soul, undeniably puts it in more 
direct relation with the breath of God than with 
the body, it is none the less true that it only 
gives the name soul to the first of these ele¬ 
ments when looked at as the principle of life, 


and as the animativg principle of the body {ardma, 
Cime). When that which was breathed into us is 
considered in itself and apart from the bod}^ it 
takes the name of spirit (ruach, pneuma) Thus 
it is said in Ecclesiastes : “ The dust shall re¬ 
turn to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall 
return unto God who gave it ” And Jesus said, 
after the resurrection, “ a spirit (pneuina) hath 
not flesh and bones.” The spirit then, in the 
Bible, means (he breath of God considered as 
independent of the body ; the soul is the same 
breath, in so far as it gives life to the bod.y. By 
this we may understand how it comes to pass 
that notwithstanding the essential dualUy of the' 
nature of man, the soul, in Scripture, is often^ 
distinguished fiom the sj^irit ; and even how it 
is that when Paul wishes to describe the com¬ 
plete constitution of the human being, he places 
side by side these three words—body, soul, 
and spirit (1 Thes. 5 : 23). Observation and 
Holy Scripture agree then in this,—that they 
teach us to see in man a spirit united to a body, 
and which has become, by means of this union, 
a soul which is the centre of three kinds of life ; 
that of a person, free and intelligent, the life of 
the soul, or psychical life ; that of the sensations 
and of the organic activities, or physical life ; 
and that of the aspirations and of heavenly' 
communion, or spiritual life. Godet 

God said. Let us make man in our image, after' 
our likeness. Herein is plainly taught the dis-- 
tinct personality both of man and God, and that 
each is a spiritual being capable of holding in¬ 
tercourse with the other. Bowen. -The in- 

timations made at the very commencement of 
the Hebrew Scriptures with regard to man are 
not less distinct than those which, as already 
noticed, refer to the character of the Creator. 
The anthropology of the Pentateuch is as com¬ 
plete and explicit as its theology. Indeed, the 
one doctrine is viewed as the proper correlate 
of the other ; and this is in entire harmony 
with the idea expressed in the very first notice 
regarding man, as to his being created in the 
image of God, or in other words, as to his con¬ 
stituting, not only the object, but likewise the 
chief medium of Divine revelation. The rev¬ 
elation of man is thus the revelation of Him 
whose workmanship he is, both as respects the 
old or Adamic, and that new creatinn of which 
the New Testament gives more explicit informa¬ 
tion. Thus it has been well remarked : “ The 
doctrine of one personal, holy God, was not the 
only truth on which the law insisted. It un¬ 
folded, also, the true doc'rine of man ; his dignity 
and wretchedness. It urged not one of these 
great verities, but both ; for only where the 






130 


MAN'S NATURE. 


origin and grandeur of the human species are 
fully apprehended can we hope to understand 
(he turpitude of moral evil, and the real nature 
o£ the fall of man. *Tne Bible tells us that 
there is in him a high and God-like element, 
that instead of having been fashioned in the 
lower model of the brute creation, he came forth 
into the world erect in stature, and impressed 
with the Divine similitude ; that in virtue of 
this kinship human life is sacred (Gen. 9 : 6), 
and that human spirits, on the dissolution of 
the body, return to God who gave them (Eccles. 

12:7). D. M.-From hence we learn, not 

’ only the origin of those admirable faculties of 
man, especially in the light of his understand¬ 
ing and the liberty of his will, whereby he re¬ 
sembles his Maker ; but also from whence he 
had that intellectual soul, not out of the matter 
whereof his corporeal and animal nature was 
constituted, but of a higher and nobler extrac¬ 
tion, namely, by creation. He breathed into 
him the breath of life. Sir Matthew Hale. 

Man, as bearing the image of God, was made 
capable of knowing God, and further, of mak¬ 
ing Him known to others. He was so constituted 
as to be an embodiment of certain Divine ideas 
affecting primarily himself, and, ultimately", 
other intelligent beings. He was thus to be not 
only the object, but also through, or in conse¬ 
quence of, God’s purposes concerning him, the 
chief medium of Divine revelation. The fun¬ 
damental idea’involved in this'Divine image 
would seem to be that man, of all the creatures 
of Gi)d, was especially set apart for sustaining 
in (he highest form a representative character 
and some peculiar relation to God, in connec¬ 
tion with which the whole of the Divine perfec¬ 
tions should be wonderfully and universally 
manifested. It thus corresponded entirely with 
the “ intent, ’ to which Paul refers in Eph. 
3 :9, 10, as the ultimate end of redemption. 
D. M. 

We gather from this first chapter that God is 
a spirit, that he thinks, speaks, vdlls, and acts. 
Here are the great points of conformity to God 
in man, namely, reason, speech, will, and power. 
In the s^jiritual being that exercises reason and 
will resides the power to act, which presupposes 
both these faculties,—the reason as informing 
the will, and the will as directing the power. 
'This is that form of God in which he has created 
man, and condescends to communicate with 
him. M. 

God may be in man by an image, a I keness of 
Himself ; but vot by an actual impartation of 
Himself, of His substance. His moral and 
rational aUnhu'es are communicable, in the 


sense of being imilahle,‘ but his nature itself is 
in-communicable. In this sense, He neither 
“ will," nor can, “ give His glory to another.” 
God may be imaged in the soul He may have 
His likeness there : but He cannot he in the soul 
by a literal impartation and commingling of 
Himself with its substance. A miraculous 
union of the human nature with the Divine has 
been once effected in the my sterious person of 
our glorious “Immanuel.” Such a union can¬ 
not be effected in a mere man without render¬ 
ing every Christian literally a true Christ. 

Stone. -The Scripture never speaks of the 

Divine image in man, but always of man as 
formed after the Divine image. And this indi¬ 
cates a profound principle of Biblical thought. 
It presupposes God to account for man. Thus 
by “the Divine image,” the Bible does not mean 
those elements in man from which an idea of 
God may be fra)ned, but conversely those feat¬ 
ures in the Divine Being of which man is a 
copy. If we read what the Bible says of God in 
relation to the world, and what of God in Him¬ 
self, we shall get leading lines for its delineation 
of man ; always premising that of the Divine 
idea man is a created copy, not, like the Logos, 
an essential image. LaidUtw. 

The brute creatures are gifted with life and ‘ 
will and self-consciousness, and even with some 
powers of reason ; but they have no self-deter¬ 
mining will, no choice between good and evil, 
no power of self-education, no j^roper moral 
character, and so no true jiersonalily". God is 
the essentially personal Being, and in giving to 
man an immortal soul. He gave him also a true 
personality, self-consciousness, power of free 
choice, and so distinct moral responsibility. 
All this was accompanied at first with purity 
and innocence ; and thus man was like his 
Maker, intelligent, immortal, personal, with 
powers of forethought and free choice, and at 
the same time pure and undefiled. E. H. B. 

We seek this resemblance in man’s intellect¬ 
ual coDstitution, in his spiritual capacities and 
powers, in his moral faculties, and in that posi¬ 
tion of dominion in which he was placed to rep¬ 
resent the Creator upon the earth. Man is a 
reasonable, personal soul, and in this respect is 

the likeness of God. J. P. T.-This likeness 

consists in his superior spiritual nature, which 
he has by direct communication from God. 
This spiritual nature, when free from sin, re¬ 
flected in small the spiritual nature of God 
himself. When sin intervened, it lost its purity 
and dignity, its holiness and blessedness, but 
not its basis and form. Christ is the restorer 
again to it of the Divine image (Col. 3 :10). 






GENESIS 1 : 26, 27} 2 ; 7 . 


137 


Alf. -Man is made in God’s image as being 

gifted like his Maker with intelligence and with 
capacities for moral action—beyond comparison 
the noblest possible elements of being. He has 
the sense of moral obligation and the voluntary 
powers requisite to fulfil such obligation. He 
can find his supreme joy in voluntarily seeking 
the good of others, even of all other sentient 
beings, and in laboring even to the extent of 
self-sacrifice to promote their welfare. This is 
the pre-eminent peifection of God—the very 
point ultimately in which man is made in his 
image, and capable of becoming more and more 
God-like, forever approximating toward his holi¬ 
ness and blessedness. His intellectual powei’s 
are only the servants of these highest and 
noblest activities of his being. H. C. 

Dean Graves says : “ The expression of the 
image of God plainlj^ implies the idea of the 
soul’s immortality.” He cites Abarbanel, Ter- 
titllian, Vatablus, Paulus Fagius, Edwards, 
Augustin, Poole, and Patrick as holding the 
same view. In the trial of our first parents, 
the threatened penalty of death clearly implied 
the promise of life as the reward of obedience. 
And the life, thus implicitly promised, must 
have been an endless orie ; otherwise death 
would have followed obedience as well as dis¬ 
obedience, and the distinction between virtue 
and vice would have been destroyed. E. C. \V. 

Man was formed, God tells us, in the image 
of God, after the likeness of the all-holy Trinity. 
Every power and faculty of the soul bor# some 
trace of its likeness to its Maker. They were 
shadowy representations of some aspect of the 
infinite mind. In God all is one. His attri¬ 
butes are, even in thought, inseparable from 
Himself. His power. His will. His goodness. 
His greatness. His wisdom. His blessedness, are 
Himself. For He is one simple essence. The 
very Persons of the all-hol}’’ Trinity, in that 
mode of existence which belongs to God, exist 
in one another in perfect oneness. In this 
image and likeness of the all-perfect God man 
was made, his various powers shadowing attri¬ 
butes of God, which, although inseparable from 
God, we, as finite, can only conceive of (as far 
as we can conceive of them) when set before us 
apart. But so, the immortality of man is a faint 
shadow of the eternity of God ; man’s fore¬ 
thought, of the Divine providence ; man’s intui¬ 
tion, of the Divine intelligence ; man’s memory, 
of the Divine knowledge ; man’s imagination, of 
God’s conception of all things possible, though 
they are not. More plainly yet man’s will, pow¬ 
er, desire to communicate himself, love, com¬ 
placence, tenderness, justice, truth, are im¬ 


parted copies of God’s infinite perfections. 
Nay, those three especially, memory, reason, 
will, have, both in eailier and later times of the 
gospel, been thought to be a shadow of the all¬ 
holy Trinity in itself. Pusey. 

On the theatre of Nature, unconscious life has 
been exercised, a slave to the senses. On the 
stage of history, the human soul has displayed 
the riches of life self conscious and free. In 
the Church (understanding this word in its most 
spiritual sense) there grew up, and has since 
developed itself, a new thing,—the life of holy 
love, realized in Jesus Christ, and by him com¬ 
municated to us. Finally, in that supreme 
abode which we call heaven, this perfect life, 
divine in its essence, human in its form, will 
expand and radiate through matter then glori¬ 
fied. Existence, liberty', h( ly love, these are 
the characteristics of the three kinds of life 
which are ours either actually or potentially, 
and whose growth and development make up 
the whole sum of the life of man. Above simple 
existence there is free existence ; above free¬ 
dom, there is the life which, having reached the 
entire disposal of itself, sacrifices itself for 
love. Above this third form of existence we 
can conceive nothing,—we dare to say there is 
nothing, for God is Love. Through the pos¬ 
session of these three kinds of life, of which 
the first is in contact with the lowest steps in 
the scale of being, the last is an emanation 
from the Divine essence, and the second forms 
the link between the two others, must not man 
be the summary and compendium of life in the 
universe ? Godet. 

Wonderful in pathos is the appeal which re¬ 
sults from all these considerations ; to be felt 
rather than expressed in words. Man is God’s 
child ; man bears a s'gnature Divine, Great 
things are expected of man ; reasoning which 
approaches the quality of a revelation ; service 
which requires Almightiness alone to exceed it; 
love that courts the agony of sacrifice ; purity 
hard to distinguish from the holiness of God. 
J. P. 

Original coyidition of the first man. It is suffi¬ 
ciently manifest that a human being, however 
mature in size and strength, entering on life 
without experience, would require some imme¬ 
diate and preternatural knowledge as a substi¬ 
tute for experience ; otherwise be would be like 
the new-born infant in capacity to care for him¬ 
self, and the day of his creation might easily 
have been the day of his dissolution. His very 
faculty of sight would be misleading, and all his 
muscular powers unmanageable. While there¬ 
fore the scripture consistently and necessarily 









138 


MAN^S ORIGINAL CONDITION. 


ascribes to him a precocious intelligence and 
some linguistic development, as exhibited in 
fitly giving names to the animal world and in 
recognizing the contrast of his own solitude, 
there is a clear intimation of his practical inex¬ 
perience in his being directed 6//Ai.v ( 7 / ea/or to 
make the clothing of skins, and perhaps also in 
the absence of all surprise in Eve’s listening to 
the speech of one in the form of a serpent. 
The scripture thus makes a fully consistent pict¬ 
ure,—of one in the balance of the moral nature, 
with Augustine’s ‘ ‘ posse peccare et posse non 
peccare,” yet without the formed character 
which will make the security of the ransomed ; 
and, intellectually, of one entirely destitute of 
the industrial arts and scientific attainments, 
but with a mental capacity full grown. S. C. B. 

-We cannot suppose that man was placed on 

the earth in ignorance of his own origin, or of 
the origin of the creatures by which he is sur¬ 
rounded, and of which he is at once the crown 
and glory. Doubtless Adam was well instructed 
in the history of creation ; and it is most un¬ 
likely that he should have withheld this knowl¬ 
edge from his family, or that they should have 
failed to transmit it in some way or other to 
their posterity. We know that Abraham was 
the instructor as well as the governor of his 
household, and that the fathers possessed super¬ 
natural revelation. E. A. Thompson. 

In the constitution of the first man, consid¬ 
ered as a sinless being, we behold a creature 
whose every susceptibility and power tends to 
enjoyment. Begarded merely as a partaker of 
animal existence, the consciousness of life alone 
is the consciousness of enjoyment. Additional 
enjoyment was provided for him in the gratifi¬ 
cation of each of those appetites which relate 
to the support and continuance of life. As a 
percipient being, every organ of sense was an 
avenue of distinct and additional grateful sen¬ 
sations. As a reflective and rational being, the 
mere exercise and expansion of his intellectual 
faculties would occasion him enjoyment : im¬ 
provement itself would be pleasure. The emo¬ 
tions of novelty and curiosity, of anticipation 
and hope, of cheerfulness and love, are only 
other names for happiness ; and yet this is the 
only class of emotions of which unfallen man 


would be conscious. The consciousness of a 
power to will-of his doing what he did from 
choice—this was another and a deep source of 
enjoyment. And, then, the highest, the most 
exquisite of all, was the consciousness that he 
had done morally right, that he had acted in 
harmony with the objective and supreme will. 
J. H.-Peace, as God meant it, is the prim¬ 

itive state of humanity- a stale toward which, 
though it has long since fled, humanity still 
ever yearns again ; the hope of which forms 
the rosy fringe of the future, and to restore 
which is the effort and the aim of all true re¬ 
ligion. Ewald. 


The difference hetvceen a man and an animal is 
threefold. In man we find : Firsf ,—A compre¬ 
hending power, that surveys the universe, and 
all the capacities of its possessor, in relation to 
that universe. Second ,—A sense of Obligation 
to do certain acts, and to refiain fioiu others,— 
this sense arising spontaneously, in view of cer¬ 
tain relations or results, and being distinct from 
those impulses of the affections or desires, which 
may belong to an animal. Third, —I'he power 
of choice, that gives, by its generic action, in¬ 
dividuality of aim for a lifetime ; and, in specific 
acts, determines whether the higher or lower 
nature of man shall rule. These three powers, 
with executive volition, make man the ruler of 
the world and the shaper of his own destiny, so 
far a* choice and attempts are concerned. 
These three powders are all that we have yet 
found distinctive in the higher nature of man. 
If animals have either of them, we look in vain 
for the proof of it in the whole range of the ani¬ 
mal kingdom. The beautiful action of the nat¬ 
ural instincts—as the social instincts, and 
parental instincts—is often triumphantly re¬ 
ferred to as proof of the moral nature of ani¬ 
mals ; but a full analysis of these instincts 
shows that they occupy an entirely different 
sphere from the three jiowers we have men¬ 
tioned. In man these natural instincts call the 
moral nature into action, it is true ; but in the 
animals, they need neither guidance nor re¬ 
straint from obligation or anything above them. 
P. A. Chadbourne, 








ORIGINAL ESTATE AND ANTIQUITY OF MAN. 


13 ^ 


Section 19. 

ORIGINAL ESTATE AND ANTIQUITY OF MAN. 


We encounter at the threshold the question of 
ihe original estate of man. Was it, as the infidel 
theories assume, sheer barbarism ? Was it 
mere “crude capacity,’’ involving, perhaps, a 
protracted feebleness of pupilage V Or was it 
only infancy, more fresh than crude, infolded 
in the Divine aims, breathed upon by a Divine 
inspiration, and at once aroused and informed 
by the lessons cf a Divine tuition? These are 
the three suppositions, or assumptions : which 
of them is the light one ? Surely, not the first, 
which propounds barbarism as the primitive 
estate, since, as Niebuhr has affirmed, there is 
not in history the record of a single indigenous 
civilization , there is nowhere, in any reliable 
document, the report of an}”^ people lifting them¬ 
selves up out of barbarism. The historic civil¬ 
izations are all exotic. The torches that blaze 
along the line of the centuries were kindled, 
each by the one behind it. Nor yet can we ac¬ 
cept the second supposition, which assumes a 
crude capacity, somewhat tardily developed. It 
otfends our moral sense, to imagine the human 
race l^dng, even for a night, like a poor found¬ 
ling on the cold door-sill of its future habita¬ 
tion. The third assumption must therefore be 
the true one. IIumaniQ', we are constrained to 
believe, was born into its home and passed at 
once into its Father’s arms, taken up with in¬ 
finite tenderness, immediate provision being 
made for all its wants. The first man, made 
outright, must have been more than a puling 
infant, staring and stammering at what he saw. 
We need not reckon him a philosopher, but we 
must believe him to have been a man ; some¬ 
what infantile, doubtless, in tone, but not in 
capacit}’’, nor in the method of his mental 
growth. R. D. H. 

The theory of the evolutionists is that man is 
the son of a monkey ; the philosophy of the 
Bible teaches throughout that he is a child of 
God. The former make out a supposititious his¬ 
tory of what they suppose to be the several 
stages of unassisted jorogress from barbarism to 
civilization, and rashly conclude that man actu¬ 
ally has risen by his own efforts, merely because 
they see no reason why he might not so rise 
under favorable circumstances. But according 
to the account in Genesis, man has fallen from a 
former state of innocence and happiness through 
Lis own fault in weakly yielding to temptation. 


and so j^hinging into corruption and wicked¬ 
ness. F. Bowen. 

We are told that man, beginning his course as 
a savage, has gradually raised himself through 
what are termed the palaeolithic, the neolithic, 
the bronze and the iron ages, each of which 
lasted for many thousands of years—until he 
reached the beginnings of our modern civiliza¬ 
tion. This opinion has been supported with 
especial zeal by those who adopt the hypothesis 
of man’s evolution from the brute. Beginning 
our examination with the present condition of 
man, wm find him in every possible stage of 
civilization, from the utter savagery of the Dig¬ 
ger Indians of North America and the Weddas 
of Ceylon to the advanced civilization of the 
Englijjli speaking nations, who dominate the 
world. And comparing the lu’esent condition 
of the nations with what authentic history tells 
us it was a few centuries ago, we learn tha*; 
while some nations have been steadily advanc¬ 
ing in civilization, others have been stationary, 
and others, again, have retrograded. G. D. A. 

-Nothing in the natural history of man can 

be more certain than that, both morallj^ and in¬ 
tellectually and physically, he can and he often 
does sink from a higher to a lower level. This 
is true of man both collectively and individu¬ 
ally, of men and of societies of men. Some 
regions of the world are strewn wfith monuments 
of civilizations which have passed away. Rude 
and barbarous tribes stare with wonder on the 
remains of temples, of which they cannot con¬ 
ceive the purpose, and of cities which are the 
dens of beasts. Ar'gyll. -Savagery and civil¬ 

ization are the two opposite poles of our social 
condition, states between which men oscillate 
freely, passing from either to the other wfith al¬ 
most equal ease according to the external cir¬ 
cumstances wherewith they are surrounded. 
G. R. 

Archaeologists talk of an Old Stone Age (Pa¬ 
laeolithic), and of a Newer Stone Age (Neolithic), 
and of a Bronze Age, and of an Iron Age. There 
is no proof whatever that such Ages ever ex¬ 
isted in the world. Argyll. -Innumerable 

facts show that in any absolutely general sense 
we cannot rationally divide the pre historic 
period into ages of Stone and Metal. . . . The 
Palaeolithic period, as a distinct age, is rather a 
product of the imagination of over-zealous-an- 







140 


ORIGINAL ESTATE AND ANTIQUITY OF MAN 


tiquaries, whose fancies have been too readily 

accepted as facts by geologists, D ucson. -It 

may be and probably is true that all nations in 
the progress of the Arts have passed through 
the stages of using stone for implements before 
they were acquainted with the use of metals. 
But knowledge of the metals must have arisen 
at very different epochs in different regions of 
the earth. We know from the remains of the 
First Chaldean Monarchy that a very high civ¬ 
ilization in the arts of agriculture and commerce 
coexisted with the use of stone implements of 
a very rude character. This fact proves that 
rude stone implements are not necessarily any 
indication whatever of a really barbarous con¬ 
dition. Assuming then that the use of stone has 
in all cases preceded the use of metals, it is 
quite certain that the same Age which was an 
Age of Stone in one part of the world was an 
Age of Metal in another. Artjyll. 

The several ages, as they are called, of stone, 
bronze, iron, and a higher civilization are not, 
nor have they ever been, ages in the progress of 
the human race as a whole ; but only in that of 
particular peoples or nations ; peoples in all 
these stages of progress living, not only at the 
same time, but often side by side—as did the 
English colonists, the Bed Indians and the 
Aztecs in America two centuries ago. Nor does 
the passage of a people through one of these 
ages —the stone age, for example —necessarily 
require thousands of years. Where a savage 
people are brought into contact with a civilized 
one, they may pass through all these ages in the 
course of a generation or two. Such has been 
the case with the civilized Indians in our Indian 
Territory. “ The Stone Age is not necessarily 
associated with antiquity. It is a stage of 
civilization, and not a measure of time.” (South- 
all.) These several ages may be stages in a 
course of degradation, as was the fact, accord¬ 
ing to Sir John Lubbock, with respect to the 
Stone Age, in which many tribes of our North 
American Indians were, found living, at the 
. first settlement of the country by Europeans. 
G. D. A. 

I set little value on the argument of Whately, 
that as regards the mechanical arts man can 
never have arisen “unaided.” The aid which 
man had from his Creator may possibly have 
been nothing more than the aid of a body and 
a mind, so marvellously endowed that thought 
was an instinct and contrivance at once a neces¬ 
sity and delight. But I set still less value on 
the arguments of Lubbock, that primeval man 
must have been born in a state of “ utter bar¬ 
barism,” on the ground that this is the actual 


condition of the outcasts of our race or that 
industrial knowledge has advanced from small 
beginnings, or that there are traces of rude cus¬ 
toms among many nations now highly civilized. 
None of these arguments afford any proof what¬ 
ever, or even any reasonable presumption in 
favor of the conclusion which they are employed 
to support : first, because along vith a complete 
ignorance of the Arts it is quite possible there 
may have been a higher knowledge of God, and 
a closer communion with Him ; secondly, be¬ 
cause many cases of existing barbarism can be 
distinctly traced to adverse external circum¬ 
stances, and because it is at least possible that 
all real barbarism has had its origin in like con¬ 
ditions ; thirdly, because the known character of 
man and the indisputable facts of history prove 
that he has within him at all times the elements 
of corruption-that even in his most civilizerl 
condition he is capable of degradation, that his 
knowledge may decay, and that his religion may 
be lost. Arijyll. 

Barbarism is not a youthful crudeness, but a 
decrepitude, of society, not a wild exuberance, 
but a consumption, of life. Only this consump¬ 
tion, like that of a man’s lungs, has its stage of 
hectic glow, and undiminished fullness of fibre, 
separated sometimes, by quite an interval, from 
the hollow cough, the sunken cheek and the 
fatal night-sweat. Sometimes, however, the 
consumption gallops. But slow or quick, it 
kills. Such is barbarism. Its law is violence, 
and its end is death. The noblest race of Bar¬ 
barians who have a name in history, the Ger¬ 
mans, overpraised no doubt by Tacitus, would 
never have civilized themselves, and, but for 
Christianity, which had as much as it could do 
to civilize them, would long ago have perished ; 
just as, in spite of Christianity, the Hawaiians 
of the Pacific, and perhaps the Aborigines of 
our own Continent, are now perishing, the phy 
sician having arrived too late to save them. 
K. D. H. 

Different Forms of Evidence. The assumption 
by the advocates of a great antiquity for man 
that our existing civilization is a result wrought 
out by the human race as a whole, through long 
ages, the general course being one of advance 
from utter savagery at its beginning, is irrecon¬ 
cilable with the knovvn facts in the case. The 
question under examination cannot be settled 
by any general reasoning upon what is assumed 
to be the nature of man and the necessary 
progress in civilization, nor can it be settled by 
a study of the existing condition of the nations 
of the earth, and their history for the few cen¬ 
turies which authentic history covers in the 






TESTIMONY OF HISTORY. 


141 


case of many of them. In seeking an answer to 
it, we must make use of written history, so far 
as that is available ; and when that fails us, we 
must turn to the “ monuments" and tradHion and 
every truce <f himse[f of every kind which man 
has left behind him in the distant past GeoUuiy. 
Withropolo'jy, an I arctiwology, as well as history, 
traditional, monumental, and written, have a 
right to be heard. G. D, A. 

Evidence bearing upon the antiquity of man 
may be gathered along several different walk.s 
of science, and these are all found tending in 
one direction and pointing to one general result. 
First comes the evidence of History, embracing 
under that name all' literature. Then comes 
archae logy, the evidence of Human Monuments, 
belonging to times or races whose voice, though 
not silenced, has become inarticulate to us. 
Piecing on to this evidence, comes that which 
Geology' has recently a'forded from human re¬ 
mains associated with the latest physical changes 
on the surface and in the climates of the globe. 
Then comes the evidence of Language, founded 
on the facts of human speech and the laws 
which regulate its development and growth. 
And lastly, there is the evidence afforded by 
the existing physical structure, and the existing 
geographical distribution of the various races 
of mankind. Argyll. 

Testimony of History. 

The “ primeval savage” is a familiar term in 
modern literature ; but there is no evidence that 
the primeval savage ever existed. All the evi¬ 
dence looks the other way. The mythical tia- 
ditions of almost all nations place at the begin¬ 
nings of human history a time of happiness and 
perfection, a “ golden age,” which has no feat¬ 
ures of savagery or barbarism, but many of civ¬ 
ilization and refinement. The sacred records, 
venerated alike by Jews and Christians, depict 
antediluvian man as from the first “ tilling the 
ground,” ‘ ‘ building cities,” ” smelting metals,” 
and “making musical instruments.” Babylo¬ 
nian documents of an early date tell of art and 
literature having preceded the Great Deluge, 
and having survived it. The explorers who 
have dug deep into the Mesopotamian mounds 
and ransacked the tombs of Egypt have come 
upon no traces of savage man. So far from sav¬ 
agery being the primitive condition of man, it 
is rather a corruption and degradation, the re¬ 
sult of adverse circumstances during a long 
period of time, crushing man down, and effac¬ 
ing the divine image wherein he was created. 
Had savagery been man’s primit ve condition it 
is scarcely conceivable that he c lul.l have ever 


emerged from it. There is no historical evi¬ 
dence of savages ever having civilized them¬ 
selves, no instance on record of their ever hav¬ 
ing been raised out of their miserable condition 
by any other means than by contact with a civ¬ 
ilized race. G. E.-In all regions of the world 

known to have been inhabited by barbarous 
and savage tribes, but which are now civilized, 
it is easy to show from whence, in what waj', 
an 1 at what period, they severally received the 
arts and polish of civilized life ; and that in 
every instance thejMvere indebted to of hers more 
improved thun themselvesior all their acquisitions. 
From analogy, we may and must conclude that 
such will ever be the order of events. Lindsley. 

-Civilization, as far as all experience goes, 

has always been learned from without. No ex¬ 
tremely barbarous nation has ever jet lieen 
found capable o[ initiating civilization. Eetro- 
gression is rapid, but progress unknown till 

the first steps have been taught. E. H. B.- 

All the evidence of history goes to show that as 
far back as we can trace the history of the 
Assyrians, Phoenicians and Egyptians, we find 
them civilized, and that too in a very high de¬ 
gree. Now, what right have we—supposing we 
could extend our researches no further—to infer 
that they were ever otherwise than civilized ? or 
that their ancestors had been savages? None 
at all, unless it could be proved that these w^ere 
not the most ancient nations in the world ; and 
that the nations from which they sprung had 
been originally savage. This none will attempt 
to prove. The civilization of modern Europe — 
of the Gauls, Germans, Britons, Goths, Vandals, 
Huns, Scandinavians, and the rest of the north¬ 
ern barbarians—\vas derived from the Eomans ; 
as theirs had been from the Greeks ; and theirs 
again from the Egyptians and other Orien¬ 
tals. Prior to these latter nations, savage life 
is unknown to either sacred or profane history. 
P. Lindsley. 

The country known to us, in part, as Armenia 
—the elevated region in which the Euphrates, 
the Tigris, and the Indus have their head w'aters 
—is regarded as the cradle of the human race ; 
and this, among other reasons, because the most 
ancient traditions all point to this as man’s 
starting-point, because this is the native coun¬ 
try of the cereals which have furnished food for 
man the world over, and because ethnological 
investigations all lead to the same conclusion. 
It is here, and clustering around this as a centre, 
we find the oldest nations the only ones that 
have a history reaching back into the long past 
—f the Chinese, the Indians, the Persians, 

the Assyrians, the Jews, the Phoenicians, the 






142 


ORIGINAL ESTATE AND ANTIQUITY OF MAN. 


Greeks, and the Egj’ptians. G. D. A.-The 

teachings of history and archaeology indicate 
that in Egypt, Babylonia, Southern Arabia, as 
well as among the Aryan tribes of ancient Bac- 
tria, the jirimitive condition of mankind was 
one of civilization. The Chaldeans, the primi¬ 
tive Aryans, the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the 
South Arabian Cushites, the Phoenicians, the 
Phrygians, the “ Pelasgi” (and probably the 
Chinese)—all set out as builders of cities and 
acquainted with the arts of civilized life. The 
first glimpse that we catch of the race in Egypt 
and Babylonia presents it as engaged in erecting 
pyramids and great temple towers, as acquainted 
with bronze and even iron, as possessing a writ¬ 
ten language, and already deeply absorbed in 
astronomy and medicine. The further we go 
back in Egypt, the more perfect is the art. We 
find all of these primeval peoples suddenly ap¬ 
pearing on the scene together, and wUh afuli- 
jiedijed civiUz'tivm. That was about four thousand 
six hundred years ago. The Book of Genesis 
makes a precisely similar representation as to 
the beginnings of the human race. Before the 
Flood we find Cain building a city : in the eighth 
generation we have Jubal and Tubal-Cain ; 
while after the Flood, Nimrod is associated with 
the cities of Babel, etc. ; and Abraham, in the 
tenth generation from Noah, finds Egypt an 
organized State. We find the Aryan settled in 
villages ; w'orking in gold, silver, and bronze ; 
in possession of domestic animals, harnessing 
horses and oxen to carriages ; worshipping the 
“holy” Ahuramazda. The Cushite cities of 
Southern Arabia and the primeval civilization 
of China tell the same story. Soidhall. 

” The scenes depicted in the tombs show that 
the Egyptians had already the same arts and 
habits as in after times ; and the hieroglyphics 
in the Great Pyramid prove that writing had 
been long in use. We see no primitive mode of 
life in Egypt ; no barbarous customs ; not even 
the habit, so slowly abandoned bj'^ all people, of 
wearing arms when not on military service, nor 
any archaic art.” (G. Wilkinson.) If to all 
this we add the architectural skill exhibited in 
fixing the casing-stones of the pi ramid, and in 
polishing the marble linings of the several pas¬ 
sages, and more especially the red granite linings 
of what is called the King’s Chamber, we can¬ 
not but form a high idea of Egyptian civiliza¬ 
tion at that period. In view of all these facts 
M. Renan exclaims, “ When we think of this 
civilization, that it had no known infancy ; that 
this art, of which there remain innumerable 
monuments, had no archaic period ; that the 
Egypt of Cheops and Cephron is superior, in a 


sense, to all that followed, on est pris de vertige.'’ 

G. D. A. 

If man, as some affirm, has been on the earth 
a hundred thousand years, why are there no 
traces of him anterior t ) the organized and civ¬ 
ilized communities in Egypt and Babylonia? 
If tribes, savage, batbarous and half civilized, 
had been inhabiting the valley of the Nile a 
hundred and fifty thousand years before Menes, 
we ought to find, if not their bones, at least 
their implements ; and in the case of the more 
advanced tribes, as we approach the period of 
Egyptian civilization we ought to find some 
traces of their habitations and tombs. But be¬ 
hind the pyramids in Egypt and the cities of 
Erech and Calneh in Southern Babylonia there 
is nothing to indicate the earlier presence of the 
human race. And if we come to North and 
South America there is nothing to indicate an 
older civilization than that of Asia and Africa. 

Soalhall. -The oldest civilization of which we 

can learn anything with certainty outside the 
records of Scripture is the Egyptian ; and among 
the monuments of this Egj^ptian civilization the 
grandest are confessedly the oldest ; and the 
oldest form of Egypt’s religion is the purest. 
So it is with the Assyrian and Indian civiliza¬ 
tions, the written and monumental records of 
which have lately been disentombed. On our 
western continent the civilization of the empire 
of the Incas, in South America, was far in ad¬ 
vance of that of their descendants in our time. 
The mouldering temples of Central America and 
the rock-cities of New Mexico tell the same 
story. Standing on the height of our modern 
Civilization, and looking away into the distant 
pash the farthest objects distinctly seen are the 
pyramids and tem[)les of Egypt ; then the pal¬ 
aces and great cities of the valley of the Eu¬ 
phrates ; and then the rock-hewn temples and 
old pagodas of India and China—all telling, not 
of savage man working up through sheer force 
of intellect from savagery to civilization, but of 
civilized man sinking lower and lower from gen¬ 
eration to generation ; all confirming the simple 
story of the Bible. G. D. A. 

L'ingunge. What shall be said of human lan¬ 
guage, that mysterious, subtle, cunning instru¬ 
ment of thought ? Science hesitates about its 
origin, whether to call it Divine or human, and 
is best satisfied, perhaps, to call it both. The 
conviction is irresistible, on the basis of any 
generous conception of God, that man, his “ off¬ 
spring,” as Aratus and Cleanthes called him, 
cannot have been put to his lessons without 
a teacher, and can have had no other teacher 
than his Heavenly Father. Civilization, conse- 







TESTIMONY OF HISTORY. 


143 


qtiently, was no belated and painful achieve¬ 
ment of ages, but appeared immediately, as the 
joint product of God and man, the teacher and 
the taught. Precisely what form it took, in 
what lines it moved, and to what lengths it 
went, it were idle to ask. Suffice it to know, 
that every just postulate in philosophy invites 
us to the conclusiorr that human history must 
have had its beginning, not in barbarism, nor 
yet in mere crude capacity, but in a sensitive, 
athletic humanity, taking its lessons, whence its 

life was kindled, from above. 11. D. H-The 

two exclusive!}’ human endowments of language 
and the use of fire prove conclusively that man 
was originally taught by God. They could not 
have been invented except by a highly civilized 
people ; for without them, even a beginning of 
civilization would be obviously impossible, and 
mail, if he was a brute to begin with, must al¬ 
ways have remained a brute. The divine origin 
of one of them is indicated in the beautiful 
myth of the Greeks, that Prometheus stole fire 
from heaven. And of language, as soon as we 
perceive that it does not consist merely in giv¬ 
ing names to things, but that it is an organic 
structure, marvellously complex and intricate, 
founded on a philosophical analysis of the ele¬ 
ments of human thought, may we not well say, 
that it could no more have been a human inven¬ 
tion than is the anatomical structure of the hu¬ 
man body, bnt that in both cases the inventor 
and fashioner was divine ? That mere savages, 
as yet hardly raised above their kindred brutes, 
and unaided by a divine instinct specially im¬ 
planted in them for the purpose, could have in¬ 
vented both language and the use of fire, or 
could have taken Hie first step toward civiliza¬ 
tion without the aid of both, is a doctrine which 
can be entertained only by those who can believe 
in a chance development of all things out of 
mud. F. Bowen. 

EarlYst Inventions. If we are to assume with 
the supporters of the Savage-theory that man 
has himself invented all' that he now knows, 
then the very earliest inventions of our race 
must have been the most wonderful of all, and 
the richest in the fruits they bore. The men 
who first discovered the use of fire, and the use 
of those grasses which we now know under the 
name' of corn, were discoverers compared with 
whom, as regards the value of their ideas to the 
world, Faraday and Wheatstone are but the in¬ 
ventors of ingenious toys. Argyll. 

Earliest Religions. If there is one thing which 
a comparative study of religions places in the 
clearest light it is the inevitable decay to which 
every religion is exposed. Whenever we can 


trace back a religion to its first beginnings we 
find it free from many blemishes that aifected 
it in its later stages. 3Iax Muller. -It is in¬ 

contestably true that the sublimest portions of 
the Egyptian religion are not the comparatively 
late result of a process of development, or elim¬ 
ination from the grosser. The sublimest por¬ 
tions are demonstrably ancient, and the last 
stage of the Egyptian rtligion, that known to 
the Greek and Latin writers, was bv far the 
grossest and most corrupt. Reno»f. 

A historic review of the religions of the ancient 
world lends no support to the theory that there 
is a uniform growth and progress from fetish¬ 
ism to polytheism, from polytheism to mono¬ 
theism, and from monotheism to positivism, as 
maintained by the followers of Comte. None 
of the religions here described shows any signs 
of having been developed out of fetishism, un¬ 
less it be the Shamanism of the Etruscans. In 
most of them the monotheistic idea is most 
prominent at the first, and gradually becomes 
obscured, and gives way before a irolytheistic 
corruption. In all there is one element, at least, 
which appears to be traditional—viz., sacrifice, 
for it can scarcely have been by the exercise of 
his reason that man came so generally to believe 
that the superior powers, whatever they were, 
would be pleased by the violent death of one or 
more of their creatures. Altogether, the theory 
to which the facts appear on the whole to point 
is the existence of a primitive religion, com¬ 
municated to man from without, whereof mo¬ 
notheism and expiatory sacrifice were parts, and 
the gradual clouding over of this primitive rev¬ 
elation everywhere, unless it were among the 
Hebrews. Even among them a worship of Ter- 
aphim crept in (Gen. 31 :19-35), together with 
other corruptions (Josh 24 : 14) ; and the ter¬ 
rors of Sinai were needed to clear away poly¬ 
theistic accretions. Elsewhere degeneration had 
free play. The cloud was darker and thicker in 
some places than in others. There were, per- 
i haps, races with whom the whole of the past 
became a tahula rasa. There were others which 
lost a portion, without losing the whole of their 
inherited knowledge. There were others again 
who lost scarcely anything, but hid up the truth 
in mystic language and strange symbolism. 
The only theory which accounts for all the facts 
—for the unity as well as the diversity of ancient 
religions—is that of a primeval revelation, vari¬ 
ously corrupted through the manifold and mul¬ 
tiform deterioration of human nature in differ¬ 
ent races and places. G. R, 

1, There is already ground for saying that in 
its idea of evil pagan religion is upon the whole 







144 


ORIGINAL ESTATE AND ANTIQUITY OF MAN 


more pure in tone and more consistent with the 
teachings of enlightened reason, even, as we 
ascend into prehistoric times. As we approach 
the primitive periods in the annals of any his¬ 
toric pagan religion we find the conception of 
evil more and more that of our own sacred 
books. The prehistoric literature of these re¬ 
ligions, so far as yet accessible, deals with evil 
almost wholly in its aspect as moral evil, while 
the pagan rituals of that early period are per¬ 
vaded, as those of later times never are, with a 
penitent utterance that at times is almost in the 
phraseology of the Hebrew ritual itself. 

2. When this primitive purity in the concep¬ 
tion of evil began to change to its Liter and cor¬ 
rupt form, the first step of change w'as, as the 
evidence appears to show, that of the old dual- 
istic religions, in which the origin of evil was 
found in the malignant interposition of an evil 
being, powerful enough to contest the supremacy 
of the universe, while the creation of evil by 
this being was his method of making war upon 
the author of all good. In this, so much of the 
original revelation on this subject was retained 
as concerns the fall of man and the introduc¬ 
tion of evil on earth through the instrumentality 
of Satan, the tempter. 

3. In process of further change those specu¬ 
lative notions began to prevail, in which ideas of 
physical and moral evil were confused ; the con- 
ception of evil as sin grew dim and feeble, and 
while pagan religions became more pantheistic 
or idolatrous, the sense of accountability, of 
personal guilt, was obscured if not wholly lost. 
In a word, pagan religions, in their history, are 
shown to have undergone processes of steady 
deterioration, in respect to the idea of evil, just 
as also in their idea of God. 

4. If these inferences from what is known at 
present of the history of religions shall be justi- 
fied by the results of further inquiry, as there is 
every reason to believe they will be, that theory 
of the origin of religion which is held by the 
extreme evolutionist school, will, it should 
seem, have to be given up. This theory sup¬ 
poses that religion began in a sentiment of won¬ 
der, as man in his earliest rise above the condi¬ 
tions of a brute became more intelligent ; that 
the next step of evolution was the worship of 
the fetish, in the form of any object that ap¬ 
pealed to this sentiment of wonder, or the sen¬ 
timent of reverence, or of fear ; that next came 
the worship of nature-gods ; then mythology 
and the deities of such pantheons as those of 
Egypt, of Greece, and of Rome ; polytheism 
becoming at last monotheism. Tliis necessarily 
presupposes that all religious ideas were in the 


beginning crude and almost brutal, and that as 
we ascend into prehistoric times, they become 
more crude, and less in harmony with the reason 
and conscience of enlightened man. It is enough 
to say that the evidence thus far warrants us in 
holding that the facts are in direct conflict wdth 
this theory ; and these facts, as time goes on 
and investigation proceeds, will in all probabil¬ 
ity make it at last impossible to consistently 
hold any other theory of the origin of religion 
than that which finds it in that revelalion of 
which the Christian Bible is the record and the 
repository. J. A. Srnith. 

Where science forsakes us, revelation meets 
us with an account of man’s origin, state, and 
destiny, which is adequate and coherent, which 
explains all the facts, and commends itself alike 
to the reason and the conscience ; and the more 
it is sifted and examined, the more well-founded 
and irrefragable does it prove to be. . . . This 
account of man we accept because it is revealed 
by God, is supported by adequate evidence, 
solves the otherwise insoluble problems not only 
of science and history, but of inward experi¬ 
ence, and meets our deepest need. Pfoff. 

Tesi\mnny of Tradition. 

By means of authentic records, written and 
monumental, we have traced back the history 
of man about 4500 years. Beyond this date we 
have certain traditions, more or less universal. 

1. The Tradition respecting the “ Tower of 

Tongues.’ ’ “ This w^as among the most ancient 

recollections of the Chaldeans, and w’as one of 
the national traditions of the Armenians, W'ho 
had received it from the civilized nations in¬ 
habiting the Tigro-Euphrates basin.” {Lenor- 
mant.) This tradition, in its earliest form, has 
recently been discovered inscribed on one of 
the Assyrian tablets in the British Museum. 

2. Tradition of a General Flood. “ The one tra¬ 
dition which is really universal, among those 
bearing on the history of primeval man, is that 
of the Deluge.” (Lenormant.) G. Tradition of 
a Golden Age. “ The traditions of almost all 
nations place at the beginning of human history 
a time of happiness and perfection, ‘ a golden 
age,’ which has no features of savagery or bar¬ 
barism, but many of civilization and refine¬ 
ment.” {G. Raiclinson.) Under the guidance 
of tradition we can go back 1000 or 2000 years 
more—and there, w^e seem to reach his begin¬ 
ning, to come upon Primeval Man as he is start¬ 
ing upon his course ; and w^e find him - not the 
ignorant, brutal savage, destitute of all religion, 
which some would have us believe man to have 
been—but man enjojung his golden age, under 




TE821M0NT OF ARUHjEOLOGT. 


145 


the immediate government of the gods, and in 
happy communion with them ; and true sci¬ 
ence testifies to nothing at variance with this. 
G. D. A. 

The Pentateuch contains the .most ancfent 
tradition as to the first days oiSth.e humau r^ice, 
the only one which has not been drsfiguied by 
the introduction of fantastic myths of disordered 
imaginations run wild. The chief features of 
that tradition, which was originally common to 
all mankind, and which the special care of 
Providence has preserved in greater purity 
among the chosen people than among other 
races, are preserved, though changed, in coun¬ 
tries distant from each other, and whose inhab¬ 
itants have had no communication for thousands 
of years. The only clew which can guide us 
through the labyrinth of these scattered frag¬ 
ments of tradition, is the Bible stor 3 ^ Lenor- 
mant 

Natural increase. Considering the tendency 
of mankind to “increase andmultiph",” so that, 
according to Malthus, it would excepting for 
artificial hindrances double itself every 25 
years, it is sufficiently astonishing that the hu¬ 
man race has not, in the space of 5000 years, 
exceeded greatly the actual number, which is 
estimated commonly at a thousand [fourteen 
hundred] million of souls. Is it conceivable 
that if man had occupied the earth for the “ one 
hundred thousand years” of some writers, or 
even the “ twenty-one thousand ” of others, he 
would not by this time have multiplied far be¬ 
yond the actual numbers of the present day ? 

G. R.-The known population of the world is 

much what it would be, according to recognized 
rules of the increase of our race, dating from [ 
the received chronology of Noah, and starting I 
with six persons. Rough as such calculations 
must be, they wholly exclude the fabulous un¬ 
broken antiquity which some claim for the hu¬ 
man race. It is calculated by M. Faa de Bruns, 
Professor at Turin, that, starting from the re¬ 
ceived chronology of the flood, b.c. 2348, and 
taking as the annual increase a number not 
far from that which represents the annual in¬ 
crease of the population of France, you would 
light on the net number of the population of 
the earth, 1,400,000,000. Pusey. 

Testimony of Archaeology, or Human Monuments. 

1. That of the Megalithic Monuments and 
Tumuli found in various parts of the world. 
Mr. James Fergusson, in his “ Rude Stone Mon¬ 
uments,” states as his conclusion that the 
“ Cromlechs” of Great Britain and France be¬ 
long to the first centuries of the Christian era, 
10 


and further, that “ three fourths of these mon¬ 
uments have yielded sepulchral deposits to the 
explorer ; and, including the tumuli, probably 
nine tenths have proved to be burial places.” 
Foi^the tiQnuli of North and South America no 
Uiore ancient^^date’can reasonably be claimed 
than for those of Europe. 

2. That of the remains of the Lake Dwellings, 
i.e., buildings erected upon piles, which have 
been discovered in the course of the last thirty 
years in rnanj'^ of the lakes of Switzerland and 
adjacent countries. An age of six or seven 
thousand years has been claimed for tJtiese re¬ 
mains, on the groiind of the rude stone imple¬ 
ments found in them. But (1) Mingled with 
these stone implements, others of bronze and 
iron occur ; together with the remains of the 
horse, the ox, the goat, the sheep, and the dog, 
all domesticated animals ; and wheat, •barlej'^ 
and millet roasted and stored up in jars, pre¬ 
cisely as is now done in these same countries ; 
and very recently silver coins, of the eighth 
and tenth centuries, have been dredged up from 
the ruins of the lake-dwellings of Lake Paladri’, 
in Southern France ; (2) Pile-dwellings are de¬ 
lineated on Trajan’s Column at Rome. Such 
dwellings have been common in many countries 
in ages past, and are still in use in some. 

3. That of the Danish Kjokken-moddings, or 
shed-mounds. The great antiquity of these shell- 
mounds is contended for on the ground of the 
rude character of the stone inq^lements foui'.d 
in them. “ The whole argument which has 
been founded on flint implements is liable to 
these two fundamental objections : (1) That 
flint implements are a verj’^ uncertain index of 
civilization even among the tribes who irse 
them ; and (2) that they are no index at all of 
the state of civilization of other tribes who lived 
at the same time in other portions of the globe. 
The finding of flint implements, for example, 
however rude, in England or Denmark or France, 
affords no evidence whatever of the condition 
of the Industrial Arts in the same age, upon the 
banks of the Euphrates or the Nile.” {Argyll.) 

4. That of the “ Bone-Caves" of Europe; in 
which the bones of man are found, mingled 
with those of the cave-bear, the cave hyena, the 
mammoth, the woolly elephant, and the rein¬ 
deer, animals now extinct, or else no longer in¬ 
habitants of the countries in which these caves 
occur. If man was the contemporary of these 
animals—and the evidence seems to place this 
beyond reasonable doubt-the question presents 
itself, how long ago is it that these animals in¬ 
habited Central Europe? And when did they 
cease to exist, if they have disappeared alto- 










146 


ORIGINAL ESTATE AND ANTIQUITY OF 3IAN. 


gether ? (1) The cave-bear and cave-hyena, 

once thought to be extinct species of these ani¬ 
mals, and so, very ancient, more careful exam¬ 
ination has shown to be identical with those 
now living. (2) The reindeer, now confined to 
Northern Europe, Caesar and Sallust both tell 
us was common in Gaul (France) and Germany 
in their day. (3) The remains of the woolly 
elephant occur in great abundance in Siberia, 
in some instances with the flesh perfect, and in 
such a condition as to be eaten by dogs. (4) 
The remains of the mammoth are found in sur¬ 
face deposits and peat swamps, with the bones 
retaining a large portion of their animal matter, 
thus proving their comparatively recent extinc¬ 
tion. And in confirmation of this, in the Smith¬ 
sonian “ Contributions to Knowledge,” we are 
told that among the North American Indians, 
there are native legends which indicate a tradi¬ 
tional knowledge of more than one extinct ani¬ 
mal, among them the mastodon or mammoth. 
This much is certainly true, that there is noth¬ 
ing in the known facts of the case which de¬ 
mands for these human bones an antiquity 
greater than 4000 or 5000 years. G. D. A. 

Mere rudeness of workmanship and low con¬ 
dition of life generally is sometimes adduced as 
an evidence of enormous antiquity ; and the 
discoveries made in cairns and caves, in lake- 
beds and shell-mounds are brought forward to 
prove that man must have a past of enormous 
duration. But it seems to be forgotten that as 
great a rudeness and as low a savagism as any 
which the spade has ever turned up still exists 
upon the earth in various places, as among the 
Australian aborigines, the Bushmen of South 
Africa, the Ostiaks and Samoyedes of North¬ 
ern Asia, and the Weddas of Ceylon. The sav¬ 
agery of a race is thus no proof of its antiquity. 
G. B.-We have absolutely no geological evi¬ 

dence, so far as the association of man with ex¬ 
tinct animals is concerned, that the residence 
of man in Europe has been longer than 6000 
;years. Dawson. 

Testimony of Geology. 

On one point the testimony of geology re- 
•specting primeval man is definite and unques- 
•tionable, and that is, that man is “ the latest 
born” of the inhabitants of our earth. From 
'time to time during the last half century the 
announcement has been made that human re¬ 
mains had been found in positions which dem- 
'onstrated a much greater antiquity for man 
'than had hitherto been allowed ; but in every 
‘instance a more careful examination has proved , 
■ this claim 'to *be -unfounded. Among the most 


noted of these cases are the following : (1) 
” Two skeletons found imbedded in the solid 
rock on the north coast of Gaudaloupe in the 
West Indies. A careful study has led to the 
conclusion that they are the remains of Indians, 
killed in battle not more than two centuries ago. ’ 
{Southall.) (2) Hurhan bones found by Count 
Portales, reported, in the coral reefs of Florida. 
The discoverer of these bones says: “ The 
human jaw and other bones found in Florida 
by myself in 1848, were notin a coral formation, 
but in a fresh-water sandstone, on the shore of 
Lake Monroe, associated with fresh-water shell, 
of species still living in the lake.” (3) ” The 
Natchez man," as it was called-—a human pelvis 
found in the bottom of a ravine cut through the 
fluviatile deposit at Natchez, Miss., wLich Sir 
Charles Lyell estimated to have an age of one 
hundred thousand years. Professor C. G. For- 
she^q w'ho subsequently examined the spot 
where this bone was found, says : ” Probably 
this loam and the bone boo had caved in from 
some point above and been washed thither. A 
dozen plantation burial-places and Indian 
mounds and camps had been exposed above for 
centuries. The probabilities are a hundred to 
one that this bone was not of the bluff forma¬ 
tion.” The-conclusion of Lyell respecting the 
age of this bone is based upon another conclu¬ 
sion of his, that the delta of the Mississippi has 
been one hundred thousand years in forming. 
Since L^’^ell’s estimate, more accurate observa¬ 
tions on the rate of formation of the Mississippi 
delta have reduced the estimate of its age to 
14,200 years according to Professor Hitchcock, 
or 4400 according to Majors Humphrey and 
Abbot, United States engineers, the latest au¬ 
thorities on the subject.-The last discovery 

of human bones upon which the claim of an¬ 
tiquity is based, has been made in Mexico, near 
the capital. Professor Newberry has weighed 
the reports and says ; “ It is possible that we 
have in these bones the oldest record of man’s 
occupation of the continent, but no facts have 
yet been brought to light which prove that the 
deposit containing them was not made within a 
thousand years.” G. D, A. 

I must reject this supposed later Glacial age 
intervening between Paleeolithic and modern 
man, and maintain that there is no proof of the 
existence of man earlier than the close of the 
proper Glacial age. . . . The archmologjcal lit¬ 
erature of the last ten years is strewn with the 
wrecks of supposed facts establishing the an¬ 
tiquity of man, but wLich more careful exami¬ 
nation has shown to have been wrongly observed 
or misunderstood. . . . The evidence available 










TESTIMONY OP GEOLOGY AND ANTHHOPOLOGY. 


147 


at present points to the appearance of man, with 
all his powers and properties, in the Post¬ 
glacial age of geology, and not more than 6000 
to 8000 years ago. This abrupt appearance of 
man in his full perfection, his association wdth 
animals the greater part of which still survive, 
and his introduction at the close of that great 
and as yet very mysterious revolution of the 
earth which we call the Glacial period, accords 
with the analogy of geological science in the in¬ 
formation which it gives as to the first appear¬ 
ance of other types of organic being in the sev¬ 
eral stages of development of our earth. . . . 
The most ancient man whose bones are known 
to us may be referred to a race still extant, and 
perhaps the most widely distributed of all—a 
fact which tells strongly in favor both of the 
unity and moderate antiquity of the species, 
while it is directly opposed to all theories of 
evolution from brute ancestors. D tuoson. 

With geological records of great uncertainty, 
and written records declared to be incomplete 
for this purpose, we submit that it is sufficient 
for us to show a near approximation between 
science and Scripture, and to express the con¬ 
viction, founded on actual facts, that the more 
geology is studied and its facts ascertained, the 
closer does this approximation become ; already 
this is the case in the judgment of some leading 
geologists, for undoubtedly the tendency of 
modern observation and discovery has been to 
bring down and modernize the mammalian and 
prehistoric epochs. Finally, the matter stands 
thus—the exact age of man on the earth is 
not ascertainable by science, but science shows 
to us a number of converging probabilities 
which point to his first appearance along with 
great animals about eight thousand years ago, 
and certainly' not in indefinite ages before that. 
S. li. Paitison. 

Testimony of Anthropology. At one time it was 
claimed that certain human skulls which from 
the position in which they were found were re¬ 
garded as the skulls of paleolithic men—“ the 
Neanderthall skull,” for example—demonstrated 
a great difference between these men and the 
men of the present day, and so a much greater 
antiquity for man than had hitherto been 
allowed him. A more careful and extended ex¬ 
amination has led anthropologists to a different 
conclusion. “The most ancient of all known 
human skulls,” writes the Duke of Argyll, “is 
so ample in its dimensions that it might have 
contained the brains of a philosopher.” So 
conclusive is this evidence against any change 
whatever in the specific characters of man since 
the oldest human being yet known was born, 


that Professor Huxley pronounces it to be clearly 
indicated that the first traces of the primordial 
stock whence man has proceeded need no 
longer be sought by those who entertain any 
form of the doctrine of progressive development 
in the newest tertiaries ; but he adds they may 
be looked for in an epoch more distant from 
the age of those tertiaries than it is from us. 
“ The newest tertiaries” are the oldest strata in 
which human remains have as yet been found. 
Professor Pfaff, of the University of Erlangen, 
after giving a tabular statement of the dimen¬ 
sions of a large number of very ancient skulls — 
palaeolithic skulls, as they are called—collected 
i in Great Britain and France, reaches the con¬ 
clusion : ‘‘ We see very clearly from all this that 
the size of the brain of the oldest population 
knowm to us is not such as to permit us to place 
them on a lower level than that of the now liv¬ 
ing inhabitants of the earth.” And, he subse¬ 
quently adds, “ The brain of the ape most like 
man does not amount to quite a third of the 
brain of the lowest race of men ; it is not half 
the size of the brain of a new-born child. The 
same gulf which is found to-day between man 
and the ape goes back with undiminished 
breadth and depth to the tertiary period.” 
G. D. A. 

If man had lived on the earth contemporary 
with the oldest animal species, we ought to find 
not merely one skeleton or half a skeleton buried 
alongside of myriads of fossil sea-shells and 
fishes, but a fair show of specimens, so many at 
least as to leave no question as to his being a 
joint occupant with them of the earth as it then 
w'as. One or two, or even a dozen skeletons, 
gathered from every explored portion of the 
earth’s surface, are too few for the base of a 
theory like this, because such scattered cases, in 
number so meagre, are always subject, more or 
less, to abatement from the following possibili 
ties : (a.) The human family in all ages have 
buried their dead, and often, during the earlier 
ages, in rock-hewn sepulchres or in natural 
caves ; (b.) In all ages of .the world men have 
been liable to fall into rock-fissures and ravines 
and to die there ; and to leave their skeletons 
to become fossil there, particularly in calcareous 
and similar rocks where decomposition or solu¬ 
tion in water and new deposits are in progress ; 
(c.) Men have been wont to frequent caves for 
shelter, for safety in war or from persecution, 
and consequently might leave their bones theie ; 
or (d.) Their bones may have been dragged into 
caverns by flesh-eating animals or borne into 
strange positions by underground currents of 
water ; or again, (e.) Since the historic Adam, 




148 


ORIGINAL ESTATE AND ANTIQUITY OF MAN. 


drift deposits have in some circumstances been 
forming under water, in which waters men have 
been liable to be drowned and their skeletons to 
become imbedded in those deposits. Changes 
of elevation may bring such deposits to view. 

Such possibilities must practically nullify 
confidence in the proof of man’s high antiquity 
from his bones so long as the specimens are so 
exceedingly few and even these few found only 
quite near the surface. This argument will be 
appreciated by those who duly consider, on the 
one hand, that if man were on the earth in 
those pre-Adamic ages, it is in the highest de¬ 
gree improbable that his population ranged at a 
dozen for the area of all France, and a few hun¬ 
dreds only to a continent—for what should for¬ 
bid him as well as the lower animals to “ be 
fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth” ? 
Besides, a population so sparse and conse¬ 
quently weak could have made no stand against 
armies of hyenas, leopards, bears and lions. On 
the other hand, the occurrence of human bones, 
in numbers so very few and so remote from each 
other, will be much more rationally accounted 
for by the possibilities above indicated. H. C. 

Conclusions. Through a survey of Babylonian, 
Indian, Iranian, Phoenician, Israelitish, Lydian, 
Phrygian, Chinese, and Egyptian history, the 
history of man may be traced from authentic 
sources a little beyond the middle of the third 
millennium before our era ; so that man has ex¬ 
isted in communities, under settled government, 
for about 4500 years. The Scriptures, the my¬ 
thology of almost all nations, and Babylonian 
documents represent primitive man as civilized. 
No traces of savage man have been found in 
what tradition makes the cradle of the human 
race. There is no evidence of savages ever hav¬ 
ing civilized themselves. The civilization found 
in Egypt b.c. 2600 might have been reached in 
500, or at most 1000 years, if primitive man be¬ 
gan his history in a state of incipient civiliza¬ 
tion. Assuming that there was a primitive lan¬ 
guage from which all others have been derived, 
there is no difficulty in conceiving that all the 
four thousand languages said to exist now have 
been developed within 5000 years. Nor do the 
existing diversities of physical type require us 
to assume a vast antiquity for man. The early 
Egyptian remains indicate five types. The rest 
may have been developed subsequently. The 
growth of population and the waste spaces of 
the earth, and the absence of architectural re¬ 
mains earlier than the third millennium b.c. 
favor the “ juvenility” of man. G. K., Argu¬ 
ment of Tracts, “Pres. Day Tracts." 


The facts do not require more than seven or 
eight thousand years backward from the pres¬ 
ent, for the antiquity of man. This conclusion 
agrees with the facts of history, and is not in 
conflict with the chronology of Scripture. The 
tendency of modern discovery is ever to reduce 
the pre-historic period. By a survey of the 
measurements of the skulls of various races, and 
a comparison between the oldest men known to 
us and now living men, it is shown that man 
appeared suddenly, in all essential respects the 
same as the man of to-day. The total absence 
of proof of any transition from the man to the 
ape is pointed out, and the sufficiency and con¬ 
sistency of the scriptural account of man is 
shown. S. R. Paitison. 

The sketch thus given of Primeval Man is 
comi3lete enough to place beyond all reasonable 
question the fact, that he was no savage, just 
emerging as to body and mind from the condi¬ 
tion of a brute ; living in a damp, gloomy cave, 
and feeding upon the raw flesh of such animals 
as he was able to entrap, or master in open 
fight. But a being bearing the image of God, 
cultivating the fruitful earth which, in response 
to his labor, yielded an abundant return of all 
that was good for food ; possessed of a language 
copious enough to give names to every living 
thing ; subduing the earth, and having domin¬ 
ion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowls 
of the air, and over every living thing that mov- 
eth upon the earth ; and having the marriage 
relation established in all the sacredness which 
belongs to it among the most civilized nations 
of our day, a most significant particular in Moses’ 
sketch, when we consider that “ one of the most 
general characteristics of the savage is to de¬ 
spise and degrade the female sex.” 

In view of all the facts of the case, the con- 
elusion to which we come is that no sufficient 
reason, either scientific or historical, has as yet 
been given for abandoning what has been 
hitherto the almost universal faith, not of Chris¬ 
tian peoples alone, but of the more enlightened 
heathen also, as manifested in their traditions 
— That man was created some six or seven thousand 
years ago, and that he commenced his course as a 
civilized being, believing in the one only living and 
true God. G. D Armstrong. 

[Volumes to be consulted : Southall, “Eecent 
Origin of Man” and “ Epoch of the Mammal 
Dawson, “ Fossil Man,’ ’ ” Origin of the World 
Duke of Argyll, “ Primeval Man Kawlinson, 

Origin of Nations and the clear, compact 
pages of “Nature and Revelation, ” by Dr. G. 
D. Armstrong.] 




GENESIS 2 : lS-25, 


149 


Section 20. 


ANIMALS NAMED. WOMAN FOKMED. MARKIAGE. 

Genesis 2 :18-25. 

18 And the Lokd God said, It is not good that the man should be alone ; I will make him an 

19 help meet for him. And out of the gound the Lokd God formed every beatt of the fit Id, 
and every fowl of the air ; and brought them unto the man to see what he would call them : 

20 and whatsoever the man called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And the 
man gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field ; but 

21 for man there was not found an help meet for him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep 
to fall upon the man, and he slept ; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh 

22 instead thereof : and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from the man, made he a woman, 

23 and brought her unto the man. And the man said. This is now bone of my bones, and flesh 

24 of my flesh : she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.* Therefore shall 
a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife : and they shall be 

25 one flesh. And thej" were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. 


In the first chapters of Genesis lie the founda¬ 
tions of all the life of the world : marriage and 
family, labor and raiment, city and state, civil¬ 
ization and art, the relation of man to nature 
and the w’orld of spirit, nations, languages, re¬ 
ligions, etc. There are rich and fruitful hints 

also for ethics. Auberlen. -Dear, oldest, and 

eternal traditions of my race, ye are kernel and 
germ of its most hidden historj ! Without you, 
mankind would be what so much else is, a book 
without title, without first leaves and explana¬ 
tion ; with you, our family acquires foundation, 
stem, and root, back to God. And they are all 
taken in so simple, child-like a tone, from the 
mouth of the first tradition among the trees of 
the eastern land, and are set forth by Moses so 
true, and one by one as if he found them there, 
the echo of eternal times. Herder. 

18, IVol $fOO<l. Above, it is said, “ God 
saw all that He had made, and, behold, it was 
very good here it is not good, for no other 
reason than because all was not yet completed. 
Oerl. 

19, 20, The man gave iiaiiie§. At his 

creation Adam was a man in the vigor of physi¬ 
cal and mental life. He was taught of God, and 
not left to gather by slow experience all that he 
wanted to know. Language must have been 
supernaturally imparted to him. He had no 
means of acquiring it but from God. From the 
same source he must have derived the knowl¬ 
edge he possessed of the properties of the ob¬ 
jects and beings around him. Kit. -In the 

naming of the animals by the first man we have 
not only the primary truth of his superiority to 
them, but a further indication that the gift of 
speech was nnt the slow growth of ages, but an 


endowment of man from the first, just as much 
as any of his other powers or jiroperties. Due- 

son. -The paramount thing is certainly the 

naming of the animals. It was that he might 
name them that they were brought to the man. 
What is subsequently said implies that as he 
thus grew familiar with the life around him 
Adam became conscious how much alone he 
himself was. All that we observe of the divine 
method in dealing with mankind suggests that 
God would teach man to speak by putting him 
in the way of making and using a language for 
himself. The direct divine gift would be in the 
faculty of language. J. A. Smith. 

Scripture obviously and unequivocally asserts 
the divine institution of language. It is not neces¬ 
sary to suppose that Adam was endued with a 
full and perfect knowledge of the several creat¬ 
ures, so as to impose names truly expressive of 
their natures. It is sufficient if we suppose the 
use of language taught him with respect to such 
things as were necessary, and that he was then 
left to the exercise of his own faculties for fur¬ 
ther improvement ujion this foundation. But 
that the terms of worship and adoration were 
among those which were first communicated, 
we can entertain little doubt. In addition to 
the proof from Scripture, it should be remem¬ 
bered that the laws given by God to the first 
pair, respecting food and marriage, together 
with the other discoveries of his will recorded 
in the beginning of Genesis, were communi¬ 
cated through the medium of language ; and 
that the man and the woman are there expressly 
stated to have conversed with God, and with 
each other. Besides, in what sense could it be 
said, that a meet companion for the man was 






150 


WOMAN FORMED. 


formed, if there were not given to both the 
power of communicating their thoughts by ap¬ 
propriate si^eech ? Further, the diversity of 
tongues occasioning the confusion of Babel, and 
the miraculous gift of speech to the apostles on 
the day of Pentecost, may render a similar ex 
ercise of divine power in the case of our first 
parents more readily admissible : for surely 
such supernatural interference was not less 
called for in the last instance, than in either of 
the two former. The writer of Ecclesiasticus 
affirms ; When the Lwd created man, he imparted 
to him nndet'standing: and speech, an interpreta¬ 
tion of the cogitations thereof (Ecclus. 17 :5). 
Magee. 

As far as we can trace back the footsteps of 
man, even on the lowest strata of history, we 
see that the divine gift of a sound and sober in¬ 
tellect belonged to him from the very first. The 
earliest work of art wrought by the human mind, 
—more ancient than any literary document, and 
prior even to the first whisperings of tradition, 
— the human language, forms an uninterrupted 
chain from the first dawn of history down to 
our own times. We still speak the language of 
the first ancestors of our race, and this attests 
from the very first the presence of a rational 
mind, of an artist as great, at least, as his work. 
Max Muller. 

In the department of language, nature was 
found supplying man with images of the moral, 
the spiritual, and the Divine. Everything in 
creation represents a thought of God, for it 
must have been thought of hy him. Nature is a 
great cystem of Divine thoughts eternalized, and 
externalizing themselves in things. Man came 
therefore to find that things, as the exponents 
of a universal mind, were here before him ; and 
here to be the vehicles of his own thoughts — 
the exponents of his own mind. Whatever the 
subject which might occupy his thoughts, he 
found Nature had so spoken on the theme be¬ 
fore him as to provide the very prototypes of 
the words he wanted. As a poet, a world of im¬ 
pressive images lay around him ; if he reasoned, 
analogies crowded to his aid ; if he theorized, 
prolific suggestions met his eye ; if he worship¬ 
ped, the finite and the visible referred him to 
the Infinite invisible. With the new ideas of 
Revelation, came a new demand on the materials 
of language. Besides the new words which 
would be thus called into existence, language 
would be exalted by the secondary or derivative 
sense in which it would be now extensively em¬ 
ployed. That man was already in possession of 
a portion of natural knowledge was pre-sup- 
posed in the very fact of his being capable of 


receiving supernatural additions to it ; for to 
that previous knowledge of Nature the super¬ 
natural must appeal, and on it must be grafted. 
Names, besides being descriptive of the natural 
qualities and uses of objects, extended their 
illustrative power to Divine things. Spiritual 
ideas had to be translated into human language ; 
and thus terms which, before, had only a nat¬ 
ural meaning, acquired a metaphorical and the¬ 
ological value also. Ruach, for example, signify¬ 
ing breath, came to mean also life, soul, spirit, 
Spirit of God ; aor, light, was extended to mean 
knowledge, and security as resulting from knowl¬ 
edge, and happiness as flowing from both. 
Thus language was progressively moulded and 
enriched by Revelation. J. H. 

21, 22. All that he saw were fit to be his 
servants, none to be his companions. The same 
God, that finds the want, supplies it. Rather 
than man’s innocency shall want an outward 
comfort, God will begin a new creation : not 
out of the earth, which was the matter of man ; 
not out of the inferior creatures, which were 
the servants of man ; but out of himself, for 
dearness, for equality. As man knew not while 
he was made, so shall he not know while his 
other self is made out of him : that the com¬ 
fort might be greater, which was seen before it 
was expected. If the woman should have been 
made, not without the pain or will of the man, 
she might have been upbraided with her dej^end- 
ence and obligation. Now she owes nothing but 
to her creator : the rib of Adam sleeping can 
challenge no more of her than the earth can of 
him. Bp. H. 

The act, by which the woman comes into ex¬ 
istence, is directly ascribed to the original 
Maker. A part of the man is taken for the pur 
pose, which can be spared without interfering 
with the integrity of his nature. It manifestly 
does not constitute a woman by the mere act of 
separation, as we are told that the Lord God 
built it into a woman. And thus, in accordance 
with the account in the foregoing chapter, we 
have, first, the single man created, the full rep¬ 
resentative and potential fountain of the race, 
and then, out of this one, in the way now de- 
sciibed, we have the male and the female cre¬ 
ated. The original unity of man constitutes 
the strict unity of the race. The construction 
of the rib into a woman establishes the individ¬ 
uality of man’s person before, as well as after, 
the removal of the rib. The selection of a rib 
to form into a woman constitutes her, in an 
eminent sense, a helpmeet for him, in company 
with him, on a footing of equality with him. 
At the same time, the after building of the part 




OEIHESIS 2 : 18-25. 


151 


into a woman determines the distinct person¬ 
ality and individuality of the woman. Thus we 
perceive that the entire race, even the very 
first mother of it, has its essential unit and rep¬ 
resentative in the first man. M. 

He to whom all modes are the same, chose 
one which should serve vividly to impress upon 
the minds of man and woman, their peculiarly 
intimate relation to each other. In other creat¬ 
ures there was no natural connection between 
the pairs in the very act of creation The sexes 
were in them created iudependently of each 
other. But in the man the union was to be of 
peculiar solemnity and significance ; it was 
even to set forth, as by a symbol, the union be¬ 
tween Christ and his church. The fact of her 
derivation from man—a part of himself, sepa¬ 
rated, to be in another form reunited to him, was 
calculated to indicate and to originate an espe¬ 
cial tenderness in their nuptial state, and its 

indissoluble character. Kit. -In the case of 

the animals, both sexes could be created side 
by side ; in the case of man, however, where 
marriage is intended to be a communion of soul 
in the service of God —where the education and 
training of the fruits of marriage for God’s ser¬ 
vice and kingdom, the ordering and governance 
of the house and of the earth, formed a main 
part of the task imposed—there must the origin 
of the woman point to the indissoluble union 
by which two persons become one until their 
life’s end. The woman was taken out of the 
man (and out of that part of him which lay 
nearest to his heart), in order to show that this 
union of soul in love extended to the unity of 
the flesh likewise—embraced all, both within 
and without, and, as a Divine ordinance, was 
indissoluble. Gerl. 

Adam was first formed, then Eve, and she 
was made of the man, and/or the man (1 Cor. 
11 :8, 9), all which are urged there as reasons 
for the subjection and reverence which wives 
owe to their own husbands. Yet man being 
made last of the creatures, as the best and most 
excellent of all. Eve’s being made offer Adam, 
and out of him, puts an honor upon that sex, as 
the glory of the man (1 Cor. 11 : 7). If man is 
the head, she is the crown ; a crown to her 
husband, the crown of the visible creation. 
The man was dust refined, but the woman was 
dust double-refined, one remove further from 
the earth. . . . The woman was made of a rib 
out of the side of Adam.; not made out of his 
head to top him, nor out of his feet to be tram¬ 
pled upon by him, but out of his side to be 
equal with him, under bis arm to be protected, 
and near his heart to be beloved. H. 


22. Brought her unto the man. Led, conduct*d, 
that is, presented her to the man. Compare tlio 
Latin phrase ductre uxorem, to leid, i.e. to 
marry, a wife. The word implies the formal 
solemn bestowment of her in the bonds of the 
marriage covenant, which is hence called “ the 
covenant of God” (Prov. 2 : IT), implying that 
he is the author of this sacred institution. 
Bush. 

Luther observes with point : God who was 
the author of marriage was also the first who 
led in a bride. Adam recognized her not merely 
as a fellow-being and helpmeet for him, but as 
flesh of his flesh, as a creature intimately re¬ 
lated to him'in every part of his nature, by the 
identity of her own, and consequent’y connected 
with him by unity of mind and heart. God 
had made her out of him and/or him, and had 

brought her to him. C. G. B.-God himself 

made the espousals between them, and joined 
them together in marriage. And by creating 
and joining together but one man and one wom¬ 
an in the beginning, intended that mankind 
should be so propagated, and not by polygamy. 
Patrick. 

The marriage relation instituted by God in 
the state of innocence through the creation of 
the woman, the second human being, repre¬ 
sented to Adam several important truths. It in¬ 
dicated to him, in the first place, that this was 
the most intimate relation possible among man¬ 
kind ; that it constituted a unity, in fact, to 
which there was no parallel in creation. Sec¬ 
ondly, the medium whereby man’s wants, as 
recognized by the creator himself, should be 
supplied, and that defect in creation desciibed 
as “ not good for him” remedied, and the 
noblest of God’s creatures raised to the sphere 
to which he was designed, so that they might 
be no obstacle to the Divine approval pronounc¬ 
ing the entire work “ very good.” This point 
was more fully brought out in the promises 
which succeeded the fall, and the bearing of 
which, in this respect, was recognized by Adam 
when “ he called his wife’s name Eve, because 
she was the mother of all living.” At the same 
time he was conscious of his own divinely de¬ 
termined and declared superiority, not only jis 
the head of creation in general, but also of the 
woman (1 Cor. 11 : 3). This appears from the 
fact that he bestowed upon her a name us he 
had previously on the inferior creatures around 
him, D. M. 

Marriage is honorable, but this surely was the 
most honorable marriage that ever was, in whic-h 
God himself had all along an immediate hand. 
Marriages (they say) are made in heaven : wo 


/ 







152 


MARBI AO E. 


are sure this was ; for the man, the woman, the 
match, were all God’s own work : he, by his 
power, made them both, and now, by his ordi¬ 
nance, made them one. This was a marriage 
made in perfect innocency, and so was nevmr 

any marriage since. H.-Marriage is a word 

and an institution which sin has so far associ¬ 
ated with low instinct, with ideas of barter, 
convenience, and advantage, that some effort of 
the imagination is requisite to conceive of its 
heavenly original, its paradisiacal prototype, 
which secured to man the exercise of his most 
joyful sympathies, society so blessed, confidence 
so complete, that between the two whom God 
had placed in Eden there was but one heart. 
W. A. 

Christianity has exalted marriage to the high¬ 
est dignity, and crowned it with the most sacred 
beauty ; it is the symbol of the union of Christ 
and his Church ; and the consummation of 
hope, purity, and joy in heaven is t 3 ’^pified 
under “the marriage-supper of the Lamb.” 
Marriage is the festival of love, and as such 
should be attended with all that represents 
beauty and felicity" : it is the festival of joy ; 
and as such should be a time of pre-eminent 
joyousness to all who assist in its solemnities. 
But it is also a festival of consecration ; and it 
should be hallowed with the word of God and 
prayer. J. P. T. 

24. Ijea¥e fatlicr aad aiotlier. These 
are the words of Moses, and also of God ; but 
not Adam’s. They would be more correctly 
expressed,—“ Therefore may a man leave his 
father and mother, but he shall cleave to his 
wife, and they shall be one flesh.” There will 
be times and circumstances when a man is per¬ 
mitted, nay, is commanded, to leave his father 
and mother ; but his wife is he never permitted 
to leave —they both shall be one. This is not 
said of the woman, because she already by her 

marriage has left father and mother. Gerl. - 

According to this passage, marriage, that prim- 
• Itive form of human society from which all 
other forms of society arise, and for which man 
gives up the others, did not spring from the 
blind sway of natural impulse, but from divine 
institution. Its original form is monogamy ; and 
the fact that the bond of matrimony is repre¬ 
sented as stronger than that moral relation be¬ 
tween parents and children, which is placed so 
high in the Old Testament, indicates that it 
forms not simply a bodily union, but also a 

spiritual oneness. 0.-The foundation of this 

new constitution was laid in the divinely insti¬ 
tuted union of husband and wufe. “ Have ye 
not read that he who made them at the begin¬ 


ning made them a male and a female (as intend¬ 
ing to prevent both pol 3 "gamy and divorce), and 
said (as the formal authentification of the great 
law of marriage already inserted in the consti¬ 
tution of human nature), for this cause (or, on 
account of entering into the married state) 
shall a man leave his father and mother (the 
nearest relation he had previously sustained), 
and cleave to his wife, and they twain shall be 
one flesh ; wherefore they are no more twain, 
but one flesh.” A union this so intimate, that 
every other is to yield to it ; so sacred, that the 
Divine Proclamation concerning it is, “ What 
God hath joined together, let no man put asun¬ 
der so indissoluble, that nothing is to sepa¬ 
rate it but that which separates the soul from 
the body ; so spiritual in its ultimate relation 
and aims, as to find its antitype only in that 
divine union which, as the fruit of redemption, 
is to survive every other, and to obtain its con¬ 
summation in heaven. The will of God was 
clearly indicated respecting the number to be 
united in marriage, by the creation, at first, of 
one man and one woman. But the continued 
balance of the number of the sexes, age after 
age, notwithstanding their perpetual increase, 
was an ever-increasing confirmation of the same 
law. As time advanced, too, the evils resulting 
from polygamy would furnish still further and 

stronger corroboration of the law. J. H.-By 

the terms of the command, a man shall cleave 
to his wife (not wives) <mly. Budi. 

Two facts of perpetual significance were es¬ 
tablished by the creation of Woman,—the fact 
of sex, and the fact of the interdependence of (he 
sexes. The Creator chose to create Woman as 
the medium for the increase of the race ; and 
thus the disinction of Sex is permanently estab¬ 
lished in the race itself. And with this distinc¬ 
tion comes in the condition and the feeling of 
interdependence,—neither sex complete with¬ 
out the other, neither able to dispense with the 

other. J. P. T.-Neither sex alone is the 

standard of human nature. Each is to receive 
an impress from the distinctive excellences of 
the other, and to impart the spirit of its owm. 
Each is to the other the image of distinct as¬ 
pects of the Divine character ; and, by being 
disentangled and drawn out from the inner 
circle of self, and made to find excellence and 
happiness in the love of the other, they are 
trained to look away together for their highest 
good to a union with that Objective Excellence, 
of which their own union is the sacred type and 
the mysterious pledge. J. H. 

The equality of the sexes is not sametiess of 
endowments and adaptations, but equaVty with 










UNITY OF THE RACE. 


153 


differentia. The attributes of sex belong to the 
soul as well as to the body, so that in their in¬ 
tellectual and spiritual natures, much as they 
possess in common, the Man and the Woman 
are also the complement each of the other ; 
and in the distribution of these complementary 
qualities Woman certainly has no cause to envy 
her partner. Her delicate and beautiful pres¬ 
ence, her graces and charms of person and man¬ 
ner, her intuitive affinities for the true, the 
pure, and the good, her divine faculty of coun¬ 
sel, her all-pervading, all controlling influence 
—these are prerogatives which Woman has no 
right to vacate by reducing herself to a mere 
tool of productive industry, a numerical factor 
of political economy. The delicate laws of her 
physical organization, the more subtle and 
beautiful laws of her social and moral influence 
alike forbid this uncrowning of her Woman¬ 
hood. J. P. T.-The account of the creation 

of the first pair impresses this thought, that as 
regards authority, rule, public duties, the posi¬ 
tion of the woman is secondary. Constituted 
as she is, delicate, susceptible, shrinking from 
rude contact and strife,—she is unfit for leader¬ 
ship and public station. But by her percep¬ 
tions and moral insight, her sympathies and 
affections, she is marvellously fitted to influ¬ 
ence, to mould, to guide. Gady. 

True human love makes the outgoings of two 
lives one. The one side for the other has no 
need for self-forgetfulness ; every movement of 
the heart in either is taken up and shared by 
the other, and even an involuntary anticipation 
of the vvishes of the one turns also the other in 
the same direction. No pleasure is separately 
enjoyed, no pain sej)arately experienced ; equal 
delight and equal endeavor occupy both minds. 
Conscious of solely belonging to each other, 
husband and wife wdll so worthily endure even 
the days of adversity that, when those days shall 
have passed, they wdll rejoice in having lived 

to see them. Schleiermaeher. -Human love is 

only worthy of itself when it has realized its 
ideal, the true harmony of souls. When it ful¬ 
fils its true mission, when it is manifested as 
the very flower of a nature in which the moral 
was meant to predominate, it tends to blend in 
one, not simply two organisms, but two indi¬ 
viduals, who know how to combine respect with 
tenderness. Love does not abandon itself to 
the mere play of the sensations ; it gives itself 
freely, and forever, to be the sharer, not only of 
joy, but of sorrow ; hence it is not consumed 
by its own flame. Since it was not born of 
sensation, it lives on, when the senses are 
dulled ; and it has indeed a deathless life. Be 


PressensL -Christian love in marriage is ex¬ 

emplified only when by mutual endeavor both 
sides are quickened increasingly in spirit ; 
when every hindrance to spiritual influence in 
the nature of the one is more and more re¬ 
strained and diminished by the agency of the 
other ; wffien their mutual love is hallowed by 
their common higher love to the Saviour ; when 
this love is confirmed and proved by experi¬ 
ence, and both advance toward the common goal 
of sanctification, then we have an illustration 
of the heavenly side of Christian marriage. 
Schltiermavher. 

Love can be kept forever beautiful and blessed 
as at the first, by giving it constant utterance 
in word and act. The more it is allowed to 
flow out in delicate attentions and noble service, 
the stronger and more satisfying and more 
blessed it will be. The house becomes home 
only when love drops its heavenly manna in it 
fresh every day, and the true marriage vow is 
made not for once at the altar, but by loving 
words and helpful service and delicate atten¬ 
tions to the end. Aikman. 

25. Were not a«!i]iamecl. Shame im¬ 
plies a sense of guilt, which they had not, and 
an exposedness to the searching eye of a con¬ 
demning judge, from which they were equally 
free. With the sentence terminates all we know 
of primeval innocence. May we surmise from 
it that the first pair spent at least the Sabbath, 
if not some days, or weeks, or years, in a state 

of integrity? M.-An evidence of the purity 

and innocency of that state wherein cur first 
parents were created. They needed no clothes 
for defence against cold or heat, for neither 
could be injurious to them ; they needed none 
for ornament ; nay, they needed none for de¬ 
cency, they had no reason to be ashamed. They 
knew not what shame was, so the Chaldee reads 
it. Blushing is now the color of virtue, but it 
was not then the color of innocency. They that 
had no sin in their conscience, might well havo 
no shame in their faces, though they had no 

clothes to their backs. H.-Clothes are the 

ensigns of oiir sin and covers of our shame. 
To be proud of them is as great a folly as for a 
beggar to be proud of his rags or a thief of his 
halter. As the prisoner looking on his irons 
thinketh on his theft, so we looking on our gar¬ 
ments, should think on our sins. Trapp. 

Unity of the Race. 

The human race is essentially one. The 
microscopic expert is summoned to examine the 
bl )od stain, not to determine w'hether it comes 
from African or Caucasian veins, which he can- 







154 


MARRIAGE. 


not tell, but whether it bo the blood of man ; 
for Paul’s word is true, not figuratively only, but ■ 
literally, that God “ hath made of one blood all 
nations of men.” Eve is so called because she 
is the “ mother of all living,” Eve sprang from 
the side of A.dam, but he sprang from no living 
form. The race is isolated from the lower 
groups by the inflow of the breath of God, by 
permanently upright form and articulate speech 
and by subjection to a moral economy ; and 
thus it stands apart, one and superior. J. B. 
Thomas. 

In one respect there is a striking difference 
between the account of the human and that of 
the vegetable and animal creations. The two 
latter are spoken of generically as races, with¬ 
out the least reference to any individual pro¬ 
genitor or progenitors. But it is distinctly said 
that God made, not men, not a race or races, 
but two individuals. He made them “ in Ms 
own image,'’ and this remarkable expression, 
whatever be its depth of meaning, makes an in¬ 
effaceable distinction between the human and 
all lower species upon the earth. From the 
word Adamnlone, we could not have determined 
with certainty that the account was not generic. 
But the particulars which are given respecting 
the female, her origin and established relation 
to the man, stamp upon the narrative a charac¬ 
ter of individuality which is unmistakable. The 
entire departirre here from the language used 
in respect to other races puts the meaning be¬ 
yond all doubt. If any fact in creation is clearly 
revealed, if there is any one placed bej^ond all 
cavil, beyond all room for any honest difference 
of interpretation, it is that the origin of the 
present human race was from one single pair, 
T. L. 

In bodily structure, in language, in tradition, 
apd in intellectual, moral, and religious charac¬ 
ter, we find abundant evidence to prove unity 
of race ; and there is the amplest confirmation 
of it in the character and extent of the Gospel 
or Christian*scheme. It assumes unity, and it 
comes with a free, full, universal message. The 
Great Teacher and Redeemer drew no distinc¬ 
tion : “ Go ye therefore, and teach ALL nations.” 
W. Fraser. -All races have the same anatomi¬ 

cal structure ; the same physical organs ; and 
what is far more, the same intellectual and 
moral nature. Everywhere they exhibit the 
common effects of the fall of Adam ; the same 
depravity of moral nature ; the same common 
need of redemption by Christ. These are car¬ 
dinal traits and tests. The Scriptures imply with 
the strongest form of implication that the Adam 
of Genesis is the father—the one only father— 


of the whole human race. The narrative of the 
creation ; of the fall ; and of the first promise 
of redemption—all imply this. Paul implies it 
in those passages in which he compares the ruin 
of the race through the one man Adam with the 
salvation provided for the race through the 
greater second Man, Jesus Christ. The strong 
passages are Rom. 5 :12-19 and 1 Cor. 15 :21, 
22. H. C. 

And as in Adam all die, so Christ is the spir¬ 
itual head of all saved from the sin and death, 
no matter of what race. The universal Head¬ 
ship of the one finds proper and only counter¬ 
part in the universal Headship of the other. 
The salvation of Christ was parallel with the 
depravity of Adam. If any portion of the race 
is cut off from its relation to Adam, then also 
are they from any relation to Christ. If wa 
close against any nation or tribe the pathway 
that leads them back to Eden and Adam, we 
close at the same time the j)athway that leads 
to Calvary and Jesus and the cross, S. R. 

Admitted by Science. We are now assuredly 
allowed by Mr. Darwin and his disciples to 
maintain that the unity of the human race, pro¬ 
claimed by Genesis, is no longer oj^en to any 

insuperable scientific objection. Godet. -On 

this point of the unity of man’s origin, those 
who bow to the authority of the most ancient 
and the most venerable traditions, and those 
who accept the most imposing and popular of 
modern scientific theories, are found standing 
on common ground, and accepting the same 

result. Argyll. -1 cannot see any good ground 

whatever, or even any tenable sort of evidence, 
for believing that there is more than one species 

of man, Huxley. -As far as I know, there has 

been no nation upon the earth, which, if it pos¬ 
sessed any traditions on the origin of mankind, 
did not derive the human race from one pair, if 
not from one person. Max Muller. 

Professor Cabell closes an exhaustive exami¬ 
nation of the whole subject with the words : 
“ The unity of the human race must be consid¬ 
ered a fundamental and an accepted truth. 
Every department of knowledge has been 
searched for evidence, and all respond with an 
uniform testimony. The physical structure, 
constitution, and habits of the race—the mode 
in which it is produced, in which it exists, in 
which it perishes—everything that touches its 
mere animal existence, demonstrates the abso¬ 
lute certainty of its unity, so that no other gen¬ 
eralization of physiology is more clear and more 
sure. Rising one step, to the highest manifes¬ 
tation of man’s phj^sical organization —his use 
of language and the power of connected Siieech 







GENESIS 1 : 28-31. 


155 


—the most profound survey of this most com¬ 
plex and tedious part of knowledge conducts 
the inquirer to no conclusion more indubitable 
than that there is a common origin, a common 
organization, a common nature, underlying and 
running through this endless variety of a com¬ 
mon power, peculiar to the race, and to it alone. 
Thus a second science—philology—has borne 
its marvellous testimony. Bising one more 
step, and passing more completely to a higher 
region, we find the rational and moral nature of 
men of every age and kindred absolutely the 
same. Those great faculties by which man 
alone—and yet by which every man—perceives 
that there is in things that distinction which 
we call true and false, and that other distinc¬ 
tion which we call good and evil, upon which 
distinctions and which faculties rests at last 
the moral and intellectual destiny of the entire 
race, belonging to us as men, without which we 
are not men, with which we are the head of the 


visible creation of God. So has a third science 
delivered its testimony. If we rise another 
step, and survey man as he is gathered into 
families and tribes and nations, with an endless 
variety of development, we still behold the 
broad foundations of a common nature reposing 
under all—the grand principles of a common 
being ruling in the midst of all. So a fourth, 
and the youngest of the sciences, ethnology, 
brings her tribute. And now from this lofty 
summit survey the whole track of ages. In 
their length and in their breadth scrutinize the 
recorded annals of mankind. There is not one 
page on which one fact is written which favors 
the historical idea of a diversity of nature or 
origin, while the whole scope of human storj’^ in¬ 
volves, assumes, and proclaims, as the first and 
grandest historic truth, the absolute unity of 
the race.” (“Unity of Mankind,” pp. 285.) 
G. D. A. 


Section 21. 


THE FAMILY. SUBDUING OF THE EARTH, AND DOMINION OVER THE 

CREATURES. END OF SIXTH DAY. 

Genesis 1 :28-31. 


28 And God blessed them : and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish 
the earth, and subdue it ; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of 

29 the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said. Behold, I 
have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every 

30 tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed ; to you it shall be for meat : and to 
every beas^of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon 

31 the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat : and it was so. And 
God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was even¬ 
ing and there was morning, the sixth day. 


The command to the first pair to he fruitful 
and multiply and replenish the earth was given as a 
blessing of paradise, and while man was un¬ 
fallen. Dabney. -The record in Genesis 

stands, not only unmatched for beauty and dig¬ 
nity. but guaranteed by the testimony of all 
subsequent history, and commending itself to 
the profoundest philosophy. In the beginning 
God created man in his own image ; male and 
female created he them, preserving the unity in 
the diversity ; and having thus created them 
he blessed their wedlock, and gave them Eden 
for a home. The monogamous family is the 
primitive domestic institution. Behrends. 

In every aspect, physical, economical, intel¬ 


lectual, moral, the Family is the appointed nur¬ 
sery of the race for the well-being of the individ¬ 
ual and the progress of society. Neatness, 
politeness, industry, economy, order, punctual¬ 
ity, atfectionateness, truth, where can these be 
acquired from tutors or from books, as they are 
instilled with the dews of daily affection in the 
household and warmed with the sunshine of its 
love? As one has said, “ Home education is 
a law of Nature. And where can that labor of 
love be found more minutely and wisely di¬ 
vided than between the father and the mother, 
between patience and power, tenderness and 
authority, the instinctive love of offspring, and 
the moral regard for the excellence and well- 









156 


THE rAMLLY, 


being of that offspring?” Hence it is that the 
Family, as originally constituted in Paradise, is 
the only true basis of society. J. P. T. 

In the Family the great principles are un¬ 
folded upon which all human government rests, 
and society itself is created in the germ. It is 
simply the law of the household that expands 
itself through all the ramifications of the com¬ 
monwealth ; and a true statesmanship must 
glean its great and essential principles from the 
subordination first established in the Family. 
The nearer a government is conformed to this 
ideal, in the distribution of power and in the 
combination of influences by which society 
shall be controlled, the more perfect will it be, 
both in its conception and administration. 

Palmer. -There can be no state where there 

are no citizens, and there can be no citizens 
where there is no family. The existence of the 
state is dependent on that relation of the sexes 
on which marriage is based. Not the individ¬ 
ual therefore, but the family, is the unit of so¬ 
ciety ; and so far from its being true that the 
state may determine the constitution of the 
family, the order of nature demands that the 
state shall conform in its legislation to the ante¬ 
cedent law of the household. The latter is an 
slemental fact in the social organization, and 
the statute must deal with it as fundamental 
md ultimate. Behrerids. 

In the Family, Man is trained to reverence for 
just and lawful authority ; submission to gov¬ 
ernment ; obedience to law. In the Family, 
one learns to control instinct and passion by 
reason and affection. In the Family, one learns 
to respect the rights and the feelings of others 
as equal to his own. The child m the nursery is 
taught the rights of property, and the claims of 
gratitude and love. The Family is the proper 
nursery of the race in morality and religion. 
For this it was designed by the Creator. Here 
are inculcated those principles of moral govern¬ 
ment ; here are developed those pure and gener¬ 
ous affections ; here are nurtured those immortal 
hopes, that fit the growing mind to recognize 
and assume relations toward that heavenly 
Father of whose authority and benignity the 
earthly father is its daily type. The Family was 
Instituted as a school for heaven, whose perfect 
symbol is the F’amily gathered in their father’s 
house. J. P. T. 

The Family is an ordinance of God. It draws 
its credentials from the parental appointment in 
Eden. Its solemn ceremony of installation was 
the crowning act of creation. No other institu¬ 
tion, whether surviving now or perished in the 
past, can show such an antiquity. The records 


of it are the first syllables of written history, 
and the faintest stammerings of tradition. It 
runs up, beyond Assyrian or Chaldean empires, 
and the founding of Palmyra, to the tents on 
the plains of Shinar. The first breathing of its 
spirit was the simplicity of patriarchs. It be¬ 
gan while the earliest beams of the world’s twi¬ 
light were shooting up into a sky whose stars 
no tongue had yet called by their names, — over 
an unj)eopled world. Was not its origin, then, 
divine? And is not the preservation of the 
family as clearly stamped with God’s purpose 
as its origin? Its uses,—with equal distinct¬ 
ness, with what bright tokens, with what em¬ 
phatic demonstrations, do they sjjeak of the 
home as God’s appointment ! Where lie the 
clearest proofs of a heavenly watchfulness over 
our heads, if not in the shelters W'here we lay 
those heads at night ? Consider what securities 
home affections bind about tempted virtue ; 
how the man of business carries a zone of moral 
purity woven about him bj' the caresses of chil¬ 
dren, from his house to the market-place ; how 
the false or fraudulent purpose, half conceived 
in the counting-room, is rebuked and put to 
shame by the innocence that gazes into his eyes 
and clings about his neck when he goes home 
and shuts the door on the world at night. Con¬ 
sider what a hindrance household love inter¬ 
poses, to stay the straying feet of dissipation ; 
what a triple shield it holds up against the sins 
of prodigality, indulgence, or dishonor ! Con¬ 
sider that, with most of us, whatever impulses 
of generosity visit the soul, whatever prayers 
we breathe, whatever holy vows of religious 
consecration we pledge, whatever aspiring re¬ 
solves we form, are apt to spring uj) within the 
sacred enclosures of the house ! Consider how 
the mere memory of that spot, wdth all its pre¬ 
cious endearments, goes forth with the traveller, 
sails with the sailor, keeps vigils over the ex¬ 
posed heart among the perils of the foreign city, 
sweetens the feverish dreams and softens the 
pain of the sufferer in the sickly climate, and, 
by calling his love homeward, calls his faith to 
Heaven ! Consider that the discipline of dis¬ 
ease, the purification of bereavement, the tears 
of mourners, are all elements in the sanctity of 
home ; that closets of devotion are parts of the 
architecture of the house ; that Bibles are 
opened on its tables ; that the eyes of new¬ 
born children open, and their first breaths are 
drawn, in its chambers ; and that the dead body 
is borne out of its doors how fast do the 
gathering proofs accumulate, that the human 
dwelling is a sanctuary of the Most High ! 
Whoever builds its w^alls, God hallows them ff? 





GENESIS 1 : 2S-31. 


157 


his temple. That outward house is but the 
visible pattern of the interior edifice ; and of 
that spiritual structure God has laid the foun¬ 
dation, and sprung the arches, and commanded 
the economy. The family is surely his ordi¬ 
nance. F. D. H. 

It may be beyond our skill to distinguish and 
allot the several parts of the agency which be¬ 
long to God and to the human instruments in 
the origin of a new human soul. It is enough 
for us to know that God, by His mysterious 
works of creation and providence, does em¬ 
power human parents for this amazing result— 
the origination, out of nothing, of a new being 
—and that, a rational, immortal spirit! How 
solemn, how high, this prerogative ! It raises 
man nearer the almighty Creator, in his supreme 
prerogative as Master of all things, than any¬ 
thing else that is done by creatures on earth or 
in heaven. Angels are not thus endued Dab¬ 
ney. -Why can man have been invested sub- 

ordinately with the prerogative of multiplying 
his own image, but in order that he might trans 
form his offspring into the likeness of the Cre¬ 
ator ? For this profound conception of the con¬ 
jugal union, we are indebted exclusively to the 
Bible. The derivation of the woman, and of 
only one woman, from the man—the domestic 
supremacy of the man—the entireness or one¬ 
ness of the union—and its sacred indissolubility 
—all point to this high spiritual aim as the nor¬ 
mal idea of marriage. Only on this ground 
have two beings, made for God, any right to 
give themselves up to each other in a union of 
love. But the fact that the union is one by 
which the Creator actually admits man into fel¬ 
lowship with Himself in the accomplishment of 
His highest ends, makes the mutual surrender, 
otherwise inexplicable, consistent with human 
dignity by consecrating it to tbe divine glory. 
In the primal union, all the foreshadowings of 
nature on the subject were interpreted and ful¬ 
filled. That which, in the lower creation, had 
been only sexual and transitory, now became 
sacramentally related to the spiritual and eter¬ 
nal. The paternal will found itself enthroned 
over other wills. Man was the representative 
of God. The family became the seat of moral 
government—the ver^' image of the divine. To 
individual man, the first table of the law only 
would have been known ; with the family, came 
the second table. Aspects of the diviire char¬ 
acter, hitherto unknown, were now unveiled ; 
and the family constitution, rightly understood, 
became a new volume of divine Revelation. 
J. H. 

In the Pauline ideal the headship of the hus¬ 


band is regarded as the enactment of a wise 
beneficence, securing the orderly unity of the 
household ; it is symboled by the headship of 
Christ in the church, and by the rule which 
every man is called upon to exercise over his 
own body. The relation of husband and wife 
is not regarded as that of a king to his subjects, 
or of a master to his slaves, or of a man to his 
property ; but as grounded in love, limited by 
the law of Christ, and as determined by a bal¬ 
ancing of claims as intricate and subtle as that 
by which body and soul act and react upon each 
other. Under such ethical limitations the head¬ 
ship of the husband is affirmed, not for the ag¬ 
grandizement of the man, but as indispensable 
to the establishment and maintenance of the 
unity of the family. Behrends. 

As moral and accountable beings the husband 
and wife, by respecting the decisions of each 
other's conscience, are to strengthen its au¬ 
thority. By the exercise of forbearance, where 
forbearance is necessary ; by the mutual admi¬ 
ration of everything estimable ; and by prayer 
for each other’s highest welfare, they are con¬ 
stantly to improve each other’s character, to con¬ 
vert marriage into a discipline of virtue, and 
thus to be ever finding in each other new cause 
for affection, and for gratitude to Him who has 
given them to each other. Although perfection, 
in the highest sense, is unattainable, they are, 
in this way, to be ever advancing toward it. 
And for this they are responsible, increasingly 
responsible. Obligation accumulates with op¬ 
portunity. ^nd at every onward stage of their 
course —saj', at tbe return of every anniversary 
of their union—they are held responsible for all 
the excellence and consequent happiness which 
they might have possessed on that day, had 
they discharged their respective duties towar<l 
each other during every hour of every preced¬ 
ing day. J H. 

The household must be built on the Divine 
pattern. It must be founded on, and cemented 
by, love ; and the pledge of love is inviolable 
fidelity. No calamities must be permitted to 
break its strength. Sickness and old age must 
not dim its beauty, nor lessen its tenderness. 
It must deepen with the years, more and more 
refined in quality and force, outgrowing and 
casting aside its early and earthly wrappings, 
until death transfigures it into a holy memory 
and an abiding heritage. Behrends. 

Parental, and especially maternal, affection is 
the most disinterested principle which remains 
in the ruined nature of man. God has kept 
alive this remnant of the estate of paradise, like 
the one entirely fresh oasis in the desert of de- 




158 


DOMINION OVER EARTH AND THE CREATURES. 


pravity. He preserves it, apparently, that there 
may be a spot whence can flow forth the water 
of life for dying humanity. It is the only ade¬ 
quate type, on earth, of Divine love. God hon¬ 
ors it by making it the imperfect image from 
which He would have us comprehend His own 
infinite benevolence /ind pity. He declares, 
“ Like as a father pitieth his children, so the 
Lord pitieth them that fear Him.” When He 
w^ould exalt the love of redemption to its most 
transcendent height. He can find nothing on 
earth which comes so near it as a mother’s love, 
although this also comes short of it. Dabney. 

All the Keligion there is in the world has 
come through the Family. The Abrahamic cov¬ 
enant rests upon it. Patriarchal piety was kept 
alive on its altars. Household consecration is 
the leading feature of primitive and gospel 
godliness. Parents and children and home- 
piety are the chief factors in all revivals, in all 
reformations, and the work of conversion and 
sanctification goes on mainly along the line of 
a godly seed, and household consecration, and 
family purity and power. Hence the decay of 
Family Religion is the greatest and most alarm¬ 
ing evil that can come upon society. You may 
destroy the State and^the Church, and rebuild 
them both by means of the Family, as God 
ordained it. Sherwood. 

To him who has appreciated the parental re¬ 
lation as God represents it, the failure to in¬ 
clude it within the circuit of the visible church, 
to sanctify its obligations and to seal its hopes 
with the sacramental badge, vmuld appear an 
unaccountable thing. We know that the prom¬ 
ise of a multiplying offspring was the blessing 
of paradise ; that paternity was the splendid 
expedient of our Maker for multiplying the 
human subjects of His blessings and instru¬ 
ments of His glory, and of making holiness and 
bliss the sure, hereditary possession of the in¬ 
creasing multitudes of men, through the proba¬ 
tion and adoption of their first father. We hear 
Him declare in Malachi 2 :15, long after the 
Fall, that His object in founding the family, in 
the form of monogamy, was “ to seek a godly 
seed.” Thus the supreme end of the family 
institution is as distinctly religious and spirit¬ 
ual as that of the church itself. The instru¬ 
mentalities of the family are chosen and or¬ 
dained of God as the most efficient of all means 
of grace. To family piety are given the best 
promises of the Gospel, under the new as well 
as under the old dispensation. How, then, 
should a wise God do otherwise than consecrate 
the Christian family, and ordain that the believ¬ 
ing parents shall sanctify the children ? Hence, 


the very foundation of all parental fidelitj' to 
children’s souls 'is to be laid in the conscien¬ 
tious, solemn and hearty adoption of the very 
duties and promises which God seals in the 
covenant of infant baptism. It is pleasing to 
think that many Christians who refuse the sac¬ 
rament do, with a happy inconsistency, embrace 
the duties and seek the blessing. But God 
gives all His people the truths and promises, 
along with the edifying seal Let us hold fast 
to both. Dabney. 

2§. And !*iil>due it. At the present day 
man has wandered to the ends of the earth. 
Yet vast realms lie unexplored, waiting his ar¬ 
rival. This clause may be described as the col¬ 
onist's charier. The commission thus received 
was to utilize for his necessities the vast re¬ 
sources of the earth, by agricultural and mining 
operations, by geographical research, scientific 
discovery and mechanical invention. Whiielaw. 

-The subduing and ruling refer not to the 

mere supply of his natural wants, for which pro¬ 
vision is made in the following verse, but to the 
accomplishment of his various purposes of sci¬ 
ence and beneficence, whether toward the in¬ 
ferior animals or his own race. It is the part of 
intellectual and moral reason to employ power 
for the ends of general no less than personal 
good. The sway of inan OTight to be benefi¬ 
cent. M. 

What an education for the race has been this 
labor of subduing the earth ! How it has devel¬ 
oped reflection, stimulated invention, and 
quickened the j^owers of combination, which 
would otherwise have lain dormant ! Nor are 
the collateral and remote less important than 
the direct and immediate results. He who 
takes a piece of timber from the common forest, 
and forms it into a useful implement, thereby 
makes it his own, and it cannot rightfully be 
taken from him ; since no one can justly appro¬ 
priate to himself the product of another’s skill 
and labor. So he who originally takes posses¬ 
sion of an unappropriated field, and by his 
labor prepares it for use, thereby makes it his 
own, and it cannot rightfully be taken from 
him. Hence arises the right of property, the 
origin and bond of civil society ; and thus all 
the blessings of society, and of civilization and 
government, are due to the divinely implanted 
impulse, “ fill the earth, and subduf^ it." T. J. C. 

■lave cloiiiiiiioii over every living; 
tllinsr. Man is expressly set apart as ruler of 
all creation, of its varied forces and creatures. 
He is the last and the most perfect being formed 
from that earth to which himself belongs, and 
whose every stage of life he includes in himself. 






GENESIS 1 : 28-31. 


159 


Hence he is also qualified to be its representa¬ 
tive, both so far as he is personally concerned, 
and in relation to every higher sphere of exist¬ 
ence, But as the image of God, he is also of 
Divine origin, and hence above nature, and the 
representative of God to it, its lord and master. 

-The lion has his tooth, the crocodile his 

coat of mail, the birds their wings, the fish 
their fins ; but which is man’s weapon for at¬ 
tack, which his shield for defense ?—the spirit 
from God: therefore all must obey him. The 
cattle on the pasture, wild beasts roaming the 
forests, birds flying below the expanse of heaven, 
fish swimming in the depths of the sea ; they 
all must obey him—man is their lord and king. 
Tholuck. 

SO. Provision for the sustenance of 
man (v. 29), and of other animals (v. 30), 

To man is assigned every herb scaVering seed 
(propagated by seed), leaving him his choice 
among them of such as are suited to his nature 
and wants, as the different kinds of grain, pulse, 
etc. ; and every fruit-tree in like manner, to 
choose among them what is suited to his taste^ 
and adapted for his nourishment. To other 
animals is assigned all green herbage, without 

distinction. T. J. C.-From this original 

commission to Adam, afterward renewed and 
enlarged in the announcement to Noah, the sec¬ 
ond representative of the race, it appears that 
every righr and privilege of man on the earth 
have their basis in an express Divine charitr. B. 

Man stood, at his creation, a subject as tow¬ 
ard his Creator, but a sovereign as toward the 
other creatures of the earthly system. He 
stands forth in the image of God. His vital 
principle is inseparably united with his soul. 
He is capable of an endless life himself, with 
the power of transmitting the power of a like 
endless exi.stence to an innumerable race of 
beings in his own image and likeness. He is 
capable of communion with God and with the 
angelic orders of being. He is free from every 
sort of evil, physical, mental, moral or sjiiritual. 
Out of such a state of facts aiises necessarily 
certain relations to God the Creator and to other 
creatures. To God as the author of his being 
he owes perfect obedience and service. To God 
as the bestower of so many blessings he owes in 
return a grateful love and self-consecration. 
To the creatures of his dominion he owes a just 
and benevolent administration of his authority 
and rule. To the beings who may spring from 
him he owes a parental care and loving guardian 
ship, that they may keep steadfastly their 
“ first estate" of b'iss and not fall irrevocably 
by sinning against God. S. R. 


31. Evcrylliing good. That a divine 
plan is to be realized in the world, and that the 
divine creation is therefore a teleological act, is 
shown in the account of the creation, partly and 
in general in the progress of creation according 
to a definite plan, and partly in particular in 
the divine sanction, “ and God saw that it was 
good,” following each step of creation, and in 
the divine blessing pronounced on every living 
being. But the creating God does not reach 
the goal of His creation until He has set over 
against Him His image in man. From this fact 
it is plain that the sef revel Uion of God is the 
final end of the creation of the world ; or, to 
express it more generally, that the whole world 
serves to reveal the divine glory, and is thereby 
the object of divine joy (Ps, 104 : 31), The Old 
Testament view of nature rests on this funda¬ 
mental conception. O.-Unit^' of purpose 

pervades all the works of the Almighty. The 
scheme of his government is one ; and though 
there be wheels within wheels, plans within 
plans, all move on in unbroken harmony and 
tend to a common result. There is a subordi¬ 
nation of parts, — the inanimate to the living, the 
material to the spiritual, the si)iritual to the 
moral, and all to the glory of God ; and when 
He casts the eye of His omniscience upon any 
portion of His works. He delights not in it as 
an isolated fragment, however perfect in its 
kind or however clearly displacing an^^ single 
perfection of His nature, but as a means tend¬ 
ing, in its proper place, to the development of 
(he great result which the whole was designed 
to accomplish. Thornwell. 

'rilC !*ixtli <lsiy. The amount of creative 
and other work brought within the sixth day 
should be noticed. First, God created all the 
land animals ; then Adam ; then he brought 
“ every beast of the field and every fowl of the 
air" to Adam to see what he would call them— 
which at least must assume that Adam had at¬ 
tained a somewhat full knowledge of language, 
and that he had time enough to study the special 
character of each animal so as to give each one 
its appropriate name, and time enough also to 
ascertain that there was not one among them all 
adapted to be a “ helpmeet " for himself. Then 
the “ deep sleep" of Adam—how long pro¬ 
tracted, the record saith not ; and finally the 
creation of Eve, all come within the sixth day. 
It is not easy to see how Moses or his intelligent 
readers of the early time could have supposed 
all this to have transpired within the twelve 
hours of light in a human day. Wc may say, 
moreover, in regard to each and all of these six 
creative periods that if the holy angels were in- 








160 


SEVENTH DAY. SUMMARY OF CREATION 


deed spectators of these scenes, and if God ad¬ 
justed his methods of creation to the capacities 
of these pupils—these admiring students of his 
glorious works—then surely we must not think 
of his compressing them within the period of 


six human days. Divine days they certainly 
must have been, sufficiently protracted to afford 
finite minds scope for intelligent study, adoring 
contemplation, and as the Bible indicates, most 
rapturous shouts of joy. H. C. 


Section 22. 

SEVENTH DAY. SUMMAEY OF CEEATION. 

Genesis 2 :1-6. 

1 And the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh 

2 day God finished his work which he had made ; and he rested on the seventh day from all his 

3 work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it : because that 
in it he rested from all his work which God had created and made. 

4 These are the generations of the heaven and of the earth when they were created, in the day 

5 that the Loed God made earth and heaven. And no plant of the field was yet in the earth, 
and no herb of the field had yet sprung up ; for the Loed God had not caused it to rain upon 

6 the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground ; but there w'ent uji a mist from the 
earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 


2. God fliiidied his work. The rest 
of the seventh day puts an end to the creative 
activity, properly so called. The Sabbath, which 
puts an end to the Divine work in Nature, gives 
a solemn confirmation to the truth already set 
forth in the repeated words, “ and God soid,'’— 
the truth that the earth is the work of an intel¬ 
ligent and self governing Being, who does all 
things by measure, who sets before Himself, 
while working, a definite object to be attained, 
and who, as soon as that object is attained, sets 
at rest again those productive forces which He 
had put in motion. Godti. -Since the begin¬ 

ning of this day no new creation has taken 
place. God rests as the Creator of the visible 
universe. The forces of nature are in that ad¬ 
mirable equilibrium which we now behold, and 
which is necessary to our existence. No more 
mountains or continents are formed, no new 
species of plants or animals are created. Nature 
goes on steadily in its wonted path. All move¬ 
ment, all progress has passed into the realm of 
mankind, which is now accomplishing its task. 
The morning of the seventh is not followed by 
any evening. The day is still open. When the 
evening shall come the last hour of humanity 
will strike. Guyoi. 

“ Now begins the seventh day, the day of 
rest, or the sabbath of the earth”—the day now 
in progress which has not yet reached its even¬ 
ing, in which God’s “ work is one of love to 
man, the redemption;’* the cnation of “the 


new man, born anew of the Spirit, in the heart 
of the natural man.” Parallel with the week 
of Creation, man, a being of a few short years, 
has his week ; and, by God's appointment, as 
well as Nature’s need, his seventh day of rest— 
“ of rest from daily toil, but of activity in the 

higher world of the spirit.” Dana. -God’s 

work of elevating, raising, of making the high 
in due progression succeed the low, still goes 
on. But that work is now the fitting and irre- 
paring imperfect man for a perfect future state. 
God’s seventh day's work is the work of Ee- 
demption. Eead in this light his reason vouch¬ 
safed to man for the institution of the Sabbath 
is found to yield a meaning of peculiar breadth 
and emphasis. It seems to say, God rests on 
his Sabbath from his creative labors, in order 
that b}’’ his Sabbath day's work he may save and 
elevate you ; rest ye also on your Sabbaths, that 
through your co-operation with him in this great 
work ye may be elevated and saved. Hugh 
Miller. 

Providence is creation continued. The govern¬ 
ment of the world is as much of God as the 
giving of it a being. Creation was a work that 
ended in six days, but providence is a work 
that never ends ; thus God always worketh, 

though always at rest. Caryl. -From the first 

moment of creation unto this hour God has 
continued His supervision of the works of His 
hand. He has put forth no creative energy 
since He brought man into being ; but at the 









GENESIS 2 : 1-6. 


161 


end of the world, in the changes that shall pro¬ 
duce a new heaven and a new earth, God will 
resume that creative activity which is now in 

suspense. Until then He rests. J. P. T.- 

When the last man has been born and has ar¬ 
rived at the crisis of his destiny, then may we 
expect a new creation, another putting forth of 
the divine energy, to prepare the skies above 
and the earth beneath for a new stage of man's 
history, in which he will appear as a race no 
longer in process of development, but completed 
in number, confirmed in moral character, trans¬ 
formed in physical constitution, and so adapted 
for a new scene of existence. Meanwhile, the 
interval between the creation now recorded and 
that prognosticated in subsequent revelations 
from heaven (Is. 65 :17 ; 2 Pet. 3 ; 13 ; Eev. 
21 :1) is the long Sabbath of the Almighty, so 
far as this world is concerned. M. 

11 e reslcd. In these chapters cf creation, 
God is said to hover, to speak, to see and ex¬ 
amine, to give names, to approve of his woiks, 
to deliberate with himself, to rest, and to repose 
himself. By these phrases the biblical text 
loses nothing of its grandeur, and gains im¬ 
measurably in distinctness and perspicuity ; it 
describes Divine manifestation for human beings 

and in a human medium. KnJ. -The Holy 

Scripture knows nothing of a God who in eter¬ 
nal, immovable unchangeableness views all 
things, past, present, and future, just in the 
same way, but One who after creating the world, 
with man its king, partakes by means of His 
love in the joy and pain of His creation, yet 
without diminution of His eteimal blessedness. 
Gerl. 

On iSic wevciitli clay. The seventh day 
is distinguished from all the preceding days by 
being itself the subject of the narrative. In 
the absence of any work on this day, the Eter¬ 
nal is occupied with the day itself, and does 
four things in reference to it. Fir.st, he ceased 
from his work which he had made. Secondly, 
he rested. B 3 ' this was indicated that his un- 
dertaking was accomiilished. Ti^irdly, he blessed 
the seventh day. Blessing results in the be- 
stowment of some good on the object blessed. 
The only good that can be bestowed on a por¬ 
tion of time is to dedicate it to a noble use, a 
peculiar enjoyment. Accordingly, in the fourth 
place, he hallowed it or set it apart to a holy 

rest. M.-To “bless” a day was to set it 

apart to be a blessing ; but there was no sense 
in which God could make any one portion of 
duration more of a blessing to Himself than 
another. He being always self contained and in¬ 
finite in his blessings. To “ hallow” the day 
11 


was to dedicate it to some sacred, moral, and 
beneficial use ; but of course God could not 
have made one period of time more holy than 
another to Himself. The sanctifying must have 
had reference to its use by and for others. This 
sacred day is God’s day, which man should de¬ 
note to Him in some special or uncommon way, 
turning aside from the common occupations of 
life to a separate peculiar observance of this 
portion of time. Hence this grand day of the 
Almightj", this on-going day, this day which, 
dating from the creation of Man as an intellect¬ 
ual creature, shall continue till the world and 
the present course of time shall close, is the 
type of the Sabbath, the Rest-day for the creat¬ 
ures of God. J. P. T. 

God gave the Sabbath his first ordinance to 
man while he stood the father and representa¬ 
tive of the whole human race : therefore the 
Sabbath is not for one nation, for one time, or 
for one place. It is the fair type of Heaven’s 
eternal day— of the state of endless blessedness 
and glory, where human souls, having fully re- 
gained the divine image and become united to 
the Ventre and Source of all perfection and ex¬ 
cellence, shall rest in God unutterably happy 
through the immeasurable progress of duration. 
Of this consummation, every' returning Sabbath 
should at once be a type, a remembrancer, and 
a foretaste to all who are taught ot God. A. C. 
-With the Sabbath begins the sacred his¬ 
tory of man—the day on which he stood forth 
to bless God, and, in company with Eve, entered^ 
on his divine calling upon earth. The creation 
without the creation festival, the world’s unrest 
without rest in God, is altogether vain and tran¬ 
sitory. The sacred day appointed, blessed, con¬ 
secrated by'^ God, is that from which the blessing 
and sanctification of the world and time, of hu- 

4 

man life and human society, proceed. Nor is 
anything more needed than the recognition of 
its original appointment and sacred destination, 
for our receiving the full impression of its sanc¬ 
tity. How was it possible for the first man ever 
to forget it? From the very beginning was it 
written up^n his heart. Remember the Sabbath 
day to sanctify it. Sartorivs. 

The three elements of Sabbath blessing are, 
bodily and mental rest, family' union and fel¬ 
lowship, and religious meditation and worship, 
including the highest moral culture and spirit¬ 
ual satisfaction. The rest is to he for the body's 
sake, and, therefore, must be such rest as is con¬ 
sistent with a good measure of sober bodily re¬ 
freshment and enjoyment. The rest is for the 
sake (f family intercourse and wdon, and must 
therefore be so defined and measured as to be 












SEVENTH DAT. 


i()2 

in consistency with the conditions of family 
union, and, in a right sense, of family festivity, 
incindiug in the scope of the word family, ser¬ 
vants as well as children. Above all, the rest is 
to be for the sake of, that which is the highest 
j)rivilege and enjoyment of the day, spiritual 
•ineditition and fellowship and Divine worship. 
Man’s spirit cannot be refreshed, exalted, sub¬ 
limed, without worship. Without worship, 
man's heart cannot be at rest. Without faith 
and worship, man’s intellect cannot be satisfied. 
And in proportion as man becomes more com¬ 
pletely developed, as he grows into a more 
thoughtful moial being, with higher aspirations, 
and in fuller sympathy with the “ powers of the 
world to come,” must worship become more and 
more the necessity, the solace, the strength, the 
law, of his inmost being. Thus understanding 
the Sabbath law, all is brought into harmony ; 
bodily and mental rest, family union and inter¬ 
course, Divine worship. The rest is in order to 
the family fellowship and the holy worship. 
The family fellowship is sanctified by worship ; 
the family union is crowned by united worship 
in the “great congregation,” and around the 
family altar. Digg. 

Two hallowed institutions have descended to 
ns from the days of primeval innocence,—the 
wedding and the Sabbath. The former indi¬ 
cates communion of the purest and most perfect 
kind between equals of the same class. The 
latter implies communion of the highest and 
holiest kind between the Creator and the intel¬ 
ligent creature. The two combined import 
communion with each other in communion with 
God. Wedded union is the sum and type of 
every social tie. It gives rise and scope to all 
the nameless joys of home. It is the native 
field for the cultivation of all the social virtues. 
It provides for the due framing and checking of 
the overgrowth of interest in self, and for the 
gentle training and fostering of a growing inter¬ 
est in others. It unfolds the graces and charms 
of mutual love, and imparts to the susceptible 
heart all the peace and joy, all the light and fire, 
all the frankness and life of conscious and con¬ 
stant purity and good-will. Friendship, broth¬ 
erly kindness, and love are still hopeful and 
sacred names among mankind. Sabbath-keep¬ 
ing lifts the wedded pair, the brethren, the 
friends, the one-minded, up to communion with 
God. The joy of achievement is a feeling com¬ 
mon to God and man. The commemoration 
of the auspicious beginning of a holy and happy 
existence will live in man while memory lasts. 
The anticipation also of joyful repose after the 
end of a work well done will gild the future 


while hope survives. Thus the idea of the Sab¬ 
bath spans the whole of man’s existence. His¬ 
tory and prophecy commingle in its peaceful 
meditations, and both are linked with God. 
God IS : he is the Author of all being, and the 
Kewarder of them that diligently seek him. This 
is the noble lesson of the Sabbath. M. 

Summaries: Facts and Proofs. 

The Sabbath is, by Divine law, a day of rest, 
in order that it may be a day of bodily and spir¬ 
itual refreshment and of devout worship. The 
rest of the sacred day is needful for man as 
man—for his physical well-being, his intellect¬ 
ual health and energy, his family union and 
happiness, and his moral culture—and therefore 
ought by human law to be enforced, on the 
basis of its prescription for man’s benefit by 
the Divine law. The rest of the Sabbath is also 
requisite, in order to a right and worthy use 
and enjoyment of the spiritual duties and priv¬ 
ileges proper to the day, so that its meaning and 
blessing, as a day of worship, can only be truly 
brought out when it is a day of rest. Thus the 
Divine commandment to sanctify the Sabbath 
as a day of rest justifies itself on the ground of 
our human relations and necessities, proves it¬ 
self to be the guardian of human lights ; and, 
at the same time, in its care for w’hat belongs to 
our humanity, merely as such, secures also the 
needful opportunity, while it exhibits the prop¬ 
er motives, for the highest, that is the truly 
religious and Christian, enjoyment of the day. 
Thus rest and worship, humanity and religion, 
man's rights and God’s rights, are indissolubly 
joined together ; and provision is made for 
guarding and honoring all these at once in the 
observance of that law of the Decalogue which 
stands as the link betw^een the first and the 
second tables. P>gg. 

The law of the Sabbath is fundamental, im- 
joerative, and perpetual, like the marriage rela¬ 
tion—the tw'o great unchanged and unchange¬ 
able institutions saved to man from the ruin oi 
Paradise. The necessity of the Sabbath con¬ 
tinues parallel with the necessity of the family. 
The one can no more be abrogated without in¬ 
volving the moral disorder, ‘degeneracy, and 
degradation of society, than the other. The 
Sabbath w'as made for man in the same high 
sense that the family was made for man. It is 
a colossal institution, wide as humanity, per¬ 
petual as time, and deeply rooted in the consti¬ 
tution of man’s nature. Peck. -The other 

signal institution of primeval man was that one 
which lies at the foundation of all outer wor¬ 
ship of God and all organized beneficence tow- 




GENESIS 2 : 1-6. 


163 


ard man, the bulwark of society, the supple- 
rneut of the home, the universal refiner and 
civilizer, the guaranty of social order and 
frien lly relationship, the institution whereby 
all other human institutions are preserved and 
made effective—the seventh sacred day. It 
clearly is recorded as a part of the preparation of 
the world for man. Man’s whole nature, physi¬ 
cal, intellectual, social, moral and spiritual, has 
been proved over and over to coincide with the 
Saviour’s declaration, “the Sabbath was made 
for man,” S. C. B. 

We are not poorer, but richer, because we 
have, through many ages, rested from our labors 
one day in seven. That da}’^ is not lost. While 
industry is suspended, while the plough lies in 
the furrow, while no smoke ascends from the 
factor 3 % a process is going on quite as important 
to the wealth of nations as any process which is 
performed on more busy days. Man, the ma¬ 
chine of machines, is repairing and winding 
up, so that he returns to his labors on the Mon¬ 
day with clearer intellect, with livelier spirits, 
with renewed corporeal vigor. Macauhiy. 

As really, if not as obviously, do mankind 
need the Sabbath rest, as that of night. Its 
physical benefits, which candid men universally 
admit, are best secured when it is most sacredly 
kept in accordance with its higher ends. As 
piety is conducive to morality, so is the spiritual 
Sabbath to the physical. The better we become 
acquainted with human nature, the more signifi¬ 
cant are the words, “ the Sabbath was made for 
man.” We can accept the declaration in Gene¬ 
sis as meaning no less than that a weekly day 
of hallowed rest enters into the plan of crea¬ 
tion. Incorporated into the creation-narra¬ 
tive, and exhibiting the divine example, it in¬ 
dicates to man the divine will—the lesson that, 
in the natural and moral economy which the 
Creator has established, there is a necessity cre¬ 
ated, and a provision made, for a Sabbath. 

Smythe. -The ground of obligation lay in the 

divine act ; the rule of duty was exhibited in 
the divine example ; for these were disclosed to 
men from the first for the express purpose of 
leading them to know and do what is agreeable 
to the will of God. If such means were not 
sufficient to speak w’ith clearness and authority 
to men's consciences, then it may be affirmed 
that the first race of mankind were free from all 
authoritative direction and control whatever. 
We hold by the truthfulness and natural import 
of the divine record. And doing this, we are 
shut up to the conclusion that it was at first 
designed and appointed by God that mankind 
should sanctify'every returning seventh day, as ! 


a season of comparative rest from worldly labor, 
of spiritual contemplation and religious employ¬ 
ment, that so they might cease from their own 
works and enter into the rest of God. P. F. 

-That the observance of a Sabbath is thus 

founded in reasons permanent and general, may 
be properly inferred from two further consider¬ 
ations. It was written by the finger of God 
upon one of those tables of stone all whose 
other contents have this character of universal¬ 
ity and perpetuity. Each of these commands 
constitutes one of the laws the Spirit of Christ 
is to write upon the heart. The circumstances 
accompanying the annunciation of the Fourth 
Commandment and the position assigned to it, 
approve it as occupying in the mind of the di¬ 
vine Legislator a place of lasting consequence 
and authority. And further, no theory of the 
Sabbath as a merely Jewish institution fairly 
embraces these words; “ Bemember the Sab- 
bath-daj^ to keep it holy . . . for in six days the 
Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in 
them is, and rested the seventh day ; wherefore the 
Lord blessed the Sabbath-day and hallowed it." 
Smyth. 

The points which the friends of the Sabbath 
accept and regard as established are the follow¬ 
ing : 1. That the Sabbath was given to our first 
parents in Eden, and that it was intended for 
the race. 2. That we find unmistakable indica¬ 
tions of the Sabbath, both in the Scriptures and 
in heathen literature, between the original com¬ 
mand and the giving of the Law. 3. That when 
the Law was given, the command to hallow the 
Sabbath was made conspicuous, as one of the 
ten commandments. It has the same rank as 
the other commandments, all of which are moral 
in their character and universally binding. 4. 
That during the subsequent history of the Jews 
the Sabbath is referred to by the prophets in a 
way to show that they classed it with the other 
commandments, and that they regarded its 
observance as intimately connected with the 
prosperity of the nation. 5. That at the time 
of our Saviour the Sabbath was observed with 
great strictness ; the people assembled regularly 
for public worship, and Moses and the prophets 
were read in the synagogues every Sabbath- 
day. Also, this worship was attended by our 
Saviour, and while He reproved the supersti¬ 
tious observances and over-scrupulousness that 
had crept in, he yet recognized the Sabbath as 
a divine institution, and as “ made for man.” 
G. That after the resurrection of Christ the day 
was changed, and the Christian Sabbath, with 
substantially the same ends, has been perpetu¬ 
ated till the present time. 








104 


SUMMARY OF CREATION, 


The Sabbath authenticates itself as from God 
in various ways : 1. Regarding man as sinful, 
taking him as we now find him in every country 
where the Sabbath is unknown, the very con¬ 
ception of a holy Sabbath would have been im¬ 
possible. There could have been nothing within 
lum or without him to suggest it. 2. Regarding 
men as selfish, the rich and the powerful would 
never have originated an institution, or con¬ 
sented to it, which would not only free laborers 
and dependents and slaves from labor one sev¬ 
enth of the time, but would require that time 
for the service of another. 3. As the Sabbath 
Corresponds with no cycle or natural division of 
time, it must have been impossible for any 
man, or number of men, to single out one day, 
and set it apart authoritatively. Man could 
neither have decided rightly the proj^ortion of 
time to be set apart, nor have guarded the sanc¬ 
tity of the day by penalties. If the division of 
time into weeks were wholly unknown, it would 
be impossible that it should be introduced by 
man. 4. Man could not have so associated the 
Sabbath with the grandest ideas made known 
by revelation, or possible to thought, as the 
creation of the world, the resurrection of Christ, 
the outpouring of the Spirit, and the rest of a 
holy heaven. He could not have made it span 
the arch from the beginning till the consumma 
tion of all things. 5. The Sabbath authenti¬ 
cates its divine origin not only as it thus blends 
with the highest ideas and interests of man as 
connected with the past and the future, but by 
its analogy with the works of God as simple and 
at the same time touching the interests of the 
present life at so many points. In this it is like 
the air and the water, which seem so simple, 
yet subserve so many uses. 

As thus impossible to have been originated 
by man, as connected with the creation of the 
world, with the resurrection of Christ, with the 
outpouring of the Spirit, and with the rest of 
heaven ; being analogous to nature, and pro 
moting every interest of time, we say that the 
religious Sabbath comes to man bearing its own 
credentials as from God. M. H. 

4-C. A condensed description,including the 
three main stages of the six days’ creation. 
“ When no plant was yet in the earth” refers to 
the first and second and dawn of the third day. 
“ No herb yet grown” to the third, fourth, and 
fifth days, when there was no rain or human 
culture. But from the earth, still -saturated 
with moisture, a mist went up and watered the 
garden where man was placed to dress and keep 

it. Bi'ks. -This paragraph forms the intro- 

duction to the history of man, and is by no 


I means a second record of creation ; but it 
shows, in supplementing the first chapter, how 
the earth was prepared for a habitation for man 
—a sphere for his activit 3 % and a place for the 
revelation of God to man. O. 

4, The word “ generations,” iokdoth, which 
occurs for the first time in this verse, meets us 
again continually at the head of every principal 
section of the Book of Genesis. Thus 5 : 1, we 
have “ the book (or account) of the generations 
of Adam,” in which the descendants of Adam 
are traced to Noah. From 6 ; 9 we have the 
generations of Noah, where the history of Noah 
and his sons is given. In 10 :1 we come upon 
the generations of the sons of Noah, where the 
genealogical table and the history of the de¬ 
scendants of Shem, Ham, and Japhet are re¬ 
corded. Ch. 11 :10-26 gives us the generations 
of Shem. Ch. 11 : 27 begins the generations of 
Terah, the father of Abram ; 25 :12, the gener¬ 
ations of Ishmael ; 25:19, the generations of 
Isaac ; 36 :1, the generations of Esau , 37 :2, 
the generations of Jacob, which are continued 
to the end of the book. The application of the 
word here is,very appropriate. The primary 
creation of all things had just been recorded ; 
the sacred writer is about to describe more in 
detail the results of creation. And as the his¬ 
tory of a man’s family is called the “ book of 
his generations,” so the history of the world’s 
productions is called “the generations of the 
heavens and the earth.” E. H. B.-Proba¬ 

bilities favor the supposition of previously writ 
ten documents, these probabilities arising 
mainly from the strong presumption that such 
genealogical records as abound in Genesis, 
coupled so largely with numbers, would be put 
in writing before the age of Moses. Men who 
had the knowledge of writing would certainly 
appreciate its utility for the preservation of 
such facts as these. And further ; the very use 
of the word “ generations” here in the sense of 
history, and much more still the statement 
(Gen. 5 :1), “ This is the book of the genera¬ 
tions of Adam,’' raise this presumption nearly 
or quite to a certainty. In making up the his- 
torical portions of the Scriptures it seems ra¬ 
tional to assume that the Lord moved “ holy 
men of old ” to put in writing such facts falling 
under their personal observation and immediate 
knowledge as he deemed useful for these sacred 
records. The divine policy seems to have been 
(in this case as in miracles) never to introduce 
the supernatural, the miraculous, to do what 
the natural might accomplish equally well. On 
this principle inspired men were moved of God 
to use their own eyes and minds in writing 





SUMMARY OF CREATION. 


1G5 


Scripture history in all cases when the facts 
came within their certain knowledge. There 
were facts, like these of the creation, which fell 
under no human eye, and which therefore do 
not come under this principle. Some form of 
direct revelation from God is to be assumed 
here. H. C. 

Heaven and eartiB. While astronomy 
tells us of the extent of creation, geology in¬ 
forms us of its antiquity ; and the impression 
induced by surveying unnumbered worlds is 
scarcely more solemn or grand than that which 
we derive from reviewing unnumbered ages. 
We pass from the abysses of space only to be 
lost in the abysses of duration, and we are 
transported by the retrospect into depths of the 
past, where all reckoning fails us, and the lapse 
of centuries is reduced to undiscernible insig- 
nificance. King. 

The first expression, “ the heaven and the 
earth,” comprehends all created things, the uni¬ 
verse ; the second, “ earth and heaven,” takes 
in only the earth and that portion of the uni¬ 
verse immediately connected with it. The his¬ 
torian first asserts that God is the creator of all 
created things, then narrates the manner in 
which this earth was prepared for man's abode 
by the same Almighty Being, so as to leave no 
room for the eternity of matter, nor j^et for two 
Creators, one of the high and holy spiritual 
world, the other of this lower material world. 
Me Caul. 

Tlie cartll. Continents, islands, head¬ 
lands, all conformed themselves to the great de¬ 
sign for man’s development and trial ; as though 
in God’s book all the members of the great 
scheme were written while as j’et there was 
none of them. Nor is there any end of wonders, 
of knowledge and wisdom open to the discovery 
of man, if he will but patiently trace the great 
design. In the hot, damp periods, while the 
beds of coal were forming, who could have told 
in these the purposes of the Creator? The 
metals and metallic oxides injected into the 
veins of the rocks, or mingled with earthy sub¬ 


stances—who could have seen in these any sig¬ 
nificance beyond chance, or sport, or caprice ? 
Yet without the waterfalls, caused by the up- 
heavings or irregular deposits of earth ; without 
the coal, the iron, the silver, the copper, the 
gold, where would have been the arts, the com¬ 
merce, the development, the history of man ! 
Nothing appears to have been left out of the 
Lord’s plan ! Nothing undesigned ! Nothing 
without amazing foresight, and amazing reach 
of wisdom ! Yet had beings like us stood by at 
any of these periods, what could they have com¬ 
prehended of the wonders of Jehovah’s works 
that were transpiring before their eyes ? Review. 

Geology shows us how, among the ‘ ‘ many 
mansions,” a “ place” was here “ prepared ” for 
man—framed, finished, and furnished specially 
for his needs, before he was introduced. Chem¬ 
istry tells of the perilous secret of the air, health 
wrought out of poisons, and these kept in diffu¬ 
sion by a siDecial and beautiful contrivance. 
Botany tells us of the cereal—the “ herb bear¬ 
ing seed”—given peculiarly to man, never 
originating in the wild state, and kept only by 
his hand. Paleontology and physiology show 
and explain the significance of the order of suc¬ 
cession, in which the higher forms subject the 
earlier and lower to their use. The compara¬ 
tive studies of nature and man show how, in 
the former, ores have been hidden, seas inter¬ 
posed, contrivances introduced, m 5 'steries ob¬ 
truded, penalties imposed, as if by beckoning, 
by challenging, and by whip and spur, to bring 
man onward to his true destiny. J. B. Thomas. 


Whence do these chapters come ? There they 
stand and ever continue to stand, often as it 
has been attempted to explain them away ; and 
there they will remain until the end of the 
world, until the conclusion of God’s kingdom 
on earth joins hands with the beginning, and 
the light of the beginning will again be recog¬ 
nized in the light of the end, and the light of 
the end in the light of the beginning, that God 
may be all in all. Siaib. 





166 


IN EDEN. CONDiriON. FELLOWSHIP. WORK. TEST, 


Section 23. 

IN EDEN. CONDITION. FELLOWSHIP. WORK. TEST. 

Genesis 2 : 8-17. 


8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward, in Eden ; and there he put the man whom 

9 he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant 
to the sight, and good for food ; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree 

10 of the knowledge of good and evil. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden ; and 

11 from thence it was parted, and became four heads. The name of the first is Pishon : that is 

12 it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold ; and the gold of that land 

13 is good : there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon : 

14 the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is 
Hiddekel : that is it which goeth in front of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. 

15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep 
IG it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest 
17 freely eat : but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it : for in 

the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 


Unlike other ancient historians, Moses has 
no fabulous ages. There is in his clear, con¬ 
sistent, unmatched record, no uncertainty, no 
fable, no conjecture, no chasm. By its sure and 
steady light we are conducted through the.long 
night of ages, back to the very threshold of 
creation, and placed beside the first human pair 
in the garden of Eden. E. C. W. 

8. Tlie Lord Ciiod. Elohim, of whom 
Gen. 1 speaks as the God of the universe, be¬ 
comes, in the second and third chapters, Je¬ 
hovah, or the God of salvation He becomes 
such when He plants and prepares the garden 
of Eden to be the dwelling-place of man, and 

the starting-point in his history. K.-We live 

in Messiah’s world. The divine Personage who 
is here called the Lord God, and who spoke to 
Adam in the garden, was the angel Jehovah, 
who afterward appeared to the patriarchs, led 
the Israelites through the wilderness, taber¬ 
nacled among men in the form of a man, is still 
the head of his Church, and will again appear 
to the world. The angel Jehovah commences a 
new dispensation, which, when it has passed 
through its three forms. Patriarchal, Levitical, 
and Christian, will be terminated by reviving 
and perfecting the primeval happiness of man¬ 
kind, in that future Paradise, of which the gar¬ 
den of Eden was but an emblem. G. T. 

A g^ardcil in Eden. The site of Paradise 
is to be sought for in Babylonia. Eden, as we 
learn from the cuneifiirm records, was the an¬ 
cient name of the “ field ” or plain of Babylonia, 
where the first living creatures had been created. 
Sayce. -The Garden here described, connect¬ 


ed as it is with the well-known names of the 
Euphrates and Tigris, can hardly be other than 
a definite area, unknown indeed to us and prob¬ 
ably undiscoverable but certainly in the East, 
and agreeing in general with what aj^pears to 
have been the starting point of the history of 
the human race. We have on the whole two 
general classes of opinion : the one which 
places the site of Paradise near the Persian 
Gulf ; the other, placing it somewhere in the 
highlands of Armenia. H. W. P. 

11-14. Of the four rivers mentioned as con¬ 
nected with it, two still bear the same names, 
the Hiddekel or Tigiis, and the Euphrates. 
Near the sources of these streams the other two 
greatest rivers of Western Asia have their rise ; 
the Kizil-Ermak, anciently Halys, flowing into 
the Black Sea, possibly the same as the Pison ; 
and the Araxes, which, joined by the Kur or 
Cyrus, flows into the Caspian, and may have been 
the Gihon. There can be little reasonable doubt 
that Eden was situated in the highlands of 
Armenia, in Asia Minor, somewhere near the 

sources of these four rivers. W. G. B.-We 

can at least say that somewhere in this region 
of Armenia eastward, perhaps on the southern 
slope of the Taurus, though some would prefer 
a somewhat more southerly site, it certainly is 
not unscriptural to find the home of our first 
parents, as well as (in this general region) of 
the second set of progenitors of the race. 
S C. B. 

15. Pul ilie man into llic ;;:as*dcn. 

The fi«rst human pair have their first earthly 
want met by their Maker in a home —a quiet, 








GENESIS 2 : 8-17. 


1G7 


beantifnl spot in which trees of beauty for the 
eve and of nutritious fruitage for subsistence 
supplied some pleasing occupation for the mind 
and wholesome labor for the hand ; where, 
happy in each other’s love and blessed with the 
freest communion with their Maker, not a thins 
vas lacking to fill their cup of jo 3 \ 7/’it might 
only last—and for this, nothing more was need- 
ful save that their moral nature should be 
cultured, their faith and love and obedience 
strengthened up to the point of being thor¬ 
oughly, fully confirmed : then their lot would 
have been most blessed. As a requisite means 
for such culture, God subjected their faith and 
obedience to one gentle test—to one point of 
moral trial. To have endured this successfully 
would have made them morally stronger and 
have drawn them yet nearer in love and trust to 
their Great Father. H. C.-The Bible ac¬ 

count of the origin of religion is that man began 
his journey on this globe not as a deserted 
orphan, turned adrift to seek God as best he 
could, but in communion with the Father of 
spirits. God talked with him, and he could talk 
with God. God marked for him the path of 
duty, and it lay in his choice to walk in it, or to 
wander from it. E. li Conder. 

The happiness of our first parents in Paradise 
must have far exceeded anything which we can 
now imagine. Formed in the image of God, 
with all their faculties perfect and their appe¬ 
tites in subjection, undisturbed by care, and as 
yet unassailed by temptation, they walked with 
(xod as a man walketh with his friend, and en¬ 
joyed communion with heaven, though their 

abode was upon earth. Bush. -It is apparent, 

from the account of Moses, that the first man in 
the state of integrity was (as we have heard 
Tertullian expressing it) “ the intimate friend 
of God,’’that he should “ bear heavenly things,” 
and sustain the approaches of the majestic pres¬ 
ence of God without any regret or starting back ; 
th it he could maintain a conference or discourse 
with God (as we have heard Basil speaking) in 
the same tongue or language. It is likewise 
evident from the same history, that Adam in 
the state of integrity had a knowledge of cer¬ 
tain things unaccountable upon any other hy- 
l)othesis but this, that his mind was irradiated 
with a divine illumination. Bull. -We can¬ 

not doubt that the Mediator of this Revelation 
Was the Son of God. Ere sin entered into God s 
fair universe, and while as yet was no estrange¬ 
ment between Him and any of His creatures, 
and so no need as yet of atonement and recon¬ 
ciliation, there was, for all this, need of One 
who should stand between the uncreated and 


the created life ; One who, Himself uncreated 
and divine, could yet enter into relation with 
created life as existing through, in, and for 
Him ; One in whom the creature could see, and 
through whom the creature could know, as 
much as its capacity could bear and contain of 
God. Medd. 

Setting aside all that is purely imaginative, 
we know that man, in Paradise, was a stranger 
to disease, deformity, and pain ; that the per¬ 
fect organism of his body made existence a de¬ 
light, and brought no shadow or depression 
upon the soul The mind of man was clear and 
true. Unlike irrational animals impelled by 
blind instinct, man was capable of understand¬ 
ing the will of his Maker. When we add that, 
man was originally holy, we do not intend that 
his holiness w'as created in the same manner as 
the faculties of his mind, or that it was invol¬ 
untary, like the natural instincts and appe¬ 
tences ; but simpl}'^ this, that all his thoughts, 
affections, and actions were right : that his 
obedience w’as perfect—that there w'as no con¬ 
flict between the several parts of his nature— 
that the voluntary obedience of man was so 
complete, that he was the very image of his 
Maker—his holy affections, responding unto the 
holy affections of God. A “golden age’’ indeed 
was that when the human conscience spake ap¬ 
provingly, without one impeachment, without 
one compunction of remorse ; man rejoicing in 
his own conscious innocence, and God pro,- 
nouncing this his last and greatest wmrk super¬ 
latively good. . . . Last of all w'as worship of 
the Creator, and God's benediction. The w'orship 
of God by sinless man !—not with mediatory 
rites and sacrifices, not by smoking altars and 
bleeding beasts, not by typical sacraments and 
priestly intercessions ; but by direct, immediate, 
personal, sensible communion. With no shame 
on his cheek, no fear in his soul, man stood 
erect before his Maker in all the confidence and 
joy of perfect innocence. Then was it that God 
abode with man as with his child, smiling upon 
him morning, noon, and night, and w^alhing with 
him amid the bowers of Eden. IF. Adams. 

All through the course of the creation, at in¬ 
tervals the narrative has pictured the Great r 
himself as having a benevolent joy in the per¬ 
fection of that wiiich He had brought into being. 
But in Man the narrative presents the Creator 
as the Father producing a child in His owm 
image, after His likeness ; and then with a 
Father’s thoughtful care, providing for every 
want of his compound nature, for his physical 
comfort and enjoyment, for the gratification of 
his tastes and his sense of beauty ; for his affec 








168 


m EDEN. CONDITION. FELLOWSHIP. WORK. TEST. 


tions and his social nature through the medium 
of the Family, and of that society which must 
grow out of the Family ; and for his spiritual 
communing with Himself, the Father of spirits, 
in that beatific intercourse which was the priv¬ 
ilege and joy of man at the beginning. In all 
these arrangements, designed to be jDerpetual, 
we behold the love and the care of God. Wher¬ 
ever these arrangements have failed of their 
beneficent purposes, it has been solely through 
the perversity of man ; and just so far as man 
shall return to the original design of the Cre¬ 
ator, in the institutions of the Family and of 
the Sabbath, in the maintenance of pure domes¬ 
tic love and pure spiritual worshij), will human 
societ}^ be advanced in integrity and blessed¬ 
ness, and once more approximate to that Para¬ 
dise which was the glory of its beginning and 
the realization of which in the hereafter will be 
that golden age toward which all poetry and 
prophecy direct our hopes. J. P. T, 

To clre§s it and lo keep if. No sooner 
was man created than occupation was found for 
his wdiole nature, —body, mind, tongue, soul, 
and conscience ; for even in his state of inno¬ 
cence and holiness, improvement and develop¬ 
ment were to be gained by exercise. His. body 
was to be exercised, in dressing and keeping a 
garden ; his mind, in studying the animals 
around him, and the other woiks of God ; his 
tongue, or power of speech, in conversation and 
devotion ; his soul, in loving his earthly com¬ 
panion, and in loving, praising, and exalting 
his God ; and his conscience, in obeying God’s 
commandments. W. G. B. 

In the midst of a Nature, the forces of which 
are henceforth under discjj)line, man begins his 
proper work. He asserts his claims as the heir 
of this beautiful domain, and endeavors to take 
possession of it by the twofold labor of knowl¬ 
edge and action ; he ‘ dresses the garden,” ac¬ 
cording to the Scriptural expression ; he distin¬ 
guishes between different objects, and exercises 
his powers in giving them names ; he sets be¬ 
fore himself aims, and finds means for their at¬ 
tainment ; he modifies things in conformity 
with his wishes and his needs ; he develops the 
inexhaustible resources of his intelligence and 
liis will, -those twin-sisters, the loyal agents of 
all our activity. At the same time his feelings 
awake ; his heart opens to the sweet affections 
of family life, and to the pure enjoyments of 
nature. It is the drama of the soul’s life which 
is now beginning. What will be its end ? Godel. 

The garden has not only its fruit trees, but it 
has also its flowers. It always presupposes that 
there are human beings to enjoy it as well as 


to take care of it. The idea of God’s planting 
the garden, carries with it the thought that he 
was fashioning it for something higher than 
animals ; that he was enclosing a choice spot 
for a creature who could enjoy whatever was 
comely and pleasant. It was therefore an ac¬ 
knowledgment that when he made the garden, 
this world was to be given over in its dominion 
to a higher intelligence than was found among 
the highest grade of created animals. 

The ordinance of labor was established at 
that time. God took man and put him in the 
garden “ to dress it and to keep it.” This 
ordinance of the Lord has sometimes been con¬ 
nected with the curse, but that is a very differ¬ 
ent kind of labor. “ God worketh hitherto and 
I work,” said Christ. There always was and al- 
w’ays must have been the ground and the neces¬ 
sity for the ordinance of work. Billinger. - 

The blessedness of God is in unwearied and 
beneficent action ; and man, made in his image, 
was immediately assigned an occupation. Man’s 
first employment was to till that very earth out 
of which he sprung, and in the bosom of which 
he is to find his grave. Work and labor are not 
sjmonyms. With the latter we associate diffi¬ 
culty—sometimes hard and depressing drudgery 
—man’s work at first was pleasant only, restrain¬ 
ing and pruning the exuberance of nature’s 
spontaneous growth ; sin has changed that easy 
occupation for the sweat of the face, and the 
bending of the back. W. Adams. 

That which was man’s storehouse was also his 
workhouse ; his pleasure was his task : paradise 
served not only to feed his senses but to exercise 
his hands. If happiness had consisted in doing 
nothing, man had not been employed ; all his 
delights could not have made him happy in an 
idle life. Man, therefore, is no sooner made 
than he is set to work : neither greatness nor 
perfection can privilege a folded hand ; he must 
labor, because he was happy ; how much more 
we, that we may be ! This first labor of his 
was, as without necessity, so without pains, 
without weariness ; how much more cheerfully 
we go about our businesses, so much nearer we 
come to our paradise. Bp. II. -Paradise it¬ 

self was not a place of exemption from work. 
We were none of us sent into the world to be 
idle. He that made us these souls and bodies 
has given us something to work 'fcith ; and he 
that gave us this earth for our habitation has 
made us something to work on. If either a high 
extraction, or a great estate, or a large dominion, 
or perfect innocency, or a genius for pure con¬ 
templation, or a small family, could have given 
a man a writ of ease, Adam had not been set to 







GENESIS 2 : 8-17. 


169 


work , tut he th9>t gave tis heing has given us 
business, to serve him and our generation, and 
to work out our salvation ; if we do not mind 
our business, we are unworthy of our being and 
mainteniince. Secular employments will very 
well consist with a state of innocency, and a life 
of communion with God. The sons and heirs 
of heaven, while they are here in this world, 
have something to do about this earth, which 
must have its share of their time and thoughts ; 
and if they do it with an eye to God, they are 
as truly serving him in it as when they are 
upon their knees. H. 

The Test. 

16. Of tii«5 tree of tlie knowlecig^e 
of ^ 00(1 and evil tlion shall not eat. 

If there is to be an education of the human race, 
one of the first acts of the Divine Educator will 
be, to provoke a struggle between duty and 
pleasure, between conscious will and blind in¬ 
stinct. This is the meaning of that primeval 
trial to which man was subjected. What a 
crisis was here ! If the conscious will, sup 
ported by the sense of duty, triumphed over 
natural inclination, then it would see opening 
before it a career of new conflicts and victories. 
But if inclination triumphed, man’s will was re¬ 
duced to slavery ; and deijrived of the free dis¬ 
posal of himself, he would under the dominion 
of the flesh fall lower and lower. This crisis 
was then at once inevitable and decisive. It 
was for man, whatever might happen, thetransi 
tion from a merely natural life to historic devel 
opment. Gorlet. 

Mark God’s mode of teaching. He issues a 
command. This is required in order to bring 
forth into consciousness the hitherto latent sen¬ 
sibility to moral obligation which was laid in 
the original constitution of man’s being, A 
command implies a superior whose right it is to 
command, and an inferior whose duty it is to 
obey. The only ultimate and absolute ground 
of supremacy is creating, and of inferiority, 
being created. This is man’s first lesson in 
morals. It calls up in his breast the sense of 

duty, of right, of responsibility. M-Human 

character as such, whether innocent or fallen, is 
made for moral government, for obedience to 
the law of a superior, and for the acknowledg¬ 
ment of the rights of equals, as well as for the 
reciprocation of benevolence ; so that display 
of divine justice or righteousness and of divine 
goodness or kindness would be needed for the 
education of the race as much if unfallen, as in 
Its present fallen condition. Woolsey. 

The command has two clauses,—a permissive 


and a prohibitive. ‘ ‘ Of every tree of the gar¬ 
den thou mayest freely eat. ” This displays in 
conspicuous terms the benignity of the Creator. 
“ But of the tree of the knowledge of good and 
evil thou shalt not eat,” This signalizes the ab¬ 
solute right of the Creator over all the trees, and 
over man himself. One tree only is withheld, 
which, whatever were its qualities, was at all 
events not necessary to the well-being of man. 
All the others that were likely for sight and 
good for food, including the tree of life, are 

made over to him by free grant. M.-The 

vast freedom granted to him proved the good¬ 
ness of the Creator ; the one exception taught 
him that he was to live under a law ; and that 
law was enforced by a practical penalty, of which 
he was mercifully warned. We must not regard 
the prohibition merely as a test of obedience, 
nor the penalty as arbitrary. The knowledge 
forbidden to him was of a kind which would 
corrupt his nature -so corrupt it as to make 
him unfit, as well as unworthy, to live forever, 

B. S.-It is quite evident that this knowledge 

could not be any physical effect of the tree, see¬ 
ing its fruit was forbidden. It is obvious also 
that evil is as yet known in this fair world only 
as the negative of good. Hence the tree is the 
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because 
b}’ the command concerning it man comes to 
this knowledge. M, 

“ He that is faithful in that which is least, is 
faithful also in much, and he that is unjust in 
the least, is unjust also in much because it is 
a property of the moral law that its infraction 
is not measured by the extent of the transgres¬ 
sion, but by the intent of the transgressor. The 
smallness of the test is an evidence of the deli • 
cacy of the poise with which God has adjusted 
the law to man’s moral constitution. Bdtinger. 

-The test of obedience is so far from being 

trivial or out of place, as has been imagined, 
that it is the proper and the only object imme¬ 
diately available for these purposes. The im¬ 
mediate want of man is food. The kind of food 
primarily designed for him is the fruit of trees. 
As the law must be laid down before man pro¬ 
ceeds to an act of appropriation, the matter of 
reserve and consequent test of obedience is the 
fruit of a tree. Only by this can man at present 
learn the lessons of morality. To devise any 
other means, not arising from the actual state of 
things in which man was placed, would have 
been arbitrary and unreasonable. The immedi¬ 
ate sphere of obedience lies in the circumstances 
in which he actuallv stands. These afforded no 
occasion for any other command than that which 
is given. Adam had no father, or mother, or 









170 


IN EDEN. 


THE TEST. 


neighbor, male or female, and therefore the sec¬ 
ond table of the law conld not apply. But he 
had a relation to his Maker, and legislation on 
this could not be postponed. The command 
assumes the kindest, most intelligible, and con¬ 
venient form for the mind of primeval man. M. 

-The principle of conscious obedience to the 

divine will is the first step in moral progress, and 
the essential element of true happiness. Con¬ 
sequently the conscious recognition of that will 
is the first condition of man’s development as a 
moral being, and of his continued progress in 
* holiness and happiness. Hence a test was re¬ 
quired to awaken that conscious recognition, 
and to give occasion for the exercise of his free¬ 
dom of choice and action. A test of obedience 
is, therefore, an expression of the truest love 
and care ; and the more simple the test the bet¬ 
ter it serves the purpose intended by the love 
that aj^points it. Hence numerous acts of obedi¬ 
ence were not made the test. One act was for¬ 
bidden ; all else was allowed. Of the princii^le 
of obedience no test could have been more sim¬ 
ple and direct, or more easily apprehended ; and 
hence it was a perfect test. T. J. C. 

There the tree stood before their eyes in the 
midst of the garden—every sight of it suggest¬ 
ing their Great Father’s word—not to be eaten 
at all on penalty of death. Every time they put 
down the temptation to eat of it they will be¬ 
come stronger in their spirit of obedience and 
more happy in God. It was a means of con¬ 
tinual culture in holiness, ever leading onward 
and upward into deeper communion with God 
and more assured and joyous submission to his 
will, more strength of purpose in obedience, 
more delight in whatever self-denial obedience 
might involve. Surely it is not too much to 
say that they might make this means of moral 
culture a priceless blessing to their souls. How 
could paradise meet the greatest of all their 
wants —the want of their new-born souls—with¬ 
out this one provision for proving and invigo¬ 
rating their loving obedience to (heir God ? Need 
we then raise the question— Whal teas God's 
purpose in this prohibition ? The answer is at 
hand—To accomplish precisely this result ; to 
give the first human pair a test of obedience 
which should be naturally a means of moral cul¬ 
ture and of growth in holiness. 

It was a natural necessity of their moral na¬ 
ture that this question of obeying God, always 
and everywhere, should come to issue. As sure¬ 
ly as they were moral beings, capable of know¬ 
ing duty and of doing it, born into being with 
susceptibilities to happiness which sometimes 
must be virtuously denied at the demand of 


God and of the greater good, so surely they 
must meet this trial sooner or later, in one form 
or another, until they become so strong in their 
holy purpose, so fixed in the spirit of love and 
obedience to God that temptation to sin is of 
course spurned away and duty is done forever¬ 
more without a question. Moral trial, there¬ 
fore, if not in this precise form, jmt in some 
analogous form, is the necessary means of de- 
veloping moral strength and confirmed holiness ; 
is therefore the natural pathway to the blessed¬ 
ness of heaven. Thus, with no wavering of 
doubt, we may vindicate God’s w^ays toward 
man in this first great moral trial brought on 
our race. H. C. 

Adam’s trial consisted in the exercise of his 
faith and dependence on God, and the proper sub¬ 
ordination of his sensual appetite to his spirit¬ 
ual affections. His trial was, whether he would 
so far believe and depend on God as to look for¬ 
ward to the complete attainment of spiritual 
perfection in conformity with the divine plan, 
and in obedience to the divine command ; or 
seek an happiness for himself, independent of 
his Creator, by applying for it to a tempting ob¬ 
ject of temporal gratification. In short, the 
grand trial was, what it ever hath been, and 
what it ever will be till the present world shall 
cease to exist, a trial between flesh and spirit, 
between earth and heaven ; whether things 
visible or invisible, things suited to the animal 
or spiritual condition of the original man, 
should have the preference with him ; in a word, 
whether Adam would walk by sight, or hy faith, 
Daubeny. 

All agree that the object of the sacred writer 
was to describe the first probation (f human 
nature. A special act of obedience was i^resented, 
and the conditions of probation were simply 
these : obey, and retain all the pleasures and re¬ 
wards of innocence ; disobey, and there shall fol¬ 
low the pangs of remorse, and the displeasure 
of God. Obey, and live ; disobey, and die. 
The thing to be observed is, that obedience— 
obedience alone, nothing but obedience- de¬ 
scribes the original probation of man. There 
is no mixture of mercy, of forgiveness, in the 
terms of it. Mercy is a gratuity offered to 
guilt.* Nothing of this was proposed to original 
innocence, for it was not needed while innocence 
was retained. It matters not at all whether the 
interdicted act be in itself great or small, vast or 
trivial—it was a lest of obedience. 

Observe the favorable auspices of this original 
probation. There was no propensity in man s 
nature to evil. There was no derangement in 
his constitution inclining him to sin. Body and 





GENESIS 2 : 8-17. 


soul were absolutely perfect in their organiza¬ 
tion. There was no proclivity, no bias, in the 
wrong direction. Man was the very likeness of 
his Maker, with no more disposition or inclina¬ 
tion to evil than in the holy nature of God. 
The terms of the probation were definitely under¬ 
stood. This is essential to all fairness and equity 
when the principle of obedience is to bo tested. 
Acts which proceed from ignorance or accident 
are not to be confounded with the intelligent 
and purposed infraction of positive injunctions. 

When serpent subtlety suggested the first 
temptation to the mind of Eve, she quickly re¬ 
pelled it, on the ground that the act to which 
she was solicited was forbidden by the express 
interdict of the Creator ; thus proving that the 
first condition of legal probation was complied 
with, in that the test of obedience was well and 
perfectly understood. The circumstances of the 
probation were in all other respects eminently 
auspicious. Thes liberty allowed was the very 
largest. There was no pressure of want to ne¬ 
cessitate transgression. All the delights of Eden 
were at the command of its innocent tenants. 
The amplest range of enjoyment was afforded ; 
all created things were at their disposal, save 
that one, which it w'as their pleasure to avoid, 
because obedience to their Maker was a delight. 
Infidelity may scoff at the trivial nature of the 
act interdicted ; but the obvious reply is, that 
acts aro not to be measured by their own little¬ 
ness or largeness, or the brevity of the time in 
which they are performed, but by their relations 
—the smallest serving as a test as well as the 
largest. With the mention of these several 
circumstances, we cannot conceive how human 
nature could have been tested, as to the princi¬ 
ple of obedience, on conditions more hopeful, 
more auspicious, more equitable, than it actually 
was in Eden. W. Adams. 

17. Ill the clay tliat catest 

tlierc>of tlioii »<lialt surely die. Heb., 
dying thou shalt die. Implying by the utmost 
emphasis of expression the absolute certainty of 
the punishment denounced. The threatening 
we suppose to have embraced all the evils spirit¬ 
ual, temporal, and eternal, which we learn else¬ 
where to be included in term deafh as a punish¬ 
ment for sin. The meaning is not that temporal 
death should be inflicted the literal day on 


K1 

which the offence was committed, but on the 
day of his eating he was to become dead in tres¬ 
passes and sins ; the seeds of decay and dissolu¬ 
tion were to become sown in his body, which 
should thenceforth become mortal, and finally 
be brought down to the grave ; and he should 
be made liable to what is usually understood by 
the pains of eternal dcdh in another world. 
Adam, indeed, might not at the time have 
understood the full import of this dreadful sen¬ 
tence, having had no experience of anything 
which would enable him to do so ; but we are 
taught by the actual result what sense to aflix to 
the terms. Bush. 

What kind of death God here means, we must 
gather from the kind of life forfeited. It was 
in every resjject a haj^py one : the life embraced 
equally body and soul. In man’s soul prevailed 
right knowledge, and a joroper moderation of all 
desires ; his bodily powers were perfect, and so 
he was entirely free from death. His life on 
earth, indeed,, would only have been a temporal 
one ; but he would have passed on to heaven 
without pain or dying. Under the word death 
is comprehended all that is miserable ; and to 
this Adam by his fall became subject. As soon 
as the judgment was pronounced on him, Adam 
came under the dominion of death, until grace, 
which followed thereon, brought the means of 
salvation. Calvin. 


Man is represented as from the first placed in 
direct moral relations with his Maker. A spe¬ 
cially prepared home, work, the Sabbath, mar¬ 
riage, and a positive command the test of obedi¬ 
ence, bless and test his life. Disobedience is 
represented as putting him, as it needs must, 
in a sadly altered relation to Goil. He is called 
to account, found guilty, sentenced to the loss 
of Eden, made subject to death. No explana¬ 
tion is given of that awful word. Nevertheless, 
man retains his highest privilege, direct con¬ 
verse with his Maker. We see God reasoning 
even with Cain when his mind is dull with dis¬ 
content and murderous jealousy, seeking to win 
him to repentance, and cheering him us Adam 
and Eve were cheered after their transgression, 
with words of grace and promise. E. R. Gonder, 









172 


TEMPTATION. DISOBEDIENCE. FALL. 


Section 24. 

TEMPTATION. DISOBEDIENCE. FALL. 

Genesis 3 :1-7. 

1 Now the serpent was more subtile than any beast of the field which the Lokd God had made. 
And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden? 

2 And the woman said unto the serpent. Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat : 

3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said. Ye shall not eat 

4 of it, neither shall 3 m touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Y^'e shall not 

5 surely die : for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your e 3 "es shall be opened, 
G and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was 

good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make 
one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat ; and she gave also unto her husband with 
7 her, and he did eat. And the e 3 ms of them both were opened, and they knew that they were 
naked ; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 


Genesis opens with the account of the tempt¬ 
er in the garden, securing the fall of our first 
parents ; and the Apocalypse closes with the 
prediction of his final overthrow and destruction 
in compan}-with all those who have persistently 
adhered to his revolt. The intervening books 
consistentl 3 ' speak of his character, of his direct 
antagonism to Christ, and of his schemes and 
influence during the world’s history, and warn 
us against his snares. W. W. Patton. 

The narrative of this chajiter must be either 
all plain matter of fact, or all allegory. For no 
writer of true history would mix plain matter of 
fact with allegory in the same continued narra¬ 
tive, without un 3 ^ intimation of a transition from 
the one to the other. If therefore any part of 
this narrative be matter of fact, no j)art of it is 
allegorical. If an}’^ part be allegorical,no part is 
naked matter of fact. If the formation of the 
woman out of man be allegor}’, the woman must 
be an allegorical woman. The man must there¬ 
fore be an allegorical man ; for of such a man 
only the allegorical woman will be a meet com¬ 
panion If the man be allegorical, his Paradise 
is an allegorical garden ; the trees that grew in 
it, allegorical trees ; the rivers that watered it, 
allegorical rivers ; and thus we may ascend to 
the very beginning of the creation, and con¬ 
clude at last that the heavens are allegorical 
heavens, and the earth an allegorical earth. 
Thus the whole histor}^ of the creation will be 
an allegory, of which the real subject is not dis¬ 
closed, and in this absurdity the whole scheme 
of allegorizing ends Bp. Horsley. 

The reasons ftr regarding the Biblical account 
of the Fall as historical, are these : It is organi¬ 
cally united with the narrative of the creation, 


which takes the usual formula of Hebrew his¬ 
tory—“ these are the generations.” It appears 
in a Book which b}"^ uniformly and distinctly 
recognizing one living and personal God, and by 
distinctly defining man’s moral relation to Him, 
leaves no room for a mythology. It is recorded 
in the old, simple, objective style of historical 
narrative ; reminding us of the significant fact 
that, unlike other nations of antiquity with 
whom the j^oetic element preceded the histori¬ 
cal, Hebrew poetry alwa 3 "s looks back to Hebrew 
histoiy. While the m 3 dhological, moreover, is 
always national, local, and particular, the Bibli¬ 
cal account, both of the Creation and the Fall, 
has the character of true universality. The ac¬ 
count also, in connection with that of the crea¬ 
tion, forms the introduction to an acknowledged 
history—that of the Theocrac 3 ^ It is the only 
account w^hich, from its view of sin, assumes 
and really possesses a historical character. In 
all the ancient accounts, apart from Biblical in¬ 
fluence, sin is either an unreal or an eternal 
thing. Pantheism, as in the Egyptian, Phoeni¬ 
cian and Babylonian traditions, by treating sin 
as an unreality, renounces its historical exist¬ 
ence. Dualism, of which Parseeism, Brahma- 
ism, and the later Manichaeism, are forms, by 
regarding it as eternal, make a first sin, as the 
act of a free being -impossible. It is only 
where both the finitude and the individual lib¬ 
erty of man are apprehended, as they are in 
Genesis, that the nature of sin is recognized, 
and a first sin is possible. The Biblical ac¬ 
count, too, is full of historical details and facts. 
Thus, it contains a minute geographical descrip¬ 
tion of Paradise : the condition of mankind, 
threatened in this narrative as a punishment, 




GENESIS 3 : 1-7. 


173 




actually exists : and the account of the same 
human progenitors, here brought into view, is 
continuously carried forward as history. Then, 
again, sin and salvation —the two fundamental 
ideas of the narrative -form the germ of which 
the entire Bible is the development. In addi¬ 
tion to all which, the historical character of the 
narrative is repeatedly recognized in the New 
Testament, where the presence of this spiritual 
agent in the natural serpent is distinctly recog¬ 
nized. J. H 

The narrative of the first sin has not only a 
consistency that grows on the contemplation, 
but offers the only solution of the dim traditions 
of the distant past. It offers perhaps all the help 
that can be given when it traces the source of 
the seduction to an outer influence, distinctly ex¬ 
plained in the New Testament, as ‘ ‘ that old 
serpent which is called the devil and Satan,” 
and when it couples with the persuasions of the 
appetite the specious inducement of a higher 
good—“ye shall be as gods’’--and a pressure 
applied to the more emotional of the pair. And 
while the real agent is thus identified with 
Satan, I see—in accordance with a narrative 
which described all as it appeared—no fair mode 
of escaping from the recognition of the actual 
objective appearance of a serpent, chosen for 
the reason suggested in the narrative, the sub¬ 
tlety of the movement that comes and goes so 
stealthily and so unexpectedly, and the associa- 
tion thereby awakened. The one grave objec¬ 
tion, that this is the concession of a miraculous 
transaction for the purpose of deception, is per 
haps sufficiently answered by saying that to 
them it was no miracle,—for there was no ade¬ 
quate knowledge of a settled course of nature,— 
but an ordinary phenomenon. 

Striking confirmation is found in the ancient 
and widespread traditions of the East, pointing 
definitely to precisely such a transaction. We 
not only find the sacred tree that gave immor¬ 
tality—the Indian Kalpanksham, the Persian 
Horn, the Arab Tuba, the Greek Lotus, the tree 
in the coffin at Warka, and Babylon named 
“ the place of the tree of life we also find the 
ruin of the face connected with the eating from 
a tree, in the Edda of the north, in the Zenda- 
vesta, and in the legend of Thibet, and a de¬ 
ceiver also appears, who is in some cases the 
serpent. Indeed the serpent figures largely in 
traditions, in Egypt, Chaldea, Persia, Phoenicia 
and elsewhere, as the enemy of the gods. The 
confirmation becomes more definite and singu¬ 
lar still. We find not only a Babylonian cylin¬ 
der of the 9th century b.c. showing the sacred 
tree with attendant figures and eagle-headed 


guardians, and another cylinder showing the 
sacred tree with “attendant Cherubim but 
we find another early Babylonian cylinder with 
sacred tree showing fruit, a seated human figure 
on each side, each with a hand extended toward 
it, and a serpent behind the one whose hand is 
nearest to the fruit. S. C. B. 

1-0, Temptation is now presented to the occu¬ 
pants of Eden. Temptation is not sin, but it 
seems to be implied in the very nature of man’s 
probation. Here have we the first allusion 
which, like a hinge or link, connects the history 
of our race with events which occurred before 
man was made—a connection which subsists 
now, and is to continue, in one form or another, 
when this world is consumed —so binding for¬ 
ever, past, present, and future events of Provi¬ 
dence, into one vast and endless system, ever 
revolving and unfolding. Sin existed in the 
universe before it blighted Eden. Some of the 
angels kept not their first estate ; and revela¬ 
tion positively instructs us that man’s apostasy, 
man’s redemption, and man’s final destiny, 
have direct relations to the history of those who 
fell from heaven before man was fashioned out 
of the dust. W. Adams. 

The characters in this high tragedy are all 
worthy the grandeur of the occasion. They are 
Jehovah ; a fallen rebel of the spiritual uni¬ 
verse ; and man, a siririt, in the image of God, 
combined with a physical body. The test act 
of the occasion, too —however men of low con¬ 
ceptions have sneered at it—was eqiral to the 
character of the parties in grandeur and dig¬ 
nity. It was indeed the simple taste of fruit ; 
but that tasting a high, solemn, sacramental act. 
It was not simjDly the eating of fruit, but the 
touching of the sacramental tree. S. K. 

1. The serpent is here called a beast of the 
field ; that is, neither a domesticated animal nor 
one of the smaller sorts. The Lord God had 
iliPtle it, and therefore it was a creature called 
ii:]|p being cn the same day with Adam. It is 
not the wisdom, but the wiliness of the serpent 

which is here noted. M.-The serpent, as a 

creature of God, has in itself nothing devilish. 
The real tempter could not be an animal, but 
only a higher evil spirit, the devil, who made 
use of the animal as his instrument. There is 
no mention in Scripture of any personal bodily 
manifestation of this evil spirit, and it is alto¬ 
gether impossible. Accordingly, he was obliged 
to speak through the medium of the serpent. 
Gerl. -In whatever form appearing, in what¬ 

ever manner addressing the woman, the real 
tempter—as elsewhere abundantly declared in 
scripture -was a spiritual being, already fallen. 




:74 


TEMPTATION. DISOBEDIENCE. FALL. 


called here and elsewhere the Serpent, from his 
insidiousness ; called also the Devil, as he is a 
slanderer and calumniator ; called also Satan, 
as he is the hater and the adversary ; called also 
the Wicked One, as pre eminent among creat¬ 
ures for his infamous moral character, S. R. 

That the real personal devil was there, the re¬ 
sponsible agent, is surely implied by our Lord 
(Jno. 8 :44). In 2 Cor. 11 :3, Paul gives us a 
plain, historic version of this narrative. But 
Satan is perhaps most sharply identified in the 
descriptive points made by John (Rev, 12 : 9 and 
20 :2). Our Lord, as also Paul and John, saw 
in this narrative a real Satan, and also the veri¬ 
table serpent made his instrument. That Satan 
should use such an instrument is manifestly 
within and not beyond his power. It has in 
certain points its analogy in the demoniacal 
possessions recorded by the Evangelists. As to 
power he is spoken of as the god and prince of 
this world, “ the prince of the power of the air, 
the spirit that now worketh in the children of 

disobedience,” H. C.-There is but one 

“ devil and his angels." In Rev. 12 : 9, we read 
of the great dragon : “ that old serpent, the 
devil and Satan.” In this form he seduced our 
first parents, and effected the ruin of mankind 
in their original head. From that period his 
empire on earth commences, as erected in re¬ 
bellion against the kingdom of God and his 
Christ; an empire composed of ignorance, idola- 
tery, impiety, cruelty, and vice ; alieoation from 
God, and disobedience to his holy will and law : 
these are the ingredients and principles of 
Satan’s empire in the world. R. Hall. 

It is with no <?loudy vagueness that the per¬ 
sonal existence of the s^Dirit of evil is revealed 
in Holy Scrijjture. In history, prophecy and in 
parable is the Tempter brought before us, and 
every quality, every action, every attribute which 
can indicate personality is referred to him in lan¬ 
guage which cannot be explained away. The 
records of the old dispensation and the writings 
of the new, alike depict him as pre-eminent in 
power among the angels who lost their first es¬ 
tate, and as ever compassing the destruction of 
the souls of men. We, then, are neither wise nor 
prudent to talk of allegories, or rhetorical per¬ 
sonification, or in bolder unbelief to doubt or 
deny the existence and the power of the chief of 
the fallen spirits. It were far wiser to recognize 
our foe, and to seek the strength with wdiich to 

contend with him. Pe'vy. -The devil’s haired 

of us bears date with our very being, and his op¬ 
position is as earl,v as his hatred ; it is of too 
active a virulence to lie still and dormant, with¬ 
out putting forth itself in all the actings of a 


mischievous hostility. The devil hates and 
maligns us for the privileges of our creation, but 
much more for the mercies of our redemption : 
and as soon as ever we list ourselves in the'ser- 
vice of the great Caj^tain of our salvation, he bids 
present defiance to us and proclaims perpetual 
war against us ; which he will never be wanting 
to carry on with all the force, art, and industry 
that malice, bounded within the limits of creat¬ 
ed power, can reach unto. South. -His great 

business is to draw and drive others to sin ; and 
therefore, as God is “ the holy one,” so Satan is 
called “ the wicked one.” The devil may fitly 
be called “ the evil one,” for he is the oldest 
sinner (1 John 3:8); the greatest sinner (Eph. 

6 :12) ; the father of sin (John 8 :44). So all 
the sins in the world are by this furtherance, 
both actual and original. Again, he hath a great 
stroke in temptation, that he is the artificer, the 
designer, the improver of them ; therefore he is 

called “ the tempter” (Matt. 4 :3). 3fanion. - 

Had our first parents actually considered the 
nearness of God« to them when ’they were 
tempted to eat of the forbidden fruit, they had 
not probably so easily been overcome by the 
temptation. Let us consider that God is as 
near to observe us as the devil to solicit us;’ 
yea, nearer. The devil stands by us, but God 
is in us. We may have a thought the devil 
knows not, but not a thought but God is act¬ 
ually present with, as our souls are with the 
thoughts they think ; nor can any creature at¬ 
tract our hearts, if our minds were fixed on that 
invisible presence that contributes to that excel¬ 
lency and sustains it, and considered that no 
creature could be so present with us as the 
Creator is. Charnock. 

Without temptation Adam would not have 
fallen ; without temptation you and I would not 
have fallen. But without temptation \v*ould any 
have risen ? What would character be without 
temptation ? The revelations of God, and the 
great redemption of God, with all its .accessories, 
are for the sake of character. Character is 
treasure laid up in heaven ; character is salva¬ 
tion ; character is life eternal. And character 
is in the heart just what intellect is in the mind, 
and muscle in the body ; it is moral st.amina, 
ethical toughness, and nothing toughens but dis¬ 
cipline ; and discipline means trial, strain, 
temptation. Therefore we will ever remember 
that life is a training-school ; that its appliances 
are arranged with reference to the establishment 
within us of that which is undecaying, and which 
we may carry over with us into the vast life 
we are so rapidly entering. We will try and 
not repine at the waifare we have so constantly 








GENESIS 3 : 1-7. 


175 


to wage against the evil that is within ns and 
without us. Every thorn in the flesh and in 
the heart, we will remember, has in it a gracious 
purpose ; is pressed by a divine hand and 
nicely adjusted to our endurance ; that there is 
nothing in life so corrupt that it need defile us, 
nothing in experience so heavy that it need 
crush us. Only we will remember that it is not 
safe for us to go into our wildernesses alone, 
but like Jesus, who entered there in the power 
of the Spirit. Under the stress of trial and 
difficulty of any kind it is only God’s grace 
that is sufficient for us, and in that grace will 
we find our security. C. H. P. 

Ilatii CjJod said ? No startling proposal 
of disobedience is made, no advice, no per¬ 
suasion to partake of the fruit is employed. 
The suggestion or assertion of the false only is 
plainly cftered ; and the bewildered mind is left 
to draw its own false inferences, and pursue its 
own misguided course. The tempter addresses 
the woman as the more susceptible and un¬ 
guarded of the two creatures he w^ould 'betray. 

M.-It is good to leave off learning where God 

hath left off teaching ; for they which have an 
ear where God hath no tongue, hearken not unto 
God, but to the tempter, as Eve did to the ser¬ 
pent. IT. Smith. 

The mode of approach, and the method of the 
temptation of an intelligent, sinless creature, is 
worthy the genius of the tempter for sublety. 
A blunt, outspoken attack on the covenant would 
have repelled his victim. So most adroitly, 
under form of an undisputed truth, he insinu¬ 
ates an enormous lie. Observe the form of his 
statement : “ Yea hath God said, ye shall not 
eat of every tree.” This was what God said— 
and also it was not what God said. Observe, 
God had said, “ of every tree,” etc. In that 
form, the language conveys the idea of gener¬ 
ous and almost unlimited freedom. But, as 
stated by the tempter—while grammatically true 
—yet it insinuates and is really to the effect, that 
a tyrannical and useless restraint has been laid 
upon man. S. R.-Satan here states the ex¬ 

ception, as if it had been the rule, and converts 
a general privilege, with one solitary exception, 
into an absolute prohibition. And such is 
ever the treacherous plan of the seducer from 
the paths of innocence. His grand object is to 
render, obedience wearisome and constrained ; 
and to this end he conceals ever}' privilege and 
magnifies every restraint, that he may alienate 
our affectinns from the laws of holiness, and from 
the friends of virtue and of our true happiness. 
Jlifferman. 

With apparently full reverence for God, he 


injects into the mind of Eve a doubt as to this 
command. If God has certainly spoken, he 
urges, obey ; but has He certainly spoken ? It 
is only a doubt ; Satan does not deny that God 
has spoken. He denies nothing, he affirms 

nothing ; he simply questions. Bryan. -He 

insinuates into Eve’s mind thoughts that God 
rather envied than designed their happiness, in 
forbidding them to eat of that one tree. 
Despair, which is the greatest instrument next 
to that of presumption, by which the devil 
draws men headlong into the fatal net of per¬ 
dition, how and by what means does he cause 
it? Why, by representing God to the soul as 
a tyrant and a tormentor, rigid and implacable, 
exacting the utmost farthing from a poor bank¬ 
rupt creature, that is nor worth it. By such 
diabolical rhetoric does he libel God to the 
hearts of His creatures. And he well knows 
that by these arts he does his business effectu¬ 
ally ; forasmuch as it is impossible for the soul 
to love God, as long as it takes Him for an 
enemy and a destroyer. South. 

Paradise was made for man, yet there I see 
the serpent. What marvel is it if my corruption 
find the serpent in my closet, in my table, when 
our holy parents found him in the midst of 
paradise ! No sooner he is entered but he 
tempteth : he can no more be idle than harm¬ 
less. I do not see him at any other tree ; he 
knew there was no danger in the rest ; I see him 
at the tree forbidden. How true a serpent is he 
in every point ! in his insinuation to the place, 
in his choice of the tree, in his assaiilt of the 
woman, in his plausibleness of speech to avoid 
terror, in his question to move doubt, in his 
reply to work distrust, in his protestation of 
safety, in his suggestion to envy and discontent, 

in his promise of gain ! Bp. 11. -Balaam 

could not curse Israel, but he could tempt 
Israel. The game which Satan had to play was 
to draw our first parents to sin, and so to sepa¬ 
rate between them and their God. Thus the 
Devil M'as, from the beginning, a murderer and 
the great mischief-maker. The whole race of 
mankind had here, as it were, but one neck, and 
at that Satan struck. The adversary and enemy 
is that wicked one. H. 

2. Wc may cat of tlie fruit of llic 
trees of tlie gfar<leii. The first assault of 
the insidious tempter is well sustained by the 
woman. He insinuates that they had been for¬ 
bidden the use of every tree without exception. 
No, says the woman, it is not a prohibition of 
every tree. The Creator has allowed us the use 
of all the trees, with one exception. We may not 
eat of the tree in the midst of the garden. Bush. 









17G 


TEMPTATION. DISOBEDIENCE. FALL. 


-3. LiCSt ye die* Yet her reply was 

tainted with doubt. The threat, “ Y'e shall 
surely die,” she rendered by the word8,“ lest ye 
die.” God’s verily was to her only a perhaps, 
and the death penalty was a risk and not a 
certainty. Here was the first sin—not the overt 
act, not the defiance of God’s authority, but the 
doubt as to a clearly-revealed command of God 
—questioning hesitancy in the place of prompt 
obedience. Bryan. 

4. Ye sliall not surely die. As before 
he called in question God’s kindness to man, 
so does he here deny God’s veracity or truth ; 
and deserves the character which our Saviour 

gives him, of “ a liar.” Kidder. -Unbelief is 

not only a great sin of itself, but one great 
cause of all other sins. It may be truly called 
the Mother of sin, as the devil is the Father : 
for it was that which by his instigation brought 
forth sin at first into the world ; and it is that 
which still maintains and keeps it. When the 
old serpent assaulted our first parents, the first 
attack he made was upon their faith ; and when 
that was once shaken, he soon overcame them. 
Beveridge. 

5. For Crod dotli kit<)w. 

cuser that ever was in the 
and that was tin 


accuser 


The first ac- 
world was a false 
devil. The first 
false report he raised was of the Most High : un¬ 
justly accusing God Himself^ unto our mother 
Eve, in a few words, of no fewer than three 
great crimes at once, Falsehood Tyranny^ and 
Envy. He was then a slanderousSxcc,\\s.er of his 
Maker ; and he hath continued ^er since a 
malicious accuser of his brethren. \Sanderson. 

-Thus still the Devil draws peopl\into his 

interest by suggesting to them hard thoughts of 
God, and false hopes of benefit and advantage 
by sin. In opposition to him, always think well 
of God as the best good, and think ill of sin as 
the worst of evils : thus resist the Devil, and he 
will flee from us. H. 

The offered suggestion was “ that he should 
be like unto God ” in this, ‘ ‘ Knowing good and 
evil.” Being in his creation invested with 
sovereignty of all inferior creatures, he was not 
needy of power or dominion. But being a spirit 
newly inclosed in a body of earth, he was fitted 
to be allured with appetite of light and liberty 
of knowledge. Bacon. 

Satan is cunning and we are weak, and he 
will be too hard for us if he do but find us at all 
staggering in our resolutions to do nothing but 
what is ZaicfMi; or lending an ear to any per¬ 
suasions for the doing of anything that is un¬ 
lawful. By this very means he overcame our 
first mother Eve ; and prevailed with her to taste 


of the forbidden fruit, though it were unlawful, 
by persuading her that it was expedient. To a 
Christian that desireth to make conscience of his 
ways, nothing can be truly expedient that he 

knows to be unlawful. Sanderson. -Satan 

gains our souls step by step ; and his first al¬ 
lurement is the knowledge of what is wrong. 
He first tempts to the knowledge, and then to 
the commission of sin. Depend on it that our 
happiness and our glory in these matters is to be 
ignorant, as well as to be guiltless. Oh, thought¬ 
less, and worse, cruel to your own selves, all ye 
who read what ye should not read, and heai 
what ye should not hear ! How will you repent 
of your folly afterward ! How will you despise 
yourselves, how weep at wdiatyou have brought 
on you ! At this day surely there is a special 
need of this warning ; for this is a day when 
nothing is not pried into, nothing is not pub 
lished, nothing is not laid before all men, New¬ 
man. 

6. Good for foo€l, delig^lit to tlie 
eyes, to be desired to make one wise. 

The threefold appeal of the tempter to the in¬ 
firmities of our nature may be traced also in the 
temptation of Christ, the second Adam, who 
” was in all points likewise tempted, but without 
SIN.” P. S. - There is a noteworthy parallel¬ 

ism between the Temptation which Christ sur¬ 
mounted in the desert and this under which 
our first parents succumbed in the garden. 
‘‘When the woman saw” (“through false 
spectacles of Satan’s making,” as Jackson adds) 
“ that the tree was good for food ” ( the solicita¬ 
tion of the flesh), “ and that it was pleasant to 
the eyes” (the solicitation of the world), “ and 
a tree to be desired to make one wise” (the 
solicitation of the devil), “ she took of the fruit 
thereof and did eat.” In that first sin were the 
lineaments of every other sin, as in Christ’s vic¬ 
tory over temptation the lineaments, and very 
much more than the lineaments, of every other 
victory. Trench 

Of the three reasons assigned for eating, each 
one centres on self, and not one refers, even re¬ 
motely, to the divine command, and in each of 
them is there a striking resemblance to the rea¬ 
sons by which men to-day seek to legitimate 
sin. Thus, the tree was “ Good for food.” 
Practical unbelief makes food an ultimate neces¬ 
sity, and connects life with the natural appetite 
instead of with God through the natural appe¬ 
tite. We must have bread, say these ; and what 
brings us bread is thereby justified. “ Pleasant 
to the eyes.” “ Beauty for beauty’s sake,” cry 
the aesthetes, and very impatiently do they re¬ 
sent all moral tests, owning allegiance to an 










GENESIS 3 : 1-7. 


1:7 


artistic standard alone. Yet beauty cannot rival 
duty. The word of God must regulate art as it 
regulates our bread. Immoral beauty is sin, 
however beautiful it be : and the beautj' can¬ 
not hide the sin or shield the sinner. “ To be 
desired to make one wise.” As in Eve’s cnse, 
knowledge is often the loss of power ; for, 
while Eve knew good and evil, it wtis at the 
cost of her life. She knew evil by becoming 
evil. So knowledge is not always a blessing. 
Its value depends on its source. If it is from 
God, it is power ; if from Satan, it is moral im¬ 
potence and ruin. He is not best that knows 
most, but he that knows most from God. . . . 
Here is the genesis of human sin : Doubt, Un 
belief, Gratification—each the step to the next. 
There could have been no gratification with¬ 
out unbelief, and no unbelief without doubt. 
Bryan. 

Duubl is awakened whether what God has 
commanded is really good, and along with this 
the command itself is exaggerated. Distrust of 
God was called up, as if He were an envious 
being who sought to keep man back in a lower 
stage ; and then ver. 4 proceeds to a decided 
denial of God’s word. Onl}^ then, when .selfish¬ 
ness, rebelling against God’s will and GotVs 
word, has been awakened, does sensuous allure¬ 
ment, ver. 6, exert its power. In other words, 
the real principle of sin is, according to the 
Old Testament, unbelief of ike divine word, the 
sefish elevation of self-will above the divine will, and 
the presumptuous trampling upon the limds set by 
divine command. The seu.ses appear as occupy¬ 
ing only a secondar}'^ place in the production of 
sin. Thus Gen. 3 disproves the doctrine so 
often advanced, especially in the Eabbinical 
theology, that according to the Old Testament 
the real principle of evil lies in matter, in the 
body. It is a fundamental doctrine of the Old Tes¬ 
tament that evil is originally the denial of the 
divine will ; that sin is sin because man selfishly 
exalts himself above God and His will. The 
Old Testament knows of no evil which is merely 
men’s wronging of each other, or a mere retar¬ 
dation of the development of human nature, 
simple weakness. O. 

As regards the origin of sin we are not aware 
that all the philosophic discussions of the world 
together ever advanced beyond the condensed 
and inimitable formula of the apostle James: 
“ God cannot be tempted with evil ; neither 
tempteth he any man ; but every man is tempt¬ 
ed when he is drawn away of his own lust and 
enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it 
bringeth forth sin ; and sin, when it is finished, 
bringeth forth death.” Sin originated in no 
12 


compulsion, no inducement, on the part of God. 
It is not an accident, or eftect of matter. It 
had its origin in the free-will of man. Involun¬ 
tary suggestion, tbe thought, the imgination of 
the act interdicted, was not sin ; but the enter¬ 
tainment of that imagination, the cherishing of 
that desire, the accomplishing of that thought 
—this is sin. Such is the sequence in thi.s 
actual history. She looked —she saw that the 
fruit was pleasant to the eye, and good for food ; 
desire was enkindled, was cherished : and this, 
when it conceivevl, brought forth sin ; and sin, 
when completed in act, brought forth death. 
All the metaphysics of centuries, whole libraries 
of discussion, concerning the origin and nature 
of sin, condensed together, add nothing to this 
concise statement of historic events. \V. Adorns. 

God does not subject us to temptation, that, 
through sinning, we may illustrate his grace. 
Trials as tests of our choice of good or evil, of 
our faith in himself, of our love and devotion, 
he does appoint for our moral discipline and 
cultuie ; but temptations that look toward sin 
and lead to sin, are the prompting of our own 
desires, when these are loosed from the control 
of reason and conscience. The sin does not lie 
in the fact of temptation, nor in the susceptibil¬ 
ity to temptation : but when we suffer our sus¬ 
ceptibilities to natural good to be wrought upon 
to such a degree that they entice us to forget 
reason, conscience, dut)’^ to God ; when these 
over-stimulated desires come to a head in the 
decision of the will to gratify them,—then do 
they bring forth sin. The counteractive to such 
temptatiop! is a just conception of our highest 
good as An God, and from him ; a patient, 
prayerful, unwavering trust in him ; and the 
keeping his word in our hearts as our law and 
guide. J. P. T. 

Our own experience has made us familiar wdth 
the genesis and progress of sin : we have fallen 
a thousand times before the very craft, the very 
device, by which our first parents weie en¬ 
snared. The desires and lusts which haunt the 
senses, and the understanding which holds by 
sense, demand an excessive unlawful gratifica¬ 
tion. At first reason and conscience withstand 
the claim. The repulse only whets desire and 
makes the craving lust more vehement. They 
return to the attack. If again withstood, they 
return again, perhaps under some new disguise, 
alw'ays with new force ; till at last the resist¬ 
ance of reason and conscience is overcome, and 
some pretext is found for yielding to the clam¬ 
orous desire. We have been “ drawn aside of 
lust, and enticed in us “ lust has conceived, 
and brought forth sin.” The edge and strict- 






178 


TEMPTATION. DISOBEDIENCE. FALL. 


ness of onr scruples have been worn down ; the 
force of high spiritual resolves has been frittered 
away ; the charm of things pleasant to the eye, 
though not good for food, has grown upon us 
till we have “ con'<ented to sin.” We know that 
every time we yield to temptation we become an 
easier prey to the wiles of evil ; that every hour 
we neglect or postpone a duty we harden into a 
more habitual neglect. Do we know it ? Let 
us then listen to the warning : “ Take heed lest 
any^ cf j'ou be hardened by the deceitfulness of 
liis sin ” lest by any means, as the serpent 
beguiled Eve by his subtlety, so your minds 
should be corrupted from the simplicity and 
})urity that are in Christ.” Cox. 

The Biblical narrative depicts the sin of 
our first parents as the result of a temptation 
which came upon man, and was the cause 
of his fall, thus intimating the existence of a 
seducing spiritual power external to man —a 
view subsequently attaining a more developed 
doctrinal form, and made of prominent impor¬ 
tance in the New Testament. Against no other 
doctrine, however, is modern consciousness 
more prejudiced than this. And yet it is the 
interest of mankind to regard man as tempted, 
and not as the inventor and first author of sin. 
Man is not in harmony with sin : he is not Sa¬ 
tanic. If he were so, if he had been the origi¬ 
nator of sin, he would be incapable of redemp¬ 
tion. Sin has not so much proceeded from him 
as entered into him —a fact which, while it does 
not extenuate his guilt, alleviates its conse¬ 
quences. Luihnrdt. -If the sin of the human 

race rests on a free act of its first parents, that 
could not be the first cause of it. It must have 
some other ground. If the thought of breaking 
loose from God had arisen in their oven minds, 
they wmnld have set themselves against God in 
their own deep selfishness : evil would not be 
something foreign to man ; man would be evil 
himself ; he would have satanized himself. Just 
because man is not a devil, must there be a 
devil. Evil in its human form, where it leaves 
room for redemption, is to be explained only by 
temptation. Thus the two ideas at w'hich the 
natural mind most readily stumbles, the ideas 
of hereditary sin and of the devil, are manifest'y 
tne saviours of the true dignity of man. 

As the origin of evil in man can only be ex- 
l)laiued as Genesis does it, by a free act which 
establishes his guilt and by temptation which 
makes redemption a possibility, so the Mosaic 
narrative describes its nature in a way which is 
self-evidently true. The first act is, that the 
tempter seeks to loosen the bands of childlike 
trust which bound man to God by casting sus- | 


picion on the eternal love ; that he sow's first 
unbelief and then disobedience in the heart of 
man. To the first suggestion, which does not 
at once succeed, the tempter gives weight by a 
second. He drops into their minds the poison 
of self-exaltation, by asserting that they would 
rise from their position of dependence and be¬ 
come as God, knowing good and evil. In deny¬ 
ing the threatening of death Satan cunningly 
weaves together truth and falsehood. It is truly 
the wull of God and our destiny, created as we 
are in the image of God, that we shall become 
like God. But man has to puss through a 
course of development under the hand of God 
to reach this end. Only as a reward for a life 
of wulling subjection and active obedience to 
God can the free creature receive the crown of 
eternal life. But the tempter says : ‘‘ You need 
only to act and to know yourselves, to live ac¬ 
cording to your own will ; then are ye as God.” 
He perverts the fact of being in the image of God 
into the deification of self, and pushes the idea 
of the creature and of obligation aside. Self- 
seeking, wdiich, putting God aside, makes God 
of self and makes self the centre of all things, is 
the .second element in the nature of sin. A third 
makes its appearance in Eve herself. This is 
desire, love of the world, gra>ific(ili ni of the sev.ses. 
The testing command nad Ibis meaning. The 
tree had no importance in itself. It was of ac¬ 
count merel}’’ as a means of exercising freedom. 
This its name tells us. Now. how'ever, this for¬ 
bidden tree acquires a greater charm than all 
the unforbidden ones. God has lost reality in 
her mind and the tree seems to the senses so 
sw'eet. The senses obtain the mastery and sin 
is committed. The flesh has obtained the vic¬ 
tory, the true order of life is inverted. All the 
higher powers have forsaken God, their true 
ground and rest, the low^er powders become dom¬ 
inant. That these three parts of the idea of sin 
substantially express and exhaust it, is show'u 
not only in the fact that all sin that comes be¬ 
fore us in life may be referred to them, birt also 
in the fact that they correspond to the three 
fundamental elements of man’s consciousness, 
God - consciousness, self - consciousness, and 
w^orld consciousness. These have all become 
corrupted and perverted. They have become 
respectively alienation from God, selfishness, 
love of the world. Man has become physical 
and fleshly. Unbelief is the negative, the union 
of self-seeking and the lust of the senses the 
positive element in the idea, of sin. Man no 
longer wishes for God ; he is bent on having 
the creature in both w’ays—-the mental and nat¬ 
ural, the subjective and objective ; he will have 





GENESIS 3 : 1-7. 


179 


his own self and the world too. According to ] 
Genesis, the selfishness is ihe sonl, sensuuusness 
tile body of sin. The tirst is the de p, invisible 
ro it, the second the external manifestation 
The self, separated from God, seeks in the 
vvorld the elements on which it lives. Redemp- 
tioniopposes faith to unbelief, love to selfish 
ness, the hope of a new world to the lust of this 
world Auherlen. 

Angelic spirits, having been brought into 
being without dependence upon each other, 
were placed each for himself upon independent, 
personal probation, and each stood or fell by 
his own personal obedience ; but we, having 
been brought into the world by a necessary con¬ 
nection with each other, w’ere put upon trial in 
the first of our species, who just as effectually 
evinced what human nature would do as though 
that nature had been tested in all its posses¬ 
sors. TkornwelL 

God might have created a universe ruled from 
first to last b}’" physical law, and so incapable of 
deviation from the true rule of its action. In 
such a universe moral evil M'ould have found no 
place, only because there would have been no 
creatures properly capable of moral good. Our 
experience tells us that God has not chosen to 
stint down His creative activity to these pro 
portions . that we are free agents is not more a 
matter of faith than experience. We know that 
God has created beings whose high privilege it 
is to be able freely to choose Him as their King, 
as the accepted Master of their whole inward 
lifo. But if this privilege is to be real, it also 
carries with it the implied power of rejecting 
Him. The alternative risk is the inevitable 
condition of the consummate honor ; it is act¬ 
ually a substantial part of the honor. A moral 
being must at least have a eai^acify for disobe¬ 
dience if he is to be able freely to obey. H. P. L. 

-There is no morality or immorality where 

there is no choice or freedom ; consequently 
were the actions of men under an absolute con¬ 
trol, they would no more be answerable for 
their doings than a clock is for its motions : and 
therefore to call on God to make all things work 
by immediate interposition of His power, for 
the present reward of virtue and punishment of 
vice, is a request not consistent with itself ; it 
is desiring God to do that for the sake of vir¬ 
tue, which would destroy virtue and leave no 
room for the exercise of it, no ground on which 
to distinguish it from vice and iniquity. Sher¬ 
lock. 

Having placed him in a state of probation, 
surrounded by motives of which some induced 
to obedience and some to disobedience, but 


with perfect liberty of choice, an easy duty was 
enjoined, and the penalty of transgression laid 
before him His Maker si-t life and death be¬ 
fore him, and left it to his own unforced volition 
which to choose. Had Omnipotence interposed 
in these circumstances and exercised a super¬ 
natural influence upon man’s freedom of will to 
prevent his sin. He had thereby destroyed the 
foundation of all the merit of obedience, and 
put it out of His power to make any trial of him 
at all. It would have been to govern him not 
as a free, but as a n^ces.'iciry agent, and any re¬ 
ward for his conduct would in that case have 
been as absurd as to reward the sun for shining, 
or the rivers for running into the ocean. Man 
therefore fell not bj^ any inevitable necessity, 
but by the abuse of his free agency.; and to say 
that God did not interpose to prevent it, is 
merely to say that he did not see fit to do vio¬ 
lence to the moral nature of ihe being he formed, 
but left it to be influenced according to the laws 
to which he had made it subject. Bush. 

In neglecting the tree of life which he w'as 
allowed to eat of, and eating of the tree of 
knowledge which was forbidden, he j^lainly 
showed a contempt of the favors God had be¬ 
stowed on him, and a preference given to those 
God did not see fit for him. He would be both 
his own carver and his own master ; would 
have what he pleased, and do what he pleased : 
his sin was, in one word, disobedience; disobedi¬ 
ence to a plain, easy, and express command, 
which he knew to be a command of trial. He 
sins against great knowdedge, against many 
mercies, against light and love, the clearest 
light and the dearest love that ever sinner sin¬ 
ned against. He had no corrupt nature within 
him to betray him ; but had a freedom of will, 
not enslaved, and was in his full strength, not 

weakened or impaired. H.-The temptation 

assails him to be as God, i.e., independent—his 
own master. In this consists, according to the 
Scripture narrative, the essence, the real char¬ 
acter of the first sin, the origin of all after sin 
of mankind. The desire to eat of the forbid¬ 
den fruit follows on the inward alienation from 
God ; and so, while the sin was in its real char¬ 
acter and origin so great and fearful, its outward 
form, the act of eating of the forbidden fruit, 
has the character of a childlike disobedience— 
in accordance with man’s condition—though 
even then we must not attempt to extenuate the 
nature of the sin. The form which man's sin 
assumes—nay, every object of the inward evil 
desire—is always belonging to the flesh or the 
world ; but its soul, even in its coarsest form of 
sensuality, is always— self-emulation. Gerl. 







•180 


DISOBEDIENCE. FALL. 


The fact of original sin presents nothing 
strange, nothing obscure ; it consists essentially 
ill disobedience to the will of God, which will 
is tbe moral law of man. This disobedience, 
the sin of Adam, is an act committed every 
where and every day, arising from the same 
causes, marked by the same characters, and at 
tended by the same consequen/ces as the Chris¬ 
tian dogma assigns to it. At the present day, as 
in the Garden of Eden, this/act is occasioned 
by a thirst for absolute inde/iendence, the am¬ 
bitious aspirings of curic^ity and jDride, or 
weakness in the face of temmation. Guizot. 

T believe, that God creened man in his own 
image, in a reasonable soul, in itinocency, in 
free-will, and in sovereignty ; that he gave him 
a law and commandment which was in his 
power to keep, but he kept it not ; that man 
made a total defection from God. presuming to 
imagine that the commandments and prohibi¬ 
tions of God w^ere not the rules of good and 
evil, but that good and evil had their own prin 
ciples and beginnings, and lusted after the 
knowledge of those imagined beginnings ; to 
the end to depend no more upon God’s wdl re¬ 
vealed, bat upon himself and his own light, as 
a god ; than the which there could not be a sin 
more opposite to the whole law of God : that 
yet, nevertheless, this great sin was not origi¬ 
nally moved bj^ the malice of man, but was in¬ 
sinuated by the siiggestion and instigation of 
the devil, who was the first defected Creature, 
aud fell of malice and not by temptation. 
B'tc.on. \ 

She took, and did cat; and aave 
unto licr Siii§K>and, and lie dad eat. 
Man’s first probation termlri'iled disastrously. 
That tree which, because of the divine interdict, 
had been avoided—which had been the test of 
oliedience —thr )Ugh the subtleties of diabolic 
solicitation, was approached, and the fruit 
thereof was eaten. The tempter was believed 
more than God. The desire of self-control, dis¬ 
trust aud independence of the Creator, and pal- 
jiable infringement of his well-known will, were 
the ripened form and spirit of sin. The bright 
and happy auspices of the first probation 
availed nothing ; and, notwithstanding circum¬ 
stances mo-it propitious in aid of obedience, sin 
Mitered the world, with all its entailment of 
woe ! ir. Adams. 

The one act was a violation of the whole law 
(James 2 ; 10,—a rejection of the authority ot 
God ; and their conduct, instead of being less 
culpable owing to the unimportance of the 
special act prohibited, as rationalists would rep¬ 
resent, was on that veiy account only the more 


] aggravated. It reduced the actual transgressors, 
and, as the subsequent history proves, all their 
posterity, into the condition of sinners. Sin is 
i not here mentioned by name, but taking it ac¬ 
cording to the Scriptural definition as “ the 
transgression of the law,” it certainly appears 
I in a form which justifies the Pauline statement : 
I “ By one man sin entered into tlie world, and 
i death by sin” (Rom. 5 :12). The confidence 
which the parents of mankind had previously 
reposed in God and the mutual love which 
they cherished, all at once gave way to distrust, 
and to recriminations of God aud of one an- 
1 other. Shame, fear of God, and mutual es- 
j trangement were the feelings which predomi- 
j nated immediately after their transgression, and 
these plainly declared that they had incuired 
the penalty against which they had been \»arned. 
They were fully conscious that the^'^ had for¬ 
feited God’s favor, in which is life (Ps. 30 : 5), 
and had become obnoxious to his displeasure—■ 
a state which Scrijiture designate.s as “ death.” 
D. M. 

The eyes of hoth were opeiietl. 

Both morally and physically they saw before. 
Morally they saw truth in all its beauty ; physi¬ 
cally, they saw Eden in all its glory. But they 
saw now what they never expected to see, and 
felt what they never expected to feel. They 
have now the experimental knowledge of good 
and evil. They felt the remorse which succeeds 
ever the consciousness of sin. They are be¬ 
reaved of the comfortable presence of their 
Maker. The eyes of their mind are opened to 
the consequences of sin. It is the brief and 
beautiful expression for that which, in all ages 
since, to every son of Adam, occurs in one or 
j other degree after a fearful transgression. The 
j fascination of crime loses its spell of enchant¬ 
ment over the soul as soon as the crime is com¬ 
mitted, and the terrible experience of millions 
is herein truly uttered : “ Their eyes were 
opentd.” The peculiar law of the human soul 
has furnished the theme in chief for tragedy in 

every age. S. R -It did not make them 

know good and evil altogether, as God knows 
it, but in an experimental sense, as the devil 
knows it. In point of knowledge, they became 
like God ; in point of morality, like the tempt¬ 
er. M.-The trial and decision of man, but 

not his fall and rebellion, were necessary. As 
the tempter had deceitfully promised, man’s 
eyes were opened ; but he only saw his naked¬ 
ness. He knew what was good, but by the 
dreadful consciousness of having lost it ; he 
knew what w'as evil, but in painful experience 
of the wretchedness which now had become his. 















GENESIS 3 : 1-7. 


181 


He became as God , from having been his lepre- 
sentative, he had assumed an independent 
position. He had constituted himself a god, he 
had become his own master ; bat this likeness 
to God made him exceedingly wretched and 
poor, instead of rendering him happy. By 
yielding to the will of the tempter, and rebelling 
ayrainst that of God, man became subject to sin 
and to de ith, which is the wages of sin. K. 

Individual life is an analogue of the dispensa¬ 
tion which rules the history of the race. There 
are crises in the history of each of us —points 
at whicli a determinate direction is given to the 
character, whether intellectual or moral. The 
will stands face to face with some great ques¬ 
tion of duty ; we debate it ; we meditate ; there 
IS an earnest and bitter conflict—an agony ; the 
issue gives a tremendous impulse one way or 
the other ! This is pre-eminently the case with 
religion. The law stands face to face with us ; 
the Spirit stimulates conscience ; we struggle ; 
we resist ; we evade ; matters are finally brought 
to a crisis —we must decide, and often that de¬ 
cision is final ! Oh, the importance of having 
every decision right ! Thornwell. 

Pride whispers that by treading the path of 
sin we shall climb to the most desirable heights ; 
sensuality discovers the beautiful in all forbid¬ 
den fruit ; we forget everything except the claim 
of lust, and, like our first parents, we give to 
each other the apple of death. But erelong 
W8, like them, have the bandage torn from our 
eyes, and it appears what bitter truth the tempt¬ 
er spoke in the misleading declaration ; “ In 
the day when ye eat thereof, your eyes shall be 
opened.” Alas, what a fearful difference be¬ 
tween the light in which the sin appears an 
Lour after and a day before it was committed ! 

Van. 0. -Worldly fathers and despairing 

mothers take what comfort they can from the 
ea.sy maxim that young people had better have 
a free range through scenes of temptation, in 
order that its attractions ma}’’ not take them by 
surprise further on, and that they must “ see 
life,” to know how t >live. If we could lead out 
in our time the hojieless profligates of a single 
generation which that plausible philosophy has 
betrayed, the joyous households, once pure, that 
it has wrecked and distracted, the sweet, clean 
hearts it has defiled, the noble natures it has 
degraded, the men whose honor it has ruined, 
and the women whoso peace it has crushed,—a 
very long, a very mournful, and a very admoni¬ 
tory procession it would be. At the head of it 
move the first human pair, marching in miser¬ 
able humiliation out of Eden. The tree of the 
knowledge of “ good ” was not enough. There 


hung, in ruddy heauty, the more luscious fruit 
of the knowledge of “ evil ” as well. Why not 
eat of that ^ Knowledge can do no harm. See¬ 
ing things as they are ! Nature is a safe stud}'. 
‘‘Thou shalt not surely die.” Six thousand 
years the story has been told over and over. 
You need not go for it to the beginning of Gen¬ 
esis. It was acted last night close to where you 
live, —happy for you if not by some soul that 
you love. Indiscriminate knowledge, unhal¬ 
lowed curiosity, the lust of the mind looking 
through eager eyes, is the unceasing tempta¬ 
tion of man. So he falls first into sin, then into 
shame. ‘‘Seeing life” turns out to be tasting 
of death. F. D. H. 

Tliey saw tliat Ihey were naked. 

This, of course, is to be taken in a spiritual 
sense, for, in anything short of a high ty{)ieal 
sense this was not now first true. This is no 
allegorical sense put ujjon the words here to 
serve a purpose ; it is the interpretation which 
accords with the usage of Scripture elsewhere. 
Thus “ Moses saw that by erecting the golden 
calf Aaron had made the people nak(d.” So 
Ahaz, by his sinful course, “ made Judah 
naked" —that is, exposed to the wrath of God. 

S. R.-Then did they feel with what grace 

they were clothed when, though naked, they 
were the slaves of no unseemly desires. In their 
hastening to make an apron of fig-leaves, they 
appear to have been moved by some mysterious 
impulse, and to have adopted unwittingly this 
sign of their punishment—a conviction of sin¬ 
fulness to themselves. Aug. 

As the language in ch. 2 ; 25 is an expression 
of purity and peace of mind, so the language 
used here is the expression of conscious guilt, 
of self-condemnation and shame. It was the 
trangression of the divine CvOmmand that 
wrought the change. As obedience was the 
conscious recognition of the divine authority, 
and the condition of continued connection with 
the source of spiritual life and peace, so their 
disobedience was the conscious rejection of that 
authority, and forfeiture of spiritual life and 
enjoyment. Man’s natural reason, with his 
appetites and passions, was now in the ascend¬ 
ant ; no longer under the control and direction 
of that spiritual element of his nature, in which 
he bore the image of God, and lived in happy 
communion with him. Hence his dread of God, 

and conscious guilt and shame. T. J. C.- 

There was no blush in Eden, as there was none 
in heaven, till sin entered it. That crimson 
signal of guilt, or offended modesty, betrays the 
knowledge between good and evil which was 
first born on earth when transgression invaded 








183 


DISOBEDIENCE. FALL. 


Eden. No reproof, no upbraiding, no sentence, 
as yet bad been uttered by their Maker ; but 
the guilty pair had lost, what they never could 
regain, ignorance of evil, consciousness of in¬ 
nocence, and they were a^lliillied. Shame is 
the first-born progeny of sin. 


We maj'’ not explain the nature of the trans- 
mitUd injlaence which connects our sin with the 
sin of Adam. It would be of little use to specu¬ 
late where we cannot know. We sin, and we 
are accountable for our own sins. To deny the 
fact that we sin, that all m^n sin, that all the 
human race are deficient in fhe judgment of the 
law which requires supren^ love to God and 
disinterested love for our/ fellows, is to for 
swear the testimony of faclls, the whole drift of 
history, and the positive a^rmations of the in¬ 
spired Word. Yet dimmed; and blighted as they 
are by the consequences of sin, the original fac¬ 
ulties of our nature are not destroyed. United 
to a life which is endless —brought into play in 
connection with immortality—they make man a 
being still, little short of divine, m whose pres¬ 
ence we are awed —and the moment we suffer 
ourselves to think lightly or meanly of man’s 
capacities we lose the last hope of his restora¬ 
tion. The highest proof of man’s greatness and 
worth, is in what God has done for his recov¬ 
ery. The Scriptures exalt man's beimj beyond 
all which man himself ever conceived ; and this 
always in connection with his moral apostasy. 
Scriptural assertion and palpable fact are 
agreed. Man has intelligence, capacity, con¬ 
science, and freedom ; but he has not obedience. 
By what test is obedience to be judged ? The 
REVEALED Law OF GoD. Another test was pre¬ 
scribed to the first man, even that he should 
abstain from an interdicted object, The cri¬ 
terion of human character now is this epitome 
of divine legislation : “ Thou shiU love the Lord 
thy God with all thy heart, wVh all thy soul, with 
all thy strength, with all thy mind, and thy neighbor 
as thyself." Tried by //’isrule—and not another 
—the character of man is defective. Man does 
not love his maker with all his heart, nor his 
neighbor as himself. It is a libel on humanity 
and the perversion of a truth, to affirm that 
men are as utterly bad as they might be ; for 
besides restraints, social and providential, there 
are laws, many of which man has himself en¬ 
acted, the shadows of a greater statute, to which 
he may be conformed in the practice of all 
wffiicb is generous, honest, and humane ; but 
the testimony of history and Scripture is, that 
by that divine law which demands the supreme 
love of the soul to God, the character of the hu¬ 


man race is defective. Noble specimens there 
have been of humanity, e.specially as redeemed 
and helped by Christianity ; but where and 
when has there been one, out of all the race, 
who, in an honest judgment, has obeyed the 
perfect law of his Maker, without the deflection 
of a thought or the defect of a moment ? 

Change man’s circumstances as you will—give 
him a Christian parentage—place before him a 
godly example—here is something which may 
be affirmed of the whole species ; they do not 
fulfil the law which demands perfect and su¬ 
preme love to God and man. The first proba¬ 
tion of human nature, on principles of obedi¬ 
ence, terminated disastrously ; and tried on the 
same terms, our common nature has been found 
defective and depraved ever since. 

The circumstances of man’s condition corre¬ 
spond somewhat to his character. All sin is 
not to be ascribed to a vitiated bodily constitu¬ 
tion ; but the human body is subject to strong 
and ill-regulated appetences—to pain, disease, 
and death. Fast as the redemptive help is ap¬ 
plied to the world, man’s physical condition im¬ 
proves ; but it were nothing but delusion to 
affirm that his condition now is what it w^ould 
have been if sin had not shadowed the earth. 
It was not misanthropy, but inspired truth, 
which affirmed that man was born to trouble as 
sparks fly upward. Innumerable compensa¬ 
tions, mitigations, and mercies remain, but 
every man who is born into this world comes in 
contact with evils which do not belong to a 
state of sinless innocence. Sufferings and sor¬ 
rows, not to speak of wrongs, oppressions, and 
wars, remind us that we live in a world on 
which rests the curse of sin, and which is filled 
with the penalties of transgression. IF. Adams. 


The creation of the first human pair was the 
creation of a race. In God’s eternal thought, 
which Augustine calls the divine idea, or the 
primal type, the genus precedes the individual. 
Or, as Edwards puts it, taking the figure from 
Stapfer, Adam was the root and humanity the 
tree ; so that the sin of Adam was the fall of 
man. Or, as Paul has it, “ by one man’s dis¬ 
obedience, the many were made sinners.” And 
this is the proper beginning of human historj'. 
It begins in sin. Sin in the root carries sin into 
all the branches ; not, indeed, as a necessity of 
fate, else it could be no longer sin, but yet as a 
perfect certainty of history. As is the root, so 
are the branches ; as in the-oak, so in the man. 
In the man a mystery • but so also in the oak. 
A mystery, because a life. Only in man the 
mystery is deeper, because the life is deeper. 









GENESIS 8 : 8-19. 


183 


Choice there must be. to have it sin ; but the 
choice is beyond and beneath our scrutiny. 
Adam fell into sin ; we are born to it. We 
choose it, indeed ; but it is our first choice. 
But now, besides sin, we have grace also in the 
problem. Both are inexplicable. Sin is a mys¬ 
tery, which human speculation has never fath¬ 
omed. Grace is a mystery, into which the 
angels desire to look. What relief we need, in 
oui perplexed and painful meditations upon 
human life, may be had by putting the two to¬ 
gether, face to face. 11. D. H. 

The lessons of Scripture, while leaving the 
entrance of evil in its awful mysteiy, assist our 
faith by showing first that nothing derogatory 
to God could be implied in its introduction, and 
then that God dealing with it as a fact has over¬ 
ruled it for his own glory. The shadow which 
the entrance of evil casts on God redemption 
rolls away. It was not for want of power in 
God that sin entered, for in Christ he defeats 
it. It was not for want of righteousness, for 
redemption is one continued death-blow to sin’s 
dominion. It was not for want of wisdom, for 
the wisdom that cures is higher than the wis¬ 
dom that was required to prevent. It was not 
for want of love, for the love that provided the 
second Adam to humanity could not have been 
wanting in the trial of the first. There is thus 


a reply on Calvary to the vexing thoughts that 
cluster around Eden, and while the mystery re¬ 
mains it loses its terror. And further, the un¬ 
doubted outburst of the glory of God on the 
darkened theatre of sin, though we dare not say 
that the theatre was darkened for the purpose, 
assists our faith in God. It has been conclu¬ 
sively shown that evil can be overruled for good, 
that attributes of God are brought out that 
might otherwise have slumbered, and emotions 
called forth in his creatures which without 
danger and deliverance would have been impos¬ 
sible. Where sin abounded grace has much 
more abounded. God has become more glori¬ 
ous in his dealings with sin for its expulsion ; 
saved sinners more blessed, angels more in¬ 
structed and confirmed. Cairns. 

As the fall of man, through the marvellous 
plan of redemption, has brought greater good 
to man and higher glory to God, so has it also 
given to our human melodies greater depth and 
compass, that we may fitly'^ sing and celebrate 
this noble triumph. Then was introduced that 
solemn but sweet minor which unlocks the 
fountain of tears, and which has carried so 
much of contrite prayer upward to heaven, till, 
like that weeping mist that went up to water 
Eden, it descends again in soft and fertilizing 
dews. Ker. 


Section 25. 

INQUIRY, CONFESSION, JUDGMENT, MERCY. 

Genesis 3 :8-19. 

8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day ; 
and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the 

9 trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto the man, and said unto him. Where art 

10 thou ? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked ; 

11 and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked ? Hast thou eaten of the 

12 tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat ? And the man said. The woman 

13 whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God 
said unto the woman. What is this thou hast done ? And the woman said, The serpent be¬ 
ll guiled me, and T did eat. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done 

this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field , upon thy belly shalt 
15 thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life : and I will put enmity between thee 
and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed : it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt 
1C bruise bis heek^vUnto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy concep¬ 
tion ; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children ; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and 
17 he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said. Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice 
of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat 
of it 1 cursed is the ground for thy sake j in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life , 





184 


INQUinr, CONFESSION, JUDGMENT, MERCY. 


18 thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee ; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field : 

19 in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground ; for out of it 
wast thou taken : for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. 


God was not alienated from man when man 
■was alienated from him. The life of humanity 
■was not ended, at once and forever, by the dis¬ 
astrous issue of its first probation. From all 
which is told us in revelation, we infer that 
when the fallen angels sinned retribution fol¬ 
lowed immediately upon transgression. For 
them was no reprieve, no redemption, no gos¬ 
pel of forgiveness. Mark the difference. When 
man sinned, though retribution of one kind fol¬ 
lowed, yet man was spared. The curtain did 
not drop before this stage of being, nor the life 
of man go out in darkness. The waves of ob¬ 
livion did not roll over the world, nor was a 
new creation evoked to supply its place ; but 
the world continued, the sun shone, the stars 
kept on in their courses, time waited, and man 
was placed on a new and different probation. 
That second probation forms the great body of 
human history. The first was a mere prelude 
to the second. This explains why it is that the 
narrative of the first is so brief and condensed. 
It is not pertinent or practical to ourselves at 
all. We are not deciding our destiny on the 
same probationary terms which were prescribea 
to man at the beginning. Our immortal bless¬ 
edness is not pivoted on the contingency of sin¬ 
less obedience and unsullied innocence. Mercy 
presides over the second and main probation of 
our race ; and our destiny turns on our relations 
and dispositions to the means of redemption. 
A glimpse of coming hoj^e and relief breaks 
through the gloom of the curse itself. Promise 
is mingled with the very utterance of displeas¬ 
ure ; nor does the cloud which gathered its 
blackness, and uttered its thunders over the 
heads of the guilty, discharge its contents, be¬ 
fore the bow of hope is painted on its gloom, to 
gladden their tearful eyes and desponding 
hearts ; ’nor have they stepped outside the gates 
of Eden, before the second probation of human 
nature begins, under the auspices of restorative 
help. W. Adamft. 

At the very beginning, under a system of nat¬ 
ural. reliyion, Ad im was constituted the head and 
oryan <f a religious Commonwealth. God entered 
into a covenant with him, distinctly religious 
in its character, and which proposed for its 
end his promotion to the highest spiritual felic¬ 
ity. The tree of knowledge, as the test of man’s 
obedience, was the appointed symbol of God’s 
moral government ; whilst the mysterious tree 
of life was the seal of all the blessings which 


should accrue from a successful probation. In 
the institution of the Sabbath a more distinct 
claim was laid upon the homage and worship 
of the creature. In the language of Lord 
Bacon, “ Man was thus designated as the inter¬ 
preter and high priest of nature, to gather up 
its mute praises, to fill them wuth his own in¬ 
tellect and soul, and to pour the universal song 
into the ear of Him, whose glory was reflected 
in them all.” By the force of his position, as 
the root and representative of all his offspring, 
he was constituted the prophet, priest, and king 
of that religious empire. From its origin, the 
Family, in its idea as it stood before the mind 
of Jehovah, was the Church, the temple of his 
worship. 

Equally so a fter the fall, the first man becomes, in 
the Family, the minisltr of the religion of grace. 
Brief as the history is, it is full of broad sug¬ 
gestions as to the churehly character of the 
household. Look at the first promise, the seed¬ 
ling in which is implicitly contained the whole 
of our theology. In its very terms, “ the seed 
of the woman,” it postulates the parent and the 
Family ; and that Family, as embracing the 
ark, with its mercy-seat and the covering rain¬ 
bow. Definitely as it points through the ages 
to Him who should be born of the Virgin, it 
could be fulfilled, both as a promise and a 
prophecy, only through the Family, bound to¬ 
gether by natural ties, until the fulness of the 
times. R. M. Palmer. 

We find in the Bible a unity of promise con¬ 
cerning the Redemption of man. It was a strik¬ 
ing and almost an exceptional feature in Christ 
as a Teacher, that He did not profess to intro¬ 
duce a new and original system of truth, but 
came to complete a foregoing Revelation and to 
finish an appointed work. He confirmed his 
own doctrine by appealing to Moses and the 
prophets ; and the constant argument of the 
apostles in their early preaching was that Jesus 
o£ Nazareth fulfilled, in his person, all the con¬ 
ditions of ancient prophecy and promise. Going 
back upon this line of promise to the later 
prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures, we find in 
Malachi and Zechariah, the announcement of 
the coming Purifier, the Deliverer, the Shep¬ 
herd, the King, the Redeemer, with various 
marks of identitj’, all which were verified in 
Christ. A century earlier, in Daniel, then afar 
off at the court of Babylon, we find predictions 
I of the Messiah as a Redeemer, with specifica* 



GENESIS S : 8-19. 


185 


tions touching His character and work which 
were marvellously filled out in Christ. Yet 
again two centuries further back, in the prophet 
Isaiah, we find the most detailed delineation of 
the Messiah to come as the Child of Hope, as 
the Comforter of His people, as the suffering 
Kedeemer, as the Prince of Peace. Once more ; 
in the height of the kingdom of Israel, when 
David had brought the tribes to be united at 
home and respected abroad, we find m his pro¬ 
phetic Psalms the announcement of a Son be. 
fore whom he bowed as his Lord, of whom he 
predicted an everlasting kingdom and victory 
over death. Then following back the course of 
ages to Moses, to Jacob, to Abraham, and across 
the flood up to the very gate of Eden, we find 
fewer and dimmer, but still legible and unmis¬ 
takable, the promises of the great Prophet and 
Lawgiver like unto Moses, of the Shiloh, the 
Prince of Peace who shall gather the peoples to 
Himself, of the Seed of Abraham in whom all 
nations shall be blessed, of the Seed of the 
woman which shall bruise the serpent’s head. 

When we consider the vast intervals of time 
by which these prophecies are separated one 
from another, the great variety of circumstances, 
places and conditions in which the}' were ut¬ 
tered ; in the infancy of the race, and at the 
moment when sin and death seemed to have de¬ 
stroyed all hope for mankind ; in the homeless 
wanderings of solitary men like Abraham and 
Jacob, who had nothing to build upon but 
faith ; in the wild encampment of a horde of 
-fugitives just escaped from serfdom into the 
desert ; from the throne of a consolidated king¬ 
dom, renowned in arms, favored in foreign alli¬ 
ance, and glorious with the tokens of Jehovah’s 
presence ; amid the dismembered fragments of 
that same kingdom, and in the exile of the peo¬ 
ple of God, who sitting by the rivers of Baby¬ 
lon, for very grief could not sing the songs of 
Zion to their mocking captors ; under a foreign 
rule, and in times of religious decline and social 
corruption that seemed to render hopeless the 
idea of reviving and deliverance ; when we 
thus follow through so many and so distant 
steps, so many and so contrary conditions, these 
fragmentary prophecies, and find them ever ad¬ 
hering to one type and following one line of de¬ 
velopment, and pointing to one perfect and 
glorious consummation, there is nothing in all 
tliat science has discovered of the permanence 
of types, and the unity of plan, and the devel¬ 
opment of system in the natural world, that can 
exceed in impression this proof, from the unity 
of the promise of Redemption, of the finger of 
God inditing and unfolding the whole. J. P. T. 


8. And tliey Sieard tlic voice of the 
B..ord God Avalkiiii; in the (garden. 

The sound of the Majestic Presence, or the glory 
of the Lord,^ approaching nearer and nearer to 

the place where they were. Patrick. -The 

Scripture narrates these things in such wise 
that we should rather believe that God spake to 
man in Paradise in the same way as He after¬ 
ward spake to the Fathers, to Abraham, to 
Moses, that is, in some bodily form or appear¬ 
ance. Hence is it also that they heard His Foice, 
as He walked in Paradise at eventide, and hid them¬ 
selves. Avg. -God held converse with the 

first men in a visible form, as a Father and Edu¬ 
cator of His children, and this was the original 
mode of the Divine revelation, not coming in 

for the first time after the fall. Keil. -The 

Targums here and generally paraphrase the 
Name of the Most High by “ the Word of the 
Lord,” more especially in those passages where 
is recorded anything like a visible or sensible 
representation of his Majesty. The Christian 
Fathers almost universally believed that every 
appearance of God to the patriarchs and proph¬ 
ets was a manifestation of the Eternal Son. 
E. H. B. 

Hid tliem!«elves. Repulsion from God 
was the necessary effect of guilt and shame. 
Man sought to conceal himself from his Maker. 
An evil conscience invariably begets dislike and 
dread of God. W. A.-As a child hides him¬ 

self from a father he has offended, so hid they 
from him. It was a “ voice” they heard. It is 
clear that the tones of that voice had been of 
kindness and love. There is no reason to sup¬ 
pose that now that voice was less kind than it 
had been, for the Lord had not chosen to ap¬ 
pear to know their crime but from their own 
acknowledgment. It was the consciousness of 
sin that made all the difference—that made the 
Presence most terrible that had hitherto been 
hailed with reverent joy and filial confidence. 
Sin did in them, as it does in all their descend¬ 
ants, create a cold and cheerless distance be¬ 
tween the heart and God. Kit. 

The tones of that voice had till now been the 
sweetest to their ear of all the sounds and har¬ 
monies of Eden. For, doubtless, he appeared 
to Adam just as subsequently he oft assumed 
the shadowy form of humanity to visit Abram 
or Moses or Joshua. But the consciousness of 
sin turns all this into an image of horror and 
dread, while, as yet, no hope of a recovery as¬ 
sures them. And, therefore, they fly into the 
darkest recesses, in the vain hope of eluding 
His all-seeing eye. It is this aversion to any 
real consciousness of God’s presence that forms 









18G 


INQUIRY, CONFESSION. 


the most insuperable barrier to the salvation of 
the sinner. Under this fear from a conscious¬ 
ness of sin, he will not allow the voice of the 
Lord God to come near, that it may bring him 
with the sentence of condemnation also the 
hope of recovery. Here is the secret and the 
source of the atheism and unbelief of which 
Christian lands are so full —here is the reason 
why atheism and unbelief are tbe products of 
Christian lands chiefly. The superior moral 
tone which the gospel infuses into society 
brings home to men the consequences of their 
guilt ; and the voice of the Lord God in his 
perpetual ordinances keeps ever alive their 
fears, so, to avoid it, they encase themselves in 
unbelief. Only when the soul is brought “ to 
look upon Him pierced, ” shall it truly mourn 
for sin. Under the mere sense of guilt, with¬ 
out hope of pardon, the attempt will always be 
to screen the soul, not only from the voice of 
God direct, but from that voice of God also 
which speaks within through the conscience. 
S. K. 

Not that men can hide themselves from God, 
but Adam and those that are his by nature will 
seek to do it, because they do not know him 
aright. These words therefore show us what a 
bitter thing sin is to the soul ; it is only for 
hiding-work, sometimes under its fig-leaves, 
sometimes among the trees of the garden. Oh, 
what a shaking, starting, timorous conscience is 
a sinful, guilty conscience ! Bunydn. 

There is that in the very nature of sin 
which tends to self-disclosure. Sin runs to 
passion ; passion runs to tumult in character ; 
and a tumultuous character tends to reveal it¬ 
self, so that the world shall see it in its ultimate 
and finished hideousness. The fear of this is 
often discoverable in the experience of the 
guilty, as a distinct element of retributive suf¬ 
fering. It is distinct from the secret conscious¬ 
ness of sin ; distinct, also, from any well-defined 
fear of its consequences. Our souls are so made 
as to tremble at the thought of detection in itself 
considered. Such was the working of conscience 
upon the first guilty pair in Paradise, With a 
simplicity whicti could have accompanied none 
but a first sin, they sought to hide themselves 
from God We do not know that anything else 
than sin would ever have awakened in the hu¬ 
man mind that instinct of concealment. It is 
an instinct that shuts a sinner into the society 
of his own outraged conscience. He must bear 
the torture of an invisible Nemesis, alone. 
This often goads him with the simple dread of 
detection, till in desperation he goes and fore¬ 
stalls it by confession, to rid himself of the tor¬ 


ment of anticipating it. The history of human 
justice abounds with instances of this working 
of the Law of Conscience. Yet the germ of just 
such self-disclosure is in every human heart. 

A. Phelps. 

The soul’s fine mechanism is strangely dis¬ 
ordered. The original end of its creation is 
lost. We learn the nature of its structure by 
the extent and melancholy grandeur of its ruins. 
The powers that allied it to angels are now 
known principally by the terror of their move¬ 
ment. Account for the fact as we may, its ex¬ 
istence is beyond contradiction. Whatever be 
our connection with the original apostasy, what¬ 
ever the nature of the influence that has come 
down from Adam, be the preponderance of evil 
on the side of the first transgression, or of the 
actual personal offence, the fa'ct admits of no 
qualification or denial. The proofs crowd upon 
us uncfasingly and in broad daylight. They 
are within us and about us. The consciousness 
of every moment has a tongue, every wind of 
heaven has its sad voices. History, with its un¬ 
broken chapters of blood and crime, only con¬ 
firms what we hourly see and every moment feel. 

B. B. Edwards. 

9. The I.<orcl Ood called unto 
Adam. Emphatically called Jehovah Elohim, 
God the Lord. By which, in the language of 
Philo, according to the opinion of all the ancient 
Fathers, is to be understood God the Father, 
speaking by Christ, the Logos, the Word, or 
Son of God : the Messenger and Representative of 
the Father, “ the brightness of His glory, and 
the express image of His person who ap¬ 
peared in and spake from the Shekinah, or cloud 
of glory ; who communed with A'dam, with 
Noah, with Abraham and the Patriarchs ; and 
communicated His will to and conducted the 
Israelitish nation. For of God the Father it is 
expressly said, “ No man hath seen Him at any 
time,” Neither heard His voice at any time, 

nor seen His shape.” Pyle. -This may be 

regarded as the germ of the whole Bible. Man 
has fallen, and, afraid of God, has hid himself ; 
but God come$ to look for him, and hold out 
the hope of mercy to him. Here is God seeking 
after guilty, ruined mnyi. From Genesis to Beve- 
lation we find the same thing -God looking 
down on man while struggling in the billows of 
sin and guilt, and stretching out His hand to 
save him. “ In other religions we see man 
seeking after God ; in the Bible we see God 
seeking after man.” W. G. B, 

Where art llioii ? Such questions do 
not argue ignorance in Him that asks them ; but 
are intended to awaken the guilty to a confes- 




GENESIS 3 : 8-19. 


187 


sion of their crimes. As appears from chap. 
4:9, “ Where is Abel thy brother?” Ot whom 
when Cain stubbornl}’ refused to give an ac¬ 
count, the Lord said immediately (to show that 
He needed not to be informed), “ the voice of 
thy brother’s blood ciieth unto me from the 
ground.” Bp. Patrick. 

10. I w<i,§ iirruicl. Shame and/ear were 
the first fruits of sin, ami fruits which it has in¬ 
variably produced from the first transgression to 

the present time. A. C.-Adam's reply isfull 

of evasion. He confesses not his sin, but only 
his fear and shame at his bodily nakedness. 
The question just asked had given him oppor¬ 
tunity to own bis sin and misery. His sense of 
bodily nakedness is indeed the sad proof of his 
nakedness of soul, that could not any longer 
bear the sight of God. And now fear has taken 
possession of his soul, where all was peace be¬ 
fore. Jacobus. 

11. Who told thee that thou \va§t 

naked ? Adam knew not that this very con¬ 
sciousness betrayed him. A new faculty had 
come into play. He found a judge within him, of 
whose presence when all things smiled he had 
not been conscious. Conscience performed its 
part ; it made the fallen pair miserable in the 
consciousness of sin. It filled them with shame 
and dread. It could do no more ! and this was 
much. Kii. -Genesis gives no theory of crea¬ 

tion, no thesis on the essence of sin, no theory 
of its origin ; but it sets forth, in the form of a 
story, a sin from which each one can easilj' for 
himself develop the theory, and the thoughts 
involved in the narrative—thoughts which are 
decisive for the whole course of revelation. A 
definition of religion is not given ; but the way 
in which it came about that man feels a dread 
of God, is exhibited in a statement of facts. 
Wi;h good reason has Nitzsch called Genesis 
the doctrinal theology of the law. 

After once appearing by the free act of man, 
sin does not remain in this isolation. The sec¬ 
ond sin, that of self-excuse and palliation of the 
offence, follows immediately on the first, the 
sin of disobedience. This is the deceit (Ps. 
32 :2) which, when sin has once entered, pre¬ 
vents the realization of earnest opposition 
thereto. As sin thus joins to sin, it becomes a 
habit, and in this way a definite feature of the 
heart, or, as it is termed, an imagination of the 
heart, an inclination, which gives a perverted 
tendency to man’s will. O. 

They ate of the tree which was to make them 
wise, and, alas ! they saw clearly what sin was, 
what shame, what de'^pair, what death. They 
lost God’s presence, and they gained the knowl¬ 


edge of evil. They lost Eden, and they gained 
a conscience. This is the knowledge of good 
and evil. Lost spirits do not know good. 
Angels do not know evil. Fallen beings, fallen 
yet not cast away, know good and evil ; evil not 
external to them, nor yet one with them ; but 
in them, yet not simply of them. Such was the 
fruit of the forbidden tree, as it remains in us 
to this day. Newman. 

12, The next effect of disobedience 

was MUTUAL KECBiMiNATioN between the guilty 
parties. Before, they were as one with them¬ 
selves, as they were one with God. But now 
they were at variance. The charge of guilt 
was thrown from one to the other —by Adam 
upon Eve, by Eve upon the tempter—and 
throughout it all there was that pitiable effort 
which conscious guilt always engenders, to evade 
the light of truth, and ward off the unequivocal 
admission of demerit. W. A. 

§ilC gsive me. Instead of confessing his 
sin, the man immediately throws the weight of 
it on the woman—nay, through the words, 
“ whom Thou gavest me,” on God Himself ; 
just as now sinners try to lay the fault on the 
temptations of others, and then on the circum¬ 
stances of life which were ordained by God. 

G>rl. -From the beginning man hath always 

been apt to lay the blame of his faults \^here it 
can least lie, upon goodness and perfection it¬ 
self. The very first sin that ever man was 
guilty of he endeavored to throw upon God. 
And his posterity are still apt to excuse them¬ 
selves the same way. Tillotson. -God gave 

him the woman, and she gave him the fruit ; 
so that he seemed to have it but at one remove 
from God’s own hand. There is a strange 
proneness in those that are tempted, to say that 
they are tempted of God ; as if our abusing 
God’s gifts would excuse our violation of God’s 
laws. God gives us riches, honors, and rela¬ 
tions, that we may serve him cheerfully in the 
enjoyment of them ; but if we take occasion 
from them to sin against him, instead of blam¬ 
ing Providence for putting us into such a con¬ 
dition, we must blame ourselves for perverting 
the gracious designs of Providence therein. H. 

The original temptation set before our first 
parents was that of roving their freedom by 
using it without regard to the will of Him who 
gave it. The original excuse offered by them 
after sinning was that they were not really free, 
that they had acted under a constraining influ¬ 
ence, the subtilty of the tempter. They com¬ 
mitted sin that they might be independent of 
their Maker ; they defended it on the ground 
that they were dependent upon Him. And this 








188 


CONFESSION, JUDGMENT, MERCY. 


has been the course of lawless pride and lust 
ever since ; to lead us, first, to exult in our un- 
controllab’e liberty of will and conduct ; then, 
•when we have ruined ourselves, to plead that 
we are the slaves of necessitj". Kewman. 

13, Tlic serpent beguiled me. This 
first act of the devil is that wherein we may be- 
Qold, “as in a glass,” the art he still useth to 
tempt us to sin, and bring us to utter destruc¬ 
tion. Ills practice is uniformly io beguileY He 
presents all things fair to our face, and suffers 
not evil to appear before us in its own deformed 
shape ; for then every man would fly from it. 

14, And tlie Lord Ood said unto 
the serpent, Beeaiise thou liast done 
tills. Because he had beguiled the man and 
woman which God had made, and caused them 
to transgress his great commandment. He that 
is the cause and occasion of another’s sin is as 
hateful to God as the doer, and is liable to a 
greater punishment. Naj^ the serpent’s doom 
is first read to him as if he were the arch¬ 
offender : for which same reason the woman’s 
sentence comes next, because she had been a 
sin-maker. The same might be confirmed from 
the quality of their several judgments ; in that 
the serpent alone is doomed to be “ cursed,” 
and no such sentence is pronounced either ui3on 

the man or upon the woman. Jos. Mede. - 

The most obvious sense of the passage assigns a 
measure of this curse to the literal serpent—the 
animal under the guise of whom Satan beguiled 
his victim. But the responsibility and guilt 
being upon the very Satan, this curse falls 
chiefly on him. He is degraded, doomed to eter¬ 
nal shame ; and in his great conflict against 
God and goodness, to disgrace, defeat and damn¬ 
ing ruin. H. C.-The curse pronounced upon 

the deceiver is plainly addressed to an intelli¬ 
gent agent, designedly guilty of an enormous 
crime, and would have been unmeaning and un¬ 
worthy of the Divine character if addressed to a 
mere animal. That, however, the phraseology 
of the curse is in its outer sense applied to the 
condition of the serpent, while in its inner 
meaning terribly significant to the intelligent 
agent, seems clearly to show that the serpent 
was really employed in this awful transaction. 
The mure closely the language of the curse is 
examined, the more real its purport as addressed 
to the intelligent agent of the temptation, under 
forms of speech adapted to the serpentine con¬ 
dition, will be apparent. 

15, I Avill put eiiiiiity between Itiee 
and the woman, and between thy 
§ecd and her §eed: it shall bruise 
thy head, and thou shalt bruise his 


heel. This could have no significance with 
reference to the serpent ; but to the real tempt¬ 
er it was of awful importance. It is not likely 
that the fallen pair understood these words as 
he did. Yet even to them it must have appeared 
that it promised some great and crowning tri¬ 
umph to “ the seed of the woman,” perhaps a 
recovery from the fall, after the enemy had 
seemed for a time to triumph over him, and to 
“ bruise his heel.” But we know its meaning 
better than either the first pair or even Satan 
did tuen. We can see that it was the first gos¬ 
pel promise, foretelling the sufferings of Christ 
and his final triumph over the evil one—his \ic- 

tory in our behalf, by suffering. Kit. -“ Her 

seed,’ and “ his,” give the appearance of a per¬ 
sonal conflict and victory. This inference is 
strengthened by the jiromise being given to the 
seed of the icoman. There has been but one 
descendant of Eve who had no earthly father, 
and he “ came to destroy the works of the 

Devil.” Cook. -This verse has been called 

“ the first gospel.” The gospel, to be a genu¬ 
ine gospel, must come in the form of a curse 
upon sin. Love is the fulfilling of the law ; 
but hatred of sin is the only portal to true and 
pure and holy love. Thy seed and her .seed are 
the children of Satan, and the children of God. 
Gibson. 

I believe, that upon the fall of man death and 
vanity entered by the justice of God, and the 
image of God in man was defaced ; and heaven 
and earth, which were made for man’s use, 
were subdued to corruption by his fall ; but 
then, that instantly and without intermission of 
time, afier the word of God’s law became 
through the fall of man frustrate as to obedi¬ 
ence, there succeeded the greater word of the 
promise, that the righteousness of God might 
be wrought by faith. Bacon. 

The entire gospel of redemption was in that 
germinal promise concerning “ the seed of the 
woman.” Through all the ages, and in all the 
divers manners of its communication, it is one 
and the same Gospel, embodying the same great 
truth in its various stages of development. 

S. B.-The recovery of man was announced 

on the day of his apostas 3 ^ But the method ol^ 
that recovery was a mystery, obscurely hinted at* 
by prophets who knew not what the Spirit that 
was in them did testify ; more and more pro¬ 
nounced through symbols and the later proph¬ 
ecies ; at length, in the fulness of times, un¬ 
veiled in the incarnation of Christ ; but still a 
mystery of the divine love for the ever-unfold¬ 
ing glories of eternity. And all this wondrous 
plan is referred back to the purpose of God be- 










GENESIS 3 : 8-19. 


189 


fore the foundation of the world,—ever the 
same plan in the religion which the Bible re¬ 
veals ; ever the same purpose in Divine Provi¬ 
dence, unfolding and fulilling this plan ; ever 
the same development in history, as this great 
purpose of redemption moves onward through 
the ages towai-d its consummation in the final 
accord of the physical and the moial univetse, 
through the triumph of God over evil, of salva¬ 
tion over sin. Surely we who have part in sueh 
a redemption, and whose inheritance in this 
glory is sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, 
should be holy and without blame before Him 
who hath blessed us with these infinite riches 
of his grace. J, P. T. 

In the light of this first promise we see that 
though Satan plotted the ruin of the race, God 
counterplotted the ruin of Satan and the salva¬ 
tion of the masses of mankind. This is the 
birth-hour of most momentous issues. Sin 
came in upon Eden and upon earth ; and many 
a bitter sorrow, many a cup of suffering and 
woe, must needs follow in its train ; but Be- 
dempiion comes in also ; it enters upon its co-ordi¬ 
nate work to save the soul from sin and from 
eternal death and to bring in everlasting right¬ 
eousness. The historj'^ of our world in its most 
vital aspects is foreshadowed here in this first 
short meeting of their Maker with the sinning 
pair. The spoken recorded words were few, 
but their significance was momentous ; the 
sweep of their bearing, the issues of the divine 
policy here indicated, were destined to fill up 
the ages of time with stirring and strange con¬ 
flict, and to send their influence down through 
the endless ages of man’s being and of God’s 

kingdom. H, C.-“ This promise, as it is 

the first, is also the most indefinite.” But, 
even to their minds, it must have forcibly con¬ 
veyed the impression that their sin and suffer¬ 
ing would certainly be remedied ; that this de¬ 
liverance would be the result of a struggle in 
which the seed of the woman would sustain only 
partial injury ; that their enemy or enemies 
would sustain final and fatal defeat ; and, per¬ 
haps, that this triumph would be achieved by a 
being who should be, in a peculiar sense, the 
offspring of the woman. That this promise 
was of vast importance in the Divine estimation 
of Him who announced it may be inferred from 
the circumstance, that no sooner had He con¬ 
victed man of his guilt than He uttered it, even 
before He announced the impending penalty. 
Not only “ in the midst of wrath did He re¬ 
member mercy ;’' but by the precedence, in the 
order of time, which He gave to the promise, 
Mercv rejoiced against judgment even in this 


first moment of her advent. It gave man a 
moral horizon, and kindled in it a star. J. H. 

In this brief statement is the germ of all his¬ 
tory. Every Messianic prophecy is traceable to 
it ; and in it are the secrets of human sorrow 
and Christian joy. In its light we can more 
easily comprehend the universal social and 
moral turmoil, the struggles for salvation, the 
triumphs of holiness, and the certainty" of vic¬ 
tory when “ the head" of the serpent is bruised, 
and the evil principle has become powerless, 
by which man was seduced to his fall. Its light 
is the dawn and dayspring of prophecy, show¬ 
ing that “ Man was not excluded from Paradise 
till prophecy had sent him forth with some 
pledge and hope of consolation.” After this 
twofold sentence of condemnation and of prom¬ 
ise, Prophecy appears in two distinct forms, the 
one prediction in words, and the other predic¬ 
tion in actions ; it often sets forth the same 
truths, now verbally and now in types. W. 

Fraser. -In the promise to Eve we hear the 

first utterance of prophecy, and catch the first 
gleam of that light and hope which was to 
brighten into the perfect day. Have 'we not here 
the great elements which run through the whole 
Bible—“ law and prophecy ; the denunciation 
of sin and the promise of pardon ; the flame 
which consumes and the light which com¬ 
forts and is not this the whole of the cove¬ 
nant? Farrar. 

The Gospel enfolded in the very curse upon 
the tempter, is planted among the clods of the 
wasted paradise to germinate and gradually un¬ 
fold itself through all the subsequent revela¬ 
tion. The slightest analysis of the ideas con¬ 
tained in these words unfolds to us these great 
truths : That the Kedeemer and Kestorer of the 
race must be man, since he is to be of the seed 
of the woman ; that he is to be at the same time 
more than man, since he is to conquer the con¬ 
queror of man, and that, too, in a world already 
a sinful world, which he is to regain ; that the 
redemption shall involve a new nature, at en¬ 
mity with the fallen and enslaved nature ; that 
this redemption is to be accomplished by vicari¬ 
ous suffering, since suffering is involved in the 
bruising of his heel ; that the new nature shall 
be a regeneration by the power of Jehovah, for 
it is not a natural enmity, but “ I will put the 
enmity” between the redeemed man and the 
children of the devil ; that the redemption shall 
involve the gathering out of the race a “ pecul¬ 
iar people” at enmity with the natural children 
of the devil ; and that the redemption shall in¬ 
volve the ultimate triumph of the woman’s seed 
in at last bruising the head of and^destroying 







]90 


JUDGMENT, MERCY. 


the tempter. Such is the sentence pronounced, 
and the promise involved in it, anterior to the 
passing of the sentence upon man himself. 
With such a promise of mercy revealed to faith, 
the sinner might listen without hopeless desj3air 
to the curse—Eve to the curse of subjection and 
multiplied sorrow—Adam to the curse of sorrow 
in the eating of bread, and the curse of the 
ground for his sake, and the doom, “ In the 
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,” and 
“ dust thou art, and to dust shalt thou return.” 
S. K. 

He that shall bruise the head of the serpent 
shall belong, says the Book of Genesis, to the 
race of Shem, to the posterity of Abraham and 
Jacob, to the kingdom of Judah. (Gen. 9 : 2G ; 

12 : 3 ; 49 :10.) Guizot. -Though this promise 

was not fulfilled till four thousand years after, 
yet the benefits commenced from this very time : 
which was before God had rejected Cain and jjre- 
ferred Seth to him ; and long before any re¬ 
striction was made to Noah’s family, or Shem’s, 
who derived from him ; that all the world might 
look upon the Messiah, as a common benefit to 
all the sons of Adam. Patrick. -The Incarna¬ 

tion begins to appear, in its preparations and 
foretokenings, at the very beginning of the Bib¬ 
lical period, as the one central fact and supreme 
glory of the whole. The Redemption is the 
theme of the sublime chorus of insjDired voices 
from Genesis to the Apocalypse. As on the 
Mount of Transfiguration, so in the high seats 
of Prophecy, Psalm, Sacred History, and typi¬ 
cal anticipation, the elders speak of the decease 
which should be accomplished at Jerusalem, 
F. D. H. 

Jewish prophecy reveals from its very first 
word its bearing upon mankind as a whole : 
” the seed of the woman,” in the original signifies 
the whole of humanity. At the call of Abraham 
the prophetic horizon seems to narrow itself. 
But it is then that it takes j)ains to affirm and 
expressly to declare its universal tendency. 
“ In thy seed shall ail the families of the earth be 
blessed.” The seed of Abraham, that is, the 
jieople of Israel, is only the means to an end ; 
the end itself was “ all the families of the 
earth.” And when, at last, prophecy concen¬ 
trates itself upon that wonderful Person in 
whom all preceding promises were to find their 
fulfilment, this is the language in which He is 
spoken of : “I have given thee the idtermost 
parts of the earth for thy possession." Godet. 

The whole human race shall not be the prey 
of the devil. To the seed of the serpent the 
Lord opposes the seed of the woman, the great 
representative of fallen and delivered humanity. 


the second Adam, the Redeemer of the world 
Himself. Promised in Eden, announced to the 
patriarchs, predicted by the prophets. He is 
born of a virgin. Ho comes to repair the ravages 
of sin by making an expiation for it, and to de¬ 
stroy the kingdom of darkness by triumphing 
over it on the cross. Under this glorious Cap¬ 
tain, anticipated or received by faith, is gath¬ 
ered, in all generations, a people, the children 
of the Most High, “ who are born not of blood, 
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of 
man, but of God.” Delivered from the con¬ 
demnation of sin, and from the influence of 
him who for too long a time had deceived them, 
reinstated, according to their original destina¬ 
tion, in the favor of God, “ a chosen generation, 
a royal priesthood, a hoi}’’ nation, a peculiar 
' people, they show forth the praises of Him who 
hath called them out of darkness into His mar¬ 
vellous light.” TU. Hare. -Thus we perceive 

that the Church begun with the very first sin¬ 
ners of our race, and that the gospel began to 
be'revealed also at the beginning of our race. 
The Bible, therefore, is the record of only one 
religion ; the development of one and the same 
way of salvation ; and is the history of one and 
the same Church from first to last. S. R. 

From the time of the Fall, we have two differ¬ 
ent typical forms, the one after the seed of the 
serpent, the other after the seed of the woman. 
Henceforth there is a contest between the ser¬ 
pent and Him who is to destroy the power of 
the serpent, between tlie flesh and the Spirit, 
between the world and the Church. Two man¬ 
ner of people are now seen struggling in the 
womb of time—a Cain and an Abel, an Ishmael 
and an Isaac, an Esau and a Jacob, an Absalom 
and a Solomon, the elder born after the flesh, 
and the younger born after the Spirit. It is 
this unity of figure fully as much as the “ type” 
of sound doctrine which gives a consistency, in 
the minds of believers, to our religion in all 
ages ; which enables the Christian to profit, to 
this day, by the teaching of the Old Testament ; 
to sing, to this day, the song of Moses and the 
Psalms of David ; and to perceive and feei that 
there are the same contests now as then, the 
same contests in the heait, the same contests in/ 
the world, between the evil and the good prin¬ 
ciple, between the fir.■^t, or nature-born, a'nd the 
second, or grace-born. In short, there are now, 
as there have ever been, but two men on our 
earth typical or representative ; the first man, 
which is Adam, the second, which is Christ. 
McCosh. 

Even the Jewish Rabbins could discern some 
common ground between the heritage of evil 










GBJVESIS 3 : 8-19. 


191 


derived from Adam, and the good to be effected 
by Messiah. “ The secret of Adam,” says one 
of them, “ is the secret of Messiah and an¬ 
other, “ As the first man was the one that sin¬ 
ned, so shall the Messiah be the one to do the 
sin away.” They recognized in Adam and 
Christ the two heads of humanity, with whom 
all mankind must be associated for evil or for 
good. On surer grounds we know that Adam 
was in this respect “ the type of Him that was 
to come.” But in this respect alone ; for in all 
other points we have to think of differences. 
The only principle that belongs to them in com¬ 
mon stands in the relation they hold, the one to 
a fallen, the other to a restored, offspring. The 
natural seed of Adam are dealt with as one with 
himself in transgression and in death, the 
wages of transgression. And the spiritual seed 
of Christ are dealt with as one with Him in the 
consummate righteousness He brought in and 
in the eternal life. As in Adam all die, so in 
Christ shall all be made alive ’ —all who stand 
connected with Christ in the economy of grace, 
as they do with Adam in the economy of nature. 
How could this be, but by the sin of Adam 
being regarded as the sin of humanity, and the 
righteousness of Christ as the property of those 
who by faith rest upon His name ? Hence, in 
Bomans 5, along with the facts which in the 
two cases attest the doctrine of headship, we 
find the parallel extended so as to include also 
the respective grounds out of which thej’spring : 
“ As bj”^ the offence of one, judgment came upon 
all men to condemnation ; even so by the right¬ 
eousness of one, the free gift came upon all men 
unto justification of life. For as by one man's 
disobedience many were made sinners, so by the 
ohedipnce of one shall manj' be made righteous.” 
And it is not in the power of human reason to 
■give either a satisfactory view of the apostle's 
meaning, or a rational account of the facts 
themselves, on any other ground than this prin¬ 
ciple of headship. He must know nothing 
aright of sin or salvation who is incapable of 
finding comfort in this view of the subject. 
And yet there is a ground of comfort higher 
still, in that it secures for believers a condition 
better than that possessed by man before the 
fall. For the second Adam has received for 
Himself and His redeemed an inheritance corre¬ 
sponding to His personal worth and dignity. 
As we have borne the image of the earth}^ we 
shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 
What an elevating prospect ! destined to be 
conformed to the image of the Son of God, and 
in consequence to share with Him in the life, 
the blessedness, and the glory which He in¬ 


herits in the kingdom of the Father ! Coupling, 
then, the end of the divine plan with the begin- 
ning, we find that the principle of headship is 
really fraught with the richest beneficence ; for 
through this an avenue has been laid open for 
us into the realms above, and our natures have 
become linked in fellowship of good with what 
is best and highest in the universe. F. F. 

The virtue, then, which comes from our union 
with Jesus is higher than the sin which comes 
from our irnion with Adam is deep. The bliss 
which attends our connection with the antitype 
is nobler than the pain which attends our con¬ 
nection with the type is debasing. The rela¬ 
tions of the universe to the seed of the woman 
are more numerous, more honorable, than the 
relations of the universe to the instigator of our 
transgression are complicated and sad. Park. 

The serpent was to have “ a seed,”-—that is, 
a party animated bj* his spirit ; while the great 
Deliverer was to liave one animated by his. 
These two parties would be inj^erpetual conflict 
with each other, but at last the party of the ser¬ 
pent would be overthrown. In Cain and Abel, 
the first born of Adam’s sons, appeared the first 
representatives of these antagonist seeds. The 
whole history of the chirrch and of the world 
shows them in perpetual conflict ; r.nd so bitter 
and inveterate is the spirit of the worldly, or ser¬ 
pent’s part}', toward the godly, that the conflict 
will never cease until the former are wholly de¬ 
stroyed. AV. G. B.-This enmity underlies 

the mighty conflict of the ages — Christ and Satan 
each leadipg on his host to battle, and no peace 
or even truce arresting hostilities till the victory 
of the King of Kings shall be complete and in¬ 
effably glorious. Thus the first relation be¬ 
tween serpent and w’oman —that of assumed but 
treacherous friendship—develops into everlast¬ 
ing enmity—God, her real friend, becoming in 
the person of his incarnate Son, born of woman 
—her cham 2 :)ion and the mighty antagonist of 
Satan and all his offsjjring. Here and thus 
mercy breaks in upon this scene of sin and 
ruin, and God begins the wonderful jirocess of 
making the wrath of Satan the occasion of his 

own infinite glorj'. H. C.-Christ baffled 

Satan’s temptations, rescued souls out of his 
hands, cast him out of the bodies of people, 
dispossessed the strong man armed, and divided 
the spoil : by his death, he gave a fatal and in¬ 
curable blow to the Devil’s kingdom, a wound 
to the head of this beast, that can never be 
healed. As his gospel gets ground, Satan falls 
(Luke 10 :18), and is bound (Rev. 20 :2). By 
his grace he treads Satan under his people’s feet 
(Rom. 16 :20), and will shortly cast him into 







192 


JUDGMENT, MERCY. 


the lake of fire (Rev. 20 :10). ... As the fruit 
of this enmity there is a continual conflict be¬ 
tween grace and corruption in the hearts of 
God’s people : Satan, by their corruption'^, as¬ 
saults them, buffets them, sifts them, and seeks 
to devour them ; they, by the exercise of their 
graces, resist him, wrestle with him, quench his 
fiery darts, force him to flee from them. H. 

As the way of redemption could not be con¬ 
trived but by an infinite wisdom, so it could not 
be accomplished but by an infinite power. 
None but God could shape such a design, and 
none but God could effect it. The Divine 
power in temporal deliverances, and freedom 
from the slavery of human oppressors, veils to 
that which glitters in redemption ; whereb}’- the 
devil is defeated in his designs, stripped of his 
spoils, and yoked in his strength. The power 
of God in creation requires not those degrees of 
admiration as in redemption. In creation the 
world was erected from nothing ; as there was 
nothing to act, so there was nothing to oppose ; 
no victorious devil was in that to be subdued, 
no thundering law to be silenced, no death to 
be conquered, no transgression to be pardoned 
and rooted out, no hell to be shut, no ignomini¬ 
ous death ui)on the cross to be suffered. It had 
been, in the nature of the thing, an easier thing 
to Divine power to have created a new world, 
than repaired a broken and purified a polluted 
one. This is the most admirable work that ever 
God brought forth in the world, greater than all 
the marks of his power in the first creation. 

Charnock. -When I think on the difference 

between God’s creating a world and God’s par¬ 
doning a sin—the one done without effort, the 
other demanding an instrumentality terribly 
sublime ; the one effected by a word, the other 
wrought out in agony and blood on a quaking 
earth and beneath a darkened heaven—oh, the 
world created is as nothing by the side of the 
sin blotted out ; that God can pardon is at the 
very summit of what is wonderful ; and there¬ 
fore then, 0 Lord, do I most know Thee as the 
omnipotent when I behold in Thee the long- 
suffering. 11. Melville. 

16. In sorrow tliou slialt bring 
forth children. In maternity a woman 
completes her nature. Every sorrow of body or 
soul is made into a new thread in the web of 
affection which she weaves around the life of 
the child for whom she suffers. She has an¬ 
other blessing in a certain ease in losing self. 
Men find it less natural to be unselBsh. The 
mother almost spontaneously drops off the robe 
of self. Her sorrow of maternity brings a bless¬ 
ing to the world. What silent, forceful lessons of 


the blessed life has motherhood given to the 
world ! As her sorrow has been multiplied, so 
has her power to bestow the V)lessings of civil¬ 
ized and gentle life been multiplied. This sor¬ 
row has been an education to the world. The 
great thought of Christianity is that only through 
sacrifice of self can life be given to others, or 
life be realized by the giver. Motherhood per¬ 
mits woman to live her life in another life. It 
is the likest thing to God’s life. When the curse 
of Genesis is felt the most, then there is the 
deepest sense of blessing. In the new life given 
to the’world the mother finds her most perfect 
rapture. Here is an ever-repeated fact that edu¬ 
cates the world to understand that life comes 
out of sacrifice." Brooke. 

17-19, Moral and physical evil were not 
originally in the world. The latter was penally 
ordained after the former had entered the 
world by the free act of man, and from this time 
forward both form an element of the divine 

order of the world. O.- Ciirsc<i llic 

gr<»uiid for lliy §akc. Before, he was put 
into the garden to till it and keep it ; but now 
the soil is to be stubborn and to defy his labor, 
and cause him pain and disappointment. Be¬ 
fore, he had access to the tree of life, which was 
to make him immortal ; now he is to be driven 
out from access to it, and to return to the earth 

again. Alf. -Even here there is some mark 

of mercy : for, whereas the serpent is cursed 
directly, and that with a reference to the earth 
he was to travel over ; here on the contrary the 
earth, rather than the man, is cursed, though 
for the man’s sake and with reference to him. 
E. H. B. 

1§. Thorii§ algo and lliigtlcg gliall 
it bring fartli to tliec. Whenever man 
cultivates nature and then abandons her to her 
own unaided energies, the lesult is far worse 
than if he had never attempted to improve her 
at all. There are no such thorns found in a 
state of nature as those produced by the ground 
which man once has tilled, but has now de¬ 
serted. In the waste clearings amidst the fern 
brakes of New Zealand, and in the primeval 
forests of Canada, thorns may now be seen 
which were unknown before. The nettle and 
the thistle follow man wherever he goes, and re¬ 
main as perpetual witnesses of his presence, 
even though he departs. Macmillan. , 

09, The artificial state of most societies does, 
indeed, keep the lower classes much more de¬ 
pressed than a better state of the world would 
bring them into ; but at the best, nature unites 
with revelation in attesting the truth of the sen¬ 
tence passed upon man— In the sweat of thy face 







GENESIS 3 : 8~I9. 


193 


shall thou eat thy bread. And this necessity for | 
severe labor is not confined to the cultivation 
of the earth, but extends to all kinds of human 

pursuits. E. Hitchcock. -This eating our 

bread in the sweat of our face, is a curse ; it is 
a promise ; it is a precept. It is a curse, in that 
God will not suffer the earth to afford us bread 
without our sweat. It is a promise, in that God 
assureth us we shall have bread for our sweat. 
And it is a precept too, in that God enjoineth us, 
if we will have bread, to sweat for it. Bp. San¬ 
derson. -It is still true that with the vast ma¬ 

jority this life is a continual fight against want, 
and a struggle for the miserable pittance that 
will supply the barest demands of existence. 
From the equator with its burning suns to the 
poles wdth their frozen seas, the cry of earth’s 
millions goes up for bread, and the life-struggle 
goes on with a sin-cursed earth, which yields up 
only to the force of toil the means of existence. 

But in another view the Creator was but pro¬ 
viding for the highest interests of the fallen 
creature in making labor his inevitable lot. If 
it is true that notiiing worth attaining of earthly 
good can be attained and preserved without 
labor, it is equally true that the labor itself is 
to man the means of highest blessing, and idle¬ 
ness his direst curse. Nay, under this sentence, 
he only can rightly serve God who fulfils cheer¬ 
fully the conditions which God has laid upon 
him. Hence, the significancy of the song of the 
old monks : “ Labor ire est orare "—“ To work is 
to worship.” Under the present economy noth¬ 
ing worth living for can be attained save under 
this law. All the world’s spoken epics, all the 
w’orld’s acted heroism, all the world’s suffered 
martyrdoms, have their root in that great law— 
Sweat of the brow, sweat of the brain, sweat of 
the heart ! S. B. 

The law of Labor is the primal law of the hu¬ 
man economy. Our first father was set to work 
in those days when work and worship were one. 
And after sin brought its curse upon the earth, 
the law was written again by the finger of God 
in the sweat of man's brow. But it was no 
Cain-mark there. It was not the curse of Cain, 
that he should toil and sweat ; but rather that 
he should be an idler and a vagabond, stung 
out of the hive of earth’s first workers. The 
Devil is no friend to labor, for he spirited away 
Job’s oxen and flocks, and sent him to a pile of 
ashes to scrape his boils at leisure. Labor is 
one of the best defences against the assaults of 
the Tempter. He can hardly make a workshop 
out of an honest, hearty laborer ; but a lounger 
need hold out no sign-board. Labor is the 
glory of man. It makes him a producer—I had 
13 


I almost said a creator ; thus giving a proof that 
he is the image of God. It is the spice of man’s 
food ; the balm of sleep ; a good companion for 
the conscience ; the handmaid of piety. It is 
widely and closely related to all humnn inter¬ 
ests. . . . And what a magnificent workshop 
God has fitted up for man in the world which 
he inhabits. The forces of nature wait to be 
wooed and won. The vegetable kingdom un¬ 
locks her stores to the key of Labor. The ani¬ 
mal kingdom bows its neck to the yoke man 
puts upon it. The world is stocked with fuel, 
with forces, with mechanical powers, with a 
thousand conveniences for intelligent, contriv¬ 
ing mechanical workers. A sovereign voice 
in nature invites and summons man to Labor. 
T. 11. Robinson. 

In a life of gayety, or a merely thoughtful ex¬ 
istence, in that state of leisure to which so 
many minds are exposed, woe pnd trial to the 
spirit that has nothing for the hands to do ! 
Misery to him or her who emancipates himself 
or herself from the universal law, “ In the sweat 
of thy brow shalt thou eat bread.” Evil 
thoughts, despondency, sensual feeling, sin in 
every, shape is before him, to beset and mad¬ 
den, often to ruin him. F. W. Robertson -If 

the love of God be the ruling motive in our 
daily life, if his will be our law, his honor our 
end, there will rest even upon the dullest and 
most trivial work we perform, a light from 
heaven to ennoble and to glorify it ; for God, 
who rules in us, will by our actions make him¬ 
self known to men. You have not imposed 
upon yourselves the work of your life ; it is God 
who has imposed it upon you. Every task God 
has given you to perform, must be a matter of 
moment to you, for every such task is a token 
of grace : it is something that the King of 
heaven and of earth has chosen us to do fqr 
him. When a man comes to do his daily task 
in the spirit of a faith like this, the curse which 
rests upon our labor is taken away, and trans¬ 
muted into a blessing. A. T.-The same de¬ 

votion to God’s will that is the solace of distress 
is the inspiration of labor. We have not as¬ 
cended to the loftiest and worthiest motive of 
all well-doing till we have reached this mark. 
Y*ou and I, in this little day of life and with 
these poor powers, can verily do something to 
further the purposes and glory of the ineffable 
Name. Could that thought penetrate our com¬ 
mon avocations, business, hospitality, trades, 
studies, to what a height of sacred dignity 
would it lift them, and of what dross and mean¬ 
ness, and selfish grossness, and besotted oaro, 
would it purge them clean ! F. D. H. 






194 


JUDGMENT, MERCY. 


Unto dust slialt tlion return. The 

end and consummation of all his earthly misery 
— bodily death, returning to dust ’*—is an¬ 
nounced to man as the second article of his sen¬ 
tence. It means temporal death with all pre¬ 
ceding pains and infirmities, to be succeeded by 
the second death in the case of those not deliv¬ 
ered from its power. In this, too, punishment 
and deliverance are conjoined—punishment for 
the sinner, deliverance from ali earthly troubles 
for the believer ; God’s justice in league with 

his compassion, C. G. B,-The sentence, as 

far as temporal death is concerned, has from 
the beginning, with two exceptions only, been 
faithfully and punctually executed. Every suc¬ 
cessive instance of mortality is a fresh mani¬ 
festation of God’s truth. For six thousand 
years, one generation has been going and an¬ 
other coming. So continual and unvarying has 
been the succession of generation to generation, 
that death has come to be regarded and spoken 
of as the course of nature ; and we are in danger 
of forgetting that it is the execution of a sen¬ 
tence, that it is a penal infliction. And this 
punctual faithfulness in the execution of a part 
of God’s sentence against sin, is used, and 
rightly used, for impressing the conviction that 
the execution of the whole is as sure as that of 

the part. Wardlaw. -Diseases have shattered 

the excellent frame of man’s bod}'^ ; and by a 
new dispensation immortality is swallowed up 
of mortality. The same disaster and decay has 
invaded his spirituals. The passions rebel, 
every faculty would usurp and rule ; and there 
are so many governors that there can be no gov¬ 
ernment. The light within us is become dack- 
ness ; and the understanding, that should be 
-eyes to the blind faculty of the will, is blind it¬ 
self, and so brings all the inconveniences that 
attend a blind follower under the conduct of a 
blind guide. He that would have a clear dem- 
'onstration of this, let him reflect upon that 
numerous litter of strange, senseless, absurd 
opinions that crawl about the world to the dis- 
'grace of reason and the unanswerable reproach 
'Of a broken intellect. South. 

In Adam the race came under “ the law of sin 
and death.” To convince man of his sinful- 
'ness, to awaken in him the desire for redemp- 
"tion, and to make known to him the nature and 
mode of this redemption, must be henceforth 
the primary object of the Divine teaching. God 
will not only be known as the Supreme Ruler, 
but also as the Holy One who abhors sin. as the 
Righteous Judge who punishes unrighteous¬ 
ness, and jis the Merciful Father who forgives 
the repentant. These ^aspects of God’s charac¬ 


ter we may, therefore, expect to see made prom¬ 
inent in his subsequent dealings with sinful and 
disobedient men, S. J. Andrews. 


This is the account of the entrance of sin, to 
which the Bible is pledged. It came into the 
world by the will of man contravening the 
known will of God —not by the gradual decline 
of a race of men from primitive simplicity and 
purity, but “ by one man s disobedience,” the 
fall from his integrity of the head and parent 
of our race. Thereafter, sin, having obtained 
an entrance into the world, continued and 
spread by a law of descent and a power of con¬ 
tagion. And judgment followed ; death by sin ; 
—and “ death has passed on all, for all have 
sinned.” D. F. 

The administration of mediatorial rule existed 
from the time of the entrance of sin into our 
world. The Son of God then entered on the 
administration of all his mediatorial functions. 
The voice of the Lord God, walking in the gar¬ 
den in the cool of the day, announced him as a 
prophet: the institution of sacrifices, which was 
coeval with the fail of man, exhibited him as a 
priest: and the warfare betwixt the seed of the 
woman and the seed of the serpent, which then 
commenced, unfolded his regal character. In 
this latter capacit3% he never ceased afterwards 
to act. The formation of the church in Eden ; 
the translation of Abel’s righteous soul to glory ; 
the reorganization of the church with Noah ; 
the covenant made with Abraham, and renewed 
with Isaac and Jacob ; the establishment of the 
Jewish economy under Moses ; the many inter, 
positions made on behalf of the armies of Israel, 
by which they were rendered victorious over 
their enemies ; the appointment of Judges ; and 
the raising up of kings in the line of David, to 
dispense the benefits of civil government to 
God’s ancient people—are all so many regal acts 
of Prince Messiah. Symington. 

In the first three and the last three chapters 
of the Bible we find the initiatory and conclud¬ 
ing links in the great chain of evolutions, ac¬ 
cording to which the decree of God’s mercy is 
progressively unfolded until the completion of 
his kingdom. In the one we have the first 
heaven and earth ruined by the fall of man ; in 
the other, a new heaven and a ijew earth, the 
tabernacle of God with men. In the one the 
victory of the serpent amid the exultation of 
hell ; in the other, his overthrow and deserved 
reward. Here a paradise lost ; there a paradise 
restored. Here the first Adam, with his help¬ 
mate, tempted and fallen ; there the second 
Adam, with his holy and blessed bride, the 







GENESIS 3 : 20-24. 


195 


Church. Here death and misery ; there resur¬ 
rection and life, and deliverance from all evil. 
Here the commencement of man’s chronology ; 
there its termination. C. G. B. 

The story of the Fall, like that of the Creation, 
has wandered over the world. Heathen nations 
have transplanted and mixed it up with their 
geography, their history, their mythology, al¬ 
though it has never so completely changed form, 
and color, and spirit, that you cannot recognize 
it. In the Law, it preserves the character of a 
universal, human, world-wide fact : and the 
groans of Creation, the Redemption that is in 


Christ Jesus, and the heart of every man, con¬ 
spire in their testimony to the most literal truth 
of the narrative. It may be that in this history 
of man’s fall, and of God’s preparation for the 
redemption of men through judgment and 
struggles, facts and dress are to be distin¬ 
guished ; but with the substantial reality of this 
history the religion of redemption stands and 
falls. Also, the historical verity of the origin 
of mankind is one of the indispensable presup¬ 
positions of Christianity, which, without it, can 
be the religion of the most perfect morals, but not 
the religion of the redemption of mankind, Ddil. 


Section 26. 


SACRIFICE. EXPULSION FROM EDEN. MAN’S CHANGED CONDITION. THE 

CHERUBIM AND SWORD. 

Genesis 3 : 20-24, 

20 And the man called his wife’s name Eve ; because she was the mother of all living. And 

21 the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife coats of skins, and clothed them. 

22 And the Lord God said. Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil ; 
and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for 

23 ever : therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from 

24 whence he was taken. So he drove out the man ; and he placed at the east of the garden of 
Eden the Cherubim, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the 


tree of life. 

20. “ And Adam called his wife’s name Lrfe, 
because she was the mother of all the living.’' 
This is a proper and faithful representation of 

the Hebrew text. A. C.-If the first of a race 

fall before he has any offspring, the race is 
fallen. The guilt, the depravity, the penalty, 
all belong to the race. This is a great mystery. 
But it seems to follow inevitably from the con¬ 
stitution of a race, and it has clear evidences of 
its truth both in the facts and the doctrines of 
the Bible. When we come to view the sin of 
our first parents in this light, it is seen to en¬ 
tail tremendous consequences to every individ¬ 
ual of the race. The single transgression has 
involved the guilt, the depravity, and the death, 
not only of Adam, but of that whole race which 
was in him, and thus has changed the whole 
character and condition of mankind throughout 
all time. M. 

21. €oat!« of skins. This presupposes 
the killing of animals, and permission given by 
God to do so, which laid the foundation of 
bloody sacrifices. What had been done by 
themselves under the first impulse of shame 


after the fall, this God now does for them after 
a more perfect manner. He sanctions the feel- 
ing of shame, and the sense of decency and pro¬ 
priety which arises therefrom. Gerl. -It is 

probable that they were the skins of beasts slain 
in sacrifice, which was then first instituted in 
ratification of the gracious covenant, just made 
by God with our first parents ; and which was 
intended the better to represent to them their 
guilt, and that the promised seed should van¬ 
quish the devil, and redeem them by shedding 

his blood. Patrick. -The commission of sin, 

and the promise of a Redeemer, being the grand 
objects to which sacrifice refers, no period 
seems more fit for its appointment than that at 
which sin first entered and the promise was 
first delivered : that is, the period immediately 
succeeding the fall. If sacrifice be admitted to 
have been coeval with the fall, every argument 
which has been adduced to prove that Abel 
offered sacrifices in obedience to the divine in¬ 
junction, will apply with increased force to show 
that Adam must have done the same. The whole 
of the animal (if the offering be supposed an 









190 


SACRIFICE. 


holocaust, as there is good reason to conclude all 
to have been until the Mosaic institution), 
would here be devoted to the »ses of religion 
except the skin, which would be employed for 
the purpose of clothing. Magee. 

As soon as the promise of mercy had been 
disclosed to the offenders, and the constitution 
of mingled goodness and severity brought in, 
God made coats to clothe them with, and these 
coats of skins. But clothing so obtained argued 
the sacrifice of life in the animal that furnished 
them ; and thus, through the death of an in¬ 
ferior yet innocent living creature, was the 
needed relief brought to their disquieted con¬ 
sciences. The outward and corporeal here 
manifestly had respect to the inward and spirit¬ 
ual. The covering of their nakedness was a 
gracious token from the hand of God, that the 
sin which had alienated them from Him, and 
made them conscious of uneasiness, was hence¬ 
forth to be in His sight as if it were not ; so 
that in covering their flesh, He at the same time 
covered their consciences. So God’s funda¬ 
mental act in removing and covering out of 
sight the shame of conscious guilt in the first 
offenders, would naturally and rightfully be 
viewed as a revelation of God, teaching them 
how in henceforth dealing with Him they w'ere 
to proceed in effecting the removal of guilt, and 
appearing, notwithstanding it, in the presence 
of God. They found, in this divine act, the 
key to a justified condition, and an acceptable 
intercourse with Heaven. Had they not done 
so, it would have been incapable of rational ex¬ 
planation, how a believing Abel should so soon 
have appeared in possession of it. We thus 
hold sacrifice—sacrifice in the higher sense, not 
as expressive of dependence and thankfulness 
merel 3 % but as connected with sin and forgive¬ 
ness, expiatory sacrifice—to have been, as to its 
foundation, of divine origin. It had its rise in 
an act of God, done for the express purpose of 
relieving guilty consciences of their sense of 
shame and confusion ; and from the earliest 
periods of recorded worship it stands forth to 
our view as the religious solemnity in which 
faith had its most peculiar exercise, and for 
which God bestowed the tokens of his accept¬ 
ance and blessing. P. F. 

The clothing of our first parents by the hand 
of God had respect to more than the investiture 
of the body ; it was symbolical of spiritual 
things and a provision for that guilt felt as 
nakednes * or exposure to Divine wrath. Were 
it merely to supply a physical want, there was 
no reason why a suitable vegetable production 
should not be selected in preference to the 


skins of animals which necessitated the taking 
away of life at a time when animal food was not 
allowed as an article of human diet. No prob¬ 
able account can be given of the way in which 
the bodies of the animals were disposed of, if 
not offered in sacrifice and consumed upon the 
altar. From its very nature and design as un¬ 
folded in scripture, sacrifice must have been 
contemporaneous, or nearl}’^ so with the first 
announcement of redemption. D. M. 

There can be no reasonable doubt that the 
sacrifice of living animals was now instituted as 
a prophetic figure of the great sacrifice which 
should fulfil this promise. The whole reason 
for sacrifice began to exist now : its use is taken 
for granted in the next chapter ; and it con¬ 
tinues throughout the patriarchal age without 
the record of anj* other beginning. Thus early, 
then, man learned that, “ without shedding of 
blood, there is no remission of sin that his 
own forfeited life was redeemed, and to be re¬ 
stored bj' the sacrifice of the coming “ seed of 
the woman and that he was placed by God 
under a new dispensation of mercy. Nay, even 
his punishment was a mercy ; for his suffering 
was a discipline to train him in submission to 
God’s will. The repentance of our first parents 
is nowhere expressly' stated : but it is implied 
here and in the subsequent narrative. P. S. 

-The Church of God hath always believed 

that'Adam repented and laid hold on the mercy 
of a second covenant, and was received again 
into divine favor ; although there be no express 
mention of this in his histor 3 ^ We do not read 
of any precept or law given bj’ God to Adam 
after his fall, but we find the practice of sacri¬ 
ficing in his family. And it will be verj' diffi¬ 
cult to him that considers the matter thor¬ 
oughly, to imagine that he invented that rite of 
his own head ; he was taught it therefore bj^ the 
command and institution of God. And it is 
highly reasonable to think that at the same time 
when God gave a second law and institution, he 
encouraged him also to the obedience of it by 
a promise of acceptance and restitution to his 
former favor. Upon this hope doubtless he re¬ 
newed his allegiance to his Creator, and devoted 
himself to the worship and service of God, and 
taught his sons, Cain and Abel, to do so like 
Mdse. From him they learned to present their 
several offerings to the Lord (Gen. 4), where we 
read also (ver. 4, 5) that God had respect to AheVs 
offering, and declared his acceptance of it by 
some visible sign taken notice of by his brother 
Cain ; probably, as the Hebrew doctors tell us, 
“ by a fire from heaven, inflaming his offering.” 
Bull. 




GENESIS 3 : 20-24. 


19 ? 


It is not affirmed in this book that God 
ordained the offering of sacrifice to himself, 
but it is made evident that acceptable worship¬ 
pers, such as Abel, Noah, and Abraham, followed 
some intimation of the Divine will, and made 
their oblations—-not according to mere human 
impulses or instincts, but in faith and in the 
obedience of faith. Abel’s sacrifice is affirmed 
in the New Testament to have been offered “ in 
faith.” With sacrifice Noah took possession of 
a New World ; with sacrifice at Shechem, Abra¬ 
ham entered on the Land of Promise. The 
heathen soon debased the ordinance of sacrifice 
to cruel and superstitious rites, but from the be¬ 
ginning its idea was the solemn devotement of 
life to God, pouring out the soul unto death, in 
type of the slain “ Lamb of God which taketh 
away the sin of the world.” D, F. 

Man’s first sin was an effort at independence ; 
his first acceptable act of worship, as a sinner, 
must be a profound acknowledgment that he is 
more dependent than ever. His first sin was an 
action ; his first expression of sorrow must be 
an act of self-condemnation. And such is sac¬ 
rifice —self-immolation “ in a figure.” His sin 
was a virtual diversion of all the kingdoms of 
nature which had been given into his hand that 
he as their interpreter and minister might give 
the glory of the whole to God ; in his first sac¬ 
rifice, he is to bring them all back again—for in 
the altar, the wood, and the victim, they were 
all present—and is thus to take them as the wdt 
nesses of his guilt in abusing them, and of his 
penitence and dependence in restoring them 
again to the Great Proprietor. And thus the 
first promise and the first institute, like the 
first prohibition, were designed to impress man 
with a sense of his entire dependence, and to 
augment his motives of obedience ; so that they 
belong, in this respect, to the one great system 
of means—proclaiming the same truths, and 
promoting the same end. And this princijile 
we ma}^ expect to find pervading the whole 
economy of the Divine manifestation ; exhibit¬ 
ing the blessed God as taking occasion from 
man’s guilty and helpless condition to unfold a 
new aspect of his own all sufficiencj^ J. H. 

Man is not the only being who has fallen, and 
yet man is the only being who is redeemed. 
When we inquire as to the reason of "this ar¬ 
rangement we find none. It is one of the deep 
things which belong to God. It is an impres¬ 
sive display of sovereignty, where all that is 
left for us is to bow and to adore. e might 
have supposed that the higher race would have 
been selected, and that God would have glori¬ 
fied his mercy on the still more conspicuous 


theatre from which they had sought to cast 
themselves down. And altogether indepen¬ 
dently of the example of their rejection, we 
might have anticipated that man’s ruin would 
have been final and hopeless. Man does not 
forgive where he has been insulted as God was in 
man’s rebellion. Nations do not tolerate blows 
aimed at their independence and their very ex¬ 
istence, and therefore man’s revolt might have 
been expected to draw down swift and remedi¬ 
less destruction, for it was a blow aimed at 
God’s throne and being. That God’s thoughts 
should in such a crisis have been thoughts of 
peace is the wonder of unfallen beings and of 
those who are redeemed. They cannot rise in 
thought to that awful council wherein, though 
every foreseen trespass demanded vengeance, 
mercy yet rejoiced against judgment, without 
exclaiming, “ This is not the manner of man, 
O Lord God.” Cairns. 

Mercy alone could make the dispensation 
possible. Mercy both introduced it, and wa.s 
introduced by it. Then first mercy became 
known to man ; perhaps to the universe. From 
the moment man sinned and incurred condem¬ 
nation, it is difficult to conceive on what ground 
the human race could have been perpetuated, 
apart from a remedial scheme. For justice to 
have taken its direct course would have involved 
the destruction of the transgressors. The dis¬ 
pensation of mercy literally caught man in the 
very act of falling, arrested his descent to per¬ 
dition, and placed him on an entirely new foot- 
ing. Hence, the entire constitution of things 
by which humanity subsists is represented in 
Scripture as resting on a basis of mediation. 
And although this great fact may have only 
dimlv dawned on the antediluvian believer, he 
must have been often amazed at that outburst 
of grace which was ever flowing onward in a 
dispensation of good, encircling him and all his 
race. For the same reason that mercy was free 
for any, it was free for all. The promise w'as 
‘‘the Gospel 23reached before” to the antedi¬ 
luvian world. The Protevangelium was ‘‘to 
every creature.” The altar was unfenced. The 
various interpositions of Heaven to re-enforce its 
means of winning attention were so many de¬ 
vices of mercy. The ‘ ‘ preachers of righteous¬ 
ness” were its agents. The period of respite, 
during the building of the ark, w'as one lopg 
wuiil of mercy. J, H. 

22. he take of the tree of life, 

aii€S live forever. The design of the tree 
of knowledge w^as entirely moral : it was set 
there as the test and instrument of probation ; 
and its disuse, if we may so speak, was its only 



198 


EXPULSION FROM EDEN MANS CHANGED CONDITION 


allowable use. The tree of life, however, had 
its natural use, like the other trees of the gar. 
den ; and both from its name and its position 
in the centre of the garden we may infer that 
the effect of its fruit upon the human frame was 
designed to be altogether peculiar. The words 
seem plainly to indicate that the tree of life was 
originally intended for the food of man ; that 
the fruit it yielded was the divinely appointed 
medium of maintaining in him the power of an 
endless lifo ; and that now, since he had sinned 
against God, and had lost all right to the posses¬ 
sion of such a power, he was debarred from 
access to the natural means of sustaining it, by 
being himself rigorously excluded from the gar¬ 
den of Eden. . . . To him that overcometh,” 
says Jesus, after having entered on His glory, 
“ will I give to eat of the tree of life, that is in 
the midst of the paradise of God.” And again, 
“ Blessed are they that do his commandments, 
that they may have right to the tree of life, and 
may enter in through the gates into the city.” 
The least we can gather from such declarations 
is, that everything which was lost in Adam shall 
be again recovered in Christ for the heirs of His 
salvation. The tempter has prevailed long, but, 
God be thanked, he is not to prevail forever. 
There is yet to come forth from the world new 
heavens and a new earth, where righteousness 
shall dwell—another paradise with its tree of 
life—and a ransomed people created anew after 
the image of God, and fitted for the high des¬ 
tiny of manifesting His glory before the uni¬ 
verse, There will be a sphere and condition of 
being immensely higher and better than what 
was originally set up bj’’ the hand of God. As 
the occupants here shall be the second Adam 
and His seed-the Lord from heaven, in whom 
humanity has been raised to peerless majesty 
and splendor—there must also be a correspond¬ 
ing rise in the nature of the things to be occu¬ 
pied. A higher sphere of action and enjoyment 
shall be brought in, because there is a higher 
style of being to possess it. There shall not be 
the laying anew of earth’s old foundations, but 
rather the raising of these aloft to a nobler ele¬ 
vation—not nature revived merely, but nature 
glorified—humanity, no longer as it was in the 
earthy and natural man, but as it is and ever 
shall be in the spiritual and heavenly, and that 
placed in a theatre of life and blessing every 
way suitable to its exalted condition. The in¬ 
ternal and the external, the personal and the 
relative, shall be in harmonious and fitting ad¬ 
justment to each other. All hunger shall be 
satisfied, and all thirst forever quenched. The 
inhabitant shall never say, “ I am sick.” And 


like the river itself, which flows in perennial 
fulness from the throne of God, the well-spring 
of life in the redeemed shall never know inter¬ 
ruption or decay. Blessed, then, it may be 
truly said, are those who do the commandments 
of God, that they may have right to the tree of 
life, and may enter in through the gates into 
the city. P. E. 

23. Sent liliii fortti t-lie g^ar- 

deil. That mankind should have been ex¬ 
pelled from the region of life, and made sub¬ 
ject to a curse which doomed them to sorrow 
and trouble, disease and death, in consequence 
of their violation of a single command of 
Heaven, was a proof patent to all, and memor¬ 
able in the annals of the world, that everything 
in the divine government is subordinate to the prin¬ 
ciples of rectitude. “ There was in it,” as was 
strikingly said by Irving, “ a most sublime act 
of holiness. God, after making Adam a creat¬ 
ure for an image and likeness of Himself, did 
resolve him into vile dust through viler corrup¬ 
tion, when once he had sinned ; proving that 
one act of sin was, in God’s sight, of far more 
account than a whole world teeming with beauti¬ 
ful and blessed life, which He would rather 
send headlong into death than suffer one sin of 
His creature to go unpunished. And though 
creation’s teeming fountain might flow on ever 
so long, still the flowing waters of created life 
must ever empty themselves into the gulf of 
death. This is a most sublime exaltation of the 
moral above the material.” P. F. 

Eden was lost : nor could man regain and re¬ 
enter it. This is the substance of the whole 
narrative. The first probation of human nature 
ended in shame, suffering, recrimination, re¬ 
morse, and death. The world has had one 
Eden—and only one. Man has never discov- 
ered and reclaimed it since our progenitors lost 
it. Fable has told us of the garden of the Hes- 
perides, of Elysian fields, but who has ever 
found an Eden? We have read of roj^al mag¬ 
nificence, of sumptuous palaces, of gardens 
wrought by art, watered hy fountains, and re¬ 
plenished by affluence, but we have never read 
of human abodes in which there existed the in¬ 
nocence, the love, the fearlessness, the joy, of 
original paradise. We have never read of the 
royal residence into which death might not in¬ 
trude ; nor the bosom into which sorrow never 
could enter. W. A. 

The world in the midst of which we live is not 
now what it was as it came from the hands of 
its Creator. Harsh discords and disharmonies 
have found their way into it, and make them- 
' selves everywhere to be heard. What means. 




GENESIS 8 : 20-24. 


199 


for instance, the volcano, with its clouds of 
ashes and streams of liquid fire, carrying death 
and destruction to the peaceful towns and vil¬ 
lages that reposed in fancied security at its base ? 
What mean those fierce throes and shakings of 
the earth, which cause whole cities to topple 
down on their dwellers, and to crush them 
beneath their ruins ? What the wild tornadoes, 
which strew the coasts with the wrecks of ships 
and the corpses of men ? What, again, the pes¬ 
tilential marsh, the very breath of which is fatal 
to all human Hire ? The state of Paradise has 
disappeared not for man only, but for the whole 
creation. Man did not fall alone ; God had set 
him as the lord and king of the earth, in whom 
all its glories should centre, in whom they all 
should be summed up. Only a little lower 
than the angels, and crowned wiih glory and 
honor, he was to have dominion over the works 
of God’s hands ; all things were put under his 
feet. But when he rebelled against God, this 
lower nature rebelled against him. The confu¬ 
sion which sin had introduced into his relations 
to God found its echo and avenging counter¬ 
part in the confusions of nature’s relations to 
him ; all became out of joint ; he dragged all 
after him in a common ruin Glimpses, in¬ 
deed, of the beauty of Paradise still survive ; 
fragments of that broken sceptre, which man 
once wielded over the inferior creation, still 
remain in his hands. But much, very much, 
has disappeared. Trench. 

Man was still the subject of moral govern¬ 
ment. No power was lost from the soul. His 
emotions retained their susceptibility, though 
diverted from their highest object. His power 
of moral discrimination was not destroyed, 
though overruled. His will remained as active 
and energetic as before. His chosen motives 
came now, indeed, from an inferior domain ; 
the right disposition of his powers was gone, 
each being placed in a new and a false relation to 
the others, but all remained. Man’s second sin 

was as free as his first. J. H.-After his fall 

man retained freedom of choice. As by his 
voluntary act he had become sinful, so also 
must he by free choice accept salvation. Neither 
the one nor the other could be forced upon him 

from without. K.-If no power had been lost 

from the human constitution, neither had any 
law of moral government been repealed, nor 
any perfection of the Divine character obscured. 
The theology of unfallen man, as implied espe¬ 
cially in the primal law, was—a powerful, wise, 
and beneficent Creator ; that Creator his equi¬ 
table moral Governor ; and immortal happiness 
vu prospect as the reward of his obedience ; 


and a threatened death or loss as the deserved 
penalty of disobedience. And this was no les« 
the theory of fallen man. The new revelation 
of Mercy involved no withdrawment of the 
claims of Justice. The sin of man was no frus¬ 
tration of moral government ; for that govern¬ 
ment showed itself capable of enforcing its 
sanctions With man’s first moment of con¬ 
scious guilt commenced a process of self-pun¬ 
ishment, for that very consciousness involved 
suffering. The external sentence only inter¬ 
preted his fears, and ratified his self-pronounced 
condemnation. Nor was he less a subject of 
moial government after Mercy had arrested 
him in his guilty descent than he was before. 
That mercy involved no relaxation of law, no 
apology for the government under which man 
had fallen. So far from arraigning the equity 
of that rule, mercy supported it, forgiveness 
proclaimed it. Sacrifice and expiation were 
the methods of indemnifying and celebrating it. 
Mercy left man in the hand of justice still, and 
only rescued him from its punishment ; and 
just so much of mercy as there was in the rescue 
was there of justice in the punishment. Hence, 
the original government was still in force. 
J. H. 

All was not absolutely lost. The knowledge 
which our first parents had of the work of crea¬ 
tion, and of the character of God as therein 
displayed, could not altogether vanish from 
their minds ; it had formed the grounds ork of 
that adoration of God and fellowship with him 
which constituted the religion of Paradise ; and 
even after Paradise was lost, they must still 
have derived from it, and preserved in the 
depths of their spiritual being, some of the 
more fundamental elements of truth and duty. 
That all things were made by God ; that as they 
came from his hand they were, one and all, very 
good ; that the work of creation in six days was 
succeeded by a day of peculiar sacredness and 
rest ; that man himself was made in the imago 
of God, and as such had all here below placed 
in a relation of subservience to him, while, be¬ 
cause he bore God’s image, he was bound to use 
all in obedience to the will of God, and for the 
glory of His name these, and various other 
collateral points of knowledge, which must have 
been familiar to man before the fall, — since 
otherwise he should have been ignorant alike of 
his proper place and calling in creation,—could 
not fail to abide also with him after it. And 
since it pleased God not to destroy His fallen 
creature, but to perpetuate his existence on 
earth, and amid mingled experiences of good 
and evil to animate him with the prospect of 






200 


THE CHERUBIM AND SWORD. 


ultimate recovery, it was to be understood that 
all creation privileges and gifts stood as at first 
conferred, except in so far as they might be ex¬ 
pressly recalled or through the altered constitu- j 
tion of things placed in another relation to man 
than they originally held. Paradise itself, with 
its ample heritage of life and blessing, had 
ceased to be to him what it had been. Bat the 
mutual relation of the fallen pair themselves ; 
their common relation to the world around 
them, with its living creatures and manifold 
productions ; their higher relation to God, as 
still bearing, though now sadly marred. His di¬ 
vine image and called to reflect it by a becom¬ 
ing imitation of His example ;—these all re¬ 
mained in principle, only modified in action by 
the workings of sin on man's part, and on God’s 
by the introduction of an economj^ of grace. 

That everything was not subjected to instan¬ 
taneous and overwhelming destruction, was it¬ 
self a proof of the introduction o£ a principle of 
grace into the divine administration. The mere 
respite of the sentence of death (which, if jus¬ 
tice alone had prevailed, must have been exe¬ 
cuted on the very day of transgression), and the 
establishment of an order of things which still 
contained man}'' tokens of divine goodness, 
gave evidence of thoughts of mercy and loving¬ 
kindness in God toward man. The explicit as¬ 
surance that “the seed of the woman should 
bruise the head of the serpent,’’ however dimly 
understood at first, could not fail even then to 
light up the conviction in the sinful heart, that 
it was the purpose of God to aid man in obtain¬ 
ing a recovery from the ruin of the fall. But 
this must evidently be done in a way of grace. 
All natural good had been forfeited by the fall, 
and death—the utter destruction of life and 
blessing—had become the common doom of hu¬ 
manity. Whatever inheritance, therefore, of 
good, or whatever opportunity of acquiring it, 
might be again presented, could be traced to 
no other source than the divine beneficence. 
P. F. 

24. And lie placed at the ea'^t of 
the g^ardeii of £deii cheruhim and a 
flamini; sword, wliicli turned every 
way to keep the way of the tree of 

life. The remarkable matter in this state¬ 
ment is, that the symbols at the east of Eden 
were in form precisely the same as those sym¬ 
bols of the immediate Divine presence which 
marked the place of worship in the subsequent 
ages of the Church. In the formal establish¬ 
ment of a ritual of worship through Moses, the 

cherubim with the brightness between them 

* 

was the specific symbol of the immediate special 


presence of Jehovah with his worshipping 
people, and in the subsequent visions of David, 
Ezekiel and John the same symbols stand forth 
j pre-eminently as the tokens of Jehovah’s pres¬ 
ence. So when man is driven out of Eden, no 
longer to taste of the tree of life, Jehovah not 
only gives him ordinances of worship), but sets 
up for him the symbols of His presence to com¬ 
mune with him in the worship. It was, doubt¬ 
less, at the gate of Eden that Adam came to offer 
the appointed sacrifices and consult Jehovah, 
just as afterward the worshippers at the taber¬ 
nacle and the temple came to worship, at the 
immediate dwelling-place of Jehovah. It was 
before this symbol that Abel brought his offer¬ 
ing, and, by the coming forth of the brightness 
to consume it, he saw that “Jehovah had re¬ 
spect unto it.” It was from this “ presence of 
the Lord,” that Cain “ went out ’’ when he be¬ 
came an apostate. Thus when man the sinner 
is driven out of Eden and no longer allowed to 
“ eat of the tree of life,” it is not to utter hoj^e- 
lessness and irretrievable doom. S. R. 

If the appearance of the Edenic cherubim de¬ 
noted the reality of the Divine presence, the 
following are some of the great truths which the 
arrangement significantly expressed : That al¬ 
though God had shown himself justly offended 
with sinful man, and that He could not be dis¬ 
obeyed with impunity, yet He had not with¬ 
drawn from the world, but was still “ a God 
near at hand and not afar off.’’ That restora¬ 
tion to immortal life wms not impossible. Such 
impossibility might have been emphatically 
signified by destroying the s>gn of immortality 
—the tree of life. But that being allowed to 
stand, the thing signified by it might be suj)- 
posed to remain also. The presence of the 
sword-flame in the way which led to the sacred 
pledge, however, denoted man’s utter forfeiture 
of the blessing, and that if it ever became his, 
it could only be by an act of sovereign mercy. 
And thus the ever-speaking symbol proclaimed 
both the justice and the grace of God, and 
tended to keep alive in the human breast the 
emotions of penitence for the past and of hope 
for the future. It formed, in connection with 
the first promise and the institute of sacrifice, an 
organic part of the new outline of the Divine 
manifestation. J, H. 

The sword, with its flaming brightness and re¬ 
volving movements, might be suspended there 
simply as the emblem of God’s avenging justice, 
and as the instrument of man’s exclusion from 
the region of life. In that one-service the end 
of its appointment might be fulfilled, and its 
symbolical meaning exhausted. Such appears 







GENESIS 8 : 20-24. 


201 


to liavB boen the case. But the cherubim, 
which also had a place assigned them toward 
the east of the garden, must have had some 
further use, as the sword alone would have been 
sufficient to prevent access to the forbidden 
region. The cherubim must have been added 
for the purpose of rendering more complete the 
instruction intended to be conveyed to man by 
means of the symbolical apparatus here pre¬ 
sented to his contemplation. P. F. 

The chck'ubiiii. According to the exact 
rendering ; “ And He placed (or, made to dwell) 
at the east of the garden of ^^den the cherubim’' 
—not certain unknown figures or imaginary ex¬ 
istences, but the specific forms of being, famil¬ 
iarly designated by that name. 

1. As to the form and appearance of the cherubim, 
there is nothing definite in the earlier Script¬ 
ures, nor are the accounts in the later perfectly 
uniform. They are uniform in two leading re¬ 
spects, which may be regarded as the more im¬ 
portant elements in the cherubic form. (1) 
They had the predominating appearance of a 
man. (2) With the form of a man, other animal 
forms were combined—those of the lion, the ox, 
and tbe eagle. These three creatures, along with 
man. make up together the most pei-fect forms 
of animal existence. And hence the old Jewish 
proverb : “ Four are the highest in the world— 
the lion among wild beasts, the ox among tame 
cattle, the eagle among birds, man among all 
(creatures) ; but God is supreme overall.'’ The 
meaning is, that in these four kinds are exhib¬ 
ited the highest forms of creature-life on earth, 
but that God is still infinitely exalted above 
these ; since all creature-life springs out of His 
fulness, and is dependent on His hand. So 
that a creature compounded of all these—bear¬ 
ing in its general shape and structure the linea¬ 
ments of a man, but associating with the human 
the appearance and properties also of the three 
next highest orders of animal existence—might 
seem a kind of concrete manifestation of created 
life on earth—a sort of personified creature- 
hood. It is an ideal combination ; and we can 
think of no reason why the singular combina¬ 
tion it presents of animal forms, should have 
been set upon that of man as the trunk and 
centre of the whole, unless it were to exhibit 
the higher elements of humanity in some kind 
of organic connection with certain distinctive 
properties of the inferior creation. The nature 
of man is incomparably the highest upon earth, 
and towers loftily above all the rest by powers 
peculiar to itself. And yet we can easily con¬ 
ceive how this very nature of man might be 
greatly raised and ennobled, by having super- 


added to its own inherent qualities those of 
which the other animal forms now before us 
stand as the appropriate types. Thus the lion 
among ancient nations generally, and in par¬ 
ticular among the Hebrews, was the representa¬ 
tive of king-like majesty and peerless strength. 
So the eagle is king among birds, and stands pre¬ 
eminent in the two properties that more pecu¬ 
liarly distinguish the winged creation—those of 
vision and flight. Finally, the ox was among 
the ancients the common image of patient labor 
and productive energy. Assuming these points, 
we are warranted to think of the cherubim as 
presenting in their composite structure, and 
having as the very basis of that structure the 
form of man—the only being on earth that is 
possessed of a rational and moral nature ; yet 
combining along with this, and organically unit¬ 
ing to it, the animal representatives of majesty 
and strength, winged velocity, patient and pro¬ 
ductive labor. 

2. A second point of inquiry respects the desig¬ 
nations applied to the cherubim in Scripture. 
The term cherubim itself being the more com¬ 
mon and specific of these, would naturally call 
for consideration first, if any certain key could 
be found to its correct import. But the term 
cherub may now be confidently assigned to that 
class of words whose original import is in¬ 
volved in hopeless obscurity. There is another 
designation, however, originally apjilied to 
them by Ezekiel, and the sole designation given 
to them in the Apocalypse, from which some 
additional light may be derived. This expres¬ 
sion is in the original living ones, or living creat¬ 
ures. The Septuagint uses the quite synony¬ 
mous term zoa ; and this, again, is the word uni¬ 
formly employed by John, when speaking of 
the cherubim. The frequency with which this 
name is used of the cherubim is remarkable. 
In Ezekiel and the Apocalypse together it occurs 
nearly thirty times, and may consequently be 
regarded as peculiarly expressive of the sym¬ 
bolical character of the cherubim. It presents 
them to our view as exhibiting the property of 
life in its highest state of power and activity ; 
therefore, as creatures altogether instinct with 
life, 

3. The positions assigned to the cherubim In 
Scripture are properly but two, and, by having 
regard only to what is essential in the matter, 
they might possibly be reduced to one. They 
are the garden of Eden, and the dwelling-place 
or throne of God in the tabernacle. The first 
local residence in which the cherubim appear 
was the garden of Eden—the earthly paradise. 
What, however, was this but the proper home 





202 


THE CHERUBIM. 


and habitation of life ? of life generally, but 
emphatically of the divine life ! Everything 
there seemed to breathe the air and to exhibit 
the fresh and blooming aspect of life. Streams 
of water ran through it to supply all its produc¬ 
tions with nourishment, and keep them in per¬ 
petual healthfulness ; multitudes of living creat¬ 
ures roamed amid its bowers, and the tree of 
life, at once the emblem and the seal of immor¬ 
tality, rose in the centre, as if to shed a vivify¬ 
ing influence over the entire domain. Most 
fitly was it called by the Eabbins, “ the land of 
life.” But it was life in the higher sense—life, 
not merely as opposed to bodily decay and dis¬ 
solution, but as opposed also to sin, which brings 
death to the soul. Eden was the garden of de¬ 
light, which God gave to man as the image of 
Himself, the possessor of tha-t spiritual and holy 
life which has its fountainhead in God. And 
the moment man ceased to fulfil the part re¬ 
quired of him, and yielded himself to the ser¬ 
vice of unrighteousness, he lost his heritage of 
blessing, and was driven forth as an heir of 
mortality and corruption from the hallowed 
region of life. When, therefore, the cherubim 
were set in the garden to occupy the place 
which man had forfeited by his transgression, 
it was impossible but that they should be 
regarded as the representatives, not of life 
merely, but of the life that is in God, and in 
connection with which evil cannot dwell. 

The other position assigned to the cherubim 
is in immediate connection with the dwelling- 
place and throne of God. In the inner sane 
tuary Moses was commanded to make two 
cherubim, one on each end of the ark of the 
covenant, and to place them so that they should 
stand with outstretched wings, their faces tow¬ 
ard each other, and toward the mercy-seat, the 
lid of the ark, which lay between them. That 
mercy-seat, or the space immediately above it, 
bounded on either side by the cherubim, and 
covered by their wings, was the throne of God, 
as the God of the Old Covenant, the ideal seat 
of the divine commonwealth in Israel. ” There,’' 
said God to Moses, “ will I meet with thee, and 
I will commune with thee from above the mercy- 
seat, from between the two cherubim which are 
upon the ark of the testimony, of all things 
which I will give thee in commandment to the 
children of Israel.” This is the fundamental 
passage regarding the connection of the cher¬ 
ubim with the throne of God ; and it is care¬ 
fully to be noted, that while the seat of the di¬ 
vine presence and glory is said to be above the 
mercy-seat, it is also said to be between the cher¬ 
ubim. The same form of expression is used 


also in another passage in the Pentateuch, 
which may likewise be called a fundamental 
one : “ And when Moses was gone into the 
tabernacle of the congregation (the tent of meet¬ 
ing) to speak with Him, then he heard the voice 
of one speaking unto him from eft' the mercy- 
seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from 
between the two cherubim.” Hence the Lord 
was represented as the God “ who dwelleth be¬ 
tween the cherubim, ” according to our version 
and correctly as to the sense ; though the more 
exact rendering would be, the God who dwelleth 
in (inhabiteth), or ^iccupies (viz , as a throne or 
seat) the cherubim. It thus appears that the 
kind of life which was symbolized by the cher¬ 
ubim was life most nearly and essentially con¬ 
nected with God—life as it is, or shall be, held 
by those who dwell in His immediate presence, 
and form the very inclosure and covering of His 
throne : pre-eminentlj^ therefore, spiritual and 
holy life. Holiness becomes Gods house in 
general ; and of necessity it rises to its highest 
creaturely representation in those who are re¬ 
garded as compassing about the most select and 
glorious portion of the house—the seat of the 
living God. 

4. As to the kinds of agency attributed to the 
cherubim. In connection with the garden of 
Eden, it is merely said that the cherubim were 
made to dwell at the east of the garden, and a 
flaming sword, turning every way, to keep the 
way to the tree of life. The two instruments— 
the cherubim and the sword —are associated to¬ 
gether in regard to this keeping. And the most 
natural thought is, that as in the keeping there 
was a twofold idea, so a twofold representation 
was given to it : that the occupancy was more 
immediately connected with the cherubim, and 
the defence against intrusion with the flaming 
sword. One does not see otherwise what need 
there could have been for both. Nor is it pos¬ 
sible to conceive how the ends in view could 
otherwise have been served. It was beyond all 
doubt for man’s spiritual instruction that such 
peculiar instruments were employed at the east 
of the garden of Eden, to awaken and preserve 
in his bosom right thoughts of the God with 
whom he had to do. But an image of terror 
and repulsion was not alone sufficient for this. 
There was needed along with it an image of 
mercy and hope ; and both were given in the 
appearances that actually presented themselves. 
When the eye of man looked to the sword, with 
its burnished and fiery aspect, he could not but 
be struck with awe at the thought of God’s 
severe and retributive justice. But when he 
saw at the same time, in near and friendly com 



SECTION 26.-GENESIS 3 : 20-24. 


203 


ii6ctioii with that ©mbleiu of Jehovah’s right¬ 
eousness, living or life like forms of being cast 
pre-eminently in his own mould, but bearing 
along with his the likeness also of the choicest 
species of the animal creation around him— 
when he saw this, what could he think but that 
still for creatures of earthly rank, and for him¬ 
self most of all, an interest was reserved by the 
mercy of God in the things that pertained to 
the blessed region of life ? That region could 
not now, by reason of sin, be actually held by 
him ; but it was provisionally held—by com¬ 
posite forms of creature life', in which his nature 
appeared as the predominating element. And 
with what design, if not to teach that when that 
nature of his should have nothing to fear from 
the avenging justice of God, it should regain its 
place in the holy and blissful haunts from 
which it had meanwhile been excluded ? So 
that, standing before the eastern approach to 
Eden, and scanning with intelligence the ap¬ 
pearances that there presented themselves to 
his view, the child of faith might say to him¬ 
self, That region of life is not finally lost to me. 
It has neither been blotted from the face of 
creation, nor intrusted to natures of another 
sphere. Earthly forms still hold possession of 
it. Such a line of reflection manifestl}' lay 
within the reach of the earliest members of a 
believing seed ; especially since the light it is 
supposed to have conveyed was only supple¬ 
mentary to that embodied in the first grand 
promise to the fallen, that the seed of the wom¬ 
an should bruise the head of the serpent. . 

But the information in this line, and by 
means of these materials, reaches its furthest 
limit, when, in the Apocalyptic vision of a tri¬ 
umphant Church, the four and twenty elders, 
who represent her, are seen sitting in royal 
.state and crowned majest}’^ close beside the 
throne, with the cherubic forms in and around 
it. There, at last, the ideal and the actual freely 
meet together—the merely symbolical represen¬ 
tatives of the life of God, and its real possess¬ 
ors, the members of a redeemed and glorified 
Church. And the inspiring element of the 
whole, that which at once explains all and con¬ 
nects all harmoniously together, is the central 
object appearing there of “ a Lamb, as if it had 
been slain, in the midst of the throne, and of 
the four living creatures, and in the midst of 
the elders.” Here the mystery resolves itself ; 
in this consummate wonder all other wonders 
cease, all difficulties vanish. The Lamb of 
God, uniting together heaven and earth, human 
guilt and divine mercy, man’s nature and God’s 
perfection.s, has opened a pathway for the fallen 


I to the very height and pinnacle of being. And 
I when the better country breaks upon our view 
—when the new heavens and the new earth 
I supplant the old, then also the ideal gives way 
to the real. We see another paradise with its 
river and tree of life, a present God and a pre¬ 
siding Saviour, holy angels and a countless mul¬ 
titude of redeemed spirits rejoicing in the ful¬ 
ness of blessing and glory provided for them ; 
but no sight is anywhere to be seen of the cher¬ 
ubim of glory. They have fulfilled the end of 
their temporary existence, and vanish like the 
guiding stars of night before the bright sun¬ 
shine of eternal day. 

To sum uj), then : The cherubim were in 
their very nature and design artificial and tem¬ 
porary forms of being—uniting in their com¬ 
posite structure the distinctive features of the 
highest kinds of creaturely existence on earth— 
man’s first and chiefly. They were set up for 
representations, to the eye of faith, of earth’s 
living creaturehood, and more especially of its 
rational and immortal though fallen head, with 
reference to the better hopes and destiny in 
prospect. From the very first they gave promise 
of a restored condition to the fallen ; and by the 
use afterward made of them the light became 
clearer and more distinct. By their designa¬ 
tions, the positions assigned them, the actions 
from time to time ascribed to them, as well as 
their own peculiar structure, it was intimated 
that the good in prospect should be secured in 
perfect consistence with the claims of God’s 
righteousness ; that restoration to the holiness 
must precede restoration to the blessedness of 
life ; and that only by being made capable of 
dwelling beside the presence of the only Wise 
and Good could man hope to have his portion 
of felicity recovered. But all this, they further 
betokened, it was in God’s purpose to have ac¬ 
complished ; and so to do it as at the same time 
to raise humanity to a higher than its original 
destination—in its standing nearer to God, and 
with its powers of life and capacities of working 
variously ennobled. P. F. 


Four fundamental principles or doctrines are 
strikingly exhibited by the historical transac¬ 
tions connected with the fall : human guilt and 
depravity ; God’s righteous character and gov¬ 
ernment; His grace necessary to open the door 
of hope : and finally, the principle of head¬ 
ship, by which the offspring of a common parent 
were associated in a common ruin, and by 
which again, under a new and better constitu¬ 
tion, the heirs of blessing might be associated 
in a common restoration. In these elementary 







204 


CAIN AND ABEL. BIRTH AND OFFERINGS. 


principles, however, we have rather the basis of 
the patriarchal religion than the religion itself. 
For this we must look to the symbols and insti¬ 
tutions of worship. And as far as appears from 
the records of that early time, the materials out 
of which these had at first to be fashioned 
were: The position assigned to man in respect 
to the tree of life, the placing before him of the 
cherubim and the flaming sword at the east of 
Eden, the covering of his guilt by the sacrifice 
of animal life, and his still subsisting relation 
to the day of rest originally hallowed and blessed 
by God. To this last may be added the mar¬ 


riage relationship ; for here also the general 
principle holds, that no formal change was in¬ 
troduced after the fall, and what was done at 
the first was virtually done for all times. P. F. 

When our first parents left the garden of 
Eden, they carried with them the promise of a 
Redeemer, the assurance of the final defeat of 
the great enemy, as well as the Divine institu¬ 
tion of a Sabbath on which to worship, and of 
the marriage-bond by which to be joined to¬ 
gether into families. Thus the foundations of 
the Christian life in all its bearings were laid in 
Paradise. A. E. 


Section 27. 


CAIN AND ABEL. BIRTH AND OFFERINGS. 

Genesis 4 :1-8. 

1 And the man knew Eve his wife ; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten 

2 a man with ihe help of the Lord. And again she bare his brother Abel, And Abel was a keeper 

3 of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that 

4 Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord And Abel, he also brought 
of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to 

6 his offering : but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain w'as very wroth, 

6 and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth ? and why is thy 

7 countenance fallen ? It thou doest well, sbalt thou not be accepted ? and if thou doest not well. 


8 sin coucheth at the door : and unto thee shall 

Cain told Abel his brother. 

The Book of Genesis, having thus explained 
the existence of sin on the earth, proceeds to 
tell of its ravages —murder in the first family — 
violence overspreading the Old World-a gener¬ 
ation of the ungodly swept away bj' the deluge 
—sin in Noah’s family immediately after the 
flood—sin in Sodom and Gomorrah—sin in the 
families of the patriarchs—sin in Canaan, and 
sin in Egypt - sin in the dwellers in cities, and 
sin in the dwellers in tents. To multiply gods, 
to make idols, to dishonor parents, to kill, to 
commit adultery, to steal, to lie, to covet—the 
beginnings of all these sins are found written 
in Genesis. D. F, 

Not less brightly did “ the heavens declare 
the glory of God,” after the Fall, than they did 
before. For nine hundred and thirty years did 
the human eye which had first gazed on Para¬ 
dise in its primal freshness, and the ear which 
had there listened to the opening burst of its 
melodies, continue to be regaled by the same 
music and the same vernal beauty. Even the 
“ thorn and the thi.stle” (3 :13) did not less 


be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And 

eloquently speak of the perfections of God, be¬ 
cause they served at the same time as memorials 
of the sin of man. “ He left not himself with¬ 
out witness,” in that man still found himself in 
a w'orld, not of mere coincidences, but of speak¬ 
ing signs ; a w^orshipper in a temple whose every 
object and event possessed a symbolic value, 
and where the service paused not day nor 
night. And thus “ the invisible things of God 
from the creation of the world ’ ’ continued to 
be “ clearly seen, being understood by the things 
that are made, even His eternal power and God¬ 
head. ” The illuminated volume of natural 
theology continued to invite the attention of 
mankind till the flood came and quenched in 
death the eyes that should have read it. J. H. 

I. Slie bare Cain. The more generally 
received doctrine is known as Creationism. 
Each soul is an immediate work of the Creator : 
he is perpetually creating souls out of nothing, 
and infusing them into bodies. He creates each 
soul at the moment when the body which is 
destined for it enters really and properly on its 







SECTION 27.--GENESIS 4 : 7 - 5 . 


205 


inheritance of life. Creationism recognizes that 
sense of the immateriality of the human spirit 
which expressed itself falsely in the doctrine of 
a pre-existence, and which is so seriously com¬ 
promised by Traducianism. Personal spirit, it 
is asserted by the Creationist, cannot be trans 
mitted from one created life to another, like 
emimal vitality. Yet Creationism recognizes 
the truth for which the Traducianists contended 
against the advocates of the soul’s pre-existence, 
when it maintains that the soul and body are 
strictly contemporaneous in their origin, and 
that they have profound and inefPaceable rela¬ 
tions to each other. H. P. L. 

Here the first husband and wife become father 
and mother. This new relation must be deeply 
interesting to both, but at first peculiarly so to 
the mother. Now was begun the fulfilment of 
the intimations she had received concerning 
her seed. She was to be the mother of all liv¬ 
ing. And her seed M^as to bruise the serpent’s 
head. Her feelings are manifested in the name 
given to her son and the reason assigned for it. 
She “ bare Cain and said, I have gained a man 
from Jehovah.” The gaining or bearing of the 
child is evidently the prominent thought in 
Eve’s mind, as she takes the child’s name from 
this. Prompted by her grateful emotion, she 
confesses her faith. She also employ's a new 
name to designate her maker. In the dialogue 
with the tempter she had used the word God 
(Elohim). But now she adopts Jehovah. In 
this one word she hides a treasure of comfort. 
“ He is true to his promise. He has not forgot¬ 
ten me.” M.-The term Jetovah thus em¬ 

ployed had special reference to the memorable 
promise regarding “the seed of the woman,” 
and may indeed be said to originate in the an¬ 
nouncement of mercy then made. The name 
Jehovah had thus a special relation to redemp¬ 
tion and the agent through whom the promised 
deliverance should be accomplished. This is 
further confirmed by the fact that it is at special 
epochs in the history of redemption, or in con¬ 
nection with such promises, that it comes most 
prominently into view ; as in the case of Abra¬ 
ham’s intended sacrifice of Isaac, and in the de¬ 
liverance of Israel from Egypt (Ex. 3 :14), when 
the import of this name was so fully revealed. 
In Eve’s case there can be little question that 
it was in the belief that the previous promise 
was realized in the birth of Cain. D. M. 

ii. Hi§ brother Abel. Abel means 
breath, vanity. Does a sense of the vanity of 
earthly things grow in the minds of our first 
parents? Has the mother found her sorrow 
multiplied? Has she had many daughters be 


tween these sons? Is there something delicate 
and fragile in the appearance of Abel ? Has 
Cain disappointed a mother’s hopes? Some of 
these thoughts may have prompted the name. 

M.-Two of the children of Adam and Eve 

are alone mentioned : Cum and Abel. Not that 
there were no others, but that the progress of 
Scripture histor}^ is connected with these two. 
For the Bible does not profess to give a detailed 
history of the world, nor even a complete biog¬ 
raphy of those persons whom it introduces. Its 
object is to set before us a history of the kingdom 
of God, and it only describes such persons and 
events as is necessary for that purpose. A. E. 

2, When the two had grown to be men, they 
chose their callings in life —Cain turning to agri¬ 
culture ; Abel to a pastoral life. No interval of 
“ utter degeneracy ’ is sanctioned in the Script¬ 
ure ac ount of the first men ; no dismal age of 
living on roots and shell-fish, or the produce of 
the chase, as naked savages ; they begin in 
Eden, to work it and watch it ; after the Fall 
they turn to the tillage of the field and the rear¬ 
ing and tending of sheep ; occupations from 
which an advance to other forms of civilization 

was easy. Geilcie. -In the occupation of these 

two sons of Adam, we trace the two great 
branches of productive industry pursued by men 
in an early stage of society. “ Abel was a keeper 
(or feeder) of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the 
ground." Here are the beginnings of the pas¬ 
toral and agricuHural modes of life. P. S.- 

Man in his primitive state was not a mere gath¬ 
erer of acorns, a hunter, or a nomad. He began 
with horticulture, the highest form of rural life. 
After the fall he descended to the culture of the 
field and the tending of cattle ; but still he had 
a home and a settled mode of living. It is only 
by a third step that he degenerates to the wan¬ 
dering and barbarous state of existence. And 
only by the predominance of might over right, 
the selfish lust of power, and the clever com¬ 
binations of rampant ambition, comes that form 
of society in which the highest state of barbaric 
civilization and the lowest depth of bondage 
and misery meet. M. 

3, Ill process of time. As there was a 
worship appointed before Jehovah’s presence, 
there was also a special sacred time appointed 
for it ; so that in his cares in tilling the ground 
and his weariness from having to eat his bread 
“ in the sweat of his brow,” the worship should 
not be neglected. “ At the end of days,” says 
the Hebrew, Cain and Abel brought their offer¬ 
ings. When it is remembered that already the 
seventh day had been ordained of God, even 
before Eden : that we find the division of time 









‘206 


OFFEEIKGS OF CAIN AND ABEL. 


into periods of seven days universal, though 
there is no mark in nature, as in the case of 
days and months and years for such division ; 
and that subsequently the seventh day was thus 
specially reordained of God, there is no room 
left for doubt that this “ end of days” was the 
end of the week—the Sabbath day—on which 
Adam had taught his sons to come for special 
worship before Jehovah. An off'ering^ iillto 
the Lord, Unless man had been expressly 
taught to worship God by sacrifices, why should 
they have presented themselves before God, 
each with his offering ? What should have in¬ 
duced Cain to bring his “ offering,” even of the 
fruits of the earth, unless some Divine order 
had established the offering as an ordinance of 

worship ? S. K.-The cherubim were located 

in a particular spot, on the east of the garden 
of Eden ; and as the symbols of God’s presence 
were there, it was only natural that the celebra¬ 
tion of divine worship should there also have 
found its common centre. Hence the two sons 
of Adam are said to have ” brought their offer- 
ings unto the Lord”—which can scarcely be 
understood otherwise than as pointing to that 
particular locality which was hallowed by visible 
symbols of the Lord’s presence, and in the 
neighborhood of which life and blessing still 
lingered. P. F. 

Cain, tlie fruit of tlie g^rouii<l. 4. 
Abel, also the firstlings <»f his flock. 

A gospel had been preached in Eden of. a com¬ 
ing Redeemer. A worship had been instituted 
—a time and place of worship - even before the 
cherubim and the ineffable brightness at the 
barred gate of Eden, just as afterward the 
church worshipped before the cherubim and 
the brightness upon the mercy-seat. The two 
sons have been reared under that gospel wor¬ 
ship. And now, as representatives of the two 
great classes into which the race is to be divided 
—the believers and the unbelieving—they pre¬ 
sent themselves before Jehovah to worship. 
There is no wide chasm, ostensibly separating 
the worshippers any more than in our day be¬ 
tween the worshippers according to faith and 
the worshippers according to reason. Abel, in 
accordance with his training in the faith, brings 
his lamb. The apostle declares that it was “by 
faith’ ’ Abel offered the sacrifice and received 
therein testimony that he was righteous. And 
Jesus calls him expressly the “ righteous 
Abel for he, of all sinners, received the vis¬ 
ible assurance of his justification from God. 
Cain comes also as a worshipper of the same 
Jehovah at the same time, and, to a large ex- 
tent, worshipi^ing in the same manner, for in 


the ritual of worship afterward instituted in the 
Church, such offering of fruits or corn-sheaves 
were made a part of the service. Wherein then, 
the great difference ? Just the wide difference 
that lurks still between the spiritual worship of 
faith and the worship of rationalism which 
seems so much the same. The important ele¬ 
ment in all worship was wanting, the recog¬ 
nition of the great fact of a fallen humanity and 
of a mediator and atonement for sin. Cain was 
the first rationalist. Not feeling any burden of 
sin, not recognizing any fall, he can see no need 
of any offering of atonement for sin. S. R. 

Considered merely as eucharistic offerings, 
Cain’s fruits, the products of his own tillage, 
were not less appropriate than the firstlings of 
Abel’s flock. The only inference is, that the 
reason of the Divine preference of Abel’s sacri¬ 
fice lay in its piacular nature ; that Cain, though 
sinful like his brother and needing forgiveness, 
ignored the awful fact of his guilt, and thus 
converted his professed homage into an act of 

impenitence and insult. J. H.- By faith Abel 

offered unto God.” Now the simplest idea of 
faith, the one element alw'ays present in it, is 
bowing to God's authority with implicit confidence in 
his word. But in this case bowing to God's au¬ 
thority implies that God had given some word 
in reference to bloody sacrifices—the offering of 
a lamb by shedding its blood upon the altar. 
And if God had given any such word of com¬ 
mand, it is certainly to be presumed that he had 
also given at least this general idea, that the 
blood of the innocent lamb took, in some sense, 
the place of the blood of the guilty offerer, so 
that the sacrifice w^ould imply the confession of 
guilt, and also faith in a bloody substitute of 

the Lord’s own providing. H. C.-” A more 

excellent sacrifice than Cain,” or as Wicklif’s 
translation with more literal exactness renders 
it, “ a much more sacrifice,” i.e., a more full or 
complete sacrifice. Here by declaring the offer¬ 
ing of Abel to have been made by faith, the 
writer teaches by necessary implication that 
Cain’s offering w^as not made by faith, and hence 
undoubtedly it is that the sacrifice of Abel is 
said to have been more fall, complete, and excel¬ 
lent than Cain’s. It was distinguished by a prin¬ 
ciple which the other lacked. Bush. 

Cain’s was only a s tcrifice of acknowledgment 
offered to the Creator ; the meat-offerings of the 
fruit of the ground were no more, and might have 
been offered in innocency : but Abel brought a 
s icrifice of atonement, the blood whereof was shed 
in order to remission : thereby owning himself 
a sinner, deprecating God’s wrath, and implor¬ 
ing his favor in a Mediator. H.-The fruit of 








SECTION 27.--GENESIS 4 : 1-8. 


the soil offered to God is an acknowledgment 
that the means of this earthly life are due to 
him. This expresses the barren faith of Cam, 
but not the living faith of Abel. The latter has 
entered deeply into the thought that life itself 
is forfeited to God by transgression, and that 
only by an act of mercy can the Author of life 
restore it to the penitent, trusting, submissive, 
loving heart. He slays the animal as a victim, 
thereby acknowledging that his life is due for 
sin ; he offers the life of the animal in token that 
another life, equivalent to his own, is due to 
justice if he is to go free by the mercy of God. 
Such a thought as this is fairly deducible from 

the facts on the surface of our record. M.- 

Cain is presented to our view as a child of na¬ 
ture, not of grace—as one obeying the impulse 
and direction only of reason, and rejecting the 
more explicit light of faith as to the kind of 
service he presented to his Maker. His obla¬ 
tion is an undoubted specimen of wdiat man 
could do in his fallen state to originate proper 
ideas of God, and give fitting expression to 
these in outward acts of worship. But unhap¬ 
pily for the advocates of nature’s sufficiency in 
the matter, it stands condemned in the inspired 
record as a presumptuous and disallowed act of 
will-worship. Abel, on the other hand, appears 
as one who through grace had become a child 
of faith, and by faith first spiritually discern¬ 
ing the mind of God, then reverently following 
the course it dictated by presenting that more 
excellent sacrifice of the firstlings of the flock, 
with which God was well pleased. P. F. 

Here, at the threshold of the development of 
mankind, we come upon the mystery of 4000 
years—the institution of sackifices. What was 
their origin, and whence the strange accord by 
which sacrifices are the central point in the re¬ 
ligion of all ancient peoples ? Manifestly the 
Biblical record does not give us light on this 
subject, but at the same time it seems to imply 
that God had given instructions concerning, 
and that He had instituted, this ordinance. K. 

If we admit that when God had ordained the 
deliverance of man, he had ordained the means : 
if we admit that Christ was the Lamb slain from 
the foundation of the world ^ what memorial could 
be devised more apposite than that of animal 
sacrifice ?—exemplifying, by the slaying of the 
victim, the death which had been denounced 
against man’s disobedience ; thus exhibiting the 
awful lesson of that death which was the wages 
of sin, and at the same time representing that 
death which was actually to be undergone by 
the Redeemer of mankind ; and hereby con¬ 
necting in one view the two great cardinal 


207 

events in the history of man, the fall, and the 
KECOVERY : the death denounced against sin, 
and the death appointed for that Holy One who 
was to lay down his life to deliver man from the 
consequences of sin. The institution of animal 
sacrifice seems then to have contained all the 
elements of religious knowledge. The adoption 
of this rite would imply an humble sense of un¬ 
worthiness of the offerer ; a confession that 
death, inflicted on the victim, was the desert of 
transgression ; a reliance upon the promises of 
deliverance, and an acquiescence in the means 
for its accomplishment. The sacrifice of Abel 
was an animal sacrifice. This sacrifice was ac¬ 
cepted. The ground of this acceptance was the 
faith in which it was offered. Scripture assigns 
no other object of this faith but the promise of 
a Redeemer : and of this faith the offering of an 
animal in sacrifice appears to have been the 
legitimate and consequently the instituted ex¬ 
pression. The institution of animal sacrifice, 
then, was coeval with the fall, and had a refer¬ 
ence to the sacrifice of our redemption. And 
thus SACRIFICE appears to have been ordained as 
a standing memorial of the death introduced by sin, 
and of that death which was to be suffered by the 
Redeemer. Magee. 

As the promise to Eve was the first dawn of 
gospel light in prophecy, so the institution of 
sacrifices was the first hint of it in types. The 
giving of that promise was the first thing that 
was done after the fall in Christ’s prophetical 
office ; the institution of sacrifices was the first 
thing by which especially Christ exhibited him¬ 
self in his priestly office. For the sacrifices of 
the Old Testament were the main of all the Old 
Testament tj^pes of Christ and his redemption ; 
and it tended to establish in the minds of God’s 
visible church the necessitj^ of a propitiatory 
sacrifice, in order to the Deity’s being satisfied 
for sin ; and so prepared the way for the recep¬ 
tion of the glorious gospel, that reveals the great 
sacrifice in the visible church, and not only so, 
but through the world of mankind. For from 
this institution of sacrifices all nations derived 
the custom of sacrificing. Edwards. 

That sacrifices were not of human invention, 
but of Divine institution, appears morally cer¬ 
tain from such considerations as these ; 1. It is 
not antecedently probable that God would leave 
man in ignorance of the manner in which he 
should acceptably worship Him ; and yet the 
first act of acceptable worship which we find 
man performing is that of animal sacrifice. 
2. This improbability is greatly increased by the 
fact that God had not only inspired man with 
hope by the language of promise, but had even 




208 


OFFERINGS OF CAIN AND ABEL. 


condescended to instruct him to clothe his body 
with a skin-vesture ; and surely He who thus 
condescended to meet man’s bodily wants would 
not abandon him to his own inventions respect¬ 
ing the cravings of his higher nature. 3. The 
ti doersality of expiatory offerings proves man’s 
deep consciousness of such a want ; and yet, if 
they were not divinely appoihted, no provision 
was made to meet the exigence, 4. If God had 
left man uninstructed, it is not likely that man 
would have so early devised any settled method 
of his own for approachiiig God ; yet here we 
find the first members of the first family com¬ 
ing before the Lord with offerings as their/a- 
miliar, established, and only mode of worship. 

5. Of all methods of worship, that of shedding 
blood—of sacrificing an animal —is one of the 
least likely to have originated in the human 
mind ; and yet here we find a member of the 
first family—one who had probably never 
slaughtered an animal for himself —rejecting 
the more simple and natural oblation of fruits 
and fiowers, and confidently calculating on 
pleasing God by putting an animal to death. 

6. The Divine acceptance of the first sacrifice on 
record confirms the conviction that the rite was 
not a human invention, but a Divine appoint¬ 
ment. These considerations are confirmed by 
the significance or symbolical nature of sacrifice. 
The fundamental idea of sacrifice cannot be that 
of a gift merely, as an expression of gratitude. 
Before Adam sinned he was himself an offering, 
and hence had no need of an offering. Bat the 
union of man’s will with the will of God no 
longer existed ; sin had dissevered it. The only 
offering which could now be relevant was one 
in which man might plead guilty to his dis¬ 
turbed relationship with God, and earnestly 
aim at reparation. Hence the idea lying at the 
foundation of all sacrificial worship was that of 
self-surrender, by substitution, and in the hope 
of pardon—a deep consciousness of having 
merited the death inflicted on the vicarious 
animal, and an intense desire that the insulted 
Deity would accept the immolation as a means 
of compensation. It was an acted deprecation, 
for a reason. Springing from the requirements 
of holiness in the Divine nature, it responded 
to the cries of conscience in the human nature. 
The two natures could not be satisfied with 
less. Deep called unto deep, “ without the 
shedding of blood is no remission of sins,” 
And, hence, the purest sacrifice was preferred, 
not only as the most worthy of the recipient, 
but also as the ftirthest removed from the guilty 
condition of the offerer, and most condemna¬ 
tory of it ; and the costliest sacrifice, as most 


expressive of the fact that there was nothing 
which he had not forfeited, and which might 
not have been demanded ; and the most volun¬ 
tary, as that alone which could express the idea 
of self-abnegation—of the offerer ” divesting 
himself of his own subjectivity” and surrender¬ 
ing his “ innermost ” to God all vividly de¬ 
noting the idea which forms the essence of true 
religion—the offering up of self—the readjust¬ 
ment once more, by subordination, of our will 
to the Divine will, and the consequent recovery 
of a Divine life. Subjectively, then, the in¬ 
stitution of sacrifice finds its reason in man’s 
deep consciousness of guilt and desire of re¬ 
union with the Supreme will ; and, objectively, 
in a Divine appointment of holiness and mercy 
which made such restoration possible, J. H. 

4. And tlie Lord had respect unto 
Abel and to his offering^. Herein are the 
true footsteps of grace discovered ; the person 
must be the first in favor of God—the person 
first, the performance afterward : for though it 
be true among men that the gift makes way for 
the acceptance of the person, yet in the order 
of grace it is after another manner ; for if the 
person be not first accepted, the offering must 
be abominable ; for it is not a good work that 
makes a good man, but a good man makes a 
good work. The fruit does not make a good 
tree, but a good tree bringeth forth good fruit, 
Abel then presented his person and offering, as 
shrouding both by faith under the righteousness 
of Christ, which lay wrapped up in the promise ; 
but Cain stands upon his own righteousness and 
so presents his offering. Abel therefore is ac¬ 
cepted, both his person and offering, while Cain 
remains accursed. Bunyan. 

Thenceforth, sacrifice presented after the man¬ 
ner of Abel's might be regarded as of divine au¬ 
thority. Whatever uncertainty might hang 
around it during the brief space which inter 
vened between the fall and the time of Abel’s 
accepted offering, it was from that time deter¬ 
mined to be a mode of worship with which God 
was well pleased. We might rather say themode 
of worship ; for sacrifice, accompanied with 
words of prayer, is the only stated act of wor 
ship by which believers in the earlier ages ap¬ 
pear to have given formal expression to their 
faith and hope in God. When it is said of the 
times of Enos, that “then men began to call 
upon the name of the Lord,” there can be little 
doubt that they did so after the example of 
Abel, by the presentation of sacrifice. That 
sacrifice held the same place in the instituted 
worship of God after the deluge we learn from 
the case of Noah, who offered burnt-offerings of 




SECTION 27.—GENESIS 4 : 1-8. 


20^) 


every clean beast and fowl, from which the 
Lord is said to have smelled a sweet savor. 
From the time of Abel, then, downward through 
the whole course of antediluvian and patriarchal 
history, it appears that the regular and formal 
worship of God mainly consisted in the offering 
of sacrifice with the known sanction and virtual 
appointment of God. 

For us, who from the high vantage-ground of 
a finished redemption can look back upon the 
temporary institutions that foreshadowed it, 
there is neither darkness nor uncertainty re¬ 
specting the jirophetic import of the primeval 
rite of sacrifice. We perceive there in the germ 
the fundamental truth of that scheme of grace 
which was to provide for the complete and final 
restoration of a seed of blessing—the truth of a 
suffering Mediator, giving His life a ransom for 
many. 

5. Cain was wrotii. The practical re¬ 
ligion generally corresponds with the creed. 
Tlie amiable offerer of fruits and flowers, with 
his more gentle conceptions of God, could, not¬ 
withstanding, g(-t very wroth. So experience has 
taught the world since. The natural amiable 
ness that demands a soft and soothing view of 
God, as too good to punish, can yet grow very 
wroth when the issue comes between its creed 
and the gospel creed of an atonement. S. R. 

-What then was the occasion of this capital 

malice ? Abel’s sacrifice is accepted ; what was 
this to Cain? Cain’s is rejected; how could 
Abel remedy this ? 0 envy, the corrosive of all 

ill minds, and the root of all desperate actions : 
the same cause that moved Satan to tempt the 
first man to destroy himself and his posterity, 
moves the second man to destroy the third. It 
should have been Cain’s joj^ to see his brother 
accepted ; it should have been his sorrow to see 
that himself had deserved a rejection, ; his 
brother's example should have excited and di 
reeled him. Could Abel have stayed God’s fire 
from descending ? Was Cain ever the further 
from a blessing, because his brother obtained 
mercy? Bp. IL -That envy is most malig¬ 

nant which is like Cain’s, who envied his brother 
because his sacrifice was better accepted, when 
there was nobody but God to look on. Bacon. 

6 , 7 . God is here reasoning with Cain, to 
convince him of the sin and folly of his anger 
and discontent, and to bring him into a good 
temper again, that further mischief might be 
prevented. It is an instance of God’s patience 
and condescending goodness, that he would 
deal thus tenderly with so bad a man in so bad 
an affair. He is not willing that any should perish, 
hut that all should come to repentance. Thus the 

U 


father of the prodigal argued the case with the 
elder son. And God with those Israelites, who 
said. The way of the Lord is not equal (Ez. 18 : 25). 
God puts Cain himself upon inquiring into the 
cause of his discontent, and considering whether 
it were indeed a ]ust cause. Why is thy counte¬ 
nance fallen ? Observe, that God takes notice of 
all our sinful passions and discontents. There 
is net an angry look, an envious or a fretful 
look, that escapes his observing eve, H. 

7. Sail eouclicth at the door. Thai 
is to say, the Divine warning to Cain is, that 
while he is nursing his angry jealous thoughts, 
Sin, like a ravening beast, as crafty as it is cruel, 
is crouching outside the door of his heart, only 
waiting for the door to be opened by any touch 
of passion to spring in ; and he is admonished 
to keep the door shut lest he be overcome of 
evil, Cox. -Sin lying at the door is an East¬ 

ern figure. Ask a man who is unacquainted with 
Scripture, what he understands by sin lying at 
the threshold of the door ; he will immediately 
speak of it as the guilt of some great crime which 

the owner had committed, lloberts. -‘ ‘ Sin lies 

in ambush, like a wild beast, at the door of thy 
dwelling, that it may spring upon thee when 
thou goest forth.” When the inward declension 
from God has taken jilace, an opportunity only 
is required in order that “ lust, after it has con 
ceived, may bring forth sin and so the sinful 
desire may break forth into the sinful deed. 

Gerl. -Sin past, in its unrequited and unac 

knowledged guilt ; sin present, in its dark and 
stubborn jjassion and despair ; but, above all, 
sin future, as the growing habit of a soul that 
persists in an evil temper, and therefore must 
add iniquity unto iniquitj'’, is awaiting thee at 
the dooi*. This dread warning to Cain, ex 
pressed in the plainest terms, is a standing les 
son for all mankind. Let him who is in the 
wrong retract at once, and return to God with 
humble acknowledgment of his own guilt, and 
unreserved submission to the mercy of his 
Maker ; for to him who perseveres in sin there 

can be no hope or help. M,-There is no 

inexorable destiny, as some falselj' assert, which 
constrains us to anything evil, so long as we do 
not ourselves will it ; temptation comes no fur¬ 
ther than the door, if we do not with our own 

hands remove the bolts. Vayi 0. -If sin be 

harbored in the house, the curse waits at the 
door, like a bailiff, ready to arrest the sinner 
whenever he looks out. It lies as if it slept, 
but it lies at the door where it will soon be 
awaked, and then it will appear that the damna¬ 
tion slumbered not. Sin wiW find thee out (Nura. 
32 :23). H.-God talks with Cain as with a 













CAny’S FRATlilCIDE; PUNISHMENT; DESCENDANTS. 


fl'O 

Kullen child ; unriddles to him what slumbers 
ill his heart, and like a beast of pre}' is lurking 
at the door. The near approach of sin could 
not be more truly or more fearfully pictured. 
And what God did with Cain, that he does with 
every one, if he will but give heed to his own 
heart, and to the voice of God. Herder. 

The moment we let down the standard of 
Christian action, the moment we mingle with 
the world as those impelled by no higher and 
holier purposes, the moment we perform our 
duties with no thought of their relation to God, 
that moment we are exposed to fall. The love 
of gain, an unholy ambition, a selfishness that 
tramples under foot the rights of our neighbor, 
or some other of the passions that lie in wait 
for the defenceless citadel may come in and 
usurp our best affections, and drive religion 
from its throne. The true remedy for incon¬ 
sistent, unfaithful Christians is an immediate 
and active engagedness in all the duties of re¬ 
ligion. If sin has gained possession of thy soul, 


the only way to drive him from thee is by en¬ 
gaging in those duties of which he shuns the 
sight ; and feeling “ how awful goodness is,” 
he will shrink away and trouble thee no more. 

Homer. -He who warned Cain that the 

croucher was at his door, would have helped 
Cain to repel him. He who warns us that sin is 
our subtle and implacable antagonist, will help 
us to detect its wiles and to withstand its as¬ 
saults. It only needs that Christ show himself 
on our side, and evil wdll not court another 
overthrow. Behold He stands at the door—the 
door so often opened to the croucher —and 
knocks : and if any man hear his voice, and 
open the door. He will come in, treading in the 
steps of the croucher, and with his pure and 
blessed feet obliterating the foul tracks of evil, 
making our purified hearts temples not all un¬ 
meet for his presence and service and praise. 
We have only to bid Him enter, and the victor 
over sin will give us the victory. Cox. 




Section 28. 

; CAIN’S FRATRICIDE. PUNISHMENT. DESCENDANTS. 

I 

Genesis 4 :8-24. 

And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, 
9 and slew him. And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I 

10 know not : am I my brother’s keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy 

11 brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now cursed art thou from the ground, 

12 which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand ; when thou tillest 
the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength ; a fugitive and a wanderer 

13 shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain said unto the Lord, My puniahment is greater than I 

14 can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the ground ; and from 
thy face shall I be hid ; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth ; and it shall 

15 come to pass, that whosoever findeth me shall slay me. And the Lord said unto him. There 
fore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord ap¬ 
pointed a sign for Cain, lest any finding him should smite him. 

16 And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east 

17 of Eden. And Cain knew his wife ; and she conceived, and bare Enoch : and he builded a 

18 city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. And unto Enoch was 
born Irad : and Irad begat Mehujael : and Mehujael begat Methusael ; and Methusael begat 

19 Lamech. And Lamech took unto him two wives : the name of the one was Adah, and the 

20 name of the other Zillah. And Adah bare Jabal : he was the father of such as dwell in tents 

21 and hane cattle. And his brother’s name was Jubal ; he was the father of all such as handle 

22 the harp and pipe. And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, the forger of every cutting instru- 











SECTION 2S.-GENESIS 4 : S-24. 211 

.'ii3 ment of brass and iron ; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naarnali. And Lamech said unto 
his wives : 

Adah and Ziliah, hear my voice ; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech : 

For I have slain a man for wounding me, and a young man for bruising me : 

24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold. 


Cain rose up against Abel liis 
brother, and slew liiin. The murderous 
deed of Cain affords a terrible illustration of the 
words in which the Lord Jesus has taught us, 
that angry bitter feelings against a brother are 
in reality murder, showing us what is, so to 
speak, the full outcome of self-willedness, of 

anger, envy, and jealousy. A. E.-When 

they were in the field, and therefore out of view, 
he rose up against his brother and slew him. 
The deed is done that cannot be recalled. Sel¬ 
fishness, wounded pride, jealousy, and a guilty 
conscience were all at work. Here, then, is sin 
following upon sin, proving the truth of the 
warning given in the merciful forbearance of 

God. M.-Of a creature, come fresh, living, 

and pure from the beneficent Creator’s hands, 
the least we can think is that there must have 
been in his soul the principle of all kind affec¬ 
tions,—all benevolent sympathies ; a disposi¬ 
tion to be happier for the happiness of a kindred 
being ; a delight in promoting it ; a sense of re¬ 
ciprocal right,—of benevolent justice ; no tinc¬ 
ture of a wrongful selfishness ; a state of feeling 
that would have been struck with horror at the 
thought of inflicting suffering. Yet in this 
original family, in the ver 3 '^ first degree of the 
descent, malignity and slaughter began. Men 
may argue and quibble as long as it will amuse 
them against our notion of “ the Fall." —Here 
w^as Fall enough ! —and demonstration enough 
•—how deep ! J. F. 

This is the first triumph of Satan ; it is not 
merely a death that he has introduced, but a 
violent one, as the first-fruits of sin. It is not 
the death of an ordinary person ; but of the 
most hoty man then in being : it is not brought 
about by the providence of God or by a gradual 
failure and destruction of the earthlj’^ fabric, but 
a violent separation of body and soul : it is not 
done by a common enemy, but by the hand of a 
brother; and for no other reason than this, the 
object of his env}’' was more righteous than him- 
self, Alas ! how exceeding sinful does sin ap¬ 
pear in its first manifestation! A. C.-The 

first man that ever was born is represented as 
a murderer ; and the first person that ever died, 
as murdered. These were the effects of Adam’s 
transgression. The guilt of it was manifested 
in his first-born, and its destructive conse¬ 
quences in his second. Bp. Conyheare. 


As Abel leads the van in the noble army of 
martyrs, so Cain stands in the front of the ignoble 
armj' of persecutors (Jude 11). So early did he 
that was after the flesh persecute him that was after 
the spirit; so it is now, and so it will be till tbe 
war shall end in the eternal salvation of all the 
saints and the eternal perdition of all that hate 
them. See wdiat comes of envy, hatred, malice, 
and all uncharitableness ; if they be indulged and 
cherished in the soul they are in danger of in¬ 
volving men in the guilt of murder itself. 
Rash anger is heart-murder (Matt. 5 :21, 22). 
Much more is malice so ; he that bates his 
brother is already a murderer before God: and 
if God leave him to himself he wants nothing 
but an opportunity of being a murderer before 
the world. Many were the aggravations of Cain’s 
sin It was his own brother that he murdered ; 
his own mother’s son, whom he ought to have 
loved ; his younger brother, whom he ought to 
have protected. He was a good brother ; one 
who had never given him the least provocation ; 
but one whose desire had been always toward 
him. That which the scripture tells us was the 
reason for which he slew him was a sufficient 
aggravation of the murder ; it was because his 
own works were evil and his brother's righteous, so 
that herein he showed himself to be of that 
wicked one (1 John 3 :12). In killing his brother 
he directly struck at God himself ; for God ac¬ 
cepting of Abel was the provocation pretended ; 
and for that very reason he hated Abel, because 
God loved him. . . . Death reigned ever since 
Adam sinned, but we read not of any taken 
captive by him till now ; and now the first that 
dies is a saint, one that was accepted and be¬ 
loved of God ; to show that though the prom¬ 
ised Seed was so far to destroy him that had 
the power of death as to save believers from its 
sting, j^etthat still they should be exposed to its 
stroke. The first that went to the grave went to 
heaven ; God would secure to himself the first- 
fruits, the first-born to the dead. The first that 
dies is a martyr and dies for his religion ; and 
of such it may more truly be said than of sol. 
diers, that they die in the field of honor, Abel’s 
death has not only no curse in it, but it has a 
crown in it, H. 

Who dare measure God’s love by outward 
events, when he sees wicked Cain standing over 
bleeding Abel ; whose sacrifice was first ao- 







212 


CAm^S FRATRICIDE; PUNISHMENT. 


cepted, and now himself is sacrificed ? Death 
■was denounced to man as a curse ; yet, behold, 
it first lights upon a saint ; how soon was it 
altered by the mercy of that just hand which 
indicted it ! If death had been evil and life 
good, Cain had been slain and Abel had sur- 
■vived ; now that it begins with him that God 
loves, “ O death, where is thy sting?” Bp. II. 
-The early death of Abel can be no punish¬ 
ment ; he seemed in fact to enjoy the peculiar 
favor of God ; his offering was graciously ac¬ 
cepted, We find, therefore, in this narrative 
the great and beautiful thought, that life is not 
ttie highest boon ; that the pious find abetter 
existence and a more blessed reward in another 
and a purer sphere ; but that crime and guilt 
are the greatest evils ; that they are punished 
by a long and wearisome life, full of fear and 
care and compunction of conscience. Kalisch. 

We cannot conceive that the circumstances 
attending this first infliction of death upon man 
could have been ordered by providence so as to 
testify more plainly the great truth of a future 
stale of recompense, had this been the sole pur¬ 
pose for which they were designed. To con¬ 
ceive that a just and merciful God should openly 
approve the sacrifice of Abel, and yet permit 
him, in consequence of that very action, to suf¬ 
fer a cruel death, which put a final period to 
his existence ; while his murderer, whom the 
same God openly condemned, was yet permitted 
to live ; all this is so contradictory to the divine 
attributes, as to prove beyond possibility of 
doubt that this event was permitted to take 
place, partly at least, in order to show that 
death was not a final extinction of being, but a 
passage from this world to another where the 
righteous shoirld be recompensed for their ad¬ 
herence to the will of their heavenly father, in 
opposition to suffering and death, by a sure and 
eternal reward. Graves. -The patriarchs be¬ 

fore and after Job, and the Israelites before 
Christ, had a notion of a future state. By sac¬ 
rifices was plainly shown that a way was open 
to the divine favor and acceptance ; and the 
favor of God imj)orts happiness ; which to 
Abel, ■vi’^ho because he was accepted of God was 
unjustly slain, could be only in a future state ; 
and dying on account of that faith “he speak- 
eth” an invisible future state of reward. Bp. 
Taylor. -It is clearly expressed in the Penta¬ 

teuch that the relation of the righteous to God is not \ 
cancelled after death. The blood of the murdered 
Abel cries to God. The relation into which 
God entered with the patriarchs continues ; for, 
long after tfie patriarchs had fallen asleep, he 
calls himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and 


Jacob. “ But God is not a God of the dead, 
but of the living.” To him who has an eternal 
value for God an eternal existence is assured. O. 

9. Where is Ahefl tliy hrotherf This 
reminds us of the question put to the hiding 
Adam, “ Where art thou?” It is calculated to 
strike the conscience. The reply is different 
from that of Adam. The sin has now advanced 
from hasty, incautious yielding to the tempter, 
to reiterated and deliberate disobedience. 8uch 
a sinner must take different ground. Cain, there¬ 
fore, attempts to parry the question, aj^parently 
on the vain supposition that no eye, not even 
that of the All-seeing, was present t<o witness 
the deed. “ I know not.” In the madness of 
his confusion he goes further. He disputes the 
right of the Almighty to make the demand. 
“Am I my brother’s keeper?” There is, as 
usual, an atom of truth mingled with the amaz¬ 
ing falsehood of this response. No man is the 
absolute keeper of his brother, so as to be re- 
si^onsible for his safety when he is not present. 
This is what Cain means to insinuate. But 
every man is his brother’s keeper so far that he 
is not himself to lay the hand of violence on 
him, nor suffer another to do so if he can hinder 
it. This sort of keeping the Almighty has a 
right to demand of every one,—the first jjart of 
it on the ground of mere justice, the second on 
that of love. But Cain’s reply betrays a desper¬ 
ate resort to falsehood, a total estrangement of 
feeling, a quenching of brotherly love, a pre¬ 
dominance of that selfishness which freezes 
affection and kindles hatred. This is the way 

of Cain (Jude 11). M.-Those are strangely 

blind that think it possible to conceal their sins 
from a God that sees all ; and those are strangely 
hard that think it desirable to conceal them 
from a God who pardons those only that con¬ 
fess. He impudently charges his Judge with 
folly and injustice, in putting this question to 

him, Am 1 my brother's keeper? H.-We see 

here, in the sin and in the defiant, hardened 
state after its comj^letion, as in comparison 
with Adam’s, the progress of corruption. Gerl. 

-For this complication of crimes, envy, which 

led him to murder his brother, and then to at¬ 
tempt to hide it by a lie, and by an insolent re¬ 
bellious answer to God, Cain is ‘styled in the 
New Testament, a child “ of that wicked one” 
(1 John 3 ; 12), as imitating his works, who 
I through envy seduced our first parents, and was 
a “liar” and a “murderer” from the begin¬ 
ning. Hales. 

With regard to worldly concerns, men are 
proud to acknowledge their power over each 
other ; they make it their boast. But go to such 











SECTION 2S.~GENESIS 4 : S-24. 


213 


% boaster and ask him what he has done for the 
souls of his fellow-inen ; whether he has ever 
communicated one spiritual truth ; whether 
tbere has been a religious power speaking forth 
from his life ; whether, in short, the world is any 
better for his living m it : and he will start from 
you with surprise, and the language you read 
in his perturbed countenance is, ’ Am I my 
brother’s keeper ?” Iforner. 

Da. Cursed art tBaoii. The first record 
of justice that was in the world was a judgment 
upon a murderer, in the person of Adam's first¬ 
born, Cain ; and though it was not punished by 
death, but with banishment and mark of igno¬ 
miny, in respect of the primogeniture or popu¬ 
lation of the world or other points of God’s 
secret decree, yet it was judged, and was the 

first record of justice. Bacon. -The curse of 

Adam’s disobedience terminated on the ground. 
Cursed is Ihe ground for thy sake ; but that for 
Cain's rebellion fell immediately upon himself. 
Thou art cursed. The wickedness of the wicked 
brings a curse upon all they do, arid all they 
have, and that curse embitters all they have, 
and disappoints them in all they do. H. 

14. From file fare of liic land. The 
home of his childhood and his fathers. From 
thy face shall I he hid. That is, from the place 
of God’s special presence, from the seat of his 
worship, from the habitation of his Shechinah, 
from the society of his father and family, and 
consequently from the only church which God 
then had upon earth. It was therefoi*e a virtual 
excommunication from the highest religious 
privileges which could then be enjoyed. If Ibis 
be the import of the words (and we know of 
none so probable), it implies that the worship 
of God was there kept up, and that God was 

with them. Bush. - Every one that jindeih 

me shall slay me. To the lawless, vindictive 
Cain, nothing would be more natural than the 
thought that somewhere in the unknown waste 
there might be beings like himself, and who 
might be as malignant to him as he had been to 
his slain brother. We may saj^ too, that Cain’s 
awful guilt gave a preternatural power to his 
imagination. T. L. 

It is clear from the language of-the fratricide, 
that communion with God nad been hitherto 
maintained in a given locality— that in that 
scene of the Shechinah Cain now expected his 
complaint to be heard and answered, but that, 
if exiled beyond its precincts, he should be 
driven forth beyond the circle sacred to the 
worship of God, and to the visible displays of 
His presence. Upward of a century had then 
elapsed from the hour of the Fall, and numer¬ 


ous children had probably been born mean¬ 
while, and here, during the long iuterval, God 
had graciously met with His first human wor¬ 
shippers, " from between the cherubim,’' and 
“ communed with” them. J. H. 

According to hints gathered from ver. 2d, 
the murder of Abel probably took place just be¬ 
fore the birth of Seth, i.e., 130 years after the 
creation of man. We need not suppose that 
Cain, Abel, and Seth were the only sons of 
Adam. From Gen. 5 :4, we infer that there 
were others. Cain, Abel, and Seth are men¬ 
tioned for obvious reasons ; Abel for his piety 
and his early death, Cain for his wickedness 
and the worldly wisdom of his posterity, Seth 
because he was the ancestor of the promised 
seed. There may then, in 130 years, have grown 
up a very considerable number of children and 

grandchildren to Adam and Eve. E. 11. B.- 

Cain and Abel may have had a considerable 
number of children and grandchildren at this 
time ; and allowing for other possible children 
I of Adam and Eve, there must have been at the 
i time a considerable number of persons in the 
I world—quite sufficient to account for Cain’s 
I dread of being slain for the murder of Abel ; 
and also for his building a city soon after his 
migration. Kit. 

0 1. Wlao*ioever Hnclctla ciic sliall 
sSiiy me. He that feared not to kill his 
brother, fears now that whosoever meets him 
will kill him. Tliie troubled conscience project- 
i eth fearful things, and sin makes even cruel 
men cowardl 3 ^ How bitter is the end of sin, 
yea, without end ! Cain finds that he killed 
himself more than his brother. We should 
never sin if our foresight were but as good as 
our sense : the issue of sin would appear a 
thousand times more horrible than the act is 

pleasant. Bp. II. -And in the remorse and 

terror that weighed him down and chased him 
through the land of “ wandering,” haunted by 
the presence of God and the threatening spec¬ 
tral hand of man, and that made him build his 
fenced city or stronghold, like some mediaeval 
robber’s castle, we read by anticipation the 
vivid pictures of the masters of tragedy and 
romance, or the facts of actual occurrence. 

S. C. B.-Mr. Webster, in the trial of the 

Knapps, described not the extraordinary, but the 
normal and ordinary workings of conscience in 
all ages, and for all crimes. “ He had done the 
murder. No eye has seen him, no ear has heard 
him. The secret is his own, and it is safe. 
All, that was a dreadful mistake. Such a secret 
can be safe nowhere. The whole creation of 
God has neither nook nor corner where the 













214 


CAm'S PUXISHMENT^ DESCENDANTS. 


guilty can bestow it and say it is safe. True, it 
is, that, generally speaking, ‘ murder will out.’ 
Every murderer, like the first one, feels that 
every man’s hand is against him. The guilty 
soul cannot keep its own secret. He feels it 
beatiug at his heart, rising to his throat, and 
demanding disclosure. He thinks the whole 
world sees it in his face, reads it in his eyes, 
and almost hears its workings in the very silence 
of his thoughts. It must be confessed. It will 
be confessed. There is no refuge from confes¬ 
sion but suicide, and suicide is confession.” 
Townsend. 

15. We are to bear in mind that God still 
held the sword of justice in his own immediate 
hands, and had not delegated his authority to 
any human tribunal. It is plain that no man 
has an inherent right to inflict the sanction of 
a broken law on the transgressor. This right 
belongs to the Creator, and derivatively only to 
those whom he has intrusted with the dispensa¬ 
tion of civil government according to established 
laws. The whole dealing of the Almighty was 
calculated to have a softening, conscience¬ 
awakening, and hope-inspiring effect on the 
murderer's heart. M. 

The Lord declares that if any one should fol¬ 
low Cain’s example, he shall incur a far heavier 
penalty, as he ought to have been taught by him 

how horrible the crime was in God’s sight.-- 

Appointed a Not put a mark on him, 

but He gave him a sign as a pledge of His 
promise, by means of which Cain gained confi¬ 
dence, and felt himself secure notwithstanding 

his banishment. Gerl. -Accordingly it is well 

rendered in the Greek, ” God set a sign before 
Cain to persuade him that whosoever should 
find him should not kill him.” As to its being 
a visible mark, brand, or stigma affixed to his 
person, there is no ground whatever for such an 
opinion. Bnsh. 

The rejection of Cain and the acceptance of 
Abel was a rehearsal, in the morning of time, 
of the final judgment. ” This (says F. von 
Schlegel) is the leading subject of primitive his¬ 
tory—the struggle between two races—the first 
great event in universal history.” It com¬ 
menced the grand classification of mankind ; 
and implied that all other distinctions are to be 
merged in the two great classes of the obedient 
and the disobedient. J. H. 


I 


10. Went out from tlie presence of i 
tlie LiOrcl. The story of Cain is the story of | 
all ages. Sin, suffering ; the one following the j 
other by a law fixed and imperative like that by j 
which pain agonizes a burning hand. So far as I 
the narrative informs us, the suffering of the j 


j first murderer was mental suffering. Disease 
did not blast him, chains did not bind him. He 
went his way like other men. He had sons and 
daughters ; he built the first city known in his¬ 
tory, Tradition says that he founded many 
cities and became the head of a great emjjire.' 
Yet Cain lived a life of conscious curse. The 
serpents coiled within. Cursed in thought and 
: in feeling, cursed in fears and in blasted hopes, 
i cursed in one long despair : such was life to the 
first man who bore the fruit of the first matured 
and ripened sin. And such wull be the life of 
the last man who shall go out from the jaresence 
of the Lord, bearing the burden of a finished 
crime unrepented of and unforgiven. Phelps. 

B6. Wesil from ilae pr<*seiicc off tlie 
Lord. Signifies going away from the visible 
symbol of Divine presence in the Cherubim and 
the brightness as of a gleaming sword, and from 
the society of the worshippers of Jehovah. 
In this Cherubim and brightness set up at the 
east of Eden is the original of the Shechinah 
of the dispensation of Moses ; the symbol of 
the Divine presence, as seen in the visions of 
David and Ezekiel, all of which reappear in the 
visions of John through “the door opened in 
heaven,” where the four living creatures that 
stand around the throne about which are the 
four and twenty elders and those countless 
myriads of worshippers who sing “ salvation to 
our God which sitteth upon the throne, and 
unto the Lamb.” It is of special interest, and 
it throws important light on some of the more 
intricate portions of the AVord of God, to mark 
this identity of outward worship through the 
history from the dawn of time onward into the 
heart of the eternity to come. At the same time 
this marked identity between the first worship 
and all succeeding worships reflects light upon 
this saying : “ Went out from the presence of 
Jehovah.”’ It shows that it signified a going 
forth, as an apostate wanderer, from the society 
that ” called upon the name of the Lord.” The 
conflict began between the two men first born c»[ 
the earth, according to the prediction, becomes 
a conflict of races, on through successive genera¬ 
tions, till the earth, brought under the dominion 
of the seed of the devil, all, save a single family, 
is swept away by the waters of vengeance. 

S. R.-Cain departed from God and seemed 

to get on well for a while. He built cities, sought 
out many inventions, his family prospered in 
the world : their whole life seemed to show how 
well man can get on without God. And the 
end of it wms “ the flood came,” and “ they were 
drowned.” An. 

17. He IbuBldecl a city. This furnishes. 















SECTION 28.-GENESIS 4 : 8-24. 


2]:> 


evidence that houses were earlier than tents, 
towns than encampments, and the settled than 
the nomad life. The origin of the tent-dwell¬ 
ing life is afterward ascribed to a period long 
subsequent—the fifth generation from Cain, 
This is not in accordance with the hypothesis 
of those who contend that man advanced pro¬ 
gressively out of the savage state. In the true 
record, the first-born man builds a city, and the 
tent comes later by more than a thousand years. 

-The first men were not wandering and 

ignorant savages, although those who wandered 
from the parent stock and ceased to have any 
connection with it, generally fell into a state of 
barbarism and ignorance. Science, arts, and 
civilization were confined to those who main¬ 
tained their connection with the central stock 
of the first men, or departed in numbers suffi¬ 
cient to enable them to exercise and carry along 
with them the subdivisions of art and labor 
necessary to civilized life. R. Forsyth. 

19-24. The posterity of Ciiin follow in the 
course of estrangement from God on which their 
ancestor had entered. They invent arts, and 
they devise the pleasures of life. The Cainite 
Lamech introduces polygamy, and boastingly 
confides in his own strength, as in his God. 
His son Jabal was the ancestor of the nomadic 
tribes which dwell in tents. Jabal invented 
stringed and wind instruments, Tubal-Gain was 
“instructor of every artificer in brass and 
iron.” These statements, as well as the names 
of his daughter Naamah (the lovely), and of his 
wives Adah (ornament, beauty), and Zillah 
(shade), furnish abundant indications of the 
peculiar development in the family of Cain. K. 

Cain’s tendency to trust in his own wit and 
strength, rather than in the Divine goodness 
which even his sin could not alienate, rose to its 
full height in Lamech and his family ; the in¬ 
termediate steps of the progress being passed 
over by the sacred historian in the case of the 
Cainites as in that of the Sethites. Lamech is 
the seventh from Adam through Cain, just as 
Enoch is seventh from Adam through Seth ; and 
as in Enoch the characteristics of the line of 
Seth came to a head, so also the characteristics 
of the line of Cain came to a head in Lamech 
and his children. They invent the arts, but 
they also serve the lusts of the flesh. While the 
Sethites rise into “ sons of God,’’ the Cainites, 
despite their grand gifts, sink into mere “ chil¬ 
dren of men.’’ Cox. 

19. Lainecli took unto him two 
wives. The first example of polygamy. The 
origin of this institution is consequently carried 
.jack to the race of the accursed one, and placed 


at the eve of the Deluge, when “ all flesh had 
corrupted his way lipori the earth.” As Knobel 
has rightly acknowledged, tliere is here a formal 
condemnation of polygamy, just as the words of 
Gen. 2 : 24 give a divine sanction to monogamy. 

Lenormant. -He is the first of the human 

race who had more wives than one. The father 
of a family of inventors, this was his invention, 
his legacy, to the human race—a legacy whicn 
perhaps the larger half of men still inherit, tq 

their cost and oursv Cox. -Polygamy was an 

infraction of a natural appointment. The in¬ 
equality’ which it produced in the distribution 
of the sex ; the distraction of affection ; the 
domestic jealousies ; the degradation of the wom¬ 
an ; the prison-like surveillance of her move- 
ments thus made necessary ; the diminished 
number of healthy children resulting from such 
concubinage ; and their necessary want of pa¬ 
rental education—all proclaim that polygamy is 
a violation of the domestic constitr«tion. The 
most favorable circumstances in which such an 
experiment could be made was in Patriarchal 
times. But those are the very times which de¬ 
note that in no case can the Divine arrangement 
on tho subject be departed from with impunity. 
Indeed, the first reference to the evil, in the 
fragmentary allusion to antediluvian Lamech, 
is of a kind ominous of a train of alarming re¬ 
sults. J. H. 

In Lamech we have only the extreme type of 
a large class,—men who take the sensuous view 
of life. These are they who, without inten¬ 
tional or deliberate wickedness perhaps, forget 
God, or quietly and habitually ignore him ; 
whose real trust is in their own strength and 
wit ; who believe wisdom to be a defence, and 
wealth a defence, and trained and organized 
power a defence, and that they need not go be¬ 
yond these. They are sufficient to themselves, 
whether in the toil and conflict of life, or in 
its hours of ease and relaxation. They can find 
all the delights they need in music, or poetry, 
j or some of the kindred arts which wait to min- 
i ister at their call ; and they never or rarely rise 
beyond these, never taste the joys of a spiritujil 
j communion with God, or look forward with de¬ 
sire to the services and felicities of the heav¬ 
enly world. Cox. 

20. Jabal was tlic fallier of such as 
dwell ia Icilts. A proof that this was not 
the primitive manner of life. Contrary to the 
pagan notion, that man commenced life on the 
earth as a savage, we here see that he has to 
retrograde in order to approach that condition. 
Nor, indeed, have we any trace of the strictly 
savage or hunting condition of life, until after 













‘216 


SOIfS OF LAMECH; JUS SWOBE-SOFG. 


the Deluge, In the conduct of Jabal, however, 
who introduced or promoted the change from a 
nettled to a wandering life, we see the way in 
which a course of retrogradation might easily 
begin. J. H.-Man had existed thirteen cen¬ 

turies upon the earth before the nomad life 
began. In Jabal’s time men were taught to cast 
off the restraints of living in towns and villages, 
and to betake themselves wholly to pasture-^, 
dwelling in portable habitations, and removing 
from place to place for the convenience of pas¬ 
turage. This is a mode of life frequently brought 
under our notice in the Scriptures, being essen¬ 
tially that of the patriarchs whose history occu¬ 
pies the greater portion of th<^ book of Genesis. 
Kil. 

21 . Juhal appears as the ancestor of those 
who handle the stringed and wind instruments. 
It is remarkable how far back in antiquity we 
encounter musical instruments, and that too in 
great variety. We cannot find their origin, but 
they meet us in the full stream. Egypt fur¬ 
nishes both the oldest and most abundant ex¬ 
hibition. “ Paintings on the tombs of the ear¬ 
liest times” exhibit their fondness for instru¬ 
mental music, which blossomed out into a sin¬ 
gular variety of instruments. They had their 
drums, their tambourines of three kinds, clap¬ 
pers, cymbals and trumpets, flutes of reed, 
wood, bone and ivory, single pipes with three 
and with four holes, double pipes, and stringed 
instruments of much greater variety in form and 
number of strings than are in modern use. 
Thus the stringed and wind instruments of 
music antedate all other history than that of 
the Pentateuch. 

22. The third of this family group, Tabal- 
(Jain, was “ an instructor of every artificer in 
brass and iron,” or as most modern scholars 
render it, substantially, a “ forger of all tools 
(or implements) of brass and iron.” Here we 
strike the origin of metallurgy, especially the 
working of brass—or rather bronze or copper— 
and iron. It is noteworthy that early researches 
bring us very little of pure copper ; but the 
main supply of metallic implements is of bronze, 
a compound of copper and tin. Copper is 
comparatively fusible and malleable, and is 
found in combinations much more manageable 
than iron, and is abundant in the region of 
Armenia and the neighboring countries. Bronze 
abounds in Egypt from the earliest times, a cast 
cylinder bearing the name of Pepi of the sixth 
djmasty However far back of the confines of 
all recorded history except this Pentateuch we 
go, M’e encounter bronze coming down from be¬ 
yond in comparative abundance as one of the 


very earliest forms of metallurgy, and in the 
very regions to which it is assigned, and w^here 
it is still to be found. S. C. B. 

A rarely gifted family this, a family to which 
all the world owes an enormous debt to this 
very day ; and yet a wicked family—forgetting 
God, and relying on their own great wit and 
strength. We need to remember that, and to 
learn from it that there is no necessary connec¬ 
tion between gifts and goodness. But we 
should also mark how frank and honest a bock 
the Bible is. It brands the children of Cain as 
the ungodly race : but it tells us how splendidly 
thej'’ were endowed, how much we owe them. 
Let us mark, too, how even ungodly men may 
serve their race and be God’s instruments for 
good, inventing arts which in purer hands be¬ 
come most helpful and ennobling. Oox. -The 

scope of this notice of the Cainite race seems 
to be to represent them as advancing in all 
worldly arts and arms, and becoming exceed¬ 
ingly prosperous on earth : but unconnected 
with the worship of Jehovah. The race are 
never named after this chapter. AJf. 

23, 24. The song of Lamech. It is in connec¬ 
tion with the later development of evil in the 
Cainites that Lamech’s song is introduced, and 
with special reference to that portion of his 
family who were makers of instruments in brass 
and iron—instruments chiefly of a warlike kind. 
It is only by viewing the song in that connec¬ 
tion that we perceive its full meaning and its 
proper jDlace, as intended to indicate that the 
evil was approaching its final stage. He means 
apparently, that with such weapons as he had 
now at command he could execute at will deeds 
of retaliation and slaughter. So that his song 
may be regarded “ as an ode of triumph on the 
invention of the sword. He can provide more 
amply for his own protection than God did for 
Cain’s ; and he congratulates his wives on being 
the mothers of such sons. Thus the history of 
the Cainites began with a deed of murder, and 
here it ends with a song of murder.” (Drechs- 
ler.) P. F. 

In this is uttered that Titanic haughtiness of 
which it is said (Hab. 1:11) that his strength 
is his God, and (Job 12 ; 6) that he carries his 

God, namely his sword, in his fist. Del'd. -As 

it was a sword-song, so was it a blood-song, an 
utterance of ” titanic insolence” and ferocity. 
It well illustrates how polygamy and cruelty, 
lust and fierceness go hand in hand, and how 
the antediluvian chivalry that could name its 
women, “Shade” and “Beauty” and “Pleas¬ 
antness,” and sing to them poetic strains, could 
summon them to witness its ruthless revenge. 







SECTION 28.—GENESIS 4 : S-24. 


217 


In it lay already the expression of the spirit 
that soon filled the world with violence, and 
called imperatively for that later edict of God, 
“ Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall 
his blood be shed.” S. C. B. 

This short ode has all the characteristics of 
the most perfect Hebrew poetry. Every j^air 
of lines is a specimen of the Hebrew parallel¬ 
ism, the second member reiterating with em¬ 
phasis the first. The line of Cain is traced only 
to the seventh generation, and thus far in order 
to point out the origin of the arts of life. M. 


From the whole narrative it may be confi¬ 
dently inferr,ed, that the descendants of Cain 
were endowed with a superior genius, and were 
the first who made themselves celebrated by 
the discovery and improvements of arts and 
sciences. Superior genius, united with extra¬ 
ordinary attainments, are, in themselves, valu¬ 
able gifts ; but when they are dissevered from 
the fear of God, nothing tends more powerfully 
to intoxicate and corrupt the heart. These en¬ 
venom it with pride, supply the sophistry which 
supports impiety, and extend the means and 
enlarge the capacity of doing mischief. They 
have a peculiar tendency to produce that confi¬ 
dence in human reason, that reliance on arms 
of flesh, which indisposes man to seek after 
God. R. Hall. 

Every step in material civilization was a step 
onward in evil. Not, indeed, that this was a 
necessary result ; but just because that material 
progress, instead of being put under moral 
control, was placed in antagonism to it. The 
“ fruit of the vine” became the means of in¬ 
temperance. The fine arts, as far as they were 
practised, pandered to the passions ; and even 
if they refined them, procured for their indul¬ 
gence softer names than before, under which 
they might be followed with greater impunity. 
The products of a new territory ministered to 
luxury, and led to wars for its possession. 
Wealth became equivalent to vice ; and power 
to oppression. A.nd thus, after ages of growing 
degeneracy, the antediluvians illustrated the 
truth, so often exemplified since, that, in the 


absence of moral principle, it is not only possi¬ 
ble, but certain, that people will reach ihe 
highest point of material civilization, and the 
lowest point of social demoralization at the 
same time. J. H. 

It is no uncommon thing in our day to hear 
extravagant eulogies of a certain materialistic 
civilization—of inventions, of arts, of material 
wealth and luxury—which is to sweep before it 
all inferior civilization, and whose “manifest 
destiny” is to reign supreme all over the con¬ 
tinent. It is, however, curious, as well as sad, 
to see how precisely this civilization seems to 
run in the line of the high civilization of Cain’s 
famil}’’ ; how as it advances it becomes more 
godless ; how it learns by the logic of Lamech 
to reason away all fear of the penalty of sin ; 
how it loses sight of all the profound truths 
taught directly by Jehovah, when of old its 
ancestry stood yet in the presence of Jehovah ; 
and how in its impious effrontery and giant 
wickedness it provokes the Almighty to sweep 
it off the earth as a filthj' nuisance. Now let it 
be borne in mind that all civilizations that “ go 
out from the presence of God ’ ’ are not such as 
suit the true interests of man the sinner. His 
civilization is divinely ordained to him. “ Seek 
first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.’ ’ 
S. R. 

It is very remarkable that w^e perceive in the 
Cainite race those very things which afterward 
formed the characteristics of heathenism, as we 
find it among the most advanced nations of an¬ 
tiquity, such as Greece and Rome. Over their 
family-life might be written, as it were, the 
names Adah, Zillah, Naamah ; over their civil 
life the “ sword-song of Lamech,” which indeed 
strikes the key-note of ancient heathen society ; 
and over their culture and pursuits, the abstra< t 
of the biographies which Scripture furnishes us 
of the descendants of Cain. And as their lives 
have been buried in the flood, so has a great 
flood also swept away heathenism -its life, cult¬ 
ure, and civilization from the earth, and only 
left on the mountain-top that ark into which 
God had shut up them who believed His warn¬ 
ings and His promises. A. E. 










218 


ADAM 10 NOAH. 


Section 29. 

ADAM TO NOAH. 


Genesis 4 : 25, 26 ; 5 : 1-32. 


4 ; 25 And Adam knew his wife again ; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth ; For, 
26 said she, God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel ; for Cain slew him. And 
to Seth, to him also there was born a son ; and he called his name Enosh ; then began men 
to call upon the name of the Lord. 

5 : 1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the 

2 likeness of God made he him ; male and female created he them ; and blessed them, and 

3 called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. And xidam lived an hundred 
and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image ; and called his name 

4 Seth : and the days of Adam after he begat Seth were eight hundred years ; and he begat 

5 sons and daughters. And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty 

6 years : and he died. And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enosh : and 

7 Seth lived after he begat Enosh eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and 

8 daughters ; and all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years ; and he died, 

9 And Enosh lived ninety years, and begat Kenan : and Enosh lived after he begat Kenan 

10 eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters : and all the days of Enosh 

11 were nine hundred and five years : and he died. And Kenan lived seventy years, and 

12 begat Mahalalel : and Kenan lived after he begat Mahalalel eight hundred and forty years, 

13 and begat sons and daughters : and all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years : 

14 and he died. And Mahalalel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared : and Mahalalel 

15 lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters : 

16 and all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred ninety and five years : and he died. 

17 And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and begat Enoch : and Jared lived after 

18 he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters : and all the days of 

19 Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years : and he died. And Enoch lived sixty and 

20 five years, and begat Methuselah : and Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah 

21 three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters : and all the days of Enoch were three 

22 hundred sixty and five years : and Enoch walked with God : and he was not ; for God 

23 took him. And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech : 

24 and Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat 

25 sons and daughters: and all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred, sixty and nine 

26 years ; and he died. And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a 

27 son : and he called his name Noah, saying. This same shall comfort us for our work and 

28 for the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed. And 

29 Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and 

30 daughters : and all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years : and 

31 he died. 

32 And Noah was five hundred ,years old : and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 


4:25. For Ood liatli appointed me 
anotlier seed instead of Ahel. He is 

to be instead of Abel, and God-fearing like 
Abel. She receives this gift from God, and in 
faith expects him to be the seed of God, the par¬ 
ent of a godly race. Her faith was not disap¬ 
pointed. His descendants earn the name of the 
sons of God. As the ungodly are called the 
seed of the serpent, because they are of his spirit, 
so the godly are designated the seed of God, be¬ 
cause they are of God’s Spirit. The Spirit of 
God strives and rules in them, and so they are, 


in the graphic language of Scripture, the sons 

of God (6 ; 1). M.-Now first, the law of 

primogeniture—so often afterward set aside by 
the Divine choice of a younger son—was dis¬ 
paraged in the rejection of the first-born, Cain. 
The adoption of Abel and of Seth in his stead 
was the Divine inauguration of character to the 
highest distinctions in the kingdom of God. 
J. H. 

The brief notices of antediluvian history are 
evidently framed for the purpose of exhibiting 
the antagonistic state and tendencies of these 





SECTION 29.~-GENESlS 4 : 25, 26; 5 : 1-32. 


219 


two seeds, and of rendering manifest the mighty 
difference which God’s work of grace was des¬ 
tined to make in the character and prospects 
of man. The name given by Eve to her third 
son, with the reason assigned for it, bespoke 
the insight the common mother of mankind had 
now obtained into this mournful division in her 
offspring. Cain seems now to her view to stand 
at the head of a God-opposing interest in the 
world ; and God is seen mercifully providing 
another in its room. P. F. 

26. To Setii WHS born a son. Seth is 
the ancestor of a family, which, continuing in 
the faith, become heirs of the promise, and 
whose aims, character, and tendency are in 
direct contrast to those of Cain. The separa¬ 
tion of the race into Sethites and Cainites was 
not stopped by the circumstance that Adam 
begat many other sons and daughters. Accord¬ 
ing to their respective tendencies, these would 

join either the one or the other party. K.- 

From the creation of man to the destruction of 
men by the Flood the current of human history 
flows in two main streams, streams which run 
apart for seven generations, and then com¬ 
mingle only to fall and be lost in the cavern of 
a common doom. On the one hand, we have 
the Cainites, that is, Cain and his descendants, 
busily occupied with the arts and inventions of 
life ; and, on the other hand, we have the 
Sethites, that is, Seth and his descendants, who 
remain “ upright” in the Biblical sense, and do 
not seek out inventions, who hold fast their al¬ 
legiance to God, and live the simple orderly life 
He ordained for primitive man. Cox -Noth¬ 

ing can be more natural or probable than the 
difference of character and development in the 
descendants of Cain and Seth respectively. In 
the former we see the children of this world 
wise in their generation, rapidly advancing in 
art and the acquirement of riches, but sensual, 
violent and godless. In the latter we find less 
of social and political advancement, but a life 
more regulated by the dictates of conscience and 
by faith in the Providence and Grace of God. 
E. H. B. 

Especially does this vital difference between 
the two races appear in the words which follow 
upon the notice of Enos’ birth : “ Then began 
men to call upon the name of Jehovah.” It 
cannot be supposed that before that time prayer 
and the praise of God had been wholly unknown 
in the earth. Even the sacrifices of Cain and 
of Abel prove the contrary. It must therefore 
mean, that the vital difference which had all 
along existed between the two races, became 
now also outwardly manifest by a distinct and 


’ open profession, and by the praise of God on 
the part of the Sethites. A. E.-This expres¬ 

sion refers to the first institution of the regular, 

solemn, public worship of Jehovah. K- 

Growing man now comprehends all that is im¬ 
plied in the proper name of God, Jehovah, the 
author of being, of promise, and of perform- 
I ance. The new form of worship attracts the 
attention of the early world, and the record is 
made, “ Then began men to call upon the name 
of Jehovah, ” that keepeth covenant and mercy. 
M. 

An altar of stones or of turf, on which the 
gifts from the field or from the sheepfold were 
deposited, and beside which stood the father of 
the family as priest, setting forth with reverence 
the majesty and the glory of God ; the house¬ 
hold around him listen to the narrative of the 
marvels.of creation, the blessedness of paradise, 
the origin and the result of sin ; and then per¬ 
chance their lips send forth a song of praise, — 
see here the outlines of the first worship of 
God, not instituted, but born of the inmost im¬ 
pulse of the heart. The calling on the name of 
the Lord, of course not with the lips alone, but 
with a heart turned toward him ; adoration and 
thanksgiving with a heavenward glance, in 
which nothing less than the whole soul is 
placed ; mutual fellowship, in which he is him¬ 
self the living centre : see here the characteris¬ 
tics of the worshipper such as the Father seeks. 

Van O.-Now, that Cain and those who had 

deserted religion had built a city and begun to 
declare for impiety and irreligion, and called 
themselves the Sons of men ; those that adhered 
to God began to declare for him and his wor¬ 
ship, and called themselves the Sons of God. 
Now began the distinction between professors 
and profane, which has been kept up ever since 
and will be while the world stands. H. 

5 : Both Adam and Eve are associated 

with this seed of blessing. “ And Adam lived 
an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in 
his own likeness, after his image, and called his 
name Seth —as if his progeny before this were 
not to be reckoned—the child of grace had per¬ 
ished, and the other in a spiritual sense was 
not. Adam, therefore, is here distinctly placed 
at the head of a spiritual offspring —himself, 
with his partner, the first link in the grand 
chain of blessing. And the likeness in which 
he begat his son-“ his own image”—must not 
be limited to the corruption that now marred 
the purity of his nature—as if his image stood 
simply in contrast to God’s. It is as the 
parental head of the whole lineage of believers 
that he is represented, and such a sharp con- 









220 


ADAM TO NOAH. 


trast would here especially be out of place. 

P. F.-God in His infinite grace now opened 

to man another path. He set before him the 
hope of faith. All who rejected this hope 
would naturally choose the world as it was ; 
and, satisfied there.vith, try to establish them¬ 
selves in the earth, claim it as their own, enjoy 
its pleasures and lusts, and cultivate its arts. 
On the other hand, one who embraced the 
promises would consider himself a pilgrim and 
a stranger in this earth, and both in heart and 
'outward conduct show thut he believed in and 
waited for the fulfilment of the promise. The 
one describes the history of Cain and of his 
race ; the other that of Abel, and afterward of 
Seth and of his descendants For around these 
two—Cain and Seth—as their representatives, 
all the children of Adam would group themselves 
according to their spiritual tendencies. A. E. 

The Rxiok <>f the ^eiieratioiis of 
Adiliil. This section is the groundwork of all 
attempts to frame a chronology of the antedilu¬ 
vian period, but is obviously unfitted for this 
purpose ; for it has come down to us in three 
shapes, of which the Samaritan makes the space 
from Adam to the flood 1307 j'ears, the Hebrew 
text in its present form 1056, and the Greek 
text of the Septuagint 2262 years. Which of 
these texts is of primary authority, no living 
scholar would venture to say. The object of 
the section, besides giving us the genealogy of 
the Messiah, is to introduce the account of the 
general corruption of mankind leading on to 
the flood. E.. P. S. 

We now enter upon the ihird of the larger 
documents contained in Genesis. The first is a 
diary, the second is a history, the third a gene¬ 
alogy. This chapter contains the line from 
Adam to Noah, in which are stated some com¬ 
mon particulars concerning all, and certain 
special details concerning three of them. The 
genealogy is traced to the tenth in descent from 
Adam, and terminates with the flood. The 
scope of the chapter is to mark out the line of 
faith and hope and holiness from Adam, the 
first head of the human race, to Noah, who be¬ 
came eventually the second natural head of 
it. M. 

3 . Here commences the series of genealogical 
tables, which, though interrupted by the narra¬ 
tive, is continued throughout this book in such 
a manner as to make up a regularly connected 
chain. These genealogical tables form the out¬ 
ward framework on which the history is built, 
and which consists for the most part of mere 
names, during a period of more than 1500 years. 
This is all, together with a few fragmentary 


notices, which remains to us of the history be¬ 
fore the flood,—just as in our life the compara¬ 
tively long period of childhood is lost in ob¬ 
livion. We have here the genealogical table of 
the family in which was preserved the pure 
knowledge of God. Gerl. 

The genealogy given is that of the Sethites, 
probably as the line of the promised seed The 
genealogy of the Cainites was given much more 
imperfectly in the last chapter, and with no 
dates or chronological marks, because, says 
Keil, being under the curse of God, thej’’ had no 
future. He quotes Baumgarten as saying, that 
this genealogy was “ a memorial witnessing 
both the truth of God’s promises and also the 
faith and patience of the fathers.” The chro¬ 
nology of this chapter is very different in the 
Hebrew and the Septuagint, as will be seen in 
the following table of the generations Irom 


Adam to the flood. 

E. H. 

B. 




Hebrew Text. 

Septuagint. 


Years 


Years 



before 

Whole 

before 

Whole 


birth of 

Life. 

birth of 

Life. 


Son. 


Son. 


Adam. 

130 

930 

2,30 

9,30 

Seth. 

105 

912 

205 

912 

Enosh. 

90 

905 

190 

905 

! Cainan. 

70 

910 

170 

910 

Mafialalel. 

65 

895 

65 

895 

Jared. 

162 

962 

62 

962 

Enoch. 

65 

365 

165 

365 

MethuBelah. 

187 

969 

187 

969 

Lamech. 

182 

777 

188 

753 

Noah. 

.500 


500 


Shem at the Flood. .. 

100 


100 


Date of Flood. 

1,656 


2,262 



[The LXX., or Septuagint, is the name of a 
Greek version of the Old Testament, supposed 
to be the work of seventy-two Jews, who are 
usually called, in a round number, the Seventy, 
and who made this version at the desire of 
Ptolemy Philadelphus, about 200 years before 
Christ. Christ and his Apostles usually quote 
from this version.] 

The brevity of the historical narrative, and 
the fewness of the generations which cover the 
space of time, tend to prevent us from realizing 
with distinctness the great duration of the 
period between the creation and the flood. But 
it was a period of great increase of population 
—of large improvement in the arts—of terrible 
conflicts—of gigantic crimes—of extraordinary 
virtues—of miraculous interpositions—all of 
which are dimly hinted at in the Divine record. 
Through the whole runs the great fact of the 
longevity of the generations before the flood— 



































SECTION 29.—GENESIS 5 : 1-32. 


231 


which connected by so few living links the ex¬ 
tremities of this long period of time, and which 
must have produced conditions of human ex¬ 
perience materially different from those which 
our brief space of existence enables us to realize. 
Kit. 

I have, for witnesses to what I have said re¬ 
specting the great length of patriarchal life, all 
those who have written antiquities, both among 
the Greeks and Barbarians ; fur even Manetho, 
who wrote the Egyptian history, and Berosus, 
who collected the Chaldean monuments, and 
Mochus, and Hestiseus, and those who com¬ 
posed the Phoenician historj', agree to what I 
here say ; Hesiod, also, and Hecatoeus, Hellani- 
cus, and Acusilaus ; and besides these, Ephorus 
and Nicolaus, relate that the ancients lived a 
thousand years. Josephus. 

The divine revelations and the facts of his¬ 
tory in these early ages might be transmitted 
with perfect safety, inasmuch as during an in¬ 
terval of 2000 years from Adam to Abraham, 
they required to pass through the mouth of only 
two witnesses: Methuselah, the eighth from 
Adam, lived almost 100 years contemporane¬ 
ously with him, while Noah was on the earth 
eighty-four years along with Enos the grandson 
of Adam, and downward 128 years with Terah 
the father of Abraham. It was thus possible 
for Noah to converse with six successive mem¬ 
bers of the race before him, as well as with nine 
generations after him, and so to communicate 
to them orally all that he had himself experi¬ 
enced, as well as what had been transmitted to 

him by the fathers. C. G. B.-It was easy 

for Moses to be satisfied of the truth of all he 
relates in the Book of Genesis, as the accounts 
came to him through the mediiim of very few 
persons. From Adam to Noah there was but 
one man necessary to the transmission of the his¬ 
tory of this period. Adam and Lamech were 
contemporaries for fifty-six years. Methusaleh, 
the grandfather of Noah, lived to see both 
Adam and Lamech, and was likewise contem¬ 
porary with Noah for 000 years. In like man¬ 
ner Shem connected Noah and Abraham, having 
lived to converse with botli ; as Isaac did with 
Abraham and Joseph, from whom these things 
might be eas ly conveyed to Moses. Horne. 

The antediluvian origin of alphabetic writing 
is thought to be probable from reasons such as 
theseThat the genealogies of the patriarchs 
are recorded wdth an exactness superior to that 
of tradition; that the poetical address of 
Lamech possesses no internal recommendation 
to be preserved during a tract of centuries by 
tradition, and “ yet differs essentially from all 


the specimens of known ideographic poetry 
that the Mosiac account of the Flood has the 
air of a description derived from an eye-witness, 
or placed on record by him : that the formulae, 
“ This is the book of the generations of Adam,” 
and ‘“These are the generations of Noah,” im¬ 
ply a transcript from airthentic genealogical 
tables regularly kept in the patriarchal families • 
that the earlier part of the Book of Genesis is 
marked by differences of style denoting distinct 
compositions, from which Moses, under Divine 
direction, compiled his history, and that these 
archives were authentic memorials of and from 
antediluvian families: that (even supposing 
alphabetic signs were not the result of Divine 
suggestion like articulate sounds) the longevity 
of the antediluvians was highly favorable to the 
discovery ; and that it is favored by the tra¬ 
ditions of the most widely separated nations, 
and by almost all religions. J. H. 

There has been much speculation respecting 
the longevity of the antediluvians. Out of nine 
men whose ages are recorded, one reached to 
nearly a thousand (969) years ; and with the 
anomalous exception of Noah’s father, who was 
cut off prematurely at the age of 777, the lowest 
of the nine reached 895 years. The average of 
life, reckoned upon the whole nine, is 912 
years. It was God’s purpose to make of one 
blood all the nations of men that dwell upon 
the face of the earth—that the tie of brother¬ 
hood might the more intimately subsist among 
them bj”^ their derivation from the same ances¬ 
tors ; but that the peopling of the world might 
not be retarded by this limitation, he gives an 
immense duration to the lives of the primeval 
generations, whereby the population of the 
earth goes on as rapidly as if he had in the first 
place given existence to twelve or fifteen pairs 
of human beings. Kit. 

We may content ourselves with the general 
principle announced by Delitzsch, that “the 
duration of antediluvian life depended on cir¬ 
cumstances and conditions of the earth which 
our i^resent knowledge cannot reach.” Not to 
suggest that “ climate, weather, and other nat¬ 
ural conditions may have V>een quite different” 
and that “life was much more simple and uni¬ 
form,” we may emphasize the statement that 
“ the after-effects of the condition of man in par¬ 
adise (destined for immortality) would not be 
immediately exhausted.” S. C. B.-The lon¬ 

gevity of antediluvian life enabled men to ac¬ 
quire inconceivable dexterity in many of the 
mechanical arts. How great must have been 
the tact and proficiency resulting from the con¬ 
tinued practice of centuries ! The prospect of 





222 


ADAM TO NOAH, 


such longevity would encourage men to lay out 
comprehensive plans, and to enter on vast un¬ 
dertakings with the expectation of completing 
them, and of enjoying the fruits. Added to 
which, that in proportion as this longevity was 
physiologically dependent on superior climatic 
influences, it would be also conducive to bodily 
and mental exertion. J. H. 

We can clearly see that such long continu¬ 
ance of life was absolutely necessary, if the 
earth was to be rapidly peopled, knowledge to 
advance, and, above all, the worship of God and 
faith in that promise about a Deliverer which 
He had revealed, to be continued. As it was, 
each generation could band down to remote 
posterity what it had learned during the cen¬ 
turies of its continuance. Thus Adam was alive 
to tell the story of Paradise and the fall, and to 
repeat the word of promise which he had heard 
from the very mouth of the Lord, when Lamech 
w’as born; and though none of the eajdier 
fathers” could have lived to see the com 
mencement of building the ark, yet Lamech 
died only live years before '‘the flood,” and 
his father Methuselah—the longest-lived man — 
in the ver^”^ year of the deluge. On the other 
hand, it was possible to pervert this long dura¬ 
tion of life to equally evil purposes. The rare 
occurrence, during so many centuries, of death 
with its terrors would tend still more to blunt 
the conscience ; the long association of evil men 
would foster the progress of corruption and 
evil; and the apparently indefinite delay of 
either judgment or deliverance would strengthen 

the bold unbelief of scoffers. A. E.-Instead 

of tending to the good of the species, the great 
length of life seems generally to have been per¬ 
verted to evil. The substance of Enoch’s 
prophecy, recorded in the Epistle of Jude (ver. 
14, 15), shows how much the men of those days 
lived in forgetfulness of the judgment to come. 

W. G. B.-In the primitive world, the Cain- 

ites devoted themselves almost exclusively to the 
advancement of a material civilization ; and the 
degeneracy to which it led w'as the first of a 
series of lessons which Providence has ever 
since been giving to man on the utter ineffi¬ 
ciency of mere knowledge, power, and aesthetic 
progress, to save him from ruin ; or rather, on 
the certainty of their conducting him to it, 
apart from the supreme influence of religion. 
The Sethites maintained, for a time, a high re¬ 
ligious standing ; but, descending from their 
holy elevation, their morality vanished with 
their religion, and they sank through the suc¬ 
cessive stages of a refined but death-struck civ¬ 
ilization. J. H, 


5, Adam lived f>J{0 years. By making 
Adam the depositary of the first communica¬ 
tion from heaven, and prolonging his life to 
nearly a thousand years, the Almighty may be 
regarded as making the wisest and most gra¬ 
cious arrangement for the welfare of his fallen 
posterity. For in each and all of the myriads 
to which they had multiplied, Adam w'ould only 
behold the multiplications of himself, and would 
therefore be supposed to feel a father’s yearn¬ 
ing solicitude for their recovery to God. And 
even as late as “ in the days of Noe,” the com¬ 
parative recency of the fall and its immediate 
results, by rendering these results so much the 
more impressive and personally interesting ; the 
small amount and the simplicity of the revela¬ 
tion which had then been made, by rendering it 
so much the easier to be remembered and im¬ 
parted ; the universal prevalence of the same 
language, by rendering it so much the easier to 
diffuse that knowledge universally ; and the 
continued longevity of man, by enabling one 
party to speak with the authority and tender¬ 
ness of a parent, disposing the other to listen 
with the docility and faith of children, and giv¬ 
ing to each a family interest in the religious 
welfare of all—afforded facilities for diffusing 
the knowledge of God, which strikingly evinced 
his readiness to save. J. H. 

Adam was witness to the beginnings of that 
universal corruption which at last brought on 
the deluge ; and wh n he beheld himself the 
source of these growing evils, he could not fail, 
with every succeeding 3 'ear of his life, to enter¬ 
tain deeper and more appalling views of the 
enormity of his transgression and the justice of 
his sentence. This would natuially tend in his 
case, as in every other, to heighten his estimate 
at once of the goodness and the severity of God, 
and endear to him that promise which was the 
hope of a lost world. Bash. 

»5. He died. Although this first thread of 
life was spun through centuries, it cannot last 
forever. Although divine long-suffering had 
delayed the execution of the sentence, no word 
of it had been retracted . ‘ ‘ Dust thou art, and 
unto dust thou shalt return.” The tree of life 
no longer blossoms here below for the trans¬ 
gressor, who has plucked the fruit of sin. God 
be thanked that we know Him, the second 
Adam, who out of death, brought by the first 
into the world, has taken the sharpest sting. 

Van 0. -Death must have originall}' come to 

man almost with the startling effect of an ap¬ 
palling revelation. The death of Abel would 
not, perhaps, on account of its violence, weigh 
much with the early generations of men as an 






/SECTION 29. -GENESIS 5 : 1-32. 


223 


ilhistration of the original sentence against sin. 
But whe'n the lirst natural death occurred—and, 
still more, when at length, after the event had 
been suspended century after century—when 
he had seen his descendants in the ninth gener-. 
ation—when he had reached his nine hundred 
and thirtieth year—the report went forth of 
Adam ‘ ‘ he is dead ; the father of the race has 
expired,” what a deep shadow, as from the 
throne of justice brought near, must have fallen 
on the face of nature ! And as, age after age, 
it had to be recorded of each individual of all 
these generations, “ and he died,” what an 
affecting proof was furnished of ” the exceed¬ 
ing sinfulness of sin,” what a demonstration of 
the fidelity of God to His word, and of the am¬ 
plitude of His schemes who could defer its ful¬ 
filment either for a day or for a thousand 
years ; and with what strained gaze, we may 
suppose, would the survivors labor to pierce 
the darkness which hung over the grave. 
J. H. 

3-31. Liivecl anil died. Through the 
births and deaths of this old Antediluvian Patri¬ 
archy there is a moral lesson impressive and 
sad, giving to these dry numbers a sublime 
moral dignity. It is not obtrusive ; it is not 
forced upon the notice ; to the dull reader these 
details and repetitions may seem barren, but to 
the man whose spirit is awake, it is the solemn 
record of execution on the great judgment pro¬ 
nounced in a previous chapter ; it is the com¬ 
mencement of that long death which our hu- 
rnanity has been dying ever since. It is the 
first great obituary, recorded, not on blank, in¬ 
tervening leaves, but in the beginning of “ the 
volume of the book.” It is the title-page to 
that true history of the world, written on the 
tombs, and preserved where all else perishes, 
even in the dust of the earth. T. L. 

There is something very impressive in this 
antediluvian record of deaths ; the long periods 
of life only make it all the more so. It tells 
forcibly of there being no escape from this law. 
The cadence of “ and he died ” recurs with the 
effect of a tolling bell upon the imagination ; 
and the length of interval between them adds to 
the solemnity of the lesson so given forth. The 
great practical truths of religion are not educed 
by an ingenious process of inference, but lie 
before us on the surface of the Bible—on the 
surface of observation. The thing wanted is 
that we should consider them ; and this un¬ 
varying register of a mortality which no strength 
of endurance in the vital principle could exempt 
from, should speak powerfully home to the 
fears and the urgent interests of the men who 


now live in this era of puny and ephemeral 
generations. T. C. 

It is re]3orted of one, that, hearing the 5th of 
Genesis read, so long lived, and yet the burden 
still, ilietj died, he took so deep the thought of 
death and eternity, that it changed his whole 
frame, and set him from a voluptuous to a most 
strict and pious course of life. How small a 
word will do much, when God sets it into the 
heart ! But sure this one thing would make 
the soul more calm and sober in the pursuit of 
present things, if their term were truly com¬ 
puted and considered. How soon shall youth, 
and health, and carnal delights, be at a end ! 
How soon shall all the great projects of the 
highest wits and spirits be laid in the dust! But 
to a soul accpiainted with God, and in affection 
removed hence already, no thought so sweet as 
this ; it helps much to carry it cheerfully 
through wrestlings and difficulties, through bet¬ 
ter and worse ; they see land near, and shall 
quickly be at home ; that is the way. The end 
of all things is at hand: An end of a few poor 
delights and the many vexations of this w'retched 
life ; an end of temptations and sins, the worst 
of all evils ; yea, an end of the imperfect fashion 
of our best things here, an end of prayer itself, 
to which succeeds that new song of endless 

praises. Leighton. - The dead —we speak of 

them as those who are not. But in this sense 
there are no dead in the universe ; of the mighty 
catalogue written in heaven’s book of men who 
have been, not one has passed into nothing¬ 
ness ; of every human being, it is true, that 
when he began to be, he began to be immortal ; 
he may have changed his place and his mode of 
existence, his dust may have returned to the 
earth as it was ; but yet he lives as truly as he 
ever did, and, will continue to live through 
ceaseless ages ; and what is true of all before 
us is and will be true of each one of ourselves. 
There is a “ life to come,” and in a very short 
time we shall be mingling in its scenes with 
those who have preceded us. E. M. 

24. Enoch Avalked with Oocl. We 
are reminded of the saying, that these primeval 
genealogies are ” monuments alike of the faith¬ 
fulness of God in the fulfilment of his promise, 
and of the faith and patience of the fathers.” 
Every generation lived its appointed time ; they 
transmitted the promise to their sons ; and 
then, having finished their course, they all 
“ died in faith, not having received the prom¬ 
ises, but having seen them afar off, and were 
persuaded of them, and embraced them, and 
confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims 
on the earth.” That is absolutely all we know 






•324 


ABa:!^I to NOAH. 


of the majority of them. But the emphatic and 
seemingly needless repetition in each case of 
the words, “ And he died,” with which every 
genealogy closes, tells us that “ death reigned 
from Adam unto Moses,” with all the lessons 
which it conveyed of its origin in sin, and of its 
conquest by the second Adam. Only one ex¬ 
ception occurs to this general rule—in the case 
of Enoch ; when, instead of the brief notice 
how many years he ” lived ” after the birth of 
his son, we read that “ he walked with God 
after he begat Methusaleh three hundred 
years and instead of the simple closing state¬ 
ment that “ he died,” we are not only a second 
time told that “ Enoch walked with God,” but 
also that “ he was not ; for God took him.” 
Thus both his life and his translation are con¬ 
nected with his ” walk with God.” A, E. 

Enoch and Noah, as they alone of the ante¬ 
diluvians were endowed with the spirit of 
prophecy, so they alone also are said to have 
“ walked with God,”—an expression never iised 
of any who lived in later times, and denoting 
the nearest and most confidential intercourse, 
as if they had all but regained the old paradisi¬ 
acal freedom of communion with Heaven. And 
as the divine seal upon this higher elevation of 
the life of God in their souls, they were both 
honored with singular tokens of distinction— 
the one having been taken, without tasting of 
death, to still nearer fellowship with God, to 
abide in His immediate presence, while the 
other became under God the saviour and father 
of a new world. The contemporaries of Enoch 
had within their reach the means of knowing 
that in consideration of his eminent piety he 
was taken direct to a higher sphere, without 
undergoing the common lot of mortality. That 
there should have been but one such case dur¬ 
ing the whole antediluvian period, could not 
but be regarded as indicating its exceptional 
character, and stamping it emphatically as a 
revelation from Heaven. P. F. 

Enoch is the tyjje of those who take the spirit¬ 
ual as distinguished from the sensuous view of 
human life ; who, while they bear their part in 
all the labors that are done under the sun, seek 
in everything they do to do it as to God ; and 
while they frankly accept all the recreative and 
refining ministries devised by the art or wit of 
man, accept them as the gifts of God, and so 
find an added sweetness in them. Like Enoch, 
they walk with God through all the difficult and 
tangled paths of life, are sustained by Him in 
the hours of their weakness, guarded by Him in 
their times of peril, and find their fellowship 
with Him grow more intimate, more ennobling. 


more consolatory, year by year. The end of 
these respective lines of action is set “forth in 
the several fates of Lamech and Enoch. In 
Enoch we see the spiritual man rising into 
the heaven which his life has prepared him to 
inherit and enjoy : while in Lamech and his 
children we see the servants of sense sink into 
the doom for which their course and habits of 
life had fitted them,—their thoughts growing 
more evil, their deeds more corrupt, until the 
flood arose and swept them awa 3 \ Each goes 
to Ids own place. Cox. 

In proportion as any one draws near to God, 
and thinks of Him, and praj^s to Him constantly 
and earnestly, so does he become familiar with 
the life bevond the grave, and find it possible 
and natural to fix his faith there. For with 
God continually in our thoughts,—God in 
Christ I mean, for a Christian knows God no 
otherwise than as approached through His Son, 
—with God constantly thought of, prayed to, 
praised, thanked, and served, it is impossible 
that death should any longer be so great a bar¬ 
rier, or the state beyond it so dark and cheer¬ 
less. For to God there is no difference of time 
or state ; he is after our death as before it, be¬ 
fore it as after it, in all respects the same. And 
death, which to Him is absolutely nothing, be¬ 
comes to us also less and less in proportion as 
we are more entirely His. So it is said that 
Enoch walked with God, and then it is added, 
” and he was not, for God took him.” He 
walked with God on earth, and he w<alked with 
God in heaven, and the two became blended 
into one, and the barrier betw'een them melted 
away into nothing. This is a true type, showing 
that the sense of death is destroyed by our con¬ 
sciousness of God. He who walks with God 
faithfully here, all that is said of him will be, 
” he was not, for God took him he will be 
missed here by us, but to himself it is in a man¬ 
ner all but one life, the latter part the more 
perfect and the happier, yet both were passed 
with God. T, Arnold. 

Very delightful it is to discover in the de¬ 
scription of Enoch’s character the fact that in 
its main features the experience of the truly re¬ 
ligious soul has been the same in all the ages of 
human history. The altar may vary, the ritual 
may change, the priesthood may pass from 
Melchizedek to Aaron, and from Aaron to 
Christ ; the tabernacle may take the place of 
the patriarchal tent, and the Temple may super¬ 
sede the tabernacle, only in its turn to bn super¬ 
seded by the spiritual system of the Gospel ; 
yet, amid all these mutations, those deep ex¬ 
periences of men’s souls which constitute the 




SEdTIOJS' 29.—GENESIS 5 : 1-32. 


225 


true springs of their religious life have been the 
same, and to-day no more appropriate descrip¬ 
tion of a good and saintly man could he given 
than this, “ He walked with God.” W. M. T. 
-To walk with God, is to set God always be¬ 
fore us, and to act as those that are alwavs under 
his eye. It is to live a life of communion with 
God, both in ordinances and providences ; it is 
to make God’s word our rule, and his glory our 
end, in all our actions ; it is to make it our con¬ 
stant care and endeavor in everything to phase 
God, and in nothing to offend hitu ; it is to 
comjrly with his will, to concur with his designs, 
and to be workers together with him ; it is to 
he followers of him as ihar chi'dren. H. 

Adam died only fifty-seven years before 
Enoch’s translation, and Enoch probably en¬ 
joyed the society of that remarkable man for 
more than three centuries. From Adam's own 
lips he could learn the story of the creation, he 
could become acquainted with the prime val bliss 
of Eden, he could ascertain that law of j^aradise 
under vvhich our first parents sinned and fell, 
he could look with familiar gaze into the dark 
})roblem of the origin of evil. By a more minnte 
acquaintance with the events of that m^^sterious 
period, he could attain a clearer insight than we 
into the operations of Providence, and the wis¬ 
dom of those counsels which were developed 
in the ruin of the human race. He had more¬ 
over the book of nature ever open to him, and 
those works through which he communed with 
their divine author were peculiarly rich in illus¬ 
tration of the divine character. In his own 
sanctified and inspired consciousness he had 
another and better source of sacred knowledge, 
and favored as he was by the teachings of that 
Great Spirit whose society he cultivated, he w'as 
no doubt as highly venerated for the extent of 
his attainments as for the depth of his devotion. 
"Whatever may be thought of the oriental tradi¬ 
tions, which ascribe to him the invention of let¬ 
ters and learning, the literal impoit of his name 
implies that he was imliated into rare mysteries, 
and one of his predictions as it is preserved to 
us by an inspired apostle, discloses a reach of 
vision which from that remote period, the very 
beginning of the world’s history, could look 
down through all the lapse of ages to the very 
last event which is the subject of prophecy, the 
final judgment of the ungodly. Horner. 

Of Enoch we know that he not only walked 
with God as a friend with his friend, but as a 
prophet he stood forth boldly against the trans¬ 
gression of his age. Van 0. -At the time ap¬ 

pointed by the Father for the accomplishment 
of Enoch’s prophecy, when the Lord shall come 
15 


to judgment with ten thousand of his saints 
(Jude 14), that which was foreshown by the 
ti-anslation of Enoch, and fulfilled in the ascen¬ 
sion of the natural body of Christ, shall be 
brought to pass likewise in His mystical body,, 
the Church, and the members thereof. They 
shall “ not be found ” in the ruins of a burning 
world, because God shall have “ translated 
them to an inheritance incorruptible and unde¬ 
filed, and that fadeth not awa}' reserved in 
heaven for them. This is but the completion of 
that great woi’k begun in them by the Spirit of 
God in this life. Blessed and holy is he, who 
hath part in this first “ translation” from sin 
to righteousne.ss, the sure pledge and earnest of 
the second from dust to glor3\ Bp. Home. 

The miracle of Enoch’s iramlaHon was another 
Divine intimation, pointing to the, existence of 
an ixvisihle world. “ He was not, for God took 
him.” “ He w'as translated that he shotdd not 

see deaVi." J. H.-In the case of Enoch 

alone, we read, not that “he died,” but that 
“he w's not, for God took him.” This im¬ 
plies two things : that he was exempted from 
natural death, and that he entered upon a higher 
and better existence as the consequence of 
having walked, not with the world, but with 

God. C. G. B.-Is it even supposable that 

Moses thought this was annihilation—taking a 
godly man out of existence? Extinguishing 
his being because he walked with God ! If the 
Lord had made this problem a special stud3^— 
how best to teach and impress the doctrine of a 
future blessed life for the lighteous who walk 
with God on earth, we cannot see how he could 
have iinjiroved upon the method he actually 
adopted, viz, to take the godly Enoch from 

earth to heaven without dying. H. C.-If 

there is no future life, in whi(;h virtue receives 
its appropriate reward, what a reflection is here 
upon the God of the Hebrews ! A man, illus¬ 
trious beyond all his contemporaries for pietj', 
is cut off in the midst of his days and rewarded 
with annihilation ! The record convej’s almost 
as plain a revelation of a future life as the dec¬ 
laration of the Lord of life himself, “ The hour 
is coming, in the which all that are in their 
graves shall hear his voice and come forth.” 
E. C. W. 

The “ taking away” of Enoch is one of tho 
strongest proofs of the belief in a future state, 
prevailing among the Hebrews ; without this 
belief the history of Euoch is a perfect mysteiv, 
a hieroglyph without a clew, a commencement 

without an end. Ktdisch. -Enoch does not 

die, but lives, and not only lives, but is ad¬ 
vanced to a new stage of life, in which all the 










226 


FLOOD ANNOUNCED. 


power and pain of sin are at an end forever. 
This crowns and signalizes the power of grace, 
and represents in brief the grand finale of a life 
of faith. This renewed man is received up into 
glory without going through the intermediate 
steps of death and resurrection. This transla¬ 
tion took place in the presence of a sufficient 
number of witnesses, and furnished a manifest 
proof of the presence and reality of the invisible 
powers. Thus were life and immortality as 
fully brought to light as was necessary or pos¬ 
sible at that early stage of the world’s history. 
Thus was it demonstrated that the grace of God 
was triumphant in accomplishing the final and 
full salvation of all who returned to God. M. 

God “ translated him” either in soul or body, 
or both, to a place and state of happiness :—A 
most convincing argument and proof of a life 
after this ; and sufficient, one would have 
thought, to have silenced the Sadducees, who 
received this book. God gave the w^orld this 
instance, perhaps to convince them, how he 
would have dealt with Adam, and all his pos¬ 
terity, had they continued in obedience to his 

command. Bp. Wilson. -The occurrence was 

an impressive revelation of the existence, the 
omniscience, and the holiness of God, which 
were constantly becoming more and more for¬ 
gotten ; of the eternal separation between those 
who serve God and those who serve Him not ; 
of the life and immortality especially to be ex¬ 
pected after departure from this world. Fan 0. 


29, These words bear testimony to an ardent 
heart longing for the better inheritance, which 
even to Lamech appeared to be substantially 
involved in the promise of the Seed of the 
woman. This longing was called forth by the 
curse which burdened the ground, and which, 
amidst his bitter toils and troubles, seemed to 
him all the heavier and greater as his exireri- 
ence of the ravages of sin increased. His only 
comfort under the hardships he endured was 
to look to the bruiser of the serpent. For this 
reason he gave to his son the name of Noah—■ 
that is, rest, —a name which in sound resembles 
the Hebrew verb to c 'wfori. From this son he 
e.xpected consolation and rest. Lamech died 
five years prior to the deluge, and was the first 
of the patriarchs who, by a t'aiural death, de¬ 
parted this life before his father. His father 
Methuselah died just before tho flood. The 
righteous joerish, and merciful men are taken 
away from the evil to come, and enter into 
peace (Isa. 57 : 1). C. G. B. 

All the patriarchs here, except Noah, were 
born before Adam died ; so that from him they 
might receive a full and satisfactorj' account of 
the creation, paradise, the fall, the promise, and 
those divine precepts which concerned religious 
worship and a religious life. So great was the 
care of Almighty God to preserve in his church 
the knowledge of his will, and the purity of his 
worship. H. 


Section 30. 

FLOOD ANNOUNCED. PERIOD OF GOD’S PATIENCE. BY DIRECTION, NOAH 

PREPARES AN ARK. 

Genesis 6 :1-22. 

1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters 

2 w^ere born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair ; and 

3 they took them wives of all that they chose. And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not strive 
with man for ever, for that he also is flesh : yet shall his days be an hundred and twenty years. 

4 The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came 
in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them : the same were the mighty men 

5 which were of old, the men of renown. And the Loud saw that the wickedness of man was 
great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil con- 

6 tinually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him 

7 at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man wffiom I have created from the face of 
the ground ; both man, and beast, and creeping thing, and fowl of the air ; for it repenteth 

8 me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. 

9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, and perfect in his genera- 








SECTION SC.—GENESIS 6 : 1-22. 


227 


10 tions : Noah walked with God. And Noah hegat three sons, Shem, Ham, and eJapheth. And 

11 the eanh was corrnpt before God, and the eaiih was filled with violence. And God saw the 

12 earth, and, behold, it was corrupt ; for all flesh ha 1 corrupted his way upon the earth. 

Id And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me ; for the earth is filled 

14 with violence through them ; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an 
ark of gopher wood ; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shall pitch it within and without 

15 with pitch. And this is how thou shalt make it : the length of the ark three hundred cubits, 

16 the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty dibits. A light shalt thou make to 
the ark, and to a cubit shalt thou finish it upward ; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in 

17 the side thereifl ; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. And I, behold, I 
do bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, 

18 from under heaven ; every thing that is in the earth shall die. But I will establish my cove¬ 
nant with thee ; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy 

19 sons’ wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou 

20 bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee ; they shall be male and female. Of the fowl 
after their kind, and of the cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after 

21 its kind, two of every sort sliall come unto thee, to keej) them alive. And take thou unto 


thee of all food that is eaten, and gather it to 
22 them. Thus did Noah ; according to all that 

Having traced the line of descent from Adam 
through Seth, the seed of God, to Noah, the 
author proceeds to describe the general spread 
and growth of moral evil in the race of man, 
and the determination of the Lord to wipe it 
away from the face of the earth. M. 

Constantly, as the well-spring of life flowed 
on, the stream of human depravity swelled into 
a deeper and broader flood. There were things 
in God’s earlier procedure that were naturally 
fitted to check its working, and repress its 
growth—especially the forbearance and kind¬ 
ness with w'hich He treated the first race of 
transgressors—the wonderful longevity granted 
to them—the space left for repentance even to 
the greatest sinners, while still sufficient means 
were employed to convince them of their guilt 
and danger.—all seeming to betoken the solici¬ 
tude of a father yearning over his offspring, and 
restraining for a season the curse that now rested 
on their condition, if so be they might be won 
to His love and service. But it was the evil, 
not the good, in man’s nature, which took ad¬ 
vantage of this treatment of God, to ripen into 
strength and fruitfulness. And, erelong, the 
very goodne.ss of God found it needful to inter¬ 
pose, and relieve the earth of the violence and 
corruption wdiich had come to usurp possession 
of the world. So that, looking simply to the 
broad facts of history, the doctrine of human 
guilt and depravity stands forth with a promi 
nence and intensity which could leave no doubt 
concerning jt upon thoughtful minds. B. F. 

Sixteen centuries—almost as long as from the 
advent of Christ to this present time—are des¬ 
patched, in sacred history, in the briefest pos¬ 
sible mention. What w^as the meaning of that 


thee ; and it shall be for food for thee, and for 
God commanded him, so did he. 

immense chasm and void in the life of our race ? 
The world w'as full of people ; but it was full 
of sin. May not this be the import of that his¬ 
toric lesson—to furnish, for all time, one unde¬ 
niable proof that, left to himself, apostate man 
had no power or prospect of recovery ? Knowl¬ 
edge of promised relief w^as limited : all w'hich 
existed was in the form of tradition, and this 
growing fainter and fainter, like a dying echo ; 
providential restraints were few ; so to speak, 
God seems to have withdrawn himself from the 
race that sought to be independent of him, that 
the world might know, for all time, that ruined 
mind never restores itself ; that the planet 
which breaks away from the attraction of the 
sun finds no power within itself bj’- wfliich it is 
brought back, but its centrifrugal force is multi¬ 
plied with terrific speed, driving it further and 
further, faster and faster, into the blackness of 
darkness. Left to itself, the race of man in¬ 
creased in wickedness with such gigantic strides, 
that the earth and the skies sickened at the 
spectacle, and the waters of the great deep 
swept them away. The termination of that first 
long stage of human history ivas the Dthige. 
W. Adams. 

2 . Sons of Oofl. In the view of some 
Fathers of the Church, tlie Beformers, and in 
more modern times Dettinger, Hengstenberg, 
Keil, and others, the expression “ sons of God ” 
refers io men, to the pious race de.^cendcd from 
Seth, as the name “ sons of God ” is used in 
T)eut. 14 :1 ; 32 : 5 ; Hos. 2:1; Ps. 73 :15. On 
this view, the passage refers to the marriage of 
Seth’s descendants wdth Cainitic w'omen, by 
which means the corruption of Cain’s race 
spread among the Sethites. Not only is the 




FLOOD ANNOU^s^GED; PERIOD OF GOD'S PATIENCE. 


OOQ 

/V/WO 

connection in which the whole story stands to 
what precedes, but also ver. 3, in which an err¬ 
ing of man, not of the higher spirits, is spoken 
of, in favor of the latter view ; but so also is 
the expression “ they took wives,” which is 
confessedly used in the Old Testament only in 

speaking of formal marriage, 0.-The family 

of Seth, on account of its adherence to the true 
religion, were styled. “ the sons of God the 
descendants of Cain and the other branches of 
the family who united with him in his impiety, 

“ the sons of men,” denoting that they were a 
carnal, irreligious race. II. Hall. 

We are not probably justified in saying that 
there were but two races descended from Adam, 
the race of Cain and the race of Seth. Adam 
may have had many sons ; but the history of 
the Cainites is preserved because both of their 
impiety and of their ingenuity ; that of the 
Sethites, because at least in one line of that 

y 

race piety and true religion flourished, and of 
them came the family of Noah which was pre¬ 
served in the ark. There appears to have been 
a growing corruption of mankind, more rapid, 
no doubt, in the family of Cain than in any 
other race, but still spreading far and Avide. 
The line of the Sethites, traced in ch. 5, alone 
apjiears to have kept itself pure, the little ! 
Church of God, in the midst of gathering dark- | 
ness of the world around. This little Church 
may well have been called “ the children of 
God,” a term by no means limited in Scripture 
to the holy angels. They alone were the salt of 
the earth ; and if that salt should lose its savor, J 
all would become worthless and vile. When ] 
therefore some of these “ sons of God’’ went ; 
out from their own little home circle, to make 
mixed marriages with the general heathenized ' 
races round them, the elements of corruption 
were brought from the world into the Church. 
E. H. B. 

1, 2. When man began to multiply, the sep¬ 
arate families of Cain and Seth would come into 

I 

contact. The daughters of the stirring Cainites, ; 
distinguished by the graces of nature, the em¬ 
bellishments of art, and the charms of music 
and song, even though destitute of the loftier 
qualities of likemindedness with God, would at¬ 
tract attention and j^rompt to unholy alliances. 
The godly took them wdves of the ungodly as 
well as the godly families, without any discrim- ' 
ination. “ Whom they chose,” not for the god- i 
liness of their lives, but for the goodliness of i 
their looks. M. j 

“ The sons of God saw the daughters of men 
that they were fair ;” just as Eve saw the tree ! 
that it was pleasant to the eye. Here was the 


last turning-point of importance of the family 
probation Social man was about to repeat the 
a(!t of individual man, and to take the forbidden 
fruit. “ And they took them wives of all which 
they chose.” The sensual triumphed over the 
rational and the moral. The suns of God, in 
their social capacity, apostatized from God. 
Their self-will came into direct collision with 
his authority. The family had fallen from its 
high object of constituting the Church of God. 
If the time should come when the relations of 
family to family, and of one community of fam¬ 
ilies to another, shall be emplo 5 'ed only to an¬ 
swer sensual, unjust, and impious puriioses, 
every principle of moral government will war¬ 
rant and call for Divine interference. From 
the moment when ” the sons of God took them 
wives of all which they chose,” the higher de¬ 
sign of the conjugal s ate was defeated ; it was 
prostituted to sensual purposes ; and the doom 
of the family constitution itself, as a distinct 
economy, was sealed. Hence, the reason as¬ 
signed by God for terminating the probationary 
contest with man is (v. 3), ” for that he also is 
flesh.” In other words, his own professed 
worshippers, by joining the sensual for sensunl 
ends had merged the last hope of recovery in 
profligac)'’. And being thus perverted into an 
evil to the individual, the family became also 
an organization of social oppression and wrong. 
Brute force bore down law and right. Families 
banded together for the perpetration of more 
extensive wrong. Men became renowned in 
proportion to their deeds of rapine and blood¬ 
shed. And “ the earth was filled with violence 

through them” (v. 11). J. H.-If there had 

not been so deep a deluge of sin there had been 
none of the waters. From whence then was 
this superfluity of iniquity? Whence, but 
from the unequal yoke with infidels. These 
marriages did not beget men so much as wicked¬ 
ness ; from hence religious husbands both lost 
their piety and gained a rebellious and godless 
generation. Bp. II. 

3. ” Jehovah said. My Spirit shall not always 
strive with man (the Adam) ; for that they are 
but flesh, and their days shall be an hundred 
and twenty years.” In the somewhat obscure 
brevity of this speech, it is difficult to determine 
the force of each word ; but the general sense 
seems to be : “ I will take away from man the 
life I at first gave him, since he has corrupted 
himself to mere flesh, and I will limit his time 
on earth to one hundred and twenty j'ears.” 
That the period thus defined was a space fur re¬ 
pentance, seems clear from the context. P. S. 

The verb (translated ‘.‘strive”) is currently 










SECTION 30.—GENESIS 6 : 1-22. 


229 


used of judicial transactions—searching out, 
convincing, convicting ; an I seems to have a 
striking analogy in that leading word given us 
by Christ ; “ When he is come, he shall reprove 
the world *’—enforce conviction upon the world 
—as to sin and righteousness. God may right¬ 
eously say -nay must in honor to himself say— 
My Spirit shall not plead my cause in man for¬ 
ever. He is utterly gone over to the flesh, and 
nothing remains but that he must perish. One 
hundred and twenty years of merciful respite 
for patient wuxrning and exhaustive trial must 
suffice :—then, if no j^eni'ence appear, judg¬ 
ment must fall, and that without remedy ! 
Thus God places on record the moral causes and 
antecedents of this fearful visitation, that its 
moral lessons may go down to distant ages for 
their admonition to the end of time. H. C. 

-From this passage we learn that the Lord 

by h/s Spirit strives with man up to a certain 
point. In this little negative sentence streams 
out the bright light of God s free and tender 
mercy to the apostate race of man. He sends 
his Spirit to irradiate the darkened mind, to ex¬ 
postulate with the conscience, to prompt and 
strengthen holy resolve, and to bring back the 
heart, the confidence, the affection to God. 
But it is a solemn thought that there is a certain 
point beyond which he will not go, for sufficient 
reasons known fully to himself, partly to us. 
First, he will not touch the free agency of his 
rational creatures. He can put no fo ce on the 
volitions of men. An involuntary or compul¬ 
sory faith,hope, love, obedience, is a contradic¬ 
tion in terms.; and anything that could bear the 
name can have no moral validity whatsoever. 
Seernd'y, after giving ample warning, instruc¬ 
tion, and invitation, he will, as a just judgment 
on the uubelieving and the impenitent, with¬ 
draw his Spirit and let them alone. M 

From the method God took in this judgment, 
first withdrawing his Spirit and then introduc¬ 
ing the flood, it appears that God’s taking away 
his Spirit from any soul is the certain fore¬ 
runner of the ruin and destruction of that soul. 
From the expression, “ the Spirit’s striving with 
man,” which always implies resistance from the 
party striven with, it appears that there is in 
man’s heart a natural enmity and opposition to 
the motions of God’s holy Spirit. And from 
the definitive sentence that God here passes, 
that his Spiiit should not aluoays strive w th man, 
it appears that there is a set and punctual time, 
after which the convincing operations of God s 
Spirit upon the heart of man in order to his 
conversion will cease and forever leave him. 
South. 


Awhile he will strive, he will aw^aken he will 
convince, he will call to remembrance former 
sins, former judgments, the breach of former 
vows and promises, the misspending of former 
da 3 "s. He will also present persuasive argu¬ 
ments, encouraging promises, dreadful judg¬ 
ments, the shortnes.s of time to repent in ; and 
that there is hope if he come. He will show 
him the ceitainty of death and of the judgment 
to come, yea, thus he will strive with the sinner. 
But, behold, here is laboring and striving on both 
sides. The Spirit convinces, the man turns a 
deaf ear to God ; the Spirit saith, lieceive my 
instruction and live, but the man joulls away 
his shoulder ; the Spirit show's him w'hither he 
is going, but the man closeth his eyes against 
it ; the Sj-irit offers violence, the n.an strives 
and resists : he “ does despite unto the Spirit 
of grace.” The Spirit parlej'eth a second time 
and urgeth reasons of a new nature, but the 
sinner answ'ereth. No ; I have loved strangers, 
and after them will I g ). At this, God comes 
out of his holy place, and is terrible ; now he 
sw'eareth in his w'rath they shall never enter 
into his rest (Ezek. 34 :13). I exercised toward 
you my patience, yet you have not turned unto 
me, saith the Lord. I smote you in your per¬ 
son, in your relations, in your estate, yet you 
have not returned unto me, saith the Lord. 
“ Cut it down ; why cumbereth it the ground?” 
Banyan. 

Such a dispensation upon the part of God, as 
the withdrawal from a man of his Holy Spirit, 
i.s never the result of a dark and mysterious 
sovereignty. Sovereignty is an attribute of 
grace. The salvation of every sinner is an act 
of sovereignty ; but the infliction of evil falls 
wdthin the province of justice, and its reasons 
are alwa^'s taken from the character and doings 
of its subject. Hence, w'hen you read in the 
Bible of the su.spension or withdrawoil of divine 
influences from a man, you alw'ays find it repre¬ 
sented in connection with some previous wrong 
conduct on his part, and as a punishment of 
that conduct. Spiritual, abandonment is the 
judicial result of spiritual resistance. The 
Spiiit of God ceases to strive because he is 
driven from the human bosom. E. M. 

There is no more wondrous subject than the 
patience of God ! Think of the lapse of ages, 
during whicn that patience has lasted ! Think 
of the multitudes who have been the subjects 
of it ! Think of the sins which have all that 
time been trying and wearying that patience— 
tlifir number—their heinousness—their aggra¬ 
vation ! The world’s history is a consecutive 
history of iniquit}', a lengthened provocation 





FLOOD ANNOUNCED; PERIOD OF GOD'S PATIENCE. 


230 

of*tlie Almighty's forbearance. The ChurQh, 
like a feeble ark, tossed on a mighty ocean of 
unbelief ; and yet the world, with its cum- 
berers, siUl sp irtd ! The cry of its sinful mill¬ 
ions at this moment entering ‘ the ears of the 
Orod of Sabaoth,” and yet, for all this, his hand 
of mercy is stretched out still! An. 

There is no more affecting view of our human 
life than that which presents it to us as a scene 
of the perpetual working of Divine compassion, 
seeking by every possible agency and avenue to 
enter in and rouse us from apathy, to break the 
sinful sleep, to open our eyes on the bt-auty of 
holiness in the face of Christ, to unseal our ears 
that they may hear the voices of a higher world 
than thio, and to draw us into the blessedness 
of reconciliation and communion with our Lord. 
The air we breathe is all quick with these 
gracious ministries. Till we find it out we dis¬ 
cern only the surface, we comprehend nothing 
of the glory, of the common life we are living 
It IS but a tread-mill march, or a mere scramble 
of appetites, or a whirl of vulgar intoxications, 
or a mocking dance of illusions. Strong words 
are used by Holy Scripture to declare the ear¬ 
nest reality of this Divine solicitation, so much 
more merciful to us than we are to ourselves. 
The Spirit strives with man. He pleads. He 
presses. He teaches. He watches. He pursues, 
He cries. He wrestles. He agonizes. He maketh 
intercession with groanings that cannot be 
uttered. What kind of a nature must it be that 
can stay indifferent to a Love like that? 
F. D. H. 

What mean those oft-formed resolutions to 
which kindled fears give birth, and what those 
oft-repeated vows originating in intelligent con¬ 
viction, if they are not the evidence of some 
mighty though mysterious agency at work upon 
the mind ? Lo ! we carry within us the proofs 
that the Spirit of God strives with man. Truth, 
a thousand times heard before without awaken 
ing emotion, now rousing us to thought ; 
claims, a thousand times before presented and 
at best but listlessly received, now securing a 
prompt and intelligent response from con¬ 
science ; feeling, quick, deep, permanent, per¬ 
haps excited under the demonstrations of tbe 
gospel ; these as ficts defining our own circum¬ 
stances and testified to by our own conscious¬ 
ness. are the evidences of our subjection to the 
influences of the Holy Ghost. E. M. 

What has God done to induce men to do their 
duty ? He has created men ; he preserves them 
in existence ; he inhabits their consciences and 
all their faculties ; he enswathes them with 
manifestations of his Power and Goodness in 


the natural world ; he instructs them by the 
course of history, general and personal ; he 
places above them Heaven, beneath them Hell, 
and before them the Cross. Could God do more 
to induce man to repent and not overpower his 
freedom of will ? Who can sav that God, with- 
out overpowering or impairing man s freedom, 
could do more than he has done to persuade 
man to do his duty ? 

The seven knocks from the Divine Hand, on 
man’s door, are Nature, History, Conscience, 
Heaven, Hell, Christ, the Holy Spirit ; and in 
all God ! In the individual life, in national 
life, in the life of the world as a whole, God 
knocks for admission lo the human heart with 
these seven blows. With every birthday, with 
every hour of sickness, with every bereavement, 
with every illumination of the soul by the so¬ 
lemnity of solitude, by ten thousand voices from 
Nature and from history, and from the depths 
of conscience, God expresses his desire to enter 
the human soul. 

The Scriptural teaching as to the knocking of 
God at man’s door shows : 1. That some act of 
man’s free will must go before God’s entrance 
into the soul. Man is to open the door. 
2. That man has natural power to do this and a 
corresponding responsibility. 3. That God’s 
knocking invites, inspires, persuades and en¬ 
ables man to do this act, but that God does not 
himself force open the door. 4. That God’s 
entrance and man’s opening the door are prac¬ 
tically simultaneous —the two sides of one indi¬ 
visible transaction—regeneration and repent¬ 
ance. 5. That God enters and sups with man, 
and he with God. On condition of the opening 
of the door, friendship with God follows, 
fl. That if any man will open the door God will 
enter. 7. That God stands at atl doors knockiny:. 
8. 'i’hat if any man does not open the door of 
his soul to God, the fault is that of the man 
only. 9. That there is a difference between the 
general and special operations of the Divine 
Spirit—general while knocking, special after 
entering. 10. That the duty of immediate 
opening of the door lies upon all. 11. Thtt 
every refusal to open adds to man’s guilt and 
peril, and that there must be on the part of the 
unyielding soul a refusal for every knock, and 
that the knocking is incessant, and that so the 
guilt and peril of evil choices mount swiftly to 
vast magnitudes. 

Just so the Scriptural teaching concerning 
man’s knocking at God’s door shows: 1. That 
it is an act of man’s free will to knock at God’s 
door. 2. That man's want and power and 
God s promise inspire the desire on man’s part 



SECTION 30.—GENESIS 6 : 1-22. 


231 


to knock at God’s door. 3. That man’s knock¬ 
ing and God’s opening are practically simul¬ 
taneous—two sides of one indivisible transac¬ 
tion—Repentance and Regeneration, 4. That 
the law of from less to more prevails here, so 
that, after the general influences of the Spirit 
are rightly obeyed, the special influences follow. 

5. That if any man will knock God will open. 

6. That God invites all men to knock. 7. That 
if any man does not knock, it is wholly his own 
fault. 8. That the duty of immediate knocking 
lies upon all. 9. That every refusal adds to the 
soul’s guilt and peril. There is distinct Script¬ 
ural teaching that a time arrives when the gate 
of opportunity is shut, and the soul knocks at a 
closed door. J Cook. 

His cliiys shall he aii hundred and 
twenty years. “ In the days that were be¬ 
fore the flood, they were eating and drinking, 
marrying and giving in marriage, until the day 
that Noe entered into the ark.” Judgment was 
not executed precipitately. One hundred and 
twenty years intervened between the prediction 
and its accomplishment. Full scope was thus 
given for the circulation of the intelligence 
throughout the then habitable world—full time 
for the awful tidings to visit every dwelling. 

E. M. G.-A hundred and twenty years was 

less than the eighth of the average duration of 
antediluvian life ; and, in respect of warning, 
was not more to that generation than nine years 
would be to us. It was, therefore, an interval 
just long enough for effective warning, without 
being so long as to allow any man that lived, to 
deem that he might neglect that warning with¬ 
out danger, Noah himself seems to have been 
the instrument of making this warning known, 
and of preaching repentance, since Peter calls 
him “ a preacher of righteousness.” But the 
construction of the ark was in itself a warning 
the most impressive. It evinced the sincerity 
of Noah’s conviction, that the judgment he de¬ 
clared really impended over mankind ; and as 
its vast proportions slowly rose, the rumor of 
this immense and strange undertaking must 
have spread far and wide, with the report of the 
reasons which the builder gave for its construc¬ 
tion, Thus “ the long-suffering of God waited 
in the days of Noah, while the ark was a pre¬ 
paring. ” Kit. 

This passage should be viewed in connection 
with 1 Pet, 3 : 18-20, from which we learn that 
it was'no other than the Spirit of Christ that 
through the instrumentality of the pious patri ¬ 
arch preached to the disobedient spirits of the 

old world. Bush. -The spirits are the souls 

of those now in prison, who once enjoyed a 


space for repentance on earth. The connection 
leaves us no room to doubt with respect to those 
intended by this description. They were Ihe 
sinners destroyed by the flood. To these, 
Christ had once preached. How ? Did he 
preach to them personally ? The immediate, 
antecedent here is the Spirit, meaning either the 
Holy Spirit, the third person in the Trinity, or 
the divine nature of Christ. “ For Christ also 
hath once suffered for our sins, the just for the 
unjust, that he might bring us to God, being 
put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the 
Spirit, by which,” that is, the Spirit, “he went 
and preached unto the spirits in prison.” By 
the Spirit, Christ preached to the inhabitants 
of the old world. We are accordingly assured, 
that the Bible is the word of Christ, and that the 
prophets received their messages from his 
” Spirit that was in them” (Col. 3 ; 16 ; 1 Pet. 

1 :11). Noah is called “ a preacher of right¬ 
eousness” in 2 Pet. 2 :5, and it was the Spirit 
of Christ which inspired Noah, and spoke, as it 
were, by the mouth of that holy man. There is 
plainly allusion here to Gen. 6:3,“ And the 
Lord said, My Spirit shall not always strive wdth 
man it had striven by the warnings given 
him ; but these warnings shall cease, “for that 
he also is flesh ; yet his days,” the term of his 
probation yet remaining, “ shall be an hundred 
and twenty years.” 

When did Christ preach to the antediluvian 
sinners? Before the food. This is evident, not 
only from the foregoing, but from the following 
connection : “ Which sometime” {formerly) 

” were disobedient, when once the long-suffer¬ 
ing of God waited in the days of Noah” (it is 
not said waited till after Christ’s death, which 
must have been the case, if Christ after his 
death went and preached to them), but “ in the 
days of Noah, while the ark was preparing, 
wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved by 
water.” All the calls of Noah, every stroke 
upon the ark, were so many calls of Christ to a 
rebellious and perishing world (Matt. 10 : 40 ; 
Luke 10 :16 ; John 13 ;.20). It is the constant 
representation of the Bible, that the deluge 
came, when, and not before, God's loinj-sufferiru; 
toward that generation had come to a close 
(Gen. 7:1; Matt. 24 : 37-39 ; 2 Pet. 2 :5\ 
“ Eisner,” as quoted by Macknight, “ on this 
passage, hath produced examples from the 
Scriptures, and from Demosthenes, to show 
that the phrase, he weid and preached, is a 
pleonasm for he pre iched." Among the exam¬ 
ples ffom Scripture, the clearest and most 
direct is Eph. 2 :15-17. “ Havimj abolished, 

etc., he came and preached peace to you who were 






232 


FLOOD ANNOUNCED; PERIOD OF GOD'S PATIENCE. 


afar off, and io them who were nigh." For it is 
certain, that our Lord after his resurrection did 
not go personally to the Gentiles to preach 
peace to them. He preached to them by his 
apostles only. But if Christ is said by Paul to 
go and do what he did by his apostles, he may 
with equal propriety be said by Peter to go and 
do what he did by his prophet Noah. 

There is nothing then in the words of Peter 
to sustain the doctrine of a new probation after 
death. The persons of whom he spoke were 
antediluvian sinners, who, at the time he wrote, 
were spirits in the prison of despair. These 
had been faithfully warned by the preaching of 
Noah, before they were carried away by the 
flood. The argument then from this passage, 
in favor of a second probation to those who die 
in ignorance, is wholly out of place ; since the 
antediluvians were not ignorant, but enjoyed 
man}' advantages under the preaching of Noah, 
whose frequent and solemn warnings they 
utterly disregarded and despised. Divine pa¬ 
tience could bear with them no longer. Their 
wickedness is declared to have been total, and 
})eculiarly aggravated (Gen. 6 :5-7). Even if 
Christ be supposed to have preached to them, 
after their descent into hades, there is not the 
smallest evidence or intimation, that any of 
them obeyed his voice during their second term 
of probation, and were liberated from their 
prison. If the passage prove anything to the 
purpose for which it is alleged, it proves more 
than was intended, namely, that a new probation 
has been granted to some of the most hardened 
sinners, and consequently it is possible at least 
that all mankind will sooner or later attain sal¬ 
vation. The argument is legitimate for XJniver- 
salists ; but overstrained and self-destructive 
when applied to the defence of any other creed. 
J. Woodhridge. 

4. CNiaiit$$ in those days. Almost every 
record of antiquity hands down the tradition of 
a family or race of giants. Nor does their ex- 
.istence appear to be any more enigmatical than 
the amazing strength, magnitude, and duration 
of many of the structures of the ancients—the 
pyramids, for example, and the hundred gated 
Thebes. Geology points us to past worlds of 
gigantic ferns, tree-grasses, and lofty mosses ; 
and to reptiles tall and bulky as the elephant, 
rhinoceros, or hippopotamus. “ There were ani 
mal-giants in those days and why not human 
giants in later days ? The size of the body os¬ 
cillates between certain extreme limits. During 
the early period of man’s history, the extreme 
development of his bulk and strength took place 
to a much greater extent than at present ; though 


the instances of gigantic stature which still oc¬ 
cur are more frequent than is commonly sup¬ 
posed. It is erroneously inferred by many that 
these antediluvian giants sprang from the union 
spoken of in the context between the sons of 
God and the daughters of men. Whereas the 
statement seems constructed expressly to guard 
against such an inference : “ In those days were 
the (well-known) Neph'dim in the earth. Also 
after that the sols of God,” etc. Two periods 
are spoken of. Giants existed prior to the 
jieriod of the unions in question, and continued 
to exist afterward. J. H. 

On the whole, it seems that the antediluvian 
world had reached a desperate pitch of wicked¬ 
ness, the climax of which was attained by the 
fusion of the two races. The marked features 
of this wickedness were lust and brutal outrage. 

P. S.-The flood came, not because the race 

of Cain were corrupt and wicked, but because 
the generation of the righteous had fallen into 
disobedience, lust, and tyranny. When the 
members of the true Church degenerate, the 
judgments of God are close at hand. Ludier. 

It is happily clear that God is moved by what 
we would call moral consideration.s, and not by 
arbitrary impulse, in his government of man¬ 
kind, The man who does an action simply to 
please himself is said to act arbitrarily ; the ac¬ 
tion is not founded upon argument or reason, 
and is therefore arbitrary. 5. In this case God 
gives his reasons, and discloses every step in the 
process of his pathetic and mournful argument. 

God saw that the wickedness of man was great 
upon the earth.” That is the basis of action. 
God's purpose in creating man had been frus¬ 
trated ; its frustration involved the ruin of man, 
as if by a suicidal act. God, therefore, seeing 
that ruin must come, acted judicially, as in the 
first instance he had acted creatively. J. P. 

-“ God saw the thoughts of men that they 

were only evil continually.” They were not 
cherishing their foul conceptions, pursuing their 
mad calculations, unwatched, uhcared for. 
There was an eye looking dowm into their most 
inward secrets, penetrating the intents of their 
hearts. And that was the eye of One who de¬ 
sired to make them right within ; who had de¬ 
termined that His earth should be purged of its 
corruptions,—should fulfil all the ends of His 
creation. And why could He not make it fulfil 
them, by a fiat of His omnipotence ? Because 
He had made man in His own image ; because 
He had given him a will ; because He could 
only restore an I regenerate him by restoring 
and regenerating his will. Hence we have to 
read all the Bible through, of floods, famines, 






SEGTI3N 30.—GENESIS 6 : 1-22. 


233 


pestilences, earthquakes, anarchy, tyranny. It 
is throughout, the history of an actual govern¬ 
ment, - throughout, the history of an actual 
education ; a government of voluntary creatures 
to teach them subjection an education of vol¬ 
untary creatures to make them free. And He 
who carries on this government and education, 
is seen, the more He makes Himself known to 
us, to be not a hard despot, but a loving Ruler ; 
with that heart and sympathy in perfection 
which He requires in His creatures. If this be 
so, do you wonder that it is said, “ It repented 
G'd that lie had m ute man, and it grieved Him at 
His heart"? Maurice. 

Everyman might have exhibited the modified 
excellence of a Seth, an Enoch, or a ^soah. 
Each patriarchal family might have displayed 
its own distinctive phase of excellence ; while it 
yet stood in harmonious relation with the great 
whole. Every succeeding year, from the first 
man to the flood, might have added a new page 
to the volume of Divine manifestation tran¬ 
scribed from the character of man. There was 
no necessitating reason why the day that poured 
down the deluge on a world already drenched 
with evil, did not see it flooded with heavenlv 
light in approbation of its spiritual proficiency. 
But by what long travail in sin had man reached 
his fearful climax ! Every sinful man that had 
lived had tried the patience of God “ in his own 
way,” in a manner different from all the rest. 
Every godless family had varied the great ex¬ 
periment on his long-suffering. What lesson^!, 
warnings, and significant intimations each man 
of many centuries had unconsciously sown 
broadcast as he walked through life ; and what 
vital seeds, numerous as the spores shed in 
autumn, had others unconsciously scattered in 
his path-to be all trodden into the general 
mire ! What myriads of children had come age 
after age, bringing with them traces of their 
Divine origin and mission—to be all wrought 
up into the great organization of evil ! What 
an amount of resistance man must have offered 
to Divine remonstrances and restraints, in order 
to V)reak through them all ! What miseries he 
had been content to endure in his prolonged 
hostility against God ! J. H. 

G. It rcpeiated llae I.<ord. All the lan¬ 
guage of this portion of Scripture is suited to 
the infant condition of the world. Hence hu¬ 
man sentiments are even more than in the later 
books of Scripture attributed to the Almighty. 
No sound criticism would see any appearance of 
myth in this E. H. B.-When the holy Script¬ 

ures speak of God, they ascribe hands, and eyes, 
and feet, to Him * not that He has any of these 


members, according to the literal signification ; 
but the meaning is, that He has a power to exe¬ 
cute all those acts, to the effecting of which these 
parts in us are instrumental : that is. He can 
converse with men, as well as if He bad a tongue 
or mouth ; can discern all that we do or sa 3 % as 
perfectly as if He had eyes and ears ; and can 
reach us as well as if He had hands or feet. In 
like manner, the Scripture frequently repre¬ 
sents Him as affected with such passions as we 
perceive in ourselves ; namel}", as angry and 
pleased, loving and hating, repenting and griev¬ 
ing ; and yet upon reflection we cannot suppose 
that any of these passions can literally affect the 
Divine nature : therefore the meaning is that 
He will as certairrly punish the wicked as if He 
were inflamed with the passion of anger against 
them ; as infallibly reward the good, as we will 
those for whom we have a particular affection : 
and that, when He finds any alteration in His 
creatures, either for the better or the worse. He 
will as surely change His dispensations toward 
them as if He really repented or changed His 
mind. It is by w^ay of analogy and comparison, 
therefore, that the nature and passions of men 
are ascribed to God : so that when He is said to 
repent or grieve, the meaning must be, not that 
He perceived anything that He was ignorant of 
before to give Him any uneasiness (for “ known 
unto God are all His works from the begin¬ 
ning”) ; but only that He altered His conduct 
with regard to men as they varied in their be¬ 
havior toward Him, just as we are wont to do 
when we are moved by any of these passions 

and changes of affection. Stackhouse. -A 

truly comprehensive study of God, and of the 
real conditions under which he must be revealed, 
makes it more than doubtful whether we have 
gained a more accurate, or even a more spiritual 
conception of God, by discarding what is called 
the anthropopathic imagery of the Old Testa¬ 
ment,—representing God as feeling emotions, 
joy, grief, pity, like ourselves. The straining 
after literal accuracy’’ dilutes the vigorous con¬ 
ception. Our God sometimes seems further off 
than the Jewish Jehovah was, and what we gain 
to exactness, in our attempts to eliminate these 
material configurations of Deity, is worse than 
lost to trust, in the dissipating of the personal¬ 
ity. F. D. H, 

” Repentance with man,” says an old divine, 
“ is the changing of the will; repentance with 
Ood the willing of a change." In this case the 
very same principles which w^ould lead him to re¬ 
ward and bless the obedient, would lead him 
also to punish the perverse and rebellious. The 
words before us express, with an energy and im- 







234 


FLOOD ANNOUNCED; PERIOD OF GOUS PATIENCE. 


pressiveness which probably nothing purely lit¬ 
eral could have conveyed, the exceeding sinful¬ 
ness and provoking nature of sin. Bash. -It 

does not bespeak any change in God s mind ^ 
for he is in one mind, and who can turn him ? 
But it bespeaks a change of his way ^ when God 
had made man upright, he resUd and was re¬ 
freshed (Ex. 31 :17), and his way toward him 
was such as showed he was pleased with the 
work of his own hands ; but now that man was 
apostatized, he could not do otherwise than 
show himself displeased : so that the change 
was in man, not in God. God repented that he 
had made man ; but we never find him repent¬ 
ing that he redeemed man, though that was a 

work of much greater expense, H,-As a 

man, when he repents, changes his course of 
procedure, so God, when he changes his pro 
cedure, is said to repent, seeing that such 
change would be in man the result of repent¬ 
ance. Yet there is here a change, not as in 
man, of the will or purpose - but of the work of 
procedure only. Repentance in man is the 
changing of bis will as well as of his work ; re¬ 
pentance in God is the change of the work only, 
and not of the will, which in Him is incapable 
of change. Seeing that there is no mistake in 
his councils, no disappointment of his purposes, 
no frustration of his expectations —God can 
never change his will, though he may will to 
change his work. The cause is, in all these 
cases, put, by metonomy, for the efPect. It 
would seem that all these expressions, whereby 
God is presented to the mind as invested with 
human parts and passions, involve a sort of 
looking forward to that period in which they 
would all become proper and appropriate, by 
our being permitted to view God in Christ, who 
has carried the real experiences of our nature 
into the very heavens, where he sits, not as one 
who cannot be touched with the feeling of our 
infirmities, but as one who has been tempted 
like as we are, yet remained without sin. Had 
God been, in th^ Old Testament, set before our 
niind wholly in the abstract qualities of his 
being—there would have been a lack of unity in 
the mode in which he is presented to the appre¬ 
hension of the heart (we say not of the mind) 
under the two dispensations. But the Lord, 
knowing from the beginning the aspect in which 
he would be eventually presented to the church 
in Christ, permitted beforehand these human¬ 
ized indications of himself, that there might be 
under both dispensations an entire oneness of 
feeling in regard to him. Kit. 

7, The alternation of epochs of tolerance and 
destruction is in accordance with the workings 


of God’s providence here and now. For though 
the characteristic of that providence as we see 
it is merciful forbearance, yet we are not left 
without many a premonition of the mighty final 
“day of the Lord.” For long years or cen¬ 
turies a nation or an institution goes on slowly 
departing from truth, forgetting the principles 
on which it rests, or the purposes for which it 
exists. Patiently God pleads with the evil¬ 
doers, lavishes gifts and warn ngs upon them. 
He holds back the inevitable avenging as long as 
restoration is yet possible—and His eye and 
heart see it to be possible long after men con¬ 
clude that the corruption is hopeless. But at 
last comes a period when He says, “ I have long 
still holden my peace, and refrained Myself ; 
now will I destroy.” A. Mncltren. 

8. I¥oali found ;;race. Now for the first 
time grace itself finds a tongue to express its 
name. Grace has its fountain in the divine 
breast. The stream hus been flowing forth to 
Adam, Eve, Abel, Enoch, and others unknown 
to fame. By the time it reaches Noah it has 
found a name, by which it is recognized among 
men to this day. This completes the circle of 
saving doctrine in regard to God that comes 
down from the antediluvian times He inti¬ 
mates that the seed of the woman, an individual 
pre-eminently so called, will bruise the serpent’s 
head. He clothes our first parents with coats of 
skin—an earnest and an emblem of the better, 
the moral clothing of the soul. He regards Abel 
and his offering. He accepts him that in faith 
does well. He translates Enoch, who walked 
with him. His Spirit has been striving with an¬ 
tediluvian man. Here are the Spirit of God and 
the seed of the woman. Here are clothing, re¬ 
garding, accepting, translating. Here, then, is 
salvation provided and applied, begun, contin¬ 
ued, and completed. And last, though not least, 
grace comes out to view, the eternal fountain of 
the whole. On the part of man, also, we have 
repenting, believing, confessing, offering, calling 
on the name of the Lord, and walking with God. 

9, The close of the preceding document in¬ 
troduces the opening topic of this one. The 
same rule applies to all that have gone before. 
The generations of the skies and the land (ch. 
2 : 4) are introduced by the finishing of the skies 
and the land (2:1); the generations of man in 
the line of Seth (5 :1), by the birth of Seth 
(4 :25) ; and now the generations of Noah, by 
the notice that Noah found grace in the eyes of 
the Lord. The narrative here also, as usual, re¬ 
verts to a point of time before the stage of affairs 
described in the close of the preceding passage. 
Yet there is nothing here that seems to indicate 






SECTION 30.—GENESIS 6 : 1-22. 


235 


a new author. The previous paragraph is his¬ 
torical, and closely connected with the end of 
the fourth chapter ; and it suitably prepares for 
the proceedings of Noah, under the divine di¬ 
rection, on the eve of the deluge. We have 
now a recapitulation of the agent and the occa¬ 
sion, and tben the divine commission and its 
execution. Noah is here characterized by two 
new and important epithets,—ji'ws< and ppvff'd. 
To be just is to be right in point of law, and 
thereby entitled to all the blessings of the ac¬ 
quitted and pistilied. The perfect is the tested 

in holiness. M.-He was perfect, not with a 

sinless perfection, but a perfection of sincerity ; 
and it is well for us, that by virtue of the cove¬ 
nant of grace, upon the score of Christ’s right¬ 
eousness, siricerity is accepted as our Gospel 
perfection. - He walked icilk God, as Enoch had 
done before him ; he Avas not only honest, but 
devout : he walked, that is, he acted with God, 
as one always under his eye ; he lived a life of 
communion with God ; it was his constant care 
to conform himself to the will of God, to please 
him, and to approve himself to him. God looks 
doAvn upon those with an eye of favor, who sin¬ 
cerely look up to him with an eye of faith. 
Hut that which crowns his character is, that 
thus he was and thus he did in his geneiati( n, 
in that corrupt, degeneiate age in which his lot 
was cast. It is easy to be religious when re¬ 
ligion is in fashion ; but it is an evidence of 
strong faith and resolution, to swim against a 
stream to heaven, and to appear for God when 
no one else appears for him : so Noah did, and 
it is upon record to his immortal honor. II. 

That there was during this period a growing 
apprehension of the Divine purpose in redemp¬ 
tion among the obedient, appears plain from 
what is told us of Enoch and of Noah, that they 
“ walked with God,” or in his ways ; and of the 
preaching and translation of Enoch, and the 
I)reaching of Noah. The statement in Heb. 11 ; 
that “ these all died in faith, and were per¬ 
suaded of the promises and embraced them,” 
can only mean that they had such knowledge of 
God’s purpose in redemption so far as then re¬ 
vealed PS to be workers together with him in 
faith. Aivirews. 

11,12. Three times the sacred text repeats 
it, that the earth was corrupt, adding that it was 
full of violence, just as if the watchful eye of 
the Lord, who “looked upon the earth.” had 
been searching and trjdng the children of men, 
and was lingering in pity over it, before judg¬ 
ment was allowed to descend. A. E. 

Our most veritable, though saddest, impres¬ 
sions of man’s greatness, we derive from the 


magnificent ruin he displays. In that ruin we 
distinguish fallen powders, that lie as broken pil¬ 
lars on the ground ; temples of beauty, whose 
scarred and shattered walls still indicate their 
ancient, original glory ; summits covered with 
broken stones, where the palaces of high thought 
and great as{)iration stood, and righteous cour¬ 
age went up to maintain the citadel of the mind, 
—all a ruin now, “ archangel ruined.’’ And ex¬ 
actly this is the legitimate impression of the 
scripture representations of man, as apostate 
from duty and God. Thoughtfully regarded, all 
exaggerations and contending theories apart, it 
is as if they were showing us the original dig¬ 
nity of man, from the magnificence of the ruin 
in which he lies. How sublime a creature must 
that be, call him either man or demon, who is 
able to confront the Almighty and tear himself 
away from his throne. And, as if to forbid our 
taking his deep misery and shame as tokens of 
contempt, imagining that a creature so humili¬ 
ated is inherently weak and low, the first men 
are shown us living out a thousand years of 
lustful energ 3 % and braving the Almighty in 
strong defiance to the last. “ The earth also is 
corrupt before God, and the earth is filled with 
violence.” We look, as it were, upon a race of 
Titans, broken loose from order, and making 
war upon God and each other ; beholding, in 
their outward foice, a type of that original maj¬ 
esty which pertains to the moral nature of a 
being endowed with a self-determining liberty, 
capable of choices against God, and thus of a 
character in evil that shall be his own. They 
fill the earth, even up to the sky, with wrath 
and the demoniacal tumult of their wrongs, till 
God can suffer them no longer, sending forth 
his flood to sweep them from the earth. Bash- 
nell. 

13. Miraculous interpositions were necessary 
in order to prevent the termination of all prog¬ 
ress ; and they were to be expected, as parts of 
a plan from which the Deity has never departed. 
The world itself originated in miracle ; and con¬ 
tains in its bosom the memorials of having been, 
at distant intervals, the theatre of successive 
creations. Man himself, originated in miracle, 
is preconfigured for the recognition of the 
supernatural as truly as he is for the belief of 
the natural. Hence, when it occurred, as in the 
translation of Enoch, it brought nothing new 
into human belief ; the doctrine was there be¬ 
fore. When an inspired communication was 
made, the Divine Being was but contiiiuing the 
employment of a method for the impartation of 
reiiqious knowledge, to which man had owed, at 
first, the elements of even malerial knovNledge— 





NOAH DIRECTED TO MAKE AN ARK 


23 G 

the Parent was but once more speaking to his 
children on affairs of great urgency ; and hence 
the revelation did but corroborate the pre-exist¬ 
ing fears of the wicked and the hopes of the 
righteous. The seasons selected for such inter¬ 
positions, too, would be such as to invite, or to 
excite, the expectation of them ; and, when 
they did occur, so adapted would they be to the 
exigencies of the time, as to stop nothing nat¬ 
ural, and to set nothing unnatural in motion ; 
their tendency being only to impair the force of 
the evils which threatened to destroy all human j 
progress, and to give to that progress continuity 
and impulse. 

“ All observation and experience are against a 
miracle,”.says the sceptic. “ Nature is uniform 
in her operations. The laws of the human mind 
compel my disbelief.” The error lies in con 
founding that inner circle called the course of 
nature, with that larger outer circle—the course 
of providence, which preceded nature and en¬ 
compassed it ; which originated it, employs it, 
and, at distant intervals, adds to it, or modifies 
it, at pleasure. That no similar event has taken 
place may be true. But is that sufficient to 
prove that nothing like it ever will or can oc¬ 
cur? Experience is, in this sense, against 
everything till it occurs. The existence of man 
himself was contrary to all that had previously 
taken place on the earth. If the proposition 
that nothing will take place but what has taken 
place is to be admitted, it must be because it is 
a principle of the Divine Being ; and if it be 
such at present, it must ever have been such ; 
and if it has ever been such, even before crea¬ 
tion began, no creation could ever have taken 
place. There was no precedent for the creation 
of a world, any more than there is now said for 
its destruction. Thus, the objection becomes 
an intellectual absurdity. J. H. 

14. ITIakc an Ark. It was an enormous 
undertaking, demanding all the cutting instru¬ 
ments and metallic implements already in¬ 
vented. Observe the material, as congruous to 
the region as was the shittim or acacia wood of 
the tabernacle to the region of Sinai. The 
“ gopher” wood of the ark is admitted to be 
pitch-wood, therefore light and comparatively 
easy of working. Lexicographers, from the 
similarity of the consonant elements, incline to 
suggest specifically the cypress. Now the cy- 
jirsss abounds throughout Asia Minor. It grows 
to the height of one hundred and twenty feet. 
Nothing could be more suitable. The pine also 
abounds in these regions. The cypress or the 
pine would have furnished the pitch for the 
caulking ; or if we suppose the pitch to be bitu¬ 


men, we are reminded of the extensive petro¬ 
leum works now carried on at Buku on the Cas¬ 
pian, and of the bitumen springs still flowing at 
Is on the Euphrates. And the olive tree of 
which the dove brought a fresh-plucked leaf, 
grows also in Armenia, and is found on the south 
side of Mount Ararat at its foot. S. C. B. 

15 . Of the shape of the ark nothing is said ; 

but its dimensions are given. It was to be 300 
cubits in length, 50 in breadih, and 30 in height. 
Taking 21 inches for the cubit, the ark would 
be 525 feet in length, 87 feet Cinches in breadth, 
and 52 feet 6 inches in height. Two objects 
only were aimed at in its construction : the one 
that it should have ample stowage, and the 
other that it should be able to keep steady upon 
the water. P. S.-The Akk was neither in¬ 

tended nor suited for vauiicul purposes. It was 
not meant for nav'g ition, but for carrying jreight, 
for which it was much more suited than if it 
had been constructed according to the principles 
of shipbuilding. K. 

16. The interpretation of Gesenius seems 
evidently the true, viz. that the unusual word 
translated “ window’ (the word in ch. 8 : 6 is 
quite another word) means really a set of win¬ 
dows, a wdndow course, a system of lighting. 

E. H. B-Noah was to make, i e., to provide 

for giving, light to the ark. This might be done 
by a series of windows or by leaving a vertical 
space on each side, on the ridge of the roof, and 
covering this on the top. AJJ. 

Though there were many rooms in the ark, 
THERE WAS ONLY ONE DOOR. It is said, “ And the 
door of the ark shalt thou set in the side there¬ 
of.” And so, there is only one door into the 
ark of our salvation, and that is Christ. “ He 
that cometh not in by the door, but climbeth up 
some other way, the same is a thief and a rob¬ 
ber.” Spurgeon. 

17. How impressively did the Divine predic¬ 
tion of the flood proclaim the calm, certain, and 
majestic movements of justice! The world 
probably then, as now, derided the idea of its 
destruction ; scientifically demonstrated, in its 
way, the physical impossibility of a general 
deluge ; proved historically that such an event 
never had taken place ; and congratulated itself 
on the superior notions which it entertained of 
the Divine benevolence—notions which ren¬ 
dered it politely horrified at the bare mention 
of such a catastrophe. But on went the note of 
preparation, in the building of the Ark, withotrt 
pause or relaxation. And many a sinner would 
see in the coming crisis, a prediction, by fact, 
of the last judgment. And the “preacher of 
righteousness” would solemnly point to it as an 








SECTION 80.-GENE8I8 6 : 1-22, 


237 


instalment of the great doom predicted by 
Enoch (Jade 14, 15). J, H. 

1§. God here makes Noah the man of his cov¬ 
enant, another Hebrew periphrasis of a friend. 
Jiat wUh thee vuiU 1 establish my rovenanl. The 
covenant of pr.ivhletice; that the course of na¬ 
ture shall be continued to the end of time, not¬ 
withstanding the interruption which the flood 
would give to it ; this promise was immediately 
made to Noah and his sons (ch. 9 : 8, etc.). They 
were as trustees for all this part of the creation, 
and a great honor was thereby put upon him 
and his. The covenant of grace ^ that God 
would be to him a God, and that out of his seed 
God would take to himself a people. When 
God makes a covenant, he establishes it, he 
makes it sure, he makes it good ; his are ever¬ 
lasting covenants. The covenant of grace has 
in it the recompense of singular services, and 
the fountain and foundation of all distinguish¬ 
ing favors ; we need desire no more, either to 
make up our losses for God, or to make up a 
happiness for us in God, than to have his cov¬ 
enant established with us. H. 

"SVe find the key to this great transaction in 
this saying. With thee will I establish my cove¬ 
nant, etc., in the saying of the apostle (Heb. 
11 :4) : “ By faith Noah being warned of God 
of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, pre¬ 
pared an ark for the saving of his house ; by 
which he condemned the world, and became the 
heir of righteousness which is by faith.” The 
whole transaction is thus at once lifted above 
the sphere of the natural. It is no mere record 
of how a great natural disaster once befell the 
earth after 1600 years of the reign of man upon 
it, through some upheaving of the Caspian or 
other seas. It is the account of how, at the 
close of the first cycle of the Adam race the cor- 
ruption became so enormous that judgment 
ceased to linger and damnation ceased to slum¬ 
ber. It was a transaction that has had no par¬ 
allel, nor will have tintil another judgment by 
lire shall fall upon the earth and the heavens 
shall melt with fervent heat. Noah, as the end 
of that cycle, becomes also the Adam—the sec¬ 
ond ancestor of the human race. Hence, as with 
Adam. God entered into a covenant of life for 
himself personally and the race, as represented 
in him ; so now, when about to visit judgment 
upon man in this his second fall and wind up 
that first cycle and old order of things, lie de¬ 
clares to him whom he has chosen as the germ 
for the new race, “ With thee will I establish my 
covenant, ” as before with Adam. This covenant 
idea is not only the scripture form, but the sub- 
limest form of setting forth the relations be¬ 


tween God the Saviour and man the sinner. 
The very aim and end of the representation is, 
to distinguish this revealed religion from mere 
natural religion. The very fact that God has 
endowed man with moral, rational and religious 
faculties, at once puts him above the plane of 
na'ure, to be operated upon by mere natural 
laws as the other creatures and works of God. 
And, accordingly, the Creator is represented as 
entering into covenant with him—that is, re¬ 
vealing himself as the Infinite Personality bind¬ 
ing Himself with the finite supernatural being. 
Thus man is put above the sphere of mere nat¬ 
ural law and natural right, as deducted from 
the universal nature of things. While, indeed, 
by reason of his phj’sical nature, still bound 
like the animal and other creatures of God, yet 
God gives him more than a natural right by 
making him the subject of special jjromises to 
which the Author of nature binds Himself. The 
very term “ covenant” (co-veniens) signifies in 
Scripture a coming together of the divine and 
the human spirit. It involves, therefore, a 
higher class of ideas than those of nature and 
natural things. In nature the ideas are of 
forces, gravities, attractions, affinities, appe¬ 
tites, instincts, etc. In grace the ideas are of 
covenant parties, promises, agreements, oaths, 
conditions, fulfilments, peHectness, penalties, 
rewards, etc. The tendency of the ethics and 
theology of our times to base the relations of 
God and man upon the “ nature of things,” and 
to determine the place of man by philosophy, 
obscures all the higher glory of positive law 
covenant, promise, and the dignity of the hu¬ 
man soul as capable, through faith, of standing 
in forensic and current relations with God. 
This modern tendency is rather to trace man’s 
relations to the universe than to God the 
i sovereign of the universe. Hence the saying 
! to Noah here, with thee I will establish mycove- 
! nant (literally make my covenant stand), implies 
that the covenant with Adam had been impaired ; 
it had fallen down as a covenant with the race 
and had need now to be raised up. Hence as 
Tayler Lewis, by whom these thoughts have been 
suggested, very properly says : “ There is no 
religion without this idea of a personal covenant 
with a personal God, and therefore all such 
views as those of Comte, Mill and Spencer are 
for all moral and religious purposes wholly 
atheistical. They acknowledge no personality 
in God ; they cannot use the personal prono'un 
in speaking of him or to him. It may be said 
in truth that all re'igion is a covenant, even 
when religion appears in its mist perverted 
form. It has some appearance of being in the 





^38 


BVILDIXO OF TEE ARK. 


very etymologj^ of the Latin word. Cicero 
makes it form ‘ re lego,' but a better derivation 
would be from ‘ reVgo,' to bind, bind back —re- 
ligio is a positive bond (higher than nature) 
between straying, fallen man and his Maker ” 

S. K. 

The building of the ark commenced when 
Noah was four hundred and eighty years old ; 
that is, before any of his three sons, Shem, 
Ham, and Japheth, had been born, —in fact, 
just twenty years before the birth of Shem. 
Thus the great faith of Noah appeared not only 
in building an ark in the midst of a scoffing and 
Tinbelieving generation, and that against all hu¬ 
man probability of its ever being needed, and 
one hundred and twenty years before it was 
actually required, but in providing room for I 

his sons” and his ” sons'* wives,” while as yet j 
he himself was childless ! A. E. j 

19. The distinction between clean and un- I 
clean animals—of the former of which seven of 
every sort, and of the latter one pair, were to 
be selected—had even before the flood grown 
up among men as the offspring of custom, and 
the closer observation of nature, and had also 
received the divine sanction. Only the former 
sort M^ere permitted to be sacrificed to the Lord, 
and (after or i^erhaps even before the flood) 
used as food by man, and hence a greater num¬ 
ber of them, seven pairs (the sacred number of 
the covenant), were to be taken into the ark. 
Noah was to transfer from the old to the new 
world, not his mere life, but the pure wor¬ 
ship of God, of which sacrifices formed a part. 
C. G. B. 

20. Only the animals necessary to man, or 
peculiar to the region covered by the deluge, 
required to be included in the ark. It seems 
likely that wild animals in general w^ere not in- ' 
eluded. It is obvious, therefore, that we can- | 
not calculate the number of animals preserved i 
in the ark, or compare the space they would re- I 
quire with its recorded dimensions. We may I 
rest assured that there was accommodation for 
all that needed to be there. M. 

22. Tliu§ did IVoaSl. He prepared the 
ark ; and during one hundred and twenty years 
preached righteousness to that sinful generation I 
(2 Pet. 2 :5). And this we are informed (1 Pet, 

3 18, 19, etc.) he did by the Spirit of Christ: for 
it was only through him, that the doctrine of re¬ 
pentance could ever be successfully preached. 
The people in Noah’s time are represented as 


shut up in prison, arrested and condemned by 
God’s justice, but graciously allowed the space 
of one hundred and tw'enty years to repent in. 
A. C.-Doubtless Noah continued his “preach¬ 

ing of righteousness,” especially as occasions 
arose from the scoffing curiosity of those who 
watched lus work ; but that work preached 
louder still. And so “ the long-suffering of God 
waited in the da.>sof Noah, while the ark was 
preparing.” But it waited in vain. The un¬ 
heeded w'arning, as is usual, only plunged men 
into greater carelessness. They w'ent on, “ eat¬ 
ing and drinking, mariying and giving in mar¬ 
riage, until the day that Noah entered into the 
ark ; and knew not till the flood came and took 
them all away.” P. S. 

Methinks I see those monstrous sons of 
Lamech coming to Noah, and asking him what 
he means bj" that strange work ; whether he 
means to sail upon the diy land. To whom 
when he reports God’s purpose and his, the 3 " go 
away laughing at his idleness, and tell one an¬ 
other, in sport, that too much holiness hath 
made him mad : j^et cannot they all flout Noah 
out of his faith ; he preaches, and builds, and 
finishes. Doubtless more hands went to this 
work than his : many a one wrought upon the 
ark, which yet was not saved in the ark. Our 
outward works cannot save us without our faith ; 
we may help to save others and perish our¬ 
selves . what a wonder of mercy is this I here 
see ! One poor family called out of a world, and 
as it were eight grains of corn fanned from a 
whole barnful of chaff. Bp. II. 

He “ built an ark to the saving of his house.” 
Here was faith, first, in God’s warning—the 
flood will certainly come ; here was faith too 
in God’s promise, or rather in God’s command 
impl^nng a promise—“ If I build the ark he has 
commanded, it will save me when the flood 
comes.” And when a sinner flies for refuge to 
the Lord Jesus Christ, his appointed Saviour, it 
is faith that leads him to Christ, and it is ex¬ 
actly thus his faith works. He has been taught 
at last that God really means something when 
he threatens destruction to sinful men, and, at 
the same time, that he ma^^ trust his merej* for 
salvation when, in obedience to his command, 
he seeks salvation in his Son. “ There is the 
danger,” says God, “ and there is the deliver¬ 
ance the sinner through grace believes him, 
and he is seen fleeing from the danger to the 
great deliverance. G. Bradley. 












SECTION 31.-GENESIS 7 : 1-24. 


239 


Section 31. 


ENTEiUNG THE AKK. FLOOD, 150 DAYS. 

Genesis 7 :1-24. 

1 And the Loed said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark ; for thee have I 

2 seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee 
seven and seven, the male and his female ; and of the beasts that are not clean two, the male 

3 and his female ; of the fowl also of the air, seven and seven, male and female : to keej) seed 

4 alive upon the face of all the earth. Fur yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the 
earth forty days and forty nights ; and every living thing that I have made will I destroy from 

5 off the face of the ground. And Noah did according unto all that the Loed commanded him. 

6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. And 

7 Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives wuth him, into the ark, because 

8 of the waters of the flood. Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and 

9 of every thing that creepeth upon the ground, there went in two and two unto Noah into the 

10 ark, male and female, as God commanded Noah. And it came to pass after the seven days, 

11 that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. In the six hundredth 5 ’ear of Noah’s life, in 
the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day w'ere all the foun- 

12 tains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain 

13 was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. In the selfsame day entered Noah, and 
Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his 

14 sons with them into the ark ; they, and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after 
their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after its kind, and every 

15 fowl after its kind, every bird of every sort. And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two 

16 and two of all flesh wherein is the breath of life. And they that went in, went in male and 

17 female of all flesh, as God commanded him : and the Loed shut him in. And the flood was 
fort 3 ^ days upon the earth ; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up 

18 above the earth. And the waters prevailed, and increased greatly upon the earth ; and the 

19 ark went upon the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth ; 

20 and all the high mountains that were under the whole heaven were covered. Fifteen cubits 

21 upward did the v^aters prevail ; and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died that 
moved upon the earth, both fowl, and cattle, and beast, and every creeping thing that creepeth 

22 upon the earth, and every man : all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, of 

23 all that wvas in the dry land, died. And every living thing was destroyed which was upon the 
face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and creeping thing, and fowl of the heaven ; and 
they were destroyed from the earth : and Noah only was left, and they that were with him 

24 in the ark. And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and flfty days. 


I^ocality of llie Flood. There is a re¬ 
markable portion of the globe, chiefly on the 
Asiatic Continent, though it extends into 
Europe, and w'hich is nearly equal to all Europe 
in extent ; whose rivers (some of them the 
Volga, Oural, Sihon, Kour, and the Amoo, of 
great size) do not fall into the ocean, but, on 
the contrary, are all turned inimrd, losing them¬ 
selves, in the eastern part of the tract, in the 
lakes of a rainless district ; in the western 
parts, into such seas as the Caspian and the Aral. 
In this region there are extensive districts still 
under the level of the ocean. Vast plains, 
white with salt, and charged with sea-shells, 
Rhow that the Caspian Sea was, at no distant 


period, greatly more extensive than it is now. 
With the well-known facts, then, before us, re¬ 
garding this depressed Asiatic regioo, let us 
suppose that the human family, amounting to 
several millions, were congregated in that tract 
of country, which, extending eastward from the 
modern Ararat to far beyond the Sea of Aral, 
includes the original Caucasian centre of the 
race. Let us suppose that, the hour of judg¬ 
ment having arrived, the land began gradually 
to sink (as the tract in the Run of Cutch sank in 
the year 1819) equably for 40 days at the rate of 
about 400 feet per day, —a rate not twice greater 
than that at which the tide rises in the Strait 
of Magellan, and which would have rendered 




240 


ENTERING THE ARK. 


itself apparent as but a persistent inward flow¬ 
ing of the sea. The depression, which, by ex¬ 
tending to the Euxine Sea and the Persian Gulf 
on the one hand and the Gulf of Finland on 
the other, would open up by three separate 
channels the “ fountains of the great deep,” 
and which included an area of 2000 railes each 
way, would, at the end of the fortieth day, be 
sunk in its centre to the dej)th of 1600 feet,— 
sufficient to bury the loftiest mountains of the 
district ; and j^et, having a gradient of decli¬ 
nation of but 16 feet per mile, the contour of its 
hills and plains would remain apparently what 
they had been before, and the doomed inhab¬ 
itants would see but the water rising along the 
mountain-sides, and one refuge after another 
swept away, llug'i MJler. 

The preceding chapter accounts for a period 
of 120 years. In the present chapter we reach 
the end of that period. The ark has been built 
in the prescribed form with due preparation and 
capacity. Noah has done according to all that 
God had commanded him, and now the Lord 
gives to Noah fuller directions concerning the 
animals which he was to take with him. 

3, The boundary line between clean and 
unclean animals is marked by nature. Every 
tribe of mankind would distinguish between 
the sheep and the hyena, between the dove and 
the vulture. Whether animal food was eaten 
before the Deluge or not, it is certain that 
flocks and herds were fed for the sake of their 
milk and wool, and that of them victims were 
offered in sacrifice. This alone would separate 
between the clean and the unclean. It is not 
improbable, that the distinction even of the 
names “ clean and unclean” had been fully es¬ 
tablished by custom, long before it was recog¬ 
nized and ratified by the Law, E. II. B.- 

Many things, established afterward in the law 
of Moses, obtained before that law, and were 
generally practised by the worshippers of God : 
for example ; sacrifices (Gen. 4 : 8, 13), the paj^- 
ing of lithe (Gen. 14), circumcision (Gen. 17), 
the right of primogeniture (Gen. 25), making 
vows (Gen. 28), marrying the brother’s wife 
(Gen. 38 : 8). And some of those things, which 
Moses forbade, were forbidden before his law : 
as the eating of hlooJ, and murder, which was a 
capital crime before the law (Gen. 9 : 4, 6). An 1 
there is no doubt but the difference of clean 
and unclean beasts, with respect t> sacrifice, 
was known and observed before the Law of 
Moses, and before the Flood. Bp. Kidehr. 

There remains in these commands concerning 
food the general truth for all times, that every¬ 
thing outward should by emblem lead us to 


think of what is inward—that the external sym¬ 
bolic purity, like every other discipline and 
custom, especially in the service of God, ought 
to prepare the way for the life of true holiness ; 
and that therefore we can never regard with in¬ 
difference the emblems of our own sins in the 
world of creation, nor anything, indeed, which 
in nature serves to remind us of death and de¬ 
struction, and of the wild power ot unbridled 
lust. GerK 

4. He -went into the ark, upon notice that the 
flood would come after seven days, though, 
probably, as yet there appeared no visible sign 
of its approach, but all continued serene and 
clear ; for as he prepared the ark by faith in the 
warning given that the flood w'ould come, so he 
went into it by faith in this warning that it 
would come quickly, though he did not see that 
the second causes had yet begun to work. In 
ever}'^ step he took he walked by faith, and not 
by sense. H. 

7, His ark w'as builded and the time was 
come that he should enter in. There was some¬ 
thing formidable in that final and concdusive 
step. But the patriarch took it. He felt that 
this contrivance was as mighty as the Divine 
command, and he rejoiced to be the prisoner of 
a promise-keeping God. Fearless and unfalter 
ing he stepped in, and felt that he was now the 
guest of God, and need fear no further ill. And 
in obeying the Divine command and casting 
himself on the Providence of God, the believer 
is like the patriarch entering the dark and un¬ 
proved ark. He knows not what shall be the 
issue. There is no crevice by wliich he can dis¬ 
cern the course along which he is drifting ; no 
aperture to cheer him with the sight of emerg¬ 
ing peaks or nearer land ; no window except 
one overhead, to teach him that he must look 
up and look no other way. And many a time 
the w'inds are loud and the w\aters high. But 
his heart keeps up, till, after long waiting and 
many a prayer, one day the door opes and lets 
him out on a large and wealthy land, and he 
finds how good it is to be piloted blindfold to 
such a pleasant place. To every age the history 
of Noah has been a burning and shining light, 
and the great lesson it has taught is ihefaVhfid- 
ness of God, the wisdom of simply trusting 
Him, and promptly complying with His com¬ 
mands ; and it tells to every prisoner of hope, 
and every pilgrim in the dark. The Lord know- 
eth how to deliver them who put their trust in 
Him. II imilton. 

8, 9. or beasts and fo\vl4 there 
went in. He who first miraculously brought 
them to Adam, that he might give them their 








SECTION 3L—GENESIS 7 : 1-24. 


241 


names, now brings them to Noah, that he may 
preserve their lives. A. C. 

11. Were all the fouiitaiii§ of the 
great deep broken up, and the win¬ 
dows of heaven were opened. It can 
not be imagined that this is a philosophical 
explanation of the flood. The use of Scripture 
is always to describe the phenomena of nature, 
not to trace their hidden causes. The words 
here written express only the effect produced 
upon man’s senses. There was a flood of waters 

from above and beneath. E. H. B.-The 

beautiful figure of the windows of the skies 
being opened is preceded bj’ the equally strik¬ 
ing one of the fountains of the great deep being 
broken up. This was the chief source of the 
flood. A change in the level of the land was 
accomplished. The waters of the great deep 
'^now broke their bounds, flowed in on the 
sunken surface, and drowned the world of man, 
with all its inhabitants. 12 . The accompany¬ 
ing heavy rain of forty days and nights was only 
a subsidiary instrument in the deluging of the 
land. We may imagine the sinking of the land 
to have been so gradual as to occupy the whole 
of these forty days of rain. There is an awful 
magnificence in this constant uplifting of the 
billows over the yielding land. M. 

The Bible does not give us a single picture of 
the dreadful scenes that followed. It merely 
tells us that the tops of the mountains were 
covered, and that every living creature died It 
leaves us to conceive the dreadful realities which 
that statement implies. W. G. B.-The nar¬ 

rative is vivid and forcible, though entirely 
wanting in that sort of description which in a 
modern historian or poet would have occupied 
the largest space. We see nothing of the death- 
struggle ; we hear not the cry of despair ; we 
are not called upon to witness the frantic agonj’- 
of husband and wife, and parent and child, as 
they fled in terror before the rising waters. Nor 
is a word said of the sadness of the one righteous 
man who, safe himself, looked upon the de¬ 
struction which he could not avert. But an im¬ 
pression is left upon the mind w'ith peculiar 
vividness from the very simplicity of the nar¬ 
rative, and it is that of utter desolation. This 
is heightened by the repetition and contrast of 
two ideas. On the one hand, we are reminded 
no less than six times in the narrative who the 
tenants of the ark were, the favored and rescued 
few ; and, on the other hand, the total and ab¬ 
solute blotting out of everything else is not less 
emphatically dwelt upon. Perowne. 

Were there only eight saved? There were 
thousands, millions sought. Nor is it justice to 
16 


God to forget how long a period of patience, 
and preaching, and warning, and compassion, 
preceded that dreadful deluge. Long before 
the clouds rained down death ; long before the 
floor and solid pavement of this earth, under 
the i)rodigious agencies at work, broke up, like 
the deck of a leaking ship, and the waters 
rushed from below, to meet the waters from 
above, and sink a guilty world ; long before the 
time when the ark floated away by tower and 
town, and those crowded hill-tops, where frantic 
groups had clustered, and amid prayers and 
curses, and shrieks and shouts, hung out their 
signals of distress—very long before this, God 
had been calling an impenitent world to repent¬ 
ance. Had they no warning in Noah’s preach-, 
ing ? Was there nothing to alarm them in the. 
very sight of the ark, as story rose Tipon story ; 
and nothing in the sound of those ceaseless 
hammers to waken all but the dead ? It was 
not till mercy’s arm grew weary ringing the 
warning bell, that God “ poured out his fury ” 
on them. The ark stood useless for years, a 
huge laughing-stock for the scoffer’s wit; it 
stood till it was covered with the marks of age, 
and its builders with the contempt of the world ; 
and many a sneer had those men to bear, as 
pointing to the serene'heavens above and an 
empty ark below, the question was put, “ Where 
is the promise of his coming?” Most patient 
God ! Then, as now, thou wert slow to punish 
—” waiting to be gracious.” Guthrie. 

13. Though men were to be reduced to so 
small a number, and it would be very desirable 
to have the world speedily repeopled, yet 
Noah’s sons were to have each of them but one 
wife, which strengthens the arguments against 
having many wives ; for from the beginning of 
this new world it was not so ; as, at first, God 
made, so now he kept alive, but one woman for 
one man (Matt. 19 :4, 8). H. 

16. And the Liord him in. By 

some providential or supernatural agency the 
door of the ark, which could not have been se¬ 
cured with pitch or bitumen by Noah, was se¬ 
cured and made water-tight. E. H. B. As 

he shut HIM ?n, so he shut the othees out. God 
had waited one hundred and twenty years upon 
that generation : they did not repent ; they 
filled up the measure of their iniquities, and 
then wrath came upon them to the uttermost. 

A. C.-These two ideas of closinq and excluding 

are both conveyed by the original as ma}’’ be 
seen (Ps 35 : 3 ; 2 Kings! : 4, 5). There is prob¬ 
ably at the same time a latent implication that 
without such protection the ark would have 
been liable to a violent assault from the desper- 










242 


FLOOD, 150 DAYS. 


ate multitudes, who, from the character given 
of that generation, were undoubtedly capable 
of the most flagrant outrages. And let it be 
considered that something very nearly resem¬ 
bling this will be acted over again. “ As it was 
in the days of Noah, so shall it be at the coming 
of the Son of man.” Not only shall the world, 
as then, be full of dissipation, but the con¬ 
cluding scene is described in nearly the sacae 
words, “ And they that were ready went in, 
and the door was shut !” Bush. 

There is room enough in Christ for all 
comers. Those that by faith come into Christ, 
the Ark, shall by the power of God be shut in, 
and kept as in a stronghold hy the power of God 
(1 Pet. 1 :5). God put Adam into paradise, but 
he did not shut him in, and so he threw him¬ 
self out ; but when he put Noah into the ark, 
he shut him in, and so, when he brings a soul 
to Christ, he insures the salvation : it is not in 
our own keeping, but in the Mediator’s hand. 
The door of mercy will shortly be shut against 
those that now make light of it. Now knock, 
and it shall be opened / but the time will come 
when it shall not (Luke 13 : 25). H. 

1 1-20. With a graphic minuteness we have 
the exact year, the month, the day of the month, 
when the great rain commenced upon the earth, 
and Noah went into the ark. Were ever the 
pictorial and the statistical combined in so 
life-like a description ? Surely the man who 
first painted this scene must have been in that 
ark when it was “ lifted up,” and went walking 
forth upon the waters ; he must have been an 
eye-witness of that irresistibly rising wave, 
those disappearing hills, all ending at last in 
•’that sky-bounded waste. 

19, Under the whole heaven. V^ho 
that has any true love or reverence for the Bible 
'would raise an argument, on these words, either 
for or against the absolute universality of the 
'deluge, or think of interpreting the writer at 
■all by either our modern geography or our 
modern astronomy ! It was all of earth he 
■knew, or that was known to Moses after him. 
'The divine Spirit that employed his vivid con¬ 
ception, as well as his vivid language, has given 
'it to us as the measure and the assurance of his 
* truthfulness ; and it is just that truthfulness 
which, in such an account as this, is of thehigh- 
^est critical value. T. L. 

19. All til® lii^ti nioutitaiti$«. Similar 
'terms are abundantly used where they must 
'certainly be taken in a limited though wide ex¬ 
tent. To notice only passages in the Penta¬ 
teuch itself, although the New Testament sup¬ 
plies even stronger examples ; .compare Gen. 


41 : 56, 57 ; Ex. 9 : 6, 10, 19-22, 25 ; 10 : 5, 15 ; 
Deut. 2 : 25. Macdonald. 

Upon tlic land. The land is to be under¬ 
stood of the portion of the earth’s surface known 
to man. This, with an unknown margin be¬ 
yond it, was covered with the waters. But this 
is all that Scripture warrants us to assert. Con¬ 
cerning the distant parts of Europe, the conti¬ 
nents of Africa, America, or Australia, wm can say 
nothing. All the high hills were covered. Not a 
hill w'as above water within the horizon of the 
spectator or of man. 20. Fifteen eubilK 
upward. This was half the depth of the 
ark. It may have taken this draught of w'ater 
to float it. If so, its grounding on a hill under 
water would indicate the depth of water on 
its summit. The gradual rise of the waters w’as 
accomplished by the depression of the land, 
aided, possibly, by a simultaneous elevation of 
the bed of the ocean. The water, by the mere 
necessity of finding its level, overflowed the 
former dry land. The sobriety and historical 
veracity of the narrative are strikingly exhibited 
in the moderate height to which the waters are 
said to have risen above the ancient hills. M. 

21. All flesiB died—and every man. 
At length there was the entire surface of the 
solid globe without sin,./ —But to think that it 
could not be so but by being withoxd men ! The 
numbers of men—the towns—the camps—the 
arts, the works, the revels, the crimes,—the very 
face of nature itself?—All swept from the crea¬ 
tion ! A deserted, desolate planet that had 
been populous in God’s creation ! Nothing 
short of having gone to another world could be 
so strange. And for sin this mighty destruction 

had passed over the world ! J. F.- If fu'ure. 

punishment for sin be a mxjth, the past judgments 
of God are without import. If men are not held 
to an accountability beyond the grave —that ac¬ 
countability to give an impress to their future 
—then see the necessary transformation into 
benefits of conspicuous displays of God’s judicial 
wrath. The flood lifted to heaven the souls of 
the wave-washed multitudes covered by its 
foam—those waters, the retribution due to idol¬ 
atry and sensuality—"while, as his reward for 
piety, Noah was imprisoned in a floating ark, 
which constituted his only inheritance. Leech. 

The outward results appear to have been two¬ 
fold—on the one side preservation, on the other 
destruction. But when we look a little more 
closely we perceive that there was properly but 
one object aimed at in the dispensation. That 
object was, in the words of Peter, “the saving 
of Noah and his house”—saving them as the 
spiritual seed of God. But saving them from 






SECTION 81.—GENESIS 7 : 1-24. 


243 


what? Undoubtedly from (hat which formed 
the real element of danger—the corruption, 
enmity, and violence of ungodly men. It was 
this which wasted the Church of God, and 
brought it to the verge of destruction. All was 
ready to perish. It was to save him—and with 
him, the cause of God—from this source of im¬ 
minent danger and perdition, that the flood was 
sent ; and it could only do so by effectually 
separating between him and the seed of evil¬ 
doers—engulfing them in ruin, and sustaining 
him uninjured in his temporary home. The di¬ 
rect and immediate object w^as the extermina¬ 
tion of that wicked race whose heaven-daring 
impiety and hopeless impenitence was the real 
danger that menaced the cause and people of 
God, —“ the destroying of those (to use the lan¬ 
guage that evidently refers to it in Rev. 11 ; 18) 
who destroyed the earth.” P. F, 

Only Moali \va§ left. The Divine 
patience had “ endured with much long-suffer¬ 
ing the vessels of wrath fit for destruction,” 
For a hundred and twenty years the seasons 
had revolved. Only the prophetic ark arose ; 
proclaiming that every added day was a winged 
messenger from the mercy-seat inviting men to 
repent. As if lingering to see whether some 
ground might not yet appear for withdrawing 
the doom, whether the world’s last consummat¬ 
ing sin might not be indefinitely delayed, 
“ the long-suffering of God had waited while 
the ark was a preparing.” But man’s intense 
depravity was more than a match for even such 
patience. And now the time had come when 
the evil must be swept from the earth to make 
way for yet greater good. The planet over 
which “ the morning stars had sang together,” 
and which might still have been floating through 
the heavens to the same strains—the ark of space 
—now showed only a solitary vessel in the midst 
of a shoreless waste of waters, freighted with 
the hardly-saved wreck of a world departed. 
But that vessel was conveying into the future 
the precious germs of a new era of the Divine 
manifestation. For the human incarnation of 
the Divine—the great manifestation of God by 
man, as well as to him—is yet to come. J. H. 

Noah lives ^ when all about him were monu¬ 
ments of justice, thousands falling on his right 
hand and ten thousands on his left, he was a 
monument of mercy ; only with his eyes might he 
behold and see the reward of the wicked (Ps. 91 : 7, 
8). In the floods of great waters, they did not come 
nigh him (Ps. 32 : 6). We have reason to think, 
that while the long-suffering of God waited 
Noah not only preached to but prayed for that 
wicked world, and would have turned xiway the 


w'rath ; but his prayers return into his own 
bosom, and are answered only in his own escape ; 
which is plainly referred to (Ez. 14 ; 14), Noah, 
Daniel, and Job shall but deliver their own souls. H. 

In vain doth he fly whom God pursues. There 
is no way to fly from his judgments, but to fly 
to his mercy by repenting. The faith of the 
righteous cannot be so much derided as their 
success is magnified : how securely doth Noah 
ride out this uproar of heaven, earth and waters ! 
He knew that he which owned the waters would 
steer him ; that he who shut him in would 
preserve him. How happy a thing is faith ! 
What a quiet safety, what a heavenly peace, 
doth it work in the soul in the midst of all the 

inundations of evil ! Bp. II. -How easily 

might the Lord have translated Noah as Enocli 
was translated, and have closed the sad record 
of humanity with the flood ! But, in the midst 
of judgments, he had purposes of mercy ; and 
he put salvation in contrast with destruction by 
providing for the safety of his servant and his 
family, and continuing, through him, at once 
the line of descent from Adam and the line of 
promise unto the Saviour. How tender and 
thoughtful was the care that God took of his 
servant in all the preparations for his comfort 
during the time of the flood ! And how strong 
were the faith of Noah and his spirit of obedi¬ 
ence, that led him, without hesitation, to under¬ 
take so vast a work as building and storing the 
ark upon the bare command of Jehovah ! But, 
as he rode above that mighty sea, that faith 
was justified, that righteousness was honored, 
and his ark became the symbol of refuge and hope 
to the people of God in all after-ages. J. P. T. 

The account of the flood concerns us all. The 
sin which brought down that judgment is not a 
thing of the most remote antiquity ; it is of our 
own days, it is here amongst us, it is every¬ 
where. For what does our Lord mean, when 
He says, ” they ate, they drank, they married 
wives, they were given in marriage ” ? He is 
naming, not occasional crimes which disturb 
society, but society’s most ordinary and most 
necessary practices ; things which are neither 
crimes nor sins in themselves ; things which all 
may do and must do. It is as if He had said, 
“ They rose in the morning, and lay down to 
rest at night ; they went to their daily work, 
and were refreshed by their daily recreations ; 
they had their hopes and their enjoyments ; they 
lived as we are living daily.” But then our 
Lord goes on to say, that the end of this life 
was, that the flood came and destroyed them 
all : that is, in the emphatic sense of the word 
death, which it bears when spoken of as God’s 







244 


EXTENT OF THE DELUGE. 


judgment, “ the end of all these things was 
death.” Such simply is our Lord’s language, 
with no softening or explanation given. Yet 
we know that he did not mean that because men 
ate and drank,* and married, and bought and 
sold, and planted and budded, that therefore 
they were and would be destroyed. We have here 
the same sort of language which He employs on 
other occasions ; “ Woe unto you that laugh 
now, for ye shall mourn and weep.” Yet it is 
no sin to laugh. “ Woe unto you that are full, 
for ye shall be hungry.” Y^’et it is no sin to be 
full. “ It is easier for a camel to go through 
the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter 
into the kingdom of God.” Yet Abraham, the 
father of the faithful, was rich ; and David, the 
man after God’s own heart, had kingly wealth, 
and kingly state and power also. Why then 
does our Lord so speak, and that not once only 
or in one place but on several occasions, as if 
this manner of speaking w^ere used purposely. 
We cannot surely be mistaken in believing that 
He did speak so purposely ; that He did mean 
us to understand that there was a natural danger 
in the things of which He was speaking, which if 
left to itself and not earnestly struggled against 
would most certainly lead to the following judg¬ 
ment ; that he who laughed, unless he could 
laugh in faith, would surely weep ; that he who 
was full, unless he carefully remembered from 
whom his good things came, would surely be 
hungry ; that they who lived a peaceful, a busy, 
and a happy life, would be cut off from life 
eternal, unless they took good heed to live unto 
God. And further our Lord meant us to see, 
what experience largely shows, that the things 
which would take away the poison from laugh¬ 
ter, from plenty, from a busy and enjoying life, 
were not things easily to be procured and at 
any moment,—things which all when warned 
of their danger would immediately procure for 
their safety. Arnold. 

Extent of the deluge. There can be no doubt 
that the flood was universal, so far as man was 
concerned : that it extended to all the then known 
world. The literal truth of the narration obliges 
us to believe that the whole human race, except 
eight persons, perished by the waters of the 
flood. But the language of the Book of Genesis 
does not compel ns to suppose that the whole 
surface of the globe was actually covered with 

water. P. S.-If we carefully consider the 

nature of the narrative, we shall surely be led to 
conclude that the deluge is described from the 
point of view of an eye-witness, not from the 
point of view of the Omnipotent. That merely 
is related which actually appeared. The deluge 


described in Genesis is pictured as it would 
have presented itself to the eyes of Noah and 
his family. It is in the highest degree probable 
that the description is really that which was 
given by one of such eye-witnesses. The words 
may certainly mean that the deluge was uni¬ 
versal over the whole extent of the world. Yet, 
if only the inhabited world was inundated, the 
effect would have been the same to Noah, and 
wmuld most likely have been described in the 
same words. Cook. 

It is not to be supposed that the entire globe 
of the earth was covered with water. Where 
w'as the need of overwhelming those regions in 
which there were no human beings V it would 
be highly unreasonable to suppose that man¬ 
kind had so increased before the deluge as to 
have penetrated to all the corners of the earth. 
Ic is, indeed, not probable that they had ex¬ 
tended themselves beyond the limits of Syria 
and Mesopotamia. Absurd it would be to affirm 
that the effects of the punishment inflicted 
upon men alone applied to places in which 
there were no men. If, then, we should enter¬ 
tain the belief that not so much as the hun¬ 
dredth part of the globe was overspread with 
water, still the delitge would be universal, be¬ 
cause the extirpation took effect upon all the 
part of the globe which was inhabited. If we 
take this ground, the difficulties which some 
have raised about the deluge fall away as inap¬ 
plicable, and mere cavils ; and irreligious per¬ 
sons have no reason left them for doubting the 
truth of the Holy Scriptures. Matthew Poole, 

1670.-In fact, some enemies to the Gospel 

have seen the historical proof of the deluge to 
be so strong that they have confessed it to be 
irresistible. M. Boue, an eminent writer and 
scoffer of the French school, has said, “ I shall 
be vexed to be thought stupid enough to deny 
that an inundation or catastrophe has taken 
place in the world, or rather in the region in¬ 
habited by the antediluvians. To me this seems 
to be as really a fact in history as the reign of 
Caesar at Rome.” King. 

The deluge was evidently a local convulsion. 
The object, that of destroying the human race 
and the animal population of its peculiar centre 
of creation, the preservation of specimens of 
these creatures in the ark, and the physical re¬ 
quirements of the case, shut us up to this con¬ 
clusion, which is now accepted by the best bibli¬ 
cal expositors and which inflicts no violence on 
the terms of the record. Viewed in this light, 
the phenomena recorded in the Bible in connec¬ 
tion with geological probabilities lead us to in¬ 
fer that the physical agencies evoked by the 







' SECTION 3L~0ENE8IS 7 : 1-24. 


245 


Divine power to destroy this ungodly race, were 
a subsidence of the region they inhabited so as 
to admit the oceanic waters, and extensive at¬ 
mospherical disturbances connected wdth that 
subsidence, and perhaps with the elevation of 
neighboring regions. Dawson. 

Nor is it possible to conceive of an assem¬ 
blage of all the living creatures of the different 
regions of the earth at any one spot. The Polar 
bear surely could not survive a journey from his 
native icebergs to the sultry plains of Mesopo¬ 
tamia ; nor could the animals of South America 
have reached these except by travelling the 
whole length, northward, of North America, and 
then, after miraculou.sly crossing Behring’s 
Strait, having pressed, westward, across the 
whole breadth of Asia, a continent larger than 
the moon. Or, how could tropical creatures 
find supplies of food in passing through such a 
variety of climates, and over vast spaces of 
hideous desert ? Geikie. 

That the deluge was of limited extent geo¬ 
graphically, and not universal, may be fairly 
assumed on the following grounds: (1.) The 
moral reasons for a deluge do not seem to re¬ 
quire it to be universal, since obviously that 
corrupt generation whose sins demanded such a 
judgment did not overspread all the continents 
and lands of the globe, but appear to have been 
confined within a quite limited area in Western 
Asia. (2.) While on the one hand we may not 
limit the miraculous power of the Almighty ; 
on the other hand, it is not legitimate to assume 
an expenditure of miraculous power indefinitely 
beyond what the occasion demands. This ob¬ 
jection is designed to apply, not specially to the 
supply of water requisite to flood the whole 
earth at once, for there is water enough in the 
oceans and seas to submerge the continents, 
provided only that the ocean beds be tempora¬ 
rily uplifted and the continents relatively de¬ 
pressed : but it does apply with great force to 
the preservation of the living animals and plants 
of the whole world. The narrative assumes that 
the deluge will destroy the land animals and the 
fowls of the air unless they are protected in the 
ark. It also gives us the dimensions of the 
ark, and leaves us to estimate proximately how 
many could be saved alive in it. The narrative, 
therefore, does not authorize us to resort to 
miracle for the preservation of these animal 
races. Now it is entirely certain that only an 
exceedingly small part of all the land animals, 
insects and birds of the whole world were saved 
in the ark. Men versed in natural science es¬ 
timate the living species of vertebrate animals 
at 21,000 ; of articulates, 300,000 - numbers by 


far too great to be provided for in Noah’s ark. 
Yet again : To a great extent the “ fauna” (as 
they are called)—the animal species of the sev¬ 
eral continents —differ widely from each other. 
South Amerrca has its families, many of them 
unknown to other continents ; Australia has it.s 
special group, and Africa its own. It is simpl}’ 
incredible that all or even the mass of these 
animals came to Noah and w'ere preserved in 
the ark. If they had been destroyed by the 
flood, there should be traces of their sudden 
annihilation in the drift of that flood, and geo¬ 
logical research might trace the introduction of 
new races by special creation to repeople those 
continents. No such line of proofs for a uni¬ 
versal deluge is found. The absence of such 
traces of destruction and of new creation makes 
it far more than probable that the flood was 
limited in extent and not universal. Still fur¬ 
ther it is urged against a universal deluge—and 
for aught that appears conclusively—that vol¬ 
canic cones exist—of Etna in Sicily and of Au¬ 
vergne in Southern France—which, being com¬ 
posed of loose scoriae and ashes, must have been 
washed away by any deluge that should reach 
them. The cones of Etna are estimated to be 
12,000 years old. (3.) The apparently universal 
language of the narrative may be readily ex¬ 
plained as other similar language must be in the 
Scriptvrres, without assuming a range of mean¬ 
ing beyond the w’riter’s personal knowledge. 
The writer of this narrative speaks as an mje- 
witness, especially of the great rain ; of the ark 
borne up upon the w^aters ; of the surging back 
and forth of the billows, and of their covering 
“ the high hills under the whole heaven,” i.e. as 
far as the eye could reach. The i-ame style of 
universal language appears frequently in the 
Scriptures, yet subject to limitations from the 
known nature of the case ; e.g. Deut. 2 : 2o ; 
Acts 2:5; Matt. 3:5. Of the sin it is said re¬ 
peatedly—“ The earf/iw^ascorruptbeforeOod 
“ the earf/i was filled with violence.” Obviously 
this same “ earth/' to the same geographical 
extent and not apparently anything more, was 
destroyed by the flood. There is every reason 
to suppose that at this time both the righteous 
descendants of Seth and the wicked descendants 
of Cain were living in the great basin of the 
Euphrates and the Tigris—with great probabil¬ 
ity not reaching out beyond the area bounded 
by the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, the Cas¬ 
pian, Black, Mediterranean and Bed Seas. 
This, therefore, we may assume to have been 
the area submerged by this deluge, and we have 
no occasion to look for its traces beyond these 
limits. H. C. 






246 


TRADITIONS OF THE DELUGE. 


Tradiiions of the Deluge. The evidence shows 
a consentient belief among members of all the 
great races into which ethnologists have divided 
mankind. Among the Semites, the Babylonians 
and the Hebrews ; among the Hamites, the 
Egyptians , among the Aryans, the Indians, 
Armenians, Phrygians, Lithuanians, Goths, 
Celts, and Greeks ; among the Turanians, the 
Chinese, Mexicans, Ked Indians, and Polynesian 
islanders, held the belief, which has thus the 
character of a universal tradition—a tradition 
of which but one rational account can be given, 
namely, that it embodies the recollection of a 
fact in which all mankind was concerned. It 
is remarkably confirmatory of the Biblical nar¬ 
rative to find that it unites details scattered up 
and down the various traditional accounts, but 
nowhere else found in combination. Alto¬ 
gether, the conclusion is irresistibly forced upon 
us that the Hebrew is the authentic narrative, 
of which the remainder are more or less cor¬ 
rupted versions. It is impossible to derive the 
Hebrew account from any of the other stories, 
while it is quite possible to derive all of them 
from it. G. R. 

A recollection thus precise and concordant 
cannot be a myth voluntarily invented. No re¬ 
ligious or cosmogonic myth presents this char¬ 
acter of universality. It must arise from the 
reminiscence of a real and terrible event, so 
powerfully impressing the imagination of the 
first ancestors of our race, as never to have been 
forgotten by their descendants. Far from being 
a myth, the Biblical Deluge is a real and his¬ 
torical fact, having, to say the least, left its im- 
])re8s on the ancestors of three races—Aryan or 
Indo-European, Semitic or Syro-Arabian, Cha- 
raitic or Kushite—that is to say, on the three 
great civilized races of the ancient world, those 
which constitute the higher humanity—before 
the ancestors of those races had as yet sepa¬ 
rated, and in the part of Asia they together in¬ 
habited. Contem. Rev. -The traditions of the 

deluge show that there was, as Scripture affirms, 
a flood by which all mankind except one right¬ 
eous family were destroyed ; and they prove, in 
further conformity with the Scripture record, 
that all the existing tribes and nations of man¬ 
kind are descended from that one family which 
survived the flood. The details given in the 
inscriptions describing the Flood leave no doubt 
that both the Bible and the Babylonian story 
describe the same event, and the Food becmnes 
the starting-point for the modern world in both his¬ 
tories. In their main features the two stories 
fairly agree : as to the wickedness of the ante- 
<iiluvian world, the Divine anger and command 


to build the ark, its stocking with birds and 
beasts, the coming of the deluge, the rain and 
storm, the ark resting on a mountain, trial being 
made by birds sent out to see if the waters had 
subsided, and the building of an altar after the 
flood. All these main facts occur in the same 
order in both narratives, but when we come to 
examine the details of these stages in the two 
accounts, there appear numerous points of dif¬ 
ference ; as to the number of people who were 
saved, the duration of the deluge, the place 
where the ark rested, the order of sending out 
the birds, and other similar matters. G. Smith. 

The Greek tradition of the flood is worthy of 
special notice. The accounts of it vary, but ac¬ 
cording to Lucian, the flood was sent as a pun¬ 
ishment of the sins of mankind, and the whole 
race perished, with the exception of Deucalion 
and his family’, he being preserved on account 
of his piety. Ovid has given a somewhat differ¬ 
ent and more poetical account of the flood. 
Even among the native races of Central America 
Humboldt found distinct traditions of the flood. 
W. G. B. 

In the Assyrian Department of the British 
Museum is a series of terra-cotta tablets bearing 
inscriptions in the cuneiform (i.e., wedge- 
shaped) character, in which the ancient As¬ 
syrian writings are engraved, on one set of 
which this account is found. Their age is 
thought by the decipherer to be as old as the 
seventeenth century b.c., but to represent the 
traditions of a still earlier age. They record, 
though imperfectly^ the dimensions of the ship 
of refuge ; its bituminous varnish ; its inmates, 
both human and animal ; the descent of the 
rain ; the tempest and destruction of life ; the 
duration of the flood, which it places at six 
days and nights ; the cessation of the rain and 
drying of the earth ; and the resting of the ship 
at a mountain called Nizir. They describe fur¬ 
ther the sending forth of a dove, a swallow, 
and a raven ; the going forth of the king from 
the ship, and his erection of an altar at the foot 
of the mountain ; a sacrifice offered by him, 
and its acceptance by the gods ; and lastly, a 
sort of promise combined with warning, as to 
the recurrence of Divine visitation in this form 
by way of punishment for transgression. No 
one can help seeing how remarkably these in¬ 
scriptions confirm the Scripture narrative in 
most respects, and how unaccountable the agree¬ 
ment between them would be except in the sup¬ 
position that both are founded on a common 

origin. H. W. P.-When one of the early 

missionaries to the Sandwich Islands gave aii 
account of Noah and of the flood, the natives 






247 


SECTION 32.-OENESIS 8 : 1-22; 9 : 1-7. 


said that an account had come down to them of 
a general inundation, and that two men escaped 
it on a small emerging point of a mountain ; but 
the particulars given by the missionary they 
had not heard {Bib. Sac. xxii. 418). This 


strange corroboration of the flood from an island 
of the Pacific, is only one of multitudes of testi¬ 
monies from the ohl world, and from the new, 
and from the islands of Ihe sea, representing a 
score or more of peoples. Beach. 


Section 32. 

WATEKS ASSUAGED, NOAH’S OFFERING. PROMISES RENEWED, AND CHARTERS 

ENLARGED. 

Genesis 8 :1-22 ; 9 :1-7. 

8 : 1 And God remembered Ncah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that were with him 

2 in the ark : and God make a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged ; the 
fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from 

3 heaven was restrained ; and the waters returned from off the earth continually : and after 

4 the end of an hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. And the ark rested in the 

5 seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. And 
the waters decreased continually until the tenth month : in the tenth month, on the first 

6 day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. And it came to pass at the end of 

7 forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made : and he sent forth 
a raven, and it went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. 

8 And he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of 

9 the ground ; but the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto 
him to the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth • and he put forth his 

10 hand, and took her, and brought her in unto him into the ark. And he stayed yet other 

11 seven daj's ; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark ; and the dove came in to 
him at eventide ; and, lo, in her mouth an olive leaf pluckt off ; so Noah knew that the 

12 waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet other seven days ; and sent 

13 forth the dove ; and she returned not again unto him any more. And it came to pass in 
the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters 
were dried up from off the earth ; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, 

14 and, behold, the face of the ground was dried. And in the second month, on the seven 
and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dry. 

15 And God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, 

16 and thy sons’ wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee 

17 of all flesh, both fowl, and cattle, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth ; 
that thej” may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. 

18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him : every 

19 beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, whatsoever moveth upon the earth, after their 

20 families, went forth out of the ark. And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord ; and took 

21 of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And 
the Lord smelled the sweet savour ; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse 
the ground any more for man’s sake, for that the imagination of man’s heart is evil from 

22 his youth ; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as 1 have done. While 
the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, 

9 : 1 and day and night shall not cease. And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto 

2 them. Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. And the fear of you and the 
dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air ; with 
all wherewith the ground teemeth, and all the fishes of the sea, into your hand are they 

3 delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be food for you ; as the green herb have I 

4 given you all. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. 





248 


WATERS ASSUAGED. NOAH'S OFFERING. 


5 And surely your blood, ihe blood of your lives, will I require ; at tbe hand of every beast 
will I require it ; and at the hand of man, even at the hand of every man’s brother, will I 

6 require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth maa’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed : 

7 for in the image of God made he man. And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply ; bring forth 
abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein. 


1. Tlie Lord reineiiibercd IVoaSi. 

He had never been absent from him. Speaking 
after tbe manner of men the Lord is said to re¬ 
member him, whom he had at no time forgot¬ 
ten, when the time had come that he should 
manifosi his knowledge of him, his kindness for 
him, and his remembrance of him. Kit. 

3. Returned eoiitiiiiuilly. “Going 
and returning such is the expressive idiom 
of the Hebrew ; it is most pictorial language, 
and denotes a sort of ebbing subsidence having 
its intervals of standing and sinking until it 

reaches the lowest and settled state. T. L.- 

In the sixth month the rain probably ceased al¬ 
together. Some time before this, the depressing 
of the ground had reached its lowest point, and 
the upheaving had set in. This is the main 
cause of the reflux of the waters. All this is 
described, as we perceive, according to appear¬ 
ance. It is probable that the former configura¬ 
tion of the surface was not exactly restored. 
Hence it is vain to seek for a spot retaining the 
precise conditions of the primitive Eden. The 
Euphrates and Tigris may substantially remain, 
but the Pishon and Gihon may have consider¬ 
ably changed. At the end of the hundred and 
fifty days the jDrevalence of the waters begins to 
turn into a positive retreat. M. 

4. Tlie iirk rested. We are told that the 
ark “ rested upon the mountains of Ararat,” 
meaning the mountains of Armenia, for Ararat 
in biblical geography (2 K. 19 :37 ; Jer. 51 :27) 
is not the name of a mountain, but of a district 
—the central region, to which the name of Ara- 
ratia is assigned by the native geographer Moses 
of Chorene. But nothing is more natural than 
that the scene of the event should in due course 
of time be transferred to the loftiest of the moun¬ 
tains of Armenia, and that the name of Ararat 
should be specially afiixed to that one : accord¬ 
ingly all the associations connected with the ark 
now centre in the magnificent mountain which 
the native Armenians name Mads, and the 
Turks Aghri-Tdgh. This is the culminating 
point of the central range of Armenia, the Abus 
of the ancients. It rises majestically out of the 
valley of the Araxes to an elevation of 17,260 
feet above the level of the sea, and about 14,350 
above the valley, and terminates in a double 
conical peak, the lower or Lesser Ararat being 
about 400 feet below the other. The mountain 


is very steep, as implied in the Turkish name 
and the summit is covered with eternal snow. 
Until recently it was believed to be inaccessible, 
but the summit was gained by Parrot in 1829, 
and the ascent has been effected since his time. 
P. S. 

6-13, How can any serious soul fail to be 
struck with this strange combination of the 
minutely familiar and the inexpressibly sub¬ 
lime ? Nothing in the most modern times, fic¬ 
titious or real, could surpass it in this air of 
simple verity. And in reading this whole story, 
so simply yet so grandly told, we are impressed, 
as by a real passing scene, with the belief that 
there actually was such a man as Noah in the 
early world, a very righteous, honest man, who 
had on his mind, whether deceived in his idea 
of inspiration or not, a real conviction that there 
was coming such a flood of waters over the 
whole known land, that, under the influence of 
this belief, he built a vessel, that he took into 
it his family and the known animals of the sur¬ 
rounding country, that in all this he religiously 
regarded himself as prompted by a divine 
power, that the waters did come, that they rose 
gradually as is so graphically described, that 
they as gradually abated, that he sent forth the 
dove, that she returned with an olive leaf in the 
evening as is so touchingly told, that he “ put 
forth his hand and took her and pulled her in 
unto him in the ark,” that “ he waited other 
seven days,” and finally came forth from the 
ark on that very month, and day of the month, 
of which he had made so careful a register for 
those who were preserved with him, and for 
those who should be after him upon the earth. 
T. L. 

9. IVo rc§l for tlie sole of lier foot. 

Though the heart once gone from God turns 
continually further away from Him, and moves 
not toward Him till it be renewed, yet, even in 
that wandering, it retains that natural relation 
to God, as its centre, that it hath no true rest 
elsewhere, nor can by any means find it. It is 
made for Him, and is therefore still restless till 
it meet with Him. It is true, the natural man 
takes much pains to quiet his heart by other 
things, and digests many vexations with hopes 
of contentment in the end and accomplishment 
of some design he hath ; but still the heart mis¬ 
gives. Many times he attains not the thing he 





!bt:vriON 32.-GENESIS S : 1-22; 9 : 1-7. 


seeks : but if he do, yet he never attains the 
satisfaction he seeks and expects in it, but onlv 
learns from that to desire something further, 
and still hunts on after a fanc 3 % drives his own 
shadow' before him, and never overtakes it ; and 
if he did, yet it is but a shadow. And so, in 
running from God, besides the sad end, he car¬ 
ries an interwoven punishment wdth his sin, the 
natural disquiet and. vexation of his spirit, flut¬ 
tering to and fro, and finding no re.st for (Tie sole 
of his foot; the waters of inconstancy and vanity 
covering the whole face of the earth. Coleridge. 

II. Ill her iiioiitli an olive leaf. 
What messenger of returning happiness could 
be more appropriate than a dove, the lovely type 
of purity and atonement, through the Spirit of 
God, offering an olive-leaf, the symbol of the 

renewed fruitfulness of the earth V KalLsch. - 

It was a significant and merciful appointment 
of God’s providence that the dove brought a 
bough from this useful tree, the oil from the 
fruit of which is an emblem of the grace of the 

Holy Spirit. Gerl. -From this event, the 

olive branch became the symbol of peace, and 
the dove the emblem of the Comforter, the 
messenger of peace. After seven other days, 
the dove being despatched, returns no more. 
The number seven figures conspicuously in this 
narrative. Seven days before the showers com¬ 
mence the command to enter the ark is given ; 
and at intervals of seven days the winged mes 
sengers are sent out. These intervals point evi¬ 
dently to the period of seven days, determined 
by the six days of creation and the seventh day 
of rest. M. 

10, 12. There is strong probable evidence, 
from the practice of measuring time by weeks, 
that the Sabbath was never entirely lost sight 
of, and that in certain families, at least, it con¬ 
tinued to be applied to holy purposes. Not 
only did the original reason of the Sabbatic 
appointment remain ; it increased with every 
addition which was made to man’s knowdedge 
of God. The impartation of such knowledge to 
the young would form part of the appropriate 
employment of the patriarchal Sabbath, as it 
did subsequently of the Jewish Sabbath, into 
which probably it was copied. For the pious 
among the patriarchs could not fail to perceive 
that the highest design alike, of the Sabbath 
and of the family economy, was, “ that they 
should make (such truths) known to their chil¬ 
dren ; that the generation to come might know 
them, even the children which should be born, 
who should arise and declare them to their chil¬ 
dren, that they might set their hope in God, 
and not forget the works of God, but keep His 



commandments that the knowledge of the 
laws and purposes of the Divine manifestation 
might be carried forward from age to age. In 
other words, the Divine Procedure in the past 
is never lost to the present or the future. J. H. 

14. In tlie second inonlli, etc., was 
llie cartli dried. The following table will 
exhibit a tolerably correct calendar of the time 
of the continuance of the flood and of Noah’s 
abiding in the ark. 


.. N. 

M. 

D. 

600. 

2. 

17. 

a 

3. 

27. 

< 1 

7. 

17. 

a 

10. 

1. 

i < 

11. 

11. 

a 

< i 

18. 


ii 

25. 

it 

12. 

2. 

( i 

ii 

28. 

601. 

1. 

1. 

ii 

2. 

27. 


17. Noah enters the ark—fountains 
broken up. 

orty days’ rain elapsed—ark 
borne up and floating. 

17. One hundred and fifty days (in¬ 
cluding the 40) elapsed—ark 
rests. 

1. Mountain-tops become visible. 
Kaven sent out. 

Dove sent out—returned. 

Dove again sent out—returned. 
Dove again sent out—returned 
not. 

Ui^accounted for in the narrative. 
Waters dried from off the surface 
—the body of the earth still 
saturated with moisture. 

2. 27. Ground fully dried ; Noah leaves 
the ark. 

The aggregate is one year and ten days. If, 
however, as Ainsworth supposes, the Jewish 
year consisted of only 354 days, six of the 12 
months having each 30 days, and the remaining 
six but 29 = 354, then by adding 11 days for 
the 27th of the second month completed, the 
amount will be 365 days, or a full solar year. 
Bush. 

16. The garden of Eden probably lay near 
the eastern foot of Mount Ararat ; and now, 
Noah and his sons went forth from the ark, to 
repeople the earth, near the very spot where 
Adam settled when he w'ent out from Eden. 
This part of Western Asia is thus distinguished 
pre-eminently as the birthplace of the human 
family. And it was not with the seeds of physi¬ 
cal life only that this region was charged ; in¬ 
tellectual life, and still more, spiritual life, had 
their sources, not in the same spot, but in the 
same district, A circle, with its centre at Haran, 
and a radius of 400 miles, will embrace Eden 
and Ararat ; Babylon and Nineveh, the early 
seats of learning and science ; Mesopotamia, 
where God revealed himself to Abraham ; Phoe¬ 
nicia, where commerce and many of the arts 
of peace arose ; Palestine, the birthplace of 
prophets, apostles, and evangelists innumerable. 





250 


NO Airs OFFERING. 


and the scene of the birth, labors, and death of 
our blessed Lord ; Tarsus, where Paul was 
born ; and part of Asia Minor, where the labors 
of the apostles were chiefly carried on. W. G. B. 

*J1>, Even after the earth was quite dry, Noah 
awaited the express command of God before 
leaving the ark. His first act after that was to 
build “ an altar unto Jehovah,” and there to 
offer ■ burnt-offeriugs” “of every clean beast, 
and of ever}’^ fowl,” Nor was it merely in grati¬ 
tude and homage to God, but also in spiritual 
worship that he thus commenced his life anew, 
and consecrated earth unto Jehovah. In bring¬ 
ing an animal sacrifice Noah followed the ex¬ 
ample of Abel ; in calling upon the name of 
Jehovah he once again and solemnly adopted 
the profession of the Sethites. But there was 
this difference between his and any preceding 
sacrifice, that now for the first time we read of 
building an altar. A. E. 

No sooner is Noah come out of the ark, but 
he builds an altar : not a house for himself, but 
an altar to the Lord ; our faith will ever teach 
us to prefer God to ourselves. Delayed thank¬ 
fulness is not worthj’^ of acceptation. Bp. H. 

-To look back upon the world, and reflect 

that in so short a space of time all his contem¬ 
poraries were blotted from existence, while he 
and his little household were now the sole sur¬ 
vivors of an extinguished race ; to see the whole 
face of creation so entirely changed, and no 
trace of former scenes remaining ; and then to 
think of what he owed to the preserving good¬ 
ness of God, that had kept him safe in the midst 
of such an awful catastrophe ;—all this could 
not but inspire him with overwhelming emo¬ 
tions of thankfulness, which he would naturally 
express. Bu.^h. 

Every fit animal is included in this sacrifice, 
as it is expressive of thanksgiving for a com¬ 
plete deliverance. We have also here the first 
mention of the burnt-offering ; the whole victim, 
except the skin, being burned on the altar. M. 

21. And file Lord smelled a sweet 
savour. This expression is used in condescen¬ 
sion to human thought and language ; and is 
intended to signify that God was pleased with 
the devout service of Noah, sacrificing to him 
from a pure heart, as men are wont to be 
pleased with sweet odors. A comparison taken 
from things human serves in some measure to 
illustrate things divine : and though it is not 
exact, yet it helps to convey a more lively and 
affecting idea of the thing than could be given 
without it. “A sweet-smelling savor” is Paul’s 
phrase in the New Testament ; where Christ is 
said to have “ given Himself for us, an offering 


and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling 

savor.” Wtitniand. -Noah’s sacrifice was 

greatly accepted and highly accounted of by 
God. Buell is God’s condescending love to be- 
lievers, that he looks more at their will than at 
their work ; he minds more what they would 
do than what they do ; he alwaj's prefers the 
willing mind before the worthiest work ; and 
where desires and endeavors are sincere, there 
God judges such to be as good as they desire 
and endeavor to be. Brooks. 

The charming simplicity' of man’s intercourse 
with God in the garden of Eden was here re¬ 
newed through the second father of the race. 
Noah’s first thought, on finding himself once 
more upon the solid ground, was to render to 
God gratitude and devotion for the preservation 
of himself and his family. And God, who ever 
delights in mercy'-, and welcomes the least sign 
of love and gratitude in man, accepted this 
offering as grateful to his own heart, and re¬ 
sponded to it by anew covenant to preserve the 
earth in the orderly succession of its seasons, in 
the beauty and fruitfulness of its harvests. Ob¬ 
serve how closely related are physical blessings 
to religious faith and obedience. He who loves 
and serves God receives not only gifts of grace, 
but the pledge of divine favor in all things ; 
and the very earth in its teeming prosperity is 
a witness to the loving faithfulness of God to a 
righteous man. J. P. T. 

Noah, Abraham and Isaac built altars wherever 
they were sojourning and offered bloody' sacri¬ 
fices thereon. We are shut up to this alter¬ 
native : Either the whole sy'stem of altars and 
bloody sacrifices, as prac'^ised by Abel, Noah, 
Abraham and Isaac, was a thing of no signifi¬ 
cance, meaning nothing and good for nothing ; 
or, God himself originated the system and en¬ 
joined it, and these good men were observing it 
in obedience to special revelation from God. 
The first side of this alternative is perfectly 
precluded by the fact that God approved their 
sacrifices. God “ had respect to the offering of 
Abel.” He “smelled a sweet savor” in the 
sacrifices offered by Noah. The other alterna¬ 
tive therefore, viz. that bloody sacrifices origi¬ 
nated in a direct revelation from God—is the 
only supposition left us. These sacrifices must 
have been practically valueless unless their ex¬ 
piatory significance was in some good degree 
understood. That God ordained them for the 
sake of their moral value, who can fur a mo¬ 
ment doubt? The conclusion, therefore, seems 
inevitable that God not only' enjoined these 
bloody sacrifices, but gave his people to under¬ 
stand in general their significance to the extent 





ISECriON 32.-GENE8I8 8 : 1-22; 9 : 1-7. 


251 


of fulfilling that unconscious prophecy of 
Abraham (Gen. 22 :8) : “My son, God will pro¬ 
vide for himself a lamb for a burnt-offering.” 
These views, if just, are of vast historic value as 
showing how much God taught his people at that 
earliest day, pertaining to his great thoughts of 
redemption for a lost race. H, C. 

The Bible is the history and development of 
Christianity, and nothing else. It is “ the 
Gospel according to” Moses and David, Isaiah 
and Daniel, just as truly as it is the Gospel ac¬ 
cording to Matthew and Mark and Luke and 
John. And this is manifest from the unity of 
idea that underlies all '‘the divers manners” 
of the revelation. For of all the books in the 
world, the Bible is emphatically the “ book of 
one idea.” That idea is the grand enterprise 
of “ the seed of the woman” in conflict with 
the Serpent and his seed, gathering his elect 
body, the Bride of the Lamb, out of all the suc¬ 
cessive ages. It is this Redeemer, Jehovah 
Jesus, who, assuming transiently the shadowy 
form of humanity, speaks with Adam and Noah, 
with Abraham and Jacob, with Moses and 
Joshua. In these cases, just as truly is it the 
record of Jesus Christ, as when it is the story of 
his walking on earth as “ the Son of man” or 
of his communicating his will through the Holy 
Spirit to his Apostles after his ascension. 

Not only is this Great Personage the subject 
of all the revelation alike, but the fundamental 
articles of its theology, even to the detailed 
forms of their expression, are one and the same 
from first to last. The wrath of God appeased, 
and sin pardoned by vicarious blood, is the 
theology of Adam, Abel, and Noah. Vicarious 
blood shed for sin, is the central thought of the 
theology of Abraham and Moses, of David and 
Isaiah, just as truly as in that of Peter and John 
and Paul, who declare “ In him we have re¬ 
demption through his blood ;” and “ His blood 
cleanseth from all sin.” So the central idea of 
the worship which embodies this theology in 
ritual form. In the worship of Abel the sacri¬ 
ficial lamb was the peculiar feature. In the 
worship of Noah and Abraham, and of Moses 
four hundred years later, it is still the lamb 
whose blood is sprinkled, and which figures in 
the gorgeous ritual of the tabernacle. Seven 
hundred years later, in the visions of Isaiah it 
is still the “ Lamb led to the slaughter.” Again, 
seven hundred years, and John the Baptist, 
pointing to Jesus the antitype of all the pre 
ceding types, cries, “ Behold the Lamb of God 
that taketh away the sins of the world,” and, at 
the close of the revelation, as John the Evange¬ 
list is permitted through “the door opened in 


heaven” to catch a glimpse of the glorious 
Church of the future, the worship has still the 
same central attraction—” the Lamb in the 
midst of the throne around whom are gath¬ 
ered the shouting myriads who have ” washed 
their robes and made them white in the blood of 
the Lamb.” S. R. 

22. The gracious announcement that, while 
the earth remained, seed-time and harvest, cold 
and heat, summer and winter, day and night 
were not to cease, implies not only His purpose 
to spare our earth, but also that man might 
henceforth reckon upon a regular succession of 
seasons, and that he was to make this earth for 
the present his home, to till it, and to possess 

it. A. E.-It is an exceedingly profound and 

true thought that the normal succession of days 
and years, on which depend the existence of 
the earth and the welfare of man’s life and 
therefore the regular course of nature, are no 
fixed course of things, but a voluntary gift of 
divine grace. The unbroken continuance of 
creation in beautiful harmony and the unbroken 
development of the history of humanity are the 
fruit of divine grace, which will not let God’s 
glorious plan in reference to creation and hu¬ 
manity be frustrated by man’s sin. And that 
gracious decree is linked to Noah’s name, and 
was carried out in the sparing of Noah and in 
the unchecked growth of his posterity, though 
that posterity became in great part inwardly es¬ 
tranged from God. Ortlli. 

God’s covenant of mercy in the unalterable 
fixtures of the seasons, is full of heavenly les¬ 
sons in every part. While the earth remaindh, 
seed-time and harvest shall not cease. Seed-time 
and harvest are of all the Seasons the deepest, 
most direct, most profoundly thoughtful and 
suggestive in their instructions and their warn¬ 
ings. There is solemn meaning and warning in 
a seed ; though it be out of sight, and dead 
beneath the ground, it speaketh. And every 
growth from seeds, the fruits, the trees, the 
harvests good or bad, all are laden with the les¬ 
sons of character and consequences. Seed-time 
and harvest cannot come and go as seasons, and 
their laws cannot be familiarly known to us 
from year to year, without impressing on the 
mind a sense of opportunity and responsibility. 
The great lesson of a moral probation is borne 
upon the seasons of the j^ear, is hidden in the 
very processes of nature, even as the seed itself 
is deposited in the earth, to germinate and be 
developed. These are stated ministries, knock¬ 
ing at the door of our hearts ; forms of light 
and suggestion visiting every man that is born 
into the world. Cheever. 





PB0MI8ES RENEWED AND CHARTERS ENLARGED. 


2b'2 

The course of nature is always changing. As 
it is with the times, so it is with the events of 
time, they are subject to vicissitudes, day and 
nhjht, su'iimcr am! under, counteichanged. Yet 
nature is cou.>,tant in this inconstancy ; these 
seasons have never ceased, nor shall cease, while 
the sun continues such a steady measurer of 
time, and the moon such a faithful wilnesH in 
heaven. This is God's vovenant of the day and of 
the night, the stability of which is mentioned for 
the contirming of our faith in the covenant of 
grace, which is no less inviolable (Jer. 33 :20). 
We see God’s promises to the creatures made 
good, and thence may infer that his promises to 

all believers shall be so. H.- This promise has 

been kept. So long and faithfully kept, that 
even the unbeliev'ing and infidel uorld has come to 
believe it. We look for the seasons in their 
course and duration as a matter of course. Why 
do we not believe God’s other promises as read¬ 
ily and firmly ? Have we not experience in 
matters spiritual as well as temporal ? Spurgeon. 

9 : 1-7. He repeated to Noah and his sons 
the blessing pronounced on Adam and Eve, that 
they should “ be fruitful and multiply and re¬ 
plenish the earth,” and that the inferior creat¬ 
ures should be subject to them. To this He 
added the use of animals for food. Three new 
precepts were given to Noah, in addition to the 
laws of the Sabbath and of marriage, which 
were revealed to Adam—namely, the abstinence 
from blood, tbe prohibition of murder, and the 
recognition of the civil authority. P. S. 

1. “ Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the 
earth," is a command given to those who had 
seen and experienced the wickedness of the old 
earth, with as much emphasis, with as large a 
benediction, as it was given on the day when 
the heavens and the earth were finished, and 
all the host of them. Maur'ice. 

2. Theold world was buried in the flood, that 
a new order of things might rise from its grave. 
For, manifestly, after the mixing up of the 
Sethite with the Cainite race, an entirely new 
commencement required to be made if the pur¬ 
pose of God in grace was to be carried to its 
goal. Hence, also, God once more pronounced 
upon Noah the blessing of fruitfulness which 
he had spoken to Adam, and gave him domin¬ 
ion over the lower creation. But in this new 
grant there was this essential difference—that 
man’s dominion would now be one of force, 
and not, as formerly, of willing subjection. If 
God had at the first brought “ every beast ” 
and “ every fowl” before Adam, as it were to 
do homage to him, and to receive from him 
their names, it was now said to Noah and to his 


descendants, “ The fear of you and the dread of 
you shall be upon every beast of the earth ; into 
your hand are they delivered.” A. E. 

3, Two grants were made : one to Adam, and 
one to Noah. To Adam it was said, Behold, / 
have given you every herb bearing seed, and every 
tree in the whicri is the fruit of a tree, bearing seed, 
to you it .shall be for meat. To Noah it is said. 
Every moving thing that Uveth shall be meat for 
you ,* even, as the green herb have I given you all 
things. God’s original grant of the use of his 
creatures for food was confined to the vegetable 
creation ; now for the first time the use of ani¬ 
mal food is authorized. Magee. 

3-6. Here, the blood of even those animals 
whose flesh might be eaten by man is forbidden 
for food ; because it is life itself, and therefore 
sacred to the Author of life. And the blood of 
man must not be shed by man, except where 
man is made God’s minister of justice, because 
man is formed in the image of God, and only 
God has a right to take away, directly or by his 
minister, the life from one bearing God's like¬ 
ness. Trumbull. 

4. Flcisli witli Us life, Us blood, 

sliaSI ye not eat. The animal must be slain 
before any part of it is used for food. One de¬ 
sign of this restriction is to jorevent the cruelty 
of mutilating or cooking an animal while yet 
alive and capable of suffering-pain. The drain¬ 
ing of the blood from the body is an obvious 
occasion of death, and therefore the prohibition 
to eat the flesh with the blood of life is a need¬ 
ful restraint from savage cruelty. M.- 

Though animal food was granted, yet the blood 
was most solemnly forbidden, because it was 
the life of the beast ; and this life was to be 
offered to God as an atonement for sin. Hence 
the blood was ever held sacred, because it was 
the grand instrument of expiation ; and be¬ 
cause it was typical of that blood by which we 

enter into the holiest. A. C.-This law was 

prior to that of Moses, but it came from the 
same legislator. It was given to Noah, and 
consequently obligatory upon the whole world. 
Moses, however, insists upon it throughout his 
law. He positively prohibits it four times in 
one chapter of Deuteronomy, and thrice in one 

of the chapters of Leviticus. Bruce. -The 

reason for the prohibition of blood as food is 
primarily religious and evangelical and not 
merely natural. The great fundamental fact of 
this revelation is redemjDtion by blood from 
first to last—the substitution of life for the for¬ 
feited life of the sinner. This was that which 
gave its significancy to all sacrifice. And there¬ 
fore while sacrifice of bulls and goats continued 









SECTION 32.—GENESIS 8 : 1-22; 9:17. 


25.3 


it behooved that reverence for the blood and the 
life which is in the blood should fill the souls 
of men. Nothing would tend so to degrade the 
notions of the fundamental idea of their re¬ 
ligion as in their daily food to eat that blood 
which in the sacrifices of their worship repre¬ 
sented to them their great reliance for salva¬ 
tion. Hence it was subsequently ordained for 
the Jews in connection with their ritual of sac- 
lifice. The decision in Acts 20 requiring the 
Gentiles also to abstain from eating blood was 
chiefly, no doubt, to j)rotect Jewish converts 
and prevent a seeming irreverence for the 
method in which they had been reared, of teach¬ 
ing salvation through “ the life that is in the 
blood.” S. 11. 

5. At tlie liaiid of every beast will 0 
require it. That is, any beast that kills a 
man, shall itself be killed : not as if beasts were 
to blame rf they killed a man ; but this was or¬ 
dained with respect to men, for whose use 
beasts were created. God hereby instructed 
them, that murder was a most grievous crime, 
the punishment of which extended even to 
beasts. At tbe baud of every iiiau’s 
l>rotlier. And, therefore, “ if at the hand of 
every beast, much more will I require it at the 
hand of every manwhom He calls 6ro'/ier, to 
show that murder is the more heinous on this 
account, because we are all brethren. Patrick. 

-God says in effect—Every human life is of 

great value ; every man must set great store by 
his own life ; and every man must consider 
himself in a high degree responsible for the life 
of his brother,—“ Of every man’s brother will I 

require the life of man.” J. P.-Everyman 

ts his brother’s keeper. Everyman is shedding 
his own blood when he sheds his brother’s 
l)lood. The word brother was addressed to a 
family ; Noah and his sons must have inter¬ 
preted it by their own experience. But the 
words “ every man's brother" expanded the prin¬ 
ciple of the family to a higher power. They 
declared that the race was a family ; they inti¬ 
mated that society was to be built up on the 
recognition of an actual relationship among the 
different members of it. Maurice. 

d. lie lliut sheds the blood of mail, 
by man shall his blood be shed. Such 
is the accountability to which God holds man 
for the blood of his fellow-man. The reason 
for this requirement is added ; For in the image 
of God made he man. He that violates the sacred¬ 
ness of that image in his fellow-man, shall for¬ 
feit it in himself. Unquestionably, God here 
requires that the murderer shall be punished 
with death, and holds men guilty who disregard 


the requirement. If he intended bj’ these w’ords 
(as they are sometimes evasively interpreted) 
merely to predict that men would, unauthor¬ 
ized and criminally, put the murderer to death, 
then they are out of place in the connection 
with his own requirement in the preceding 
verse, and he follows them here with a reason 
for the act (“ for in the image of God made he 
man”) that has no fc rce or pertinence. This 
was not a requirement of the Jewish law, to be 
abolished with it. It was made binding on all 
the races of men, descendants of Noah, and has 
never been revoked. T. J. C. 

The passage should be construed in harmony 
with the scope of the context. Its close con¬ 
nection with the use of animals for the food of 
man and with tne ” requiring” of human blood 
shed by the violence of beasts compel us to find 
here precept and not prediction. Still more 
does the historic place of this piecejjt, standing 
upon the ruins of the (dd world and in the pres¬ 
ence of the yet unwasted bones of thousands 
whose wickedness had culminated in such reck¬ 
lessness of human life that “ the earth was filled 
with violence.” It was pertinent to lay a new 
and more effectual foundation for maintaining 
the peace of society and the sacredness of hu¬ 
man life. The solemn lessons of the past re¬ 
quired, not a prediction of retributive vengeance 
under the social law of self-preservation, but a 
divine iDrecept demanding it and enforcing it 
with its logical reason—that “God made man 
in his own image.” You may take the life of 
the lower animals for no higher cause than hu¬ 
man sustenance—food for man’s wants ; -but 
let no man put forth his hand against the blood 
of man, for he bears the very “ image of God.” 
To make this new law the more solemnly im¬ 
pressive, man must himself be the executioner 
of this divine behestma^r shall his blood 
be shed." Society itself must commit to some 
of its members this solemn function and they 
must take the murderer's life. Nothing less can 
shield the life of man from bloody violence ; 
nothing less will duly honor God’s image in 
man. ... It was doubtless wise for God to 
begin as he did with Cain ; but when the race 
started anew after the flood, the Lord advanced 
to the true doctrine and enjoined on social man 
the solemn duty of shielding human life by tak¬ 
ing the murderer’s blood. ” Whoso sheddeth 
man’s blood, by man shall his blood be 
shed.” This was one step of manifest prog¬ 
ress in the revelation of God’s will as to 
the respon.sibility and duty of men in their 
social and governmental relations. It was 
progress in the origination of society—progress 






DEATH PENALTY FOR MURDER. 


built on the great lessons of human history 

H. C. 

As Luther says, God has here instituted the 
temporal sword. This law is to be put into exe¬ 
cution “ by man,” who in God’s room inflicts 
God’s punishment. Hence the divine right of 
the magistracy. However much the reason of 
man may speak and write against the punish¬ 
ment of death, here it stands as a divine enact¬ 
ment, and this is practically enforced through 

the whole Sacred Scriptures. C. G. B.- By 

man shall h>s blood he shed. Chal. “ With wit¬ 
nesses by the sentence of the judges shall his 
blood be shed. ” The w-elfare of society re¬ 
quires that capital punishments should be in¬ 
flicted, not by the stroke of private revenge, but 
by the arm of the authorized magistrate, and 
through the medium of a judicial sentence 

(Rom. 13 ; 1). Bush. -Against murder the 

Lord thus provided by an early law, enacted and 
published before him out of whose loins the 
wiiole world after the flood w^as to be repeopled : 
to show that it was not meant for a national 
and temporar}’ ordinance, but for an universal 

and perpetual law. Bp. Sanderson. - For in 

(he image of God made he man. Murder is a 
great trespass upon God, as it destroys His like¬ 
ness. And self-murder upon this account is for¬ 
bidden, as well as the killing of others. Bp. 

Kidder. - Death is ordered to be punished by 

death, not because one is equivalent to the 
other, for that w^ould be expiation and not pun¬ 
ishment ; nor is death always an equivalent for 
death. But the reason upon which this sen¬ 
tence is grounded seems to be, that this is the 
highest penalty that man can inflict, and tends 
most to the security of mankind by removing 
one murderer from the earth and setting a dread¬ 
ful example to deter others ; so that even this 
grand instance proceeds from other principles 
than those of retaliation. Blackstone. 

The passage recounts the renewed covenant 
of God with spared and restored man—the 
terms of his new lease of the earth, ^e w'as 
sanctioned in killing and eating every living 
animal inferior to man—” every creeping thing 
that liveth. ” Here in the fallen creature, liable 
to passion, and open to temptation, now to be 
familiarized to the frequent use of the slaughter¬ 
ing knife ; and open, at the same time, to the 
consciousness that a similar act would as easily 
remove a rival or avenge an injury. The Author 
of the permission proceeds, therefore, at once, 
in close association with the jiermissicn to slay 
and eat flesh, to throw the ])rotection of a fur¬ 
ther law round his frail and mortal creature, ' 


man. “ And surely the blood of your lives will 
I require at lUc! hand of all that liveth.'' Then 
the law proceeds, “ From the hahd of man, 
from the hand of each his brother, or man his 
brother, will I require the life of man i.e. the 
Lord has a controversy with every man that 
takes away the life of his fellow-man, and will 
follow out that controversy and make inquisition 
for blood. And then the Lord proceeds to show 
how he will deal with such men, what his law 
is in such a case, and what, as the result of that 
law, he authorizes to be done. “The shedder 
of the blood of man”— i.e. in the force of the 
Hebrew idiom, “ when a man sheds the blood 
of man” (and evidently in the same deliberate 
and intentional way in which he has just been 
authorized to shed the blood of the beast ; for 
that, and not casualty or mortal accident, is the 
case in point)—“ by man his blood shall be 
shed.” Fair interpretation can make nothing 
of this but the authorizing the judicial punish¬ 
ment of death. The Lord knew that he was 
legislating for a race that would gather into 
society, that would take cognizance of crime. 
When he instituted a special society, he so in¬ 
terpreted his own law, and authorized the Israel¬ 
ites to slay the murderer ; and universal man, 
throughout all ages, has so understood it. The 
only plausible way of escaping from this mean¬ 
ing, is to assume that the sixth verse is not a 
law, but a prediction ; that at a solemn moment, 
when the communication was most unquestion¬ 
ably institutive and legislative, a sudden change 
should take place in its grammatical character 
and mood ; and that a prediction should be 
uttered of what should afterward occur as a 
matter of casualty. The objection to this is, 
first, its inconsistency with the tenor of the 
passage. The words lo tocalu, “ thou shalt not 
eat of it,” in the fourth verse, are, though in 
the future tense, evidently imperative. Why 
.should we interpret the future tense in the sixth 
verse as only predictive ? If the one is to be 
read as predictive, then the other should ; but 
it would be a false prediction that men should 
not eat the flesh with the blood in it ; for many 
do. The consistency, then, of the whole pas¬ 
sage requires to translate both these verbs in 
the same imperative mood and tense. Again, if 
it i.s a prediction, it is a false and failing one ; 
and then, upon this very point of our postdilu¬ 
vian lease stand the terms of a prophecy which 
God has not fulfilled. It is not true that, in 
the certain providence of God, every wilful 
shedder of blond has been brought to a condign 
and sanguinary death. An. 









SECTION 33.-GENES1S 9 : 8-29. 


255 


Section 33. 

COVENANT WITH NOAH ; HIS SIN, PKOPHECY, DEATH. 

Genesis 9 ; 8-29. 


8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying. And I, behold, I establish my 

9 covenant with you, and with your seed after you ; and with every living creature that is 

10 with you, the fowl, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you ; of all that go out of 

11 the ark, even every beast of the earth. And I will establish my covenant with you ; 
neither shall all flesh be cut otf any more by the waters of the flood ; neither shall there 

12 any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant 
which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual 

13 generations ; 1 do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant 

14 between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, 

15 that the bow shall be seen in the cloud, and I will remember my covenant, which is 
between me and you and every living creature of all flesh ; and the waters shall no more 

16 become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud ; and I will look 
upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living 

17 creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of 
the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth. 

18 And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth : 

19 and Ham is the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah : and of these was 
the whole earth overspread. 

20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and planted a vineyard : and he drank of the wine, 

21 and was drunken ; and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, 

22 saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth 

23 took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the 
nakedness of their father ; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s 

24 nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest son had done unto 

25 him. And he said, 

Cursed be Canaan ; 

A servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. 

26 And he said. 

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem ; 

r 

And let Canaan be his servant. 

27 God enlarge Japheth, 

And let him dwell in the tents of Shem ; 

And let Canaan be his servant. 

28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. And all the days of Noah 

29 were nine hundred and fifty years : and he died. 


§-17, In addition to these promises and pre¬ 
cepts, God made with Noah a Covenant— that 
is, one of these agretmenis by which he conde¬ 
scended again and again to bind himself toward 
man ; not more sacred with him than a simple 
promise, but more satisfying to the weakness of 
our faith. Of these covenants, that made with 
Noah on behalf of his descendants may be 
called the Covennni of God's forbearance, under 
which man lives to the end of time. It repeated 
the promise that the world should not be again 
destroyed by a flood ; and it was ratified by the 
beautiful sign of the rainbow in the cloud, a 


natural phenomenon suited to the natural laics 
of whose permanence it was the token. It is 
important for us not to suffer our relations to 
Adam as our first father, or to Abraham as the 
father of the faithful, to overshadow our part 
in God’s covenant with Noah as the ancestor of 
the existing human race. P. S. 

Already we have studied two of these Seven 
Ttsiaments or covenants. First, the Eden cove¬ 
nant with sinless man, guaranteeing the estab¬ 
lishment in immortal bliss on condition of per¬ 
fect obedience, which covenant failed r.t the 
fall. Second, the covenant of grace with the 




256 


COVENANT WITH NO AIL 


guarantee of redemption, by the seed of the 
woman, of all who believe on the offered Ke- 
deemer, which again utterly failed, except in 
the case of a single family, and was prevented 
from becoming an utter and final failure only 
by the destruction of the whole corrupted race 
for the sake of saving the eight persons of the 
family. Having considered in previous chap¬ 
ters the elucidation and history of the outwork¬ 
ing of these covenants, we come now to the 
third great covenant, which, after a like elucida¬ 
tion in a few chapters, is followed by the fourth 
great covenant, with Abraham as the represent¬ 
ative man, organizing the church as a visible 
government separate from the world at large. 
Then, after a brief history of the outworking of 
that covenant in the patriarchy, comes the cove¬ 
nant mediated by Moses, which is the fifth great 
covenant, organizing a nation as a temporary 
shell to protect the church, with a special loca¬ 
tion assigned to it, along the highway of na¬ 
tions, where all the world must see and know it 
as a peculiar nation. Then, when at last the 
promise of that territory is completely fulfilled, 
and the nation sealed in it, comes the sixth great 
covenant with David organizing it as a typical 
kingdom. Then when the fulness of lime is 
come and Messiah’s work is finished, comes the 
seventh and last—the ‘'New Testament”—in 
the blood of Christ actually shed, and the gos¬ 
pel of the oft nation made the gospel of all na¬ 
tions. The Old Testament is thus actually the 
history and illustration of six Testaments (or 
covenants); this transaction with Noah being 
the third of the sixth in the history of redemp¬ 
tion. S. R. 

§. Cwod spake. Let ns not fail to notice 
those wonderful and beautiful ways of God with 
his children, coming down in such condescend¬ 
ing and most familiar communion, talking with 
them apparently almost as man talks with his 
dearest friend ; and this not in Paradise only 
before the fall, but after the fall scarcely less ; 
and onward as the narrative indicates in the 
case of Enoch and of Noah. What more could 
he have done to reveal sx personal God to mor¬ 
tals? H. C. 

13. I do set my bow ill tlic cBoiid. 

It was now that the rainbow was appointed by 
God to be a memorial both of his justice upon 
the old world, and of his mercy to the new. 

Bp. Wil.son. -“Behold I have set my bow in 

the cloud ’’—my bow that I created when I 
gave both origin and law to nature. It was the 
very symbol of constancy, coming forth so beauti¬ 
fully, as it does, and so regularly after the storm. 
They wanted nothing startling. They had had 


evidence enough of the great power of God, 
whether regarded as miraculous, extraordinar)', 
some awful change in nature, or directly super¬ 
natural ; and now they needed the other assur¬ 
ance that the helm of nature had not been lost, 
but was still held by the same firm, constant 
hand that had ordained it in the beginning. 
The design now was to allay fear ; the peace¬ 
speaking rainbow was to be an attestation of 
unfailing goodness—not of power or retribu¬ 
tion. T. L.-How appropriate an emblem of 

the action of Divine grace alw’ays returning after 
wrath ! Grace still sparing and preserving even 
when clouds of judgment have been threatening 
to desolate and destroy ! And as the rainbow 
throws its radiant arch over the expanse be¬ 
tween heaven and earth, and as with a wreath 
of beauty unites the two together again, after 
they have been engaged in an elemental war, it 
strikingly images to the thoughtful eye the es¬ 
sential harmony that is still to subsist between 
the higher and the lower spheres. Such un¬ 
doubtedly is its symbolic import, as the sign 
peculiarly connected with the Noahic covenant; 
it holds out by means of its very form and na¬ 
ture an assurance of God’s mercy, as engaged 
to keep perpetually in check the floods of de¬ 
served wrath, and continue to the world the 
manifestation of his grace and goodness. P. F. 

16. 1 will look upon It, lli&t I may 
remember. God did not “ set this bow in 
the clouds’’ for His own sake, to engage His at¬ 
tention, and revive His memory whenever “ He 
looked on itthough that be the expression 
which the Holy Spirit, speaking after the man¬ 
ner of men, has thought fit to make use of : but 
fur our sakes was it placed there, as an illus¬ 
trious symbol of the Divine mercy and good¬ 
ness, and to confirm our belief and confidence 
in God. And therefore, whenever we look upon 
the rainbow, we do well to “praise him that 
made it; very beautiful it is in the brightness 
thereof. It compasseth the heaven about with 
a glorious circle, and the hands of the Most 
High have bended it” (Ecclus. 43:11, 12). 
Stackhouse. 

We know that this covenant is in the nature 
of an oath, for in Isaiah he tells us, “ I have 
sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go 
over the earth.’’ There stands the rainbow 
preaching the fact that for the sake of redemp¬ 
tion the world is spared. Hence it is that we 
find the seal of the covenant, as part of the 
symbols of redemption, figuring in the prophetic 
views of the glory of the incarnate God. When 
Ezekiel had his vision among the captives of the 
Chebar—that vision of the real worship of the 





SECTIOIS 88.—GENESIS 9 : 8-29. 


357 


Universe, though the temple had been destroyed 
—he saw among the living creatures, and above 
the firmament over their heads, and there was a 
throne, and the appearance of a man upon it ; 
and around about the throne “ as the appear¬ 
ance of the bow that is in the cloud in the*day 
of rain, so was the brightness round about.” So 
when John in apocalyptic vision saw the door 
opened in heaven, beheld a “ throne set in 
heaven and One sat on the throne ; and there 
was a rainbow round about the throne." S. K. 

Cultivate the spirit of moral interpretation if 
you would be wise and restful : then the rain¬ 
bow will keep away the flood ; the fowls of the 
air will save you from anxiety ; and the lilies of 
the field will give you an assurance of tender 
care. And so with all things God has given us 
as signs and tokens : the sacred Book, the water 
of baptism, the bread and wine, the quiet Sab¬ 
bath, the house of prayer ;—all these have 
deeper meanings than are written in their 
names ; search for those meanings, keep them, 
and you will be rich. J. P. 

B8, IJ>. The two verses form a connecting 
link between the preceding and the following 
passage. After the recital of the covenant, 
comes naturally the statement that by the three 
sons of Noah was the whole land overspreatl. 
This forms a fit conclusion to the previous par¬ 
agraph. But the penman of these sentences 
had evidently the following paragraph in view. 
For he mentions that Ham was the father of 
Canaan ; which is j^lainly the preface to the fol- j 
lowing narrative. M. | 

The world began anew, in the person and 
family of the selected patriarch, whom al(»ne 
“ the Lord h id sten righ'eous in. Hint genera'ion." 
Now then for a better race,— if the human na¬ 
ture were intrinsically good, or corrigible by the j 
most awful dispensations. But, all in vain ! i 
The Flood could not cleanse the nature of man ; 
nor the awful memory and memorials of it re¬ 
press the coming forth of selfishness, pride, am¬ 
bition, anger, and revenge. J. F. 

iiO. The manufacture of wine is the next re¬ 
corded fact of progress. This again is far the 
oldest mention of a process, that of making and 
using fermented drinks, which is nearly if not 
absolutely universal. And inasmuch as Noah 
the husban bnan “ planted a vineyard,” the ex¬ 
tent and plan of the planting would render it 
probal>Ie that the practice was older than Noah. 
It i.s, however, not every region of the earth 
that offers the vine for that purpose. A great 
variety of fermented drinks have existed, such 
as at least seven kinds of beer, made from malt, 
maize, millet, milk, cava, rice, rye, and several 
17 


kinds of wine, as they are called, made from the 
apple, pear, sugar-cane, from the agave in a 
large part of Asia, and from the palm far more 
extensively than from the vine, as in Chili, 
India, the Pacific Isles and all of Africa. But 
in Armenia none of these resorts were called 
for. Its fertile soil, abounding in other fruits, 
yields an abundant supply of grapes. S. C. B. 

As far as we know, the old world was free 
from the curse of drunkenness. Noah’s discov 
eiy (if it was such) was a dark harbinger of woe 
to the new world, of which he was to be the 
father. The consequences to which it led in 
his own case were but a type of the mischief 
which it was to work in the world at large. It 
W'as the lot of the successive fathers of man¬ 
kind to bequeath to their children an element 
of misery. Between Adam's apple and Noah’s 
vine, lamentation, and mourning, and woe have 
overspread the globe. W. G. B. 

21. IVoali drank of tine wine and 
wa§ 4lrunkcn. The Holy Ghost, when he 
hath to do with sin, gives it its own name ; 
drunkenness must be drunkenness, murder 
must be murder. It is neither the goodness of 
the man, nor his being in favor with God, that 
will cause Him to lessen or mince his sin. Noah 
was drunken ; David killed Uriah ; Peter cursed 
and swore in the garden, and also dissembled 
at Antioch. This is not recorded to the intent 
that the name of these godly should rot, but to 
show that the best men are nothing without 
grace, and that “ he that standeth should not bo 
high-minded, but fear.” They are also recorded 
for the support of the tempted, v.^ho, when they 
are fallen, are oft raised up by considering the 
infirmities of others. “ Whatsoever things 
were w’ritten aforetime were written for our 
learning, that we through patience and comfort 
of the scriptures might have hoi^e.” Bunyan. 

One hour's drunkenness bewrays that which 
more than six hundred years’ sobriety had mod¬ 
estly concealed ; he that gives himself to wine 
is not his own : what shall we think of this 
vice, w'hich robs a man of himself, and lajs a 
beast in his room? Drunkenness doth both 
make imperfections, and show those we have to 
others’ eyes ; so w'ould God have it that wo 
might be doubly ashamed, both of those weak¬ 
nesses which we discover and of that w^eakness 
which moved us to discover. Bp. 11. 

21 , It is a strong argument of the veracity of 
Moses, that throughout his history he has drawn 
no character so fair, as not to leave some blem¬ 
ishes still "abiding on it. And it is an act of 
singular kindness and benefit to us that God 
has ordered the faults and miscarriages of His 








258 - 


NOAU'S SIN AND PROPHECY. 


saints so constantly to be recorded in Scripture ; 
since “ they are written for our admonition,” 
to remind us of our frailty and to alarm our 
caution and fear. The example of Noah, who 
liad escaped the pollutions of the old world, and 
was now overcome in a time of security and 
peace, calls perpetually upon “ him that think- 
eth he standeth, to take heed lest he fall.” 

Stackhouse. -God has left this miscarriage 

upon record to teach us, 1. That the fairest 
copy that ever mere man wrote since the fall 
had its blots and false strokes. It was said of 
Noah that he was perfect in his generations, but 
this shows that it is meant of sincerity, not a 
sinless perfection. 2. That sometimes those 
who, w’ith watchfulness and resolution, have 
by the grace of God kept their integrity in the 
midst of temptation, have, through security and 
carelessness and neglect of the grace of God, 
been surprised into sin, when the hour of temp¬ 
tation has been over. Noah, who had kept 
sober in drunken comj)any, is now drunken in 
sober company. The consequence of Noah’s 
sin w’as shame. He was made naked to his 
shaine, as Adam when he had eaten forbidden 
fruit. Yet Adam sought concealment ; Noah is 
so destitute of thought and reason that he seeks 
no covering. This was a fruit of the vine that 
Noah did not think of. Observe here the great 
evil of the sin of drunkenness. It discovers 
meti ; what infirmities thej'' have they betray 
when they are drunken, and what secrets they 
are intrusted with are then easily got out of 
them. Drunken porters keep open gates. It 
disgraces men, and exposes them to contempt. 
As it shows them, so it shames them. Men say 
and do that when drunken, which, when they are 
sober, they w'ould blush at the thoughts of. II. 

Noah may have been but little used to strong 
drink, and hence may not have knowm that it 
would so soon overcome him ; yet Ave may w^ell 
follow the wisdom of Calvin, and say, “ Leaving 
all this in uncertainty, let us learn from Noah’s 
intemperance how foul and detestable a vice 
drunkenness is ” The Holy Scriptures never 
conceal the sins even of God’s greatest saints, 
and the sins of saints are sure to meet wdth 
chastisement. Noah’s piety is plainly recorded. 
It is also plainl}’’ recorded that he fell into sin, 
whether partly of ignorance or wholly of infirm, 
ity ; that sin brought with it shame, and, as is 
KO often found, was the occasion of sin toothers, 
and led on to consequences disastrous to the 
de.scendants of all those who in any degree 
shared in the guilt of it. Noah sinned. Ham 
sinned, perhaps, too, Canaan sinned. So there 
was a herit.ige of sorrow to the descendants of 


Noah in the line of Ham, to the descendants of 
Ham in the line of Canaan. E. H. B. 

22. Ham would not have mocked his father, 
when overcome with wine, if he had not long 
before cast from his soul that reverence which, 
according to God’s command, children should 

cherish toward their parents. Luther. -What 

he did was only an index to his character ; open 
acts give occasion for punishment, but the pun¬ 
ishment is earned by, and is administered for, 
the depravity out of which oj^en acts sx)ring. 
Told lii§ two brellircii. Clearly not that 
they might do wh£*t they did, nor in any such 
spirit ; but jestingly and undutifully. Alf. 

24. Youngrcst son. Many writers of great 
authority, both Jewish and Christian, under¬ 
stand by the term here used, “ his younger 
(little) son,” not his son Ham, but his grand¬ 
son Canaan. This would correspond with the 
tradition mentioned by Origen that the sin of 
Ham was shared by Canaan, or it may have been 
that the chief sin lay with Canaan, and hence 
that he especially inherited the curse. Many 
have adopted this opinion, and it would cer¬ 
tainly solve most of the difficulty. E. H. B. 

25-27. The manner of Scripture here is 
worthy of particular remark. First, the predic¬ 
tion takes its ri.se from a characteristic incident. 
The conduct of the brothers was of compara¬ 
tively slight importance in itself, but in the dis¬ 
position which it betrayed it was highly signifi¬ 
cant. Secondly, the prediction refers in terms 
to the near future and to the outward condition 
of the parties concerned. Thirdly, it fore¬ 
shadows under these familiar phrases the dis¬ 
tant future, and the inward, as well as the out¬ 
ward, state of the family of man. Fourthly, it 
lays out the destiny of the whole race from its 
very starting-point. These simple laws will be 
found to characterize the main body of the jire- 
dictions of Scripture. Further, Scrijiture sees 
the race in the father, traces uii its unity to 
him, discerns in him the leading traits of char¬ 
acter that often mark his remotest posterity, 
and identifies with him in destiny all those of 
his race who continue to take after him. Thus 
Adam denotes the whole race, Shem, Ham, and 
Japheth, its three great branches. Attention 
to this law of the unity, continuity, and iden¬ 
tity of a race, will aid us much in understand¬ 
ing the dealings of Providence wdth the several 
branches of the human family. M. 

These words of Noah are of the greatest im¬ 
portance for the conception of the general his¬ 
tory of mankind given in the Old Testament : 
“ Cursed be Canaan ; let him be a servant of 
servants to his brothers.” “ Praised be Jehovah 







SECTION 33.—GENESIS 9 : 8-29. 


259 


the God of Shem ; and let Canaan be his ser¬ 
vant.” “May Elohim give enlargement to 
Japheth, and let him (.Tapheth) dwell in the 
tents of Shem, and let Canaan be their servant,” 
According to our translation, the passage de¬ 
clares that God is to Shem the God of revela¬ 
tion, while he is for Japheth’s descendants only 
the transcendent Divinity, but at the same time 
it points to a participation by Jai^heth in the 
blessing assigned to Shem : Japheth shall dwell 
in the tents of Shem, gaining domestic rights 
there, which in history has been spiritually ful¬ 
filled in the most glorious manner. . . . The 
race of Shem, to whom Jehovah is God, is 
chosen as the bearer of divine revelation ; on 
Japheth the blessing is conferred through 
Shem ; on Ham, and mainly on Canaan, the 
curse of slavery is to press. On the other side, 
the establishment of that world kingdom which 
is at enmity with God, proceeds from the Ham- 
ites (10 :8 ff.), whose first seat appears to have 
been Babel. Here begins ike distinction between 
the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world 
which runs through the whole Bible. The unity of 
the race of man is broken up into peoples and 
tongues ; but while in the view of the heathen 
the diver.-ity of peoples and castes is original, 
and universal brotherhood is to them a chimera 
and to a degree an abomination, Mosaism, in its 
list of the n'l'ions, preserves the consciousness of 
the blood-relationship of all nations, which are 
again to be united in time to come by one bless¬ 
ing of God. O. 

A threefold development of humanity is fore¬ 
seen in this oracle. One portion of it (Shem) 
will be received into a specially intimate rela¬ 
tion to God, who reveals himself to it as Yahveh, 
It will be the depository of the history of reve¬ 
lation and redemption. Another (Japheth) will 
extend prosperously in the world and acquire 
lasting renown, by the favor of the God who 
makes everything go well with all who fear and 
honor him by right conduct. It will be the de¬ 
pository of culture, and the heroic race of his- 
tory. A third for its ungodliness will bear the 
curse of history, subjected and enslaved by its 
brethren, laden with the world’s ban. It is not 
meant that all Shemitic nations will be united 
with Yahveh and all Hamitic nations laden with 
the curse, still less that all individuals among 
these nations will assume their ancestors’ atti¬ 
tude to God. But regarding history as a whole, 
we see that certain characteristics are heredi¬ 
tary in families of nations. On these leading 
types, which will be more or less rei3roduced in 
their posterit}^ blessing and curse are here pro¬ 
nounced. Orelli. 


Cur§ed be Canaan. The ancient 
prophecies must be understood, not of single 
persons, but of whole nations. The curse of 
servitude pronounced upon Canaan, and the 
promise of blessing nud enlargement mnde to Shem 
and Japheth, extend to their whole race; as 
afterward the prophecies concerning Ishmael, 
and those concerning Esau and Jacob, and those 
relating to the twelve Patriarchs. The curse, 
therefore, upon Canaan was properly a curse 
upon the Canaanites. God, foreseeing the 
wickedness of this people, which began in their 
father Ham, and greatly increased in this 
branch of his family, commissioned Noah to 
pronounce a curse upon them, and to devote 
them to the servitude and misery, which their 
vices and iniquities would deserve. Bp. Eew- 

ton. -They suffered both for their own sin and 

that of the founder of their race. The long-suf¬ 
fering of God did not hasten their perdition. 
He allowed them to grow and prosper during the 
ten generations from Noah to Abraham, and the 
five following centuries from Abraham to 
Joshua ; their fields and vineyards yielded 
abundant harvests, and their land was full of 
strong and populous cities ; but their evil deeds 
accumulated, and they forfeited the land which 
their vices had contaminated. Kalisch. 

Servant of $«ervaiits sliall lie be 
unto lii§ brcllireii. The word brethrtn, in 
Hebrew, comprehends mo^e distant relations. 
The descendants, therefore, of Canaan were to 
be subject to the descendants of both Shem and 
Japheth : and the natural consequence of vice 
in communities as well as in single persons is 
slavery. Several centuries, 800 years, after the 
delivery of this prophecy, the Israelites, who 
were descendants of Shem, under the command 
of Joshua, invaded the Canaanites, smote above 
thirty of their kings, took possession of their 
land, slew several of the inhabitants, made the 
Gibeonites and others servants and tributaries ; 
and Solomon afterward subduod the rest. The 
Greeks and Romans too, who were descendants 
of Japheth not only subdued Syria and Pales¬ 
tine, but also pursued and conquered such of 
the Canaanites as were anywhere remaining ; 
as the Tyrians and Carthaginians, the former of 
whom were ruined by Alexander and the Gre¬ 
cians, and the latter by Scipio and the Romans. 
And ever since the miserable remainder of this 
people have been slaves to a foreign yoke ; first 
to the Saracens, who descended from Shem ; 
and afterward to the Turks, who descended 
from Japheth ; and they groan under their do¬ 
minion at this day. Bp. Newton. 

At present, every vestige of the race of Canaan, 





260 ■ 


NOAH'S PROPHECY AND DEATH 


and even their name, has disappeared from the 
earth. Generally, however, Ham’s posterity are 
to this day subjected to political servitude and 
the bondage of heathenism ; and shall so remain 
until for them also the word shall be fulfilled 
(Ps. 78:31), “Ethiopia shall stretch out her 
hands unto God,”—a prophecy for whose ac¬ 
complishment the way is now being paved. 
C. G. B. 

iJ'O. Instead of blessing Shem, the aged father 
blesses Jehovah, the God of Shem, whom he 
sees in intimate union with Shem. The oracle 
of blessing is thus turned into praise of Him 
who is the source of blessing. Shem’s highest 
happiness is that he has this God for his God. 
Here for the first time we find the genetival 
combination common afterward : God of a man, 
a nation. When humanity parts into different 
branches, the universal Deity also is special¬ 
ized. To one portion of humanity the true liv¬ 
ing God stands in a relation of mutual posses¬ 
sion. OrellL -Noah could only give utter¬ 

ance to his grateful emotions : Blessed be Je¬ 
hovah, the God of the covenant with his pro¬ 
fessed people, the God of all blessings, of e^er- 
ehduring love and faithfulness ! What will he 
not do for his chosen people, brought into rela¬ 
tions to himself so near and so dear ! In this 
line the sweep of his prophetic eye took in the 
Hebrew race—Abraham and the patriarchs ; 
Moses and the pious^kings and holy prophets ; 
and above all, the Great Messiah—to be born of 
David’s line and to be the incarnation of God’s 
mercy to a lost world. No wonder his soul was 
moved to devoutest adoration—Blessed be Je¬ 
hovah who reveals himself as the God of Shem ! 

H. C.--Jehovah was the God of Shem —that in 

the word of Noah was declared to be his pecul¬ 
iar distinction. In like manner, Jehovah from 
the first made himself known to Abraham as his 
God ; nay, even took the name of “ God of Abra¬ 
ham” as a distinctive epithet, and made the 
I)romise, “ I will bo a God to thee and to thy 
seed after thee,” a leading article in the cove¬ 
nant established with him. And as the peculiar 
blessing of Shem was to be held with no exclu¬ 
sive design, but that the sons of Japheth far 
and wide might share in it, so Abraham is called 
not only to be himself blessed, but also that 
he might be a blessing,—a blessing to such an 
extent, that those should be blessed who blessed 
him, and in him all the families of the earth 
should be blessed. P. F. 

^27, Ood §liall cnlnr^e Japliotli. In 
the Hebrew there is a plain allusinn to Jiipheth’s 
name, which ^ignifie-s < nlargement ; as there is 
to manj^ others in Scripture. Japhoth was en¬ 


larged both in territory and in children. As to 
territory, his posterity possessed, besides all 
Europe, the lesser Asia, Media, part of Armenia, 
Iberia, Albania, and those vast regions to the 
north which anciently the Scythians inhabited, 
and now the Tartars ; and it is not improbable 
that the new world was peopled by some of his 
northern descendants going thither by the 
straits of Anian. As to progeny, from the next 
chapter it appears that Japheth had seven sons, 
whereas Ham had only four, and Shem only 
five : and the northern hive was always remark¬ 
able for its fecundity, continually sending out 
colonies southward both in Europe and in Asia, 
both in former and in latter times. 

lie shall dwell in the tents of Shem. By this may 
be meant either that God or that Japheth shall 
dwell in the tents of Shem. In either sense it 
has been fulfilled. In the former sense liter¬ 
ally, when the Shechinah or Divine Presence 
rested on the ark and dwelt in the tabernacle 
and temple of the Jews ; and when “ the Word, 
who was with God and was God/’ pitched his 
tent and “ dwelt among us.” In the latter sense 
it was fulfilled, first, when the Greeks and Bo- 
mans, who sprung originally from Japheth, sub¬ 
dued and possessed Judea and other countries of 
Asia belonging to Shem ; and again, spirituallj’-, 
when they w'ere proselyted to the true religion ; 
and they who were not Israelites by birth be¬ 
came Israelites by faith, and lived, as we and 
many others of Japheth’s posterity live at this 
day, within the pale of the Church of Christ. 
Bp. Newton. 

Wide room (an allusion to his name) may God 
make for Japheth ! For wide room is to his race 
the condition of prosperous development, and 
also its consequence. As matter of fact, Japheth 
has spread, not merely over an important part 
of Asia, but over the distant broad island-con¬ 
tinent of Europe. And to this geographical ex¬ 
tension correspond his conquests in the intel¬ 
lectual field. In all branches of culture he has 
borne off the jDalm. Japheth is to have the lion’s 
share, not only of the possession of the world 
but of the glory of history. OrelU. -As a Ger¬ 

man writer expresses it : “ What are we all but 
descendants of Japheth, who dwell in the tents 
of Shem ; and what is the language of the New 
Testament, but that of Javan spoken in the 
dwellings of Shem ?” A. E. 

2§, 29, Noah lived 950 years ; 20 more than 
Adam, and but 19 less than Methuselah ; this 
long life was a further reward of his signal 
piety, and a great blessing to the world, to 
which, no doubt, he continued a preacher of 
righteousness, with this advantage, that now all 






SECTION 34,—GENESIS 10 : 1-82. 


261 


he preached to were his own children. God 
put a period to his life at last ; though he lived 
long, yet he died, having, probably, first seen 
many that descended from him, dead before 
him. Noah lived to see two worlds, but being 
an heir of the righteousness which is by faith, 
when he died he went to see a better than 

either, H.-Noah lived for 350 years after 

the Flood, and died at the age of 950, just half¬ 
way, according to the common chronology, be¬ 
tween the Creation and the Christian era. He 
survived the fifth and eighth of his descend¬ 
ants, Te’eg and Ecu ; he was for 128 years con¬ 
temporary with Ttrah, the father of Abraham; 
and died only two years before the birth of 
Abraham himself. Looking backward, w'e find 
that he was born only 126 years after the death 
of Adam, and fourteen years after that of Sdh. 
He w'as contemporary with Enoft for 84 years, 
and with the remaining six antediluvian patri¬ 
archs (except Enoch) for centuries. These com¬ 
putations show by how few steps, and yet by 
how many contemporary teachers, the traditions 
of primeval history may have been handed 
down - from Adam to Noah, and from Noah to 
Abraham, and, we might add, from Abraham to 
Moses. P. S. 

The history of Noah is now closed, in the 
customary form of the fifth chapter. This 
marks a connection between the third and 
fourth documents, and points to one hand as 


the composer, or at least compiler, of both. 
The document now closed could not have had 
the last paragraph appended to it till after the 
death of Noah. But, with the exception of these 
two verses, it might have been composed hun¬ 
dreds of years before. This strongly favors the 
notion of a constant continuatcr, or, at all 
events, continuation of the sacred history. 
Every new prophet and inspired writer whom 
God raised up added the necessary portion and 
made the necessary insertions in the sacred rec¬ 
ord. And hence the Word of God had a pro¬ 
gressive growth and adaptation to the successive 
ages of the church. The present document 
stands between the old world and the new. 
Hence it has a double character, being the close 
of the antediluvian historj% and the introduc¬ 
tion to that of the postdiluvian race. It records 
a great event, pregnant with warning to all 
future generations of men. And it notes the 
delegation, bj" God to man, of authority to pun¬ 
ish the murderer by death, and therefore to en¬ 
force all the minor sanctions of law for breaches 
of the civil compact. It therefore points out 
the institution of civil government as coming 
from God, and clearl}^ exhibits the accountability 
of all governments to God for all the powers 
they hold, and for the mode in which they are 
exercised. This also is a great historical lesson 
for all ages. M. 


Section 34. 

« NATIONS DIVIDED IN THE EARTH.’’ 

Genesis 10 :1-32. 

1 Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth : and unto them 
were sons born after the flood. 

2 The sons of Japheth ; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, 

3 and Tiras. And the sons of Gomer ; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. And the sons 

4 of Javan ; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. Of these were the isles of the 

5 nations divided in their lands, every one after his tongue ; after their families, in their 
nations. 

6 And the sons of Ham ; Cush, and Mizraim, and Put, and Canaan. And the sons of Cush ; 

7 Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabteca : and the sons of Raamah ; Sheba, 

8 an 1 Dedan. And Cush begat Nimrod : he began to be a mighty one in the earth. Ho was a 

9 mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Take Nimrod a mighty hunter before the 

10 Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom w'as Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in 

11 the land of Shinar. Out of that land he went forth into Assyria, and builded Nineveh, and 

12 Rehoboth-Ir, and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (the same is the great city)* 








262 


NATIONS DIVIDED IN TUE EARTHS 


13 And Mizmim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, and Pathrusim, an4 

14 Casluhim (whence went forth the Philistines), and Caphtorim. 

15 And Canaan begat Zidon his firstborn, and Heth ; and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and 

16 the Girgashite ; and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite ; and the Arvadite, and the 

17 Zemarite, and the Hamathite : and afterward were the families of the Canaanite spread 

18 abroad. And the border of the Canaanite was from Zidon, as thou goest toward Gerar, unto 

19 Gaza ; as thou goest toward Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, unto Lasha, 

20 These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, in their 
nations. 

21 And unto Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, to him 

22 also were children born. The sons of Shem ; Elam, and Asshur, and Arpachshad, and Lud, 

23 and Aram. And the sons of Aram ; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash. And Arpachshad 

24 begat Shelah ; and Shelah begat Eber. And unto Eber were born two sons : the name of the 

25 one was Peleg ; for in his days was the earth divided : and his brother’s name was Joktan. 

26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah ; and Hadoram, and 

27 Uzal, and Diklah ; and Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba ; and Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: 

28 all these were the sons of Joktan. And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest toward 

29 Sephar, the mountain of the east. 30 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after 

31 their tongues, in their lands, after their nations. 

32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations : and of 
these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood. 


The tenth chapter of Genesis has furnished 
the basis of a vast amount of investigation and 
called forth a singular amount of admiration, 
V)eing, in Bunsen’s language, “ the most learned 
of all ancient documents, and the most ancient 
among the learned or, as Johannes Von 
Muller puts it, “ history has its beginning in 
this table.” S. C. B. 

The tenth chapter of Genesis is the most re- 
markaV)le historical document in existence ; re¬ 
markable, because associated with facts in the 
past which have been established, and with facts 
in the future which could only be known to one 
Bupernaturally instructed. No page of historj^ 
can be made parallel with it. The records of 
succeeding centuries confirm it, and the present 
condition of the world is its commentary. W. 

Fraser. -The evident purpose of this chapter 

is to present in an ethnographic chart the illus¬ 
tration of the outworking of God’s providence 
in the fulfilment of the prophecy to Noah. And 
it furnishes another strong proof in confirma¬ 
tion of the superhuman character of this his¬ 
tory, that it thus so boldly ventures upon such 
a detail of facts, which historicsrl science may 
put rigidl}^ to the test. Bishop Butler well re¬ 
marks in the analogy (pt. 2, chap 7) how the 
historic character of these sacred records, and 
especially the great length of time which they 
cover, and the great extent and variety of sub¬ 
jects whereof they treat, gives the largest scope 
for criticism, and if the narrative be not true 
this should render the task of confuting it very 
easy. Can any man believe that if such a his 
tor 3 % dealing with the affairs of all the greatest 


nations of antiquity,w'ere a fictitious narrative- 
modern historical science, with its searching 
methods and its exact and extended knowledge, 
would not long since have completel.y overthrown 
the historical authority of the sacred volume ? 
But what is remarkable of modern historical 
inquiry is that as it has found histories and 
monuments long buried and unlocked the stores 
to increase in extent and exactness the knowl¬ 
edge of primeval times- instead of contradic¬ 
tion, all harmonizes with and confirms this 
chart as valid historical statement. We have 
seen how the narrative of Eden and the fall of 
man, and also the subsequent destruction of the 
flood, have been attested by all the traditions of 
the nations and ages. Now we approach the 
era when scientific history may delve out from 
the ruins of the ancient ages at least sufficient 
facts to test the only historic narrative in exist¬ 
ence of the first thousand years after the flood. 
This book volunteers a general statement of the 
repeopling of the earth. The first feature of 
the statement is that it enumerates the nations 
under three heads—the sons of Japheth, the 
sons of Ham and the sons of Shem. Now the 
most advanced modern ethnological science 
having set itself by a careful analysis of facts 
to establish a classification of races, has formed 
a precisel}'^ similar triple division of mankind 
into the Semitic, the Aryan and the Turanian, 
or ” Allophylian.” And when we proceed to 
examine the groups into which this 10th of 
Genesis has thrown the races, we find a most re¬ 
markable agreement with the conclusions to 
which ethnological science has come from a 




SECTIOJS^ 34.—GENESIS 10 : 1-32. 


2C3 


consideration, independent of the Bible history, 
of the facts of human language and physical 
type, Prichard and Bunsen and Max Muller, 
Rawlinson and Wilkinson but indorse the older 
learning and diligence, in another line of in¬ 
quiry, as pursued in the methods of Bales, of 
Faber, of Buchart, of Leclerc, of Sir William 
Jones, who before them had labored so success¬ 
fully in these inquiries, and the results of 
whose conclusions corroborated this general 
statement in Genesis 10th. S. R. 

Whether Chaldean or Phoenician, Egyptian or 
Arabian, Greek or Roman, Mongol or Tartar, 
Indo-Germanic, Celtic, Belgic or Briton—all 
find the germ of their nationality in this won¬ 
derful chapter, and all concur to swell and sub¬ 
stantiate the proof that the human race sprang 
from Noah and that we have no occasion to look 
for pre-Adamic men or for tribes that escaj)ed 
the flood and have no pedigree among the sons 
of Noah. All the light that comes up from the 
comparative study of the languages of the race 
helps us still to follow the track of the emigrat¬ 
ing tribes as they diverged from the ancient 
home of Noah’s family. The Science of Eth¬ 
nography begins with this chapter of inspira¬ 
tion, H C. 

The Scriptural ethnography which divides 
the human family’ into three great families, the 
Semitic, Japhetan, and Hamite, is confirmed 
from so many sources, from tradition, from 
monuments, from names of tribes and places, 
from affinities of language, from profane his- 
tory, that its correctness, apart from all refer¬ 
ence to the divine authority of the Bible, can¬ 
not be reasonably questioned. B. & F. Ev. Rev. 
-What could be more fitting than to recog¬ 
nize in this narrative the account of the division 
of Central Asiatic mankind into those three 
great world-historical races, which form in 
themselves a unity, and to which we are now in 
a position to trace back all the peoples of Asia 
and Europe known to us by their speech ? Re¬ 
search respecting these three races, the Turani¬ 
ans, the Semites, and the Aryans, leads us to a 
great common centre —the district bounded by 
the mountains of Central Asia—the Caucasus, 
Ararat and the Altai. Bunsen. 

According to the Scriptures, the terrestrial 
Paradise, the birthplace of the human race, 
was located on the high table-lands of Central 
Asia, affording an outflow to the four great 
rivers named in Genesis. From this centre, the 
fountain of populations, the nations of the Old 
World whose history is recorded in the Bible, 
flowed down toward the south along the chan 
nels of the Tigris and the Euphrates, and west¬ 


ward toward Palestine, Egypt, Asia Minor, and 
Europe. In this way the unity of the race is 
maintained, all the modern peoples being de¬ 
rived from a common centre, and connected by 
intimate ties of blood and language plainly legi¬ 
ble after so many ages of separation from the 
original root. D. Sherman. 

The document (chaps. 10 : —11 : 9) relates 
to the generations of the sons of Noah. It pre¬ 
sents first a genealogy of the nations, and then 
an account of the distribution of mankind into 
nations, and their dispersion over the earth 
This is the last section which treats historically 
of the whole human race. Only in incidental, 
didactic, or prophetic passages do we ag-tin 
meet with mankind as a whole in the Old Tes¬ 
tament. The present chapter signalizes a new 
step in the development of the human race. 
They pass from the one family to the seventy 
nations. This great process covers the space of 
time from Noah to Abraham. During this 
period the race was rapidly increasing under 
the covenant made with Noah. M. 

I. The ethnological table, to which the first 
verse forms, as it were, the general title, is im¬ 
mediately connected with the genealogical table 
of chap. V. It gives us the only true and cer¬ 
tain basis for the history of the most ancient 
nations, and of the gradual spread of the pos¬ 
terity of Noah in segregated races over the coun¬ 
tries of the globe. The stronger the light 
which, in these modern days, has been ca^t 
upon the study of countries, nations, and lan¬ 
guages, the more have the notices in this and 
the following chapters been confirmed, as his¬ 
torically and geographically true. C. G. B. 

This genealogical table shows us the connec¬ 
tion and the severance of the nations of the old 
world, according to their position toward the 
history of the kingdom of God. Those nations 
which had most influence on it in its course are 
minutely reckoned up ; others, which had but a 
remote connection therewith, are scarcely 

touched on. Gerl. -No ethnology in his 

period, no history, no philology, could have 
taught that to Moses ; but now the historian, 
helped by all the monuments of Babjdon, As¬ 
syria, Egypt, and Palestine, and the philologist 
and the ethnologist all agree, after their marvel¬ 
lous researches in this century, that the tenth 
chapter of Genesis exactly describes the distri¬ 
bution of the race. Where did Moses get these 
chapters from ? He did not get them from sci¬ 
ence. He got them from God ! Crosby. 

§oiiM of The descent of all man¬ 

kind from Noah is, of course, a renewed testi¬ 
mony by Scripture to the unity of the human 





264 


NATIONS DIVIDED IN THE EARTIV' 


race-a doctrine so intimately connected with 
the Divine plan of Redemption, and so vital to 
the brotherhood and mutual sympathy of man 
with man. Geilde. 

Tlie earth was again peopled by the descend¬ 
ants of the three sons of Noah—Shem, Ham, 
and Japheth. Shem is the Assyrian Samu, 
“ olive c jlored,” Ham is Khammu, “burned 
black,” and Japheth Ippat, “ the white race.” 
The tribes and races which drew their origin 
from them are here enumerated. The arrange¬ 
ment of this chapter, however, is geographical, 
not ethnological ; the*peoples named in it being 
grouped together according to their geographical 
position, not according to their relationshij) in 
blood or language. Hence it is that the non- 
Semitic Elamites are classed along with the 
Semitic Assyrians, and that the Phoenicians of 
Canaan, who spoke the same language as the 
Hebrews, and originally came from the same 
ancestors, are associated with the Egyptians. 
When this fact is recognized, there is no diffi¬ 
culty in showing that the statements of the 
chapter are fully consistent with the conclusions 
of modern research. Sayce. 

1. The territories of J/^heth lie chiefly on the 
coasts of the Mediterranean, in Europe and Asia 
Minor, “ the isles of the Gentiles but they 
also reach across Armenia and along the north¬ 
eastern edge of the Tigris and Euphrates valley, 
over Media and Persia. The race spread west¬ 
ward and northward over Europe, and at the 
other end as far as India, embracing the great 
Indo-European family of languages. This wide 
diffusion was prophetically, indicated by the 
very name, Japheth {enlarged), and by the bless 
ing of his father Noah. In Greek mythology 
the Titian Japetus is the progenitor of the 
human race, and Milton has not scrupled to 

' call his son Prometheus “ Japheth’s wiser son.” 

2. The race of Shem occupied the south-west¬ 
ern corner of Asia, including the peninsula of 
Arabia. Of his five sons, Arphaxad is the pro¬ 
genitor both of the Hebrews and of the Arabs 
and other kindred tribes, whose origin is re¬ 
corded in the Book of Genesis. North of them 
were the children of Aram (which signifies 

in the highlands of Syria and Mesopotamia. 
Asshur evidently represents' Assyria ; and the 
eastern and western extremities were occupied 
*>y the well-known nations of the Elymaeans 
(children of Elam) on the south-eastern margin 
of the valley of the Tigris, and the Lydians 
(children of Lvd) in Asia Minor. 

3. The race of Ham (the fswarthy, according to 
the most probable etymology) presents very 
difficult but interesting problems. Their chief 


seat was in Africa, but they are also found 
minsled with the Semitic races on the shores of 

O 

Arabia, and on the Tigris and Euphrates, while 
on the north they extended into Palestine (the 
land of the Philislhies), Asia Minor, and the 
larger islands, as Crete and Cyprus. In Africa, 
Mizraim is most ceitairily identified with Egypt ; 
Cudi with Ethiopia, above Egypt ; and Fhiit 
probably with the inland peoples to the west. 
Among the sons of Mizraim, the Lubim corre¬ 
spond to Libya ; and those of Cush represent 
tribes which crossed the Red Sea and spread 
along the southern and eastern shores of Arabia, 
up the Persian Gulf and the valley of the Tigris 
and Euphrates. P. S. 

The intimations given in the earlier chapters 
of Genesis on all matters of purely secular in¬ 
terest, are incidental only, and exceedingly ob¬ 
scure. And yet enough is said to indicate how 
much there lay beyond and outside of the nar¬ 
rative which is given. The dividing of the 
tribes of the Gentiles among the descendants of 
Japheth, conveys the idea of movements and 
operations which probably occupied long inter¬ 
vals of time, and many generations of men. 
The genealogy of Shem neither does, nor pro¬ 
fesses to do, more than to trace the order of suc¬ 
cession among a few families only out of the 
millions then already existing in the world. 
Argyll. 

We have in our museums, inscribed on cylin¬ 
ders and tablets of clay, the literature of the 
nations who of old inhabited these ancient 
lands. We also possess translations of writings 
in the language of Accad (G. 10 :10), made when 
that town was passing out of memory for the 
libraries of Assyrian kings, and uhich, even in 
this form, are themselves anterior to the Chris¬ 
tian era bv six or seven centuries. These writ- 
•/ 

ings are childishly polytheistic and full of fable, 
but it is remarkable that they cover much the 
same ground as the earlier narratives of Genesis. 

R. P. S.-Traditions, legends, and historic 

annals have been exhumed illustrating, in a 
most remarkable manner, not merely those por¬ 
tions of Scripture in which the u ars of the As¬ 
syrian and Babylonian kings are chronicled, 
but, strange to say, the very earliest narratives 
in the book of Genesis. Inscribed tablets, 
which have lain buried for two thousand five 
hundred years beneath desolate mounds on the 
plains of Assyria and Babylonia, contain, in a 
language until very recently unknown to schol¬ 
ars, accounts in some points substantially iden¬ 
tical with the Mosaic narrative of the creation, 
the fall, and the deluge. The Bible represents 
those great plains as the home of our first par- 




SECTION 34.—GENESIS 10 : 1-32. 


265 


cats, the site of Eden, the scene of the deluge 
and of the confusion of tongues, the birthplace 
of Israel, the centre from which the human race 
was dispersed, and the common nucleus of those 
mighty empires which for ages ruled the des¬ 
tinies of the world—Chaldea, Babylonia, As¬ 
syria, Media, and Persia. The Eecord cham 
bers of Nineveh, recently discovered, have sup¬ 
plied docitments which confirm the Biblical 

annals. J. L. P.-The historical records and 

public documents of the Assyrians were kept on 
tablets and cylinders of baked clay. To the 
height of a foot or more from the floor these 
chambers were entirely filled with them ; some 
entire, but the greater part broken The largest 
tablets were flat and measured about 9 inches 
by ; the smaller were slightly convex. Layard. 

Men have been enabled not only to find out 
the meaning of the remarkable cuneiform char¬ 
acter, but also to bring out from its grave a lan¬ 
guage-nay, two, three languages -that were 
altogether dead, of which not one single word 
or syllable was known to us before ; and now 
those languages have their grammars and their 
dictionaries and their reading-books, and we 
can study them in our homes as we can study 
Hebrew or Greek. There is the Assyrian lan¬ 
guage especially, of which there is now found 
an immense literature, the literature especially 
of the kings of Assyria, a language which is the 
old parent of the Hebrew—the Sanscrit, so to 
speak, of the Semitic dialects ; and there is the 
Akkad language, as it is called, or one of the 
Turanian stock, belonging to Southern Baby¬ 
lonia ; and then, also, there is the Median lan¬ 
guage ; and these three languages, that thirty 
years ago were not known to exist, have now 
their full development in grammar and diction¬ 
ary. In these remarkable remains have been 
found the tablets written with the cuneiform 
character by kings some of whom reigned 2000 
years before Christ, in the time of Abraham and 
before him ; and in some of these tablets we 
have long and particular records of all the events 
of their reigns ; and it is interesting for us, in 
examining these records, to find at times the 
mention of Palestine and the kings with whose 
names we are so familiar in Holy Writ. Crosby. 

This history is, moreover, corroborated by 
contemporary writers of other nations, as far as 
they touch upon the same times and places. It 
has been, and is still, receiving striking and 
frequent confirmation of its statements from 
the undoubted monuments of the past, from 
the stamps on t’le bricks of Babylon, the arrow¬ 
heads on the tablets of Nineveh, the hieratic 
writings on the papyri of Egypt, and the in¬ 


scriptions on the stones of Persia, Media and 
Palestine. It is more remarkable still that the 
sacred history of the Bible is the most trust¬ 
worthy source to which antiquarians can resort 
for substantial aid in the decipherment of in¬ 
scriptions and the identification of places com¬ 
ing within the range of its records. Hence, it 
appears that this history is not only true in it¬ 
self, but at the same time detects and corrects 
history in other documents bearing upon the 
same events. M. 

If we trace back the thread of human history, 
we have modern Europe, the Middle Ages, the 
Goths, Vandals, and Huns, Rome. We can fol¬ 
low the Roman history to seven hundred and 
fifty years before Christ. Before the Romans 
were the Greeks. We can trace them back 
through Demosthenes, Thucydides, Herodotus, 
Homer. Solon was about GOO b.c. ; Lycurgus 
about 900 B.c. Back of that we place the Trojan 
war, about 1200 b.c., the Lycians, the I;ydians, 
the Carians, etc.; and there, excluding certain 
confused ideas of Egyptian, Babylonian, As¬ 
syrian, Etruscan, and Phoenician history, one 
thre'ad was lost, excepting the earlier Hebrew 
chronicles, written about 1500 n c. But mod¬ 
ern research has laid bare the Egyptian and 
Mesopotamian annals, and we know now more 
of the daily life of the Memphian and Theban 
monarchies than we do of the Romans before 
the Punic wars. The long-sealed records of 
ancient Babylonia, India, Phoenicia, Palestine, 
Persia and Moab have also been more or less 
illustrated by archgeolcgical inquiry. Southall. 

To take the names occukeing in the table of 
NATIONS as applying merely to single individuals 
or to founders of tribes, is to misunderstand the 
eastern mode both of viewing and of writing 
history. They chiefly refer to groups of na¬ 
tions, the later name of a nation being trans¬ 
ferred to its ancestor, as according to oriental 
ideas a tribe and its founder are in reality one. 
Besides in many cases the same name applies 
both to the land and its inhabitants. Thus the 
names Canaan, Aram, etc., were in the first 
place transferred from the country to the nation 
and then from the latter to its founder, who rep¬ 
resented the nation in its totality and unity. 
When the personal name of the founder of a 
tribe was not preserved by the remembrance of 
events connected with him, it gradually sank 
into oblivion, and the name of the nation took 
the place of that of its founder. K. 

There is a most remarkable agreement be¬ 
tween the actual arrangement here made and 
the conclusions to which the theoretic reason¬ 
ing of modern ethnologists have come, from the 







206 


“JVATlOy^ DIVIDED IN THE EARTH." 


facts of human language and of physical type, j 
Thus this chapter has classified together of the ^ 
sons of Japheth—the Cymry or Celts (Gomel), 
the Medes (Madai), and the lonians or Greeks ' 
(Javan) ; and thus has actually anticipated what 
is known in modern times as the “ Indo-Euro¬ 
pean theory” of the essential unity of the Aryan 
(Asiatic) races with the principal races of Europe 
—the Celts and the lonians. So in this chapter 
are thrown together as the ” children of Shem” 
the Assyrians (Asshur), the Syrians (Aram), the 
Hebrews (Eber), and the Joktanian Arabs (Jok- 
tan), the four principal races which modern 
ethnology recognizes under the heading of the 
“ Semitic” races. So again under “ the chil¬ 
dren of Ham” this tenth chapter arranges 
Cush, the Ethiopians, Mizraim, the Egyptians, 
Sheba and Dedan, ihe Southern Arabians, and 
Nimrod, an ancient people of Babylon. And, 
accordingly, between these four races the latest 
linguistic researches have established the closest 
afiinity. Indeed, the whole tendency of modern 
ethnological inquiry has been to put almost be 
yond question the accuracy of this Book of 
the Generations of Noah,” and to create a feel¬ 
ing among the true scientific ethnologists, well 
expressed by Sir Henry Bawlinson in saying, 
“ It is the most authentic record we possess for 
the- affiliation of nations.” And, as even the 
rationalistic Kalisch, the recent German com¬ 
mentator, says, ” It is an unparalleled list, the 
combined result of reflection and deep research, 
and no less valuable as a historical document 
than as a lasting proof of the brilliant capacity 
of the Hebrew mind.” Any one who will care¬ 
fully study the essaj*^ of Sir Henry Bawlinson 
“ On the ethnic affinities of the nations of West¬ 
ern Asia” (Kawlinson’s Herodotus, vol. 1st, ap¬ 
pendix essay 11th) will find this whole subject 
treated in a most masterly and comprehensive 
manner, and will see how remarkably modern 
investigations confirm the ancient ethnographic 
chart. S. B. 

Is it not very significant to find the descend¬ 
ants of Japheth, Ham, and Shem, separately de¬ 
scribed as peopling the earth “ after their fam¬ 
ilies and after iheir tongues From these fam¬ 
ilies, it would seem, have all the languages in 
the world been gradually evolved ; and is it not 
perfectly consistent with this Bible statement to 
find eminent philologists of all ranks concurring 
in the conclusion, that the languages and dia¬ 
lects of the world are reducible to three distinct 
families or groups—the Aryan, the Semitic, and 
Turanian? ” Comparativ^e Philology,” says 
Bunsen, “would have been compelled to set 
forth as a postulate the supposition of some 


such division of languages in Asia, especially 
on the ground of the relation of the Egyptian 
language to the Shemitic, even if the Bible had 
not assured us of the truth of this great histori¬ 
cal event. It is matter of astonishment : it is 
more than a mere astounding fact, that some¬ 
thing so purely historical, and yet divinely 
fixed—something so conformable to reason, and 
yet not to be conceived of as a mere natural de¬ 
velopment—is here related to us out of the old- 
est primeval period : and w'hich now, for the 
first time, through the new science of philology, 
has become capable of being historically and 

philosophically explained.” W. Fraser. -Two 

points Comparative Philology has gained. 1. 
Nothing necessitates the admission of differ¬ 
ent indej^endent beginnings for the material 
elements of the Turanian, Semitic, and Aryan 
branches of speech : nay, it is possible even 
now to point out radicals, which, under various 
changes and disguises, have been current in 
these three branches ever since their first sepa¬ 
ration. 2. Nothing necessitates the admission 
of different beginnings for the formal elements 
of the Turanian, Semitic, and Aryan branches 
of speech ; and though it is impossible to derive 
the Aryan system of grammar from the Semitic, 
or the Semitic from the Turanian, we can per¬ 
fectly understand how, either through individ¬ 
ual influences, or by the wear and tear of gram¬ 
mar in its own continuous working, the differ¬ 
ent systems of grammar of Asia and Europe 
may have been j^roduced. Max Muller. -Al¬ 

though it may not be possible simply to assign 
all Semitic tongues to the descendants of Shem, 
Aryan to the descendants of Japheth, and Tura¬ 
nian to the descendants of Ham ; it is still ob¬ 
servable that comparative philology seems to 
have reduced all languages to three distinct 
stocks, even the rapid degeneracy of barbaiian 
dialects not wholly obscuring their relationship 
to one of these three families. E. H. B. 

2-5. Tlie Sl>iis of Japlietli. Fourteen 
of the primitive nations spring from Japheth. 
We discover their ancient seats around the 
Caspian, the Euxine, the .51gean, and the north 
of the Mediterranean. From these coust-lands 
they seem to have spread over Europe, north¬ 
ern, western, and southern Asia, and, both by 
Behring’s Strait and the Atlantic, they at length 
poured into America. So true is it that Japheth 
was enlarged, and that by them were “ the isles 
of the nations divided.” M. 

2, The Assyrian inscriptions have throwm a 
good deal of light upon the names contained in 
it. Gomer, the son of Japheth, represents the 
Gimirrai of the inscriptions, the Kimmerians of 







SECTION 34—GENESIS 10 : 1-32. 


267 


classical writers. Mndai are the Medes, a title 
given by the Assyrians to the multifarious tribes 
to the east of Kurdistan. They are first men¬ 
tioned in the inscriptions about 820 b.c. Javan 
is the Greek w^ord “ Ionian,” but in the Old 
Testament it is generally applied to the Island 
of Cyprus. Sayce. 

4. Tarshish is doubtless the famous Phoeni¬ 
cian port in Spain, outside the Strait of Gibral¬ 
tar, between the two mouths of the Guadal- 
qulver, or -‘great river.” It was famous from 
the earliest antiquity for the abundance of silver 
and other metals yielded by its mines ; and no 
less for its corn. Already in the time of Solo¬ 
mon, a thousand years before Christ, the huge 
vessels which sailed to it were known as Tar¬ 
shish ships, as in later days we spoke of “ India- 
men,” and the name even came to be applied to 
any very large merchantmen, to whatever port 
they sailed. 

By Kittim or Chittim, the next in the list 
of the “sons” of Javan, that is of the off¬ 
shoots of the Greek stem, a people is indi¬ 
cated w-hose country is described as an island 
or coast land. The “islands of Chittim” are, 
indeed, frequently mentioned in Scripture. 
Josephus, in the generation after Christ, had 
already identified the name with that of Cyprus. 
Geikie 

5. Isles of the nations. The word here 
rendered isle is used either of islands or of 
places on the sea-coast. By the phrase “ Isles 
of the Gentiles” were understood those coun¬ 
tries of Europe and Asia Minor to which the in¬ 
habitants of Egypt and Palestine had access 
only by sea. E. H. B. 

“ There was a time,” says Max Muller, “ when 
the ancestors of the Celts, the Germans, the 
Sclaves, the Greeks and Italians, the Persians 
and the Hindoos were living together beneath 
the same roof, separated from the Semitic and 
Turanian races.” And again : “ There is not an 
English jury nowadays which, after examining 
the hoary documents of language, would reject 
the claim of a common descent and a legitimate 
relationship between Hindoo, Greek, and Teu¬ 
ton.” Ethnological science, we see, regards it 
as morally certain, as proved beyond all reason¬ 
able doubt, that the chief races of modern 
Europe, the Celts, the Germans, the Graeco-Ital¬ 
ians, and the Sclaves, had a common origin with 
the principal race of Western Asia, the Indo- 
Persian. Now this result of advanced modern 
inductive science—a result which it is one of 
the proudest boasts of the nineteenth century to 
have arrived at—is almost exactly that which 
Moses, writing fifteen hundred years before the 


Christian era, here states as a simple historical 
fact. G. R, 

6. Tlie S4>]i§ of Ilsiin. Thirty primitive 
nations sprang from Ham. Of these, only four 
were immediate descendants. Gush has left 
traces of his name 2 :>erhaps in the Caucasus, 
the Caspian, and Chuzistan. To Ethiopia the 
name generally refers in Scripture. Mizra m is 
the ordinary name for Egypt in the Hebrew 
scriptures. Put has with one consent been 
placed beyond Egypt, in the north of the con¬ 
tinent of Africa. Canaan settled in the country 
called after his name. M. 

G-20. It is the simi^lest and best interpreta¬ 
tion of this passage to understand it as assert¬ 
ing that the four races —the Egyptians, Ethio¬ 
pians, Libyans, and Canaanites—were ethnically 
connected, being all descended from Ham ; and 
further, that the primitive people of Babylon 
were a subdivision of one of these races—name¬ 
ly, of the Cushite or Ethiopians, connected in 
some degree with the Canaanites, EgyjDtians, 
and Libyans, bnt still more closely with thn 
people which dwelt ujjon the Upper Nile. G. li. 

The posterity of Ham spread itself over South 
ern. Central, and Eastern Asia, Southern Europe 
and Northern Africa, and constitutes the stocL 
of the African and Turanian races, as well a 4 
probably of the American tribes. It present^ 
itself in early postdiluvian times as the first 
representative and teacher of art and material 
civilization. The Hamite race is remarkable for 
the early development of pantheism and hero- 
worship, and for the artificiality of its culture. 
It T)resents us with the darkest colors, and in 
the vast solitudes of Africa and Central Asia its 
outlying tribes must have fallen into compar¬ 
ative barbarism a few centuries after the Deluge. 
Dawson. 

G, These are the first notices of Egypt whicl • 
occur in Holy Scripture. The word Mizraim, 
which is here simply transliterated from the 
Hebrew, is elsewhere, except in 1 Chron. 1 :8, 
uniformly translated by “Egypt,” or “the 
Egyptians.” It undoubtedly designates the 
country still known to us as Egyi)t ; but the 
origin of the name is obscure. The Hebrew 
“ Mizraim” is a dual word, and signifies “ the 
two Mizrs,” or “ the two Egypts,” an expres¬ 
sion readily intelligible from the physical con¬ 
formation of the country, which naturally di¬ 
vides itself into “ Upper” and “ Lower Egypt,” 
the long narrow valley of the Nile, and the 
broad tract, known as the Delta, on the Medi¬ 
terranean. 

§-IO. That this passage refers to Babylon 
will scarcely be disputed. The words “ Babel ’* 










2G8 


NATIONS DIVIDED IN THE EARTHT 


and “ Shinar ' are sufficient jDroof, “ Babel,” 
elsewhere generally translated “Babylon,” is 
the exact Hebrew equivalent of the native Bahil, 
which ai)pears as the capital of Babylonia in the 
cuneiform records from the time of Agu-kak- 
rimi (about b.c. 2000) to the conquest of the 
country by Cyrus (u.c. 538). “ Shinar” is prob¬ 

ably an equivalent of “Mesopotamia,” “the 
country of the two rivers,” and in Scripture al- 
waj^s designates the lower part of the Tigris and 
Euphrates valley, the alluvial plain through 
which the great rivers flow before reaching the 
Persian Gulf. That Babylonia became at a 
very earl}^ date a settled government under a 
king is co nfirmed by Berosus, by Diodorus 
Siculus, and by the monuments. The founder 
of this monarchy bears the name of Nimrod ; 
its site is the land of Shinar, or Babjdonia ; its 
ethnic character is Cushite or Ethiopian, for 
Nimrod is the “ son,” i.e. descendant “ of 
Cush its great cities are four, Babel or Baby¬ 
lon, Erech, Accad, and Caineh. Recent re¬ 
searches in Mesopotamia have revealed to us, as 
the earliest seat of power and civilization in 
Western Asia, a Cushite kingdom, the site of 
which is lower Babylonia, a main characteristic 
of which is its possession of large cities. Babel, 
Accad and Erech (Huruk) are names which oc¬ 
cur in the early geographic nomenclature of this 
monarchy. . . . Another sign of the reality of 
Nimrod’s rule is to be found in the attachment 
of his name to various sites in the Mesopotamia 
region. The remarkable ruin generally called 
Akkerkuf, which lies a little to the south-west 
of Baghdad, is known to many as the “ Tel- 
Nimrud the great dam aross the Tigris below 
Mosul is the “ Sahr-el-Nimrud one of the 
chief of the buried cities in the same neighbor¬ 
hood is called “ Nimnid ” simply; and the 
name of “ Birs-Nimrud ” attaches to the grand¬ 
est mass of ruins in the lower country. G. R. 

The site of Babel (Babylon) has been discov¬ 
ered in certain ruins near Hillah, chiefly on the 
opposite or eastern bank of the Euphrates, 
where there is a square mound called Babil by 
the natives. Erech has been traced also on the 
east bank of the Euphrates, about one hundred 
miles south-east of Babil, or half way between 
the citv and the confluence of the rivers. It is 
the Orchoe of the Greeks, and the ruins now 
bear the name of Urka, or Warka, This name 
appears as Huruk on the cuneiform inscriptions 
of the place. Akkad Colonel Taylor finds in 
Akkerkoof, north of Babel, and about nine miles 
west of the Tigris, where it approaches the Eu- 
ph rates. Here there is a hill or mound of ruins 
called Tel Nimrud. The sites of these towns 


fix that of Shinar, which is evidently the lower 
part of Mesopotamia, or, more ^^i’ecisely, the 
country west cf the Tigris, and south of Is, or 
Hit, on the Euphrates, and Samara on the Tigris. 
It is otherwise called Babylonia and Chaldea. M. 

It is an important fact that while the Assyri¬ 
ans and later Babjdonians spoke a Semitic lan¬ 
guage, the most ancient inscriptions dis overed 
in the region of Babylonia show that the eailiest 
inhabitants of the great cities there founded 
spoke a Turanian or Cushite tongue. J L. P. 
-Its vocabulary is decidedly Cushite or Ethi¬ 
opian, and the modern languages to which it 
makes the nearest approaches are those of 
Southern Arabia and Abyssinia. The old tra¬ 
ditions have thus been confirmed by compara¬ 
tive philology, and both are side-lights to Script¬ 
ure. IT. Rawlinson. -This agrees with the 

Mosaic statement that Nimrod, the founder of 
Babel and Erech, was a son of Cush. That 
dialect of the Turanian which was used in 
primeval Babylonia is called Akkadian, and a 
penitential psalm written in it is among the 
cuneiform texts recently published. The Akka¬ 
dians were Hamites who inhabited Babylonia in 
prehistoric times, and were connected with the 
nomad races both on the north and south, in 
Africa and Asia. They were among the first to 
practise the art of writing, and they were from 
the earliest jDeriod devoted to the study of as¬ 
tronomy and the occult sciences. In their prim¬ 
itive tongue were preserved all the scientific, 
theological, and mythical records of Babylonia. 
They seem to be identical with the Chaldeans 
(Hebrew, Kasdim) of the Bible, one of whose 
chief seats was Ur, and who were instruments, 
simultaneoirsly with the Sabeans, in the afflic¬ 
tion of Job. In later times the name Chaldean 
was applied to the learned, and the language of 
the Chaldeans was that through which scientific 
and religious education was given. For this 
reason the prophet Daniel himself was made 
“ master of the magicians, astrologers, Chal¬ 
deans, and soothsayers” in Babylon. Semitic 
tribes invaded Chaldea and Babylonia at an 
early period. At first they lived side by side 
with the Cushites, as is evidenced in the case 
of Abraham’s family. They founded the As¬ 
syrian Empire about the thirteenth century be¬ 
fore Christ. 

Recent research has discovered the sites and 
remains of the ancient cities of Erech, Akkad, 
and Caineh. They are vast mounds of brick, 
scathed by fire, and left bare and desolate by 
the action of the elements for more than two 
thousand years. Their na.mes have been seen 
in inscriptions upon the earliest monumente, 





SECTION 34.—GENESIS 10 : 1-32. 


269 


and upon tablets and cylinders found amid the 
ruins of Nineveh and Babylon. Akkatl, which 
probably gave its name to the Akkadian tribe of 
Cushites, was a city famous for its science, es¬ 
pecially astronomy. It may have been a school 
of Chaldean learning. The monumenis of As¬ 
syria and Babjdonia also corroborate in a most 
singular manner the legends on the iuhlets and 
the narratives in Genesis. In the very earliest 
sculptures on cylinders, and on the slabs which 
once lined the chambers of palaces, we find rep¬ 
resentations of the tree of knowledge, the ser¬ 
pent tempter, the tree of life guarded by cher¬ 
ubim, the ark, and many other things, which 
show how' thoroughly imbued the minds of the 
ancient Babylonians and Assyrians wmre with 
the wdiole facts recorded in the early chapters of 
the Bible. J. L. P. 

II. Out of that Band he went forth. 

Nimrod “went out into Assyria” (ver. 11, mar¬ 
ginal rendering), “ and builded Nineveh” —the 
remarkable circumstance here being that each 
time four cities are mentioned in connection 
with Nimrod : first, the four cities of his Baby¬ 
lonian empire, of Avhich Babel was the capital, 
and then the four cities of his conquered As¬ 
syrian empire, of w hich Nineveh w^as the capital. 
Now all this tallies in the most striking manner 
with what w'e read in ancient historj^ and with 
those Assyrian monuments which wdthin our 
owm lifetime have by the labors of Layard and 
Loftus been exhumed from their burial of many 
centuries, to give witness for the Bible. For, 
first, we now know that the great Asiatic em¬ 
pire of Babylon was of Cushiie origin. Secondly, 
we are made aware that Babel was the original 
seat of the emj)ire ; and, strangest of all, that 
the earliest Babylonian kings bore a title which 
is supposed to mean “ four races,” in reference 
to ‘ ‘ the quadruple groups of capitals” of Baby¬ 
lonia and Assyria. Lastly, we know that, as 
stated in the Bible, “ the Babylonian empire 
extended its sway northward” to Assyria, where 
Nineveh wms founded, which in turn succeeded 
to the empire once held by Babel. In all these 
respects, therefore, the latest historical investi¬ 
gations have most strikingly confirmed the nar¬ 
rative of Scripture. A. E. 

The reading “ From this land he went out 
into Assyria,” is the rendering of all the Tar- 
gums, of Nachmanides, and, after them, of Dru- 
sius, Bochart, Le Clerc, Do Wette, Baumgarten, 
Tuch, Gesenius, Knobel, Delitzsch, Kalisch, and 
most modern interpreters. The syntax fully ad¬ 
mits o£ this interpretation ; and the general 
sense of the passage requires it. Nimrod is the- 
subject here treated of. Asshur, the son of 


Shem, was at least a generation older than Nim¬ 
rod, w'ho may probably have first colonized the 
country called after him, Asshur (or Assyria). 

E. H. B.-The probabilities in favor of this 

translation are the following : 1. The discourse 
relates to Nimrod. 2. The words admit of it. 
3. The wmrd Asshur has occurred hitherto only 
as the name of a country. 4. Asshur, the per¬ 
son, was considerably older than Nimrod, and 
had probably given name to Asshur before Nim¬ 
rod’s projects began. 5. Asshur wmuld have 
been as great a man as Nimrod, if he had found¬ 
ed Nineveh and its contiguous towns ; which 
does not appear from the text. 6. The heyin- 
nin<j of Ins kingdom implies the addition to it 
contained in these verses. 7. And the phrases 
in the land of Shmar, out of that knul, and the 
need of some definite locality for the second 
four cities, are in favor of this rendering. M. 

•-This translation is favored by Micah 5 : 6, 

where “ the land of Nimrod” appears to mean 
Assyria. Sayce. -Assyria was a country inter¬ 

sected by the Tigris. It included the part of 
Mesopotamia north of Shinar, and the region 
betw'een the Tigris and Mount Zagros. Its ex¬ 
tension westward is undefined by any natural 
boundary. M. 

12. Nimrod’s capital was Babylon, but he 

founded also three other cities in the plain of 
Shinar, namelj^ Erech, Accad, and Calneh. 
Thence he extended his empire northward along 
the course of the Tigris oyer Assyria, where he 
founded a second group of capitals, Nineveh, 
liehobotb, Calah, and Eesen. P. S.-Nine¬ 

veh lay opposite the present town of Mosul, and 
it is from the remains of its chief palace, now 
buried under the mounds of Kouyunjik, that 
most of the Assyrian inscriptions in the British 
Museum have been brought. A few miles to 
the south of Nineveh, on the site now known as 
Nimrud, was Calah, a town built by Shalmane¬ 
ser I , who lived b.c. 1300. Calah subsequently 
fell into ruins, but was rebuilt in the ninth cen¬ 
tury before our era. “ Between Nineveh and 
Calah” stood Resen, according to Genesis. 
Eesen is the Assyrian Ris-eni, “ head of the 
stream,” which is once mentioned in an in¬ 
scription of Sennacherib. Eehoboth Tr, or 
“ the open spaces of the city,” must have de¬ 
noted the suburbs of Nineveh. Snyce. 

13 , 14 . The Lehabim are the Libyans, while 
the Naphtuhim may be the people of Napata in 
Ethiopia. The Caphtorim or inhabitants of 
Caphtor are the Pbeenician population settled 
on the coast of the Delta. From an early period 
the whole of this district had been colonized by 
the Phoenicians, and, as Phoenicia itself was 








270 


NATIONS DIVIDED IN THE EARTHN 


called Keft by the Egyptians, the part of Egypt 
in which they had settled went by the name of 
Keft-ur or “ greater Phoenicia.” ISayce. 

It must have been at a very early peiiod after 
the dispersion that Mizraim and his company’’, 
directing their march southward, reached at last 
the banks of the Nile, and laid the foundations 
of the great empire of Egypt. It is beyond all 
doubt that Egypt was not only a very ancient 
kingdom, but that it possessed a very ancient 
and very wonderful civilization. Before the 
call of Abraham, the massive forms of some of 
the largest pyramids were already" to be seen in 
the plain of El Gizeh. Already the walls of 
many tombs and temples were covered with 
those inscrijitions which the scholars of the 
nineteenth century are laboring to explain. 
W. G. B. 

The descendants of Mizraim were settled in 
Africa with the exception of the Philistines, who 
migrated into the country to which they gave 

their name. M.-The PhilLstims occupied 

the Shephelah, or that portion of the Mediter¬ 
ranean coast whicb forms the south-western 
boundary of Palestine. Like the inhabitants of 
the northern section of the same coast, though 
not by any means to the same degree, the Phil¬ 
istine people became widely known beyond 
their own territory. Even at the time of the 
Exodus they had acquired a high reputation 
as a powerful and warlike nation (Ex. 13 :17). 
W. Lee. 

15 - 19 . From Canaan are descended eleven 
nations. Zidon is styled his first-born. The 
name is retained in the well-known town on the 
coast of Phoenicia, which is accordingly of the 
highest antiquity among the cities of that 
region. The Sidonians were reckoned co-exten- 
sive with the Phoenicians, and are mentioned by 
Homer. Ileth. This tribe dwelt about Hebron 
and in the mountains around, and perhaps still 
further north in the districts extending toM^ard 
the Euphrates. M. 

15 . In “ Sidon” and “ Heth” we seem to 
have the names of individual men ; but when it 
is added that he also “ begat the Jebusite and 
the Amorite,” etc., etc., it is clear that we are 
dealing not with single generations, but with a 
condensed abstract of the origin and growth of 
tribes. No definite information is given in 
such abstract as to the lapse of time. Argyll. 

-Here Sidon represents the race of which it 

was the early prominent seat of activity, being 
mentioned in Joshua as already “ great Sidon” 
(Josh 11:8). And in denominating Sidon “ the 
firstborn of Canaan,” (he narrative records the 
great historic fact that at a period estimated (by 


many) to be some four thousand years ago, “ a 
ibe speaking a Semitic tongue abandoned the 
nomad habits of their ancestors, and building 
some rude huts beside a creek, sheltered by an 
inland breakwater, took to the sea, and called 
themselves ‘ Sidonians ’ or ‘ Fishermen.’ It 
was a memorable day for humanity', when the 
first colonizing and commercial power which 
the world had seen, launched its rude craft ten¬ 
tatively on the Mediterranean. On that day the 
arts and culture of the East maybe said to have 
set out on their journey to the West, and the 
long process to have begun by which the sceptre 
was transferred from the primeval ‘ river king¬ 
doms ’ to the republics of the Inland Sea, and 
from these passed over to the ‘ ocean empires ’ 
of modern times.” S. C. B. 

16 . The Jebiisiie had his chief seat in and 
around Jerusalem, which was c died Jebus, from 
his chief ; and the citadel of which was wrested 
from him only in the time of David. The Ain- 
orile was one of the most important and exten¬ 
sive tribes. Five kings cf this nation dwelt in 
the mountains afterward occupied by Judah, 
and two on the east of the Jordan, in Heshbon 
and Bashan, north of Moab (Nu. 21 :13 ; Deut. 
4 :47). The eastern Amorites w'ere conquered 
under Moses, the western under Joshua. A 
remnant of them were made bondsmen by Sol¬ 
omon. They survived the captivity (Ez. 9 :1). 
The Girgashite seems to have lived on the east of 
the Jordan. 

17. The Hivite was found at Shalem, Gibeon, 
and also at the foot of Hermon and Antilibanus. 
The Arkite probably dwelt near a town called 
Arke or Caesarea Libam, lying some miles north 
of Tripolis, at the foot of Lebanon. Its ruins 
are still extant at Tel Arka. The Sinile is sup¬ 
posed to have dwelt in Sinna, a town mentioned 
by Strabo, not far from Arke. 

18. The Arvadite dwelt in Arvad, Aradus, 
now Ruad, a Phoenician town on an island of 
the same name. The Zemarite has been traced 
in the town Simura, the ruins of which were 
found by Shaw at the w'estern foot of Lebanon, 
under the name of Sumra. The llamathite was 
the inhabitant of Hamath, at present Hamah. 
It is situated on the Orontes, and held an im¬ 
portant place in the history of Israel. The land 
of Hamath was of great extent, including the 
town of Riblah (2 K. 25 :21) and reaching even 
to Antioch. The entrance of Hamath, the north¬ 
ern part of the vallej^ between Lebanon and 
Antilibanus, formed the utmost boundary of 
Palestine to the north (Nu. 13 :21 ; Jos. 13 :5 ; 

'1 K. 8 : 65). Its king was in alliance with David 
(2 S. 8 :10;. M, 





SECTION 34.-GENESIS 10 : 1-32. 


271 


The name of Canaan (low countrj) is always 
exclusively applied to the country west of Jor¬ 
dan. It is as much the name of the people as 
of the countr 3 ^ The strange circumstance that 
a land so decidedly mountainous should obtain 
such a name becomes only intelligible by this 
historical statement in the table of nations, ac¬ 
cording to which the Canaanites had first set¬ 
tled in the low country of Phoenicia, wdience they 
gradually spread to the Dead Sea. The name 
Palaistine is the Greek mode of pronouncing 
the word which originally applied to the territory 
of the Philistines along the southern shore of 
the Mediterranean, but was extended by the Ko- 
mans to the w'hole country. In the Bible the 
following names also occur : the land of the 
Hebrews (Gen. 40 :15) ; the Lord’s land (Hosea 
9:3); the holy land (Zech. 2 :12) ; the coast, or 
the land of Israel (Judges 19 :29 ; Ezek. 7:2); 
the land of promise (Heb. 11 : 9). K. 

By this account it appears that the posterity 
of Canaan wore both numerous and rich, and 
very pleasantly seated ; and yet Canaan was 
under a curse, a divine curse, and not a curse 
causeless. Those that are under the curse of 
God may j^et perhaps thrive and prosper greatly 
in this world ; for we cannot know love or 
hatred, the blessing or the curse, by what is be¬ 
fore us, but by what is within us. The curse of 
God always woiks really and terribly : but per¬ 
haps it is a secret curse, a curse to the soul, .and 
does not work visibly ; or a slow curse, and 
does not work immediately ; but sinners are by 
it reserved for and bound over to a day of 
wrath. H. 

After the conquest of Canaan under Joshua, 
the residue of the Canaanites wandered north¬ 
ward to the foot of Lebanon, and the coast of 
Northern Syria ; others crossed the sea to Africa, 
Carthage, Greece (Cadmus), and the other Phoe¬ 
nician colonies of the Mediterranean. Hence 
the expression (v. 18) “ afterward were the fam¬ 
ilies of the Canaanites spread abroad.” C. G. B. 

In point of political intercourse with Shem 
Japheth in early times sinks comparatively into 
the shade, and Ham assumes the prominent 
place. Babylon, Cush, Egypt, and Canaan are 
the powers which come into contact with Shem, 
in that central line of human historj’ which is 
traced in the Bible. Hence it is that in the 
table of nations special attention is directed to 
Cush, Nimrod, Mizraim, and to the tribes and 
borders of Canaan. M. 

The §oiis of ^lieiii. The history 
of the growth, develoijment, and early migra¬ 
tions of the Semitic race, and its subdivision 
into the various families of Elam in Persia, As- 


shur in Assyria, Arphaxad in ISIorthern Assyria, 
Joktan in Arabia, Lud in the highlands of Ar¬ 
menia, and Aram in Mesopotamia and Syria is 
here given in a concise form. To these details 
ethnological investigations may add some inter¬ 
esting facts, but to their accuracy and clearness 
they add little more than corroborating evi¬ 
dence. E. II. Palmer. -Heber, the founder 

of the Hebrew race, is classed among the sons 
of Shem, through Arphaxad, and along with 
Elam, Asshur, Lud, and Aram. In other words, 
the Hebrews are connected by common descent, 
with the people of Elymais or Elam on the Per¬ 
sian Gulf, east of the Tigris ; with the Assyri¬ 
ans on the north-east of that river ; with the 
people of Arphaxad, still further north, among 
the mountains of Southern Armenia, immedi¬ 
ately east of what is now the Lake Van ; with 
the Lydians and the Semitic peoples of Asia 
Minor ; and with theArameanor Syrian nations 
stretching thence, south-east, to the Euphrates. 
Geikie. 

21. Sliein al§<&, tlae ftaflBicr all tlic 

cliilcIreiB of Etoer. As Ilam is specially 
called the father of Canaan, so probably Shem 
is designated as the father of Eber. The He¬ 
brews and the Canaanites were brought into 
constant conflict and exemplified respectively 
the characters of the Hamitesand the Shemites, 
their characters and their destinies. E. H. B. 

22. Twenfy-six of the primitive nations are 
descended from Shem, of which Jive are imme¬ 
diate. Elamwas settled in a part of the modern 

Persia, to which he gave name. M.-Elam 

—the High Land — an extensive country on the 
east side of the lower Tigris, bordered on the 
west by the province of Babylon, on the north 
by Assyria and Media, and on the south by the 
Persian Gulf. It thus embraced parts of the 
present Laristan, Chusistan, and Arabistan ; a 
picturesque, mountainous region ; its capital, at 
least in later times, being the famous city of 
Shushan, so often mentioned in Daniel as a 
royal residence of the kings of Babylon, and in 
Esther as a favorite with the kings of Persia. 
Geikie. 

Asshur seems to have originally occupied a dis¬ 
trict of Mesopotamia, which was bounded on 

the east by the Tigris. M.-It is pl.ain from 

the context that Arphaxad must signify Chal¬ 
dea ; and this conclusion is verified by the fact 
that the name might also be pronounced Arpa- 
Chesed, or “ border of Chaldea ” Chesed is 
the singular of Casdim, the word used in the 
Old Testament to denote the inhabitants of 

Babylonia. Soyce. - Lad is usually identified 

wdth the Lydians, who by migration at length 






272 


NATIONS DIVIDED IN THE EARTIIN 


reached and gave their name to a jDart of the 
west coast of Asia Minor. Aram gave name to 
the upper parts of Mesopotamia and the parts 
of Syria north of Palestine. Hence we read of 
Aram Naharaim (of the two rivers), Aram Dam- 
mesek (of Damascus), Aram Maakah on the 
south-west border of Damascus, about the 
sources of the Jordan, Aram Beth Rechob in 
the same neighborhood, and Aram Zoba to the 
north of Damascus. From Aram are descended 
four later nations. 

23. Uz is the chief of a people having their 
seat in the north of Arabia Deserta, between 
Palestine and the Euphrates. From this Uz it 
is possible that the sons of Nahor and of Seir 
(Gen. 22 :21 ; 36 :28) obtained their name. 
Job dwelt in this land. M. 

241. Calais beg'at Eber. The name 
appears to signify sending forth, extension, as 
Eber, the name of his son, signifies passing over. 
Many of the names in these genealogies are sig¬ 
nificant, and were probably given to their bear¬ 
ers late in life, or even historically, after their 
deaths. Salaii and Eber seem to point to this 
fact, that the descendants of Arphaxad were 
now beginning to spread forth from the first 
cradle of the Semitic race. E. H. B. 

25. It has rightly been supposed that this 
verse furnishes an approximate indication of the 
time of the Dispersion. Some have fixed the date 
in the year 101 after the flood, being the year of 
the birth of Peleg. But the expression “ in his 
days,” seems to indicate a later period, when 
Peleg was a man of note ; and also the impossi¬ 
bility that so many persons as would have been 
requisite for the building of the tower should 
have existed at that jDeriod. Peleg lived 239 
years, and we may therefore place this event 
toward the close of the third or the commence¬ 
ment of the fourth century after the flood K. 

-The genealogy is now specially concerned 

with the descendants of Shem and the ancestry 
of the promised race, which is here traced down 
to Peleg to he continued further in ch. 11 :18, 
sqq. The two races, which sprang from Eber, 
soon separated very widely from each other, the 
one, Eber and his family, spreading north-west¬ 
ward toward Mesopotamia and Syria, the other, 
the Joktanides, southward into Arabia. There 
is a general consent in favor of the colonization 
of Southern Arabia by the descendants of Jok- 
tan, with the names of whom correspond sev¬ 
eral of the districts and cities of that country. 

2§. Slicbii. We read much of Sheba, a 
country in Arabia Felix, abounding in gold, 
precious stones, frankincense, and' famous for 
its merchandise. The Arabic and Greek ac¬ 


counts of the Sabmans, a people, whose capital 
was Saba or Mariaba, three or four days’ jouiney 
from Senaa, correspond thoroughly with all this. 

29. Opllir. On no geographical question 
has a greater diversity of opinion existed than 
on the site of Ophir. The position of Ophir, as 
a son of Joktan, and the settlement of the other 
Joktanides in Arabia, form a strong argument 
in favor of placing Ophir in Arabia also. The 
historical notices, however, in the books of 
Kings and Chronicles have inclined many to 
place Ophir either in India or in Africa : wnilst 
others have thought, that two Ophirs are men¬ 
tioned in Scripture, one in Arabia, the other in 
India or Ceylon. E. H. B. 

From a review of these lands it is evident 
that Shem occupied a much smaller extent of 
territory than either of his brothers. The 
mountains be^mnd the Tigris, the Persian Gulf, 
the Red Sea, the Levant, the Archipelago, and 
the Black Sea, bound the countries that weie in 
part 23eopled by Shem Arabia. Syria, and As¬ 
syria contained the great bulk of the Shemites, 
intermingled with some of the Ilamites. The 
Cushites, Canaanites, and Philistines trench 
upon their ground. The rest of the Hamites 
peopled Africa, and such countries as were sup¬ 
plied from it. The Japhethites spread over all 
the rest of the world. In this table there aie 
seventy names, exclusive of Nimrod, of heads 
of families, tribes, or nations descended from 
the three sons of Noah,—fourteen from eTapheth, 
thirty from Ham, and twenty-six from Shem. 
It appears that the subdivisions are traced fur¬ 
ther in Ham and much further in Shem than in 
Jajiheth, and that they are pursued only in 
those lines which are of importance for the 
coming events in the history of Shem. 

32. This passage explains the table of na¬ 
tions, in which they are said to be distin¬ 
guished, not merely by birth and land, but 
“ every one after his tongue.” It is therefore 
attached to the table as a needful ai^jiiendix, and 
thus completes the history of the nations so far 
as it is carried on by the Bible. At this point 
the line of history leaves the universal, and by 
a rapid contraction narrows itself into the in¬ 
dividual, in the person of him who is to be ul¬ 
timately the parent of a chosen seed. M. 

One modern view of Biblical insiDiration is to 
the effect, that while the writers of Scripture are 
to be held as infallible guides in whatever re¬ 
lates to religion and morality, on all other mat¬ 
ters they are to be considered as simply on a 
par with other men, equally limited in their 
knowledge, equally liable to error, not a whit 
superior to their contemporaries, or in advance 





SECTION 34.—GENESIS 10 : 1-32. 


273 


of their age. The accordance of the ethnology' 
of Genesis with the latest results of modern 
ethnographical science, seems to deal a rude 
blow to such a theory, Oiigen’s argument has 
always seemed sound, that, if in the material 
world Gild has wrought every minutest i^ait to 
a finish and a perfection the highest that is pos 
sible to conceive, 'inach more is it to be believed 
that in the far more important treasure of his 
word he has left nothing incomplete, but has 
given to every jot and tittle his full care, the ut¬ 
most perfection of which it was capable, so that 
the whole is designed and is the utterance to 
man of absolute wisdom, G, R. 

The Bible is a Book of Numbers. It is a trait 
maintained consistently throughout. From the 
exact nativities of the Antediluvian ages, from 
the precise dates of the rising and subsiding 
waters of the flood, from Noah’s almanac, as we 
may sa 3 ^ down to Haggai’s diary, or careful not¬ 
ing of the very year and month and day of the 
mouth in which the word of the Lord came 
rrnto him, it is all of a i)iece, one consistent 
number giving, time-keeping record. The Jews, 
if there is any truth in their history at all, were 
a journalizing people, a genealogizing j^eople ; 
the Bible is their family book of entries, just 
as we now employ certain pages of it as a regis¬ 
ter of biiths and deaths. Precise statistics are 
everywhere, and everywhere purporting to be 
from men who knew, and who are, in the main, 
supposed to be recording known present or pass¬ 
ing facts. There is nothing like it in the his¬ 
tory of any (direr people on earth ; certainly 
not in any early history. Let any one compare 
the 1st volume of Grote’s History of Greece 
with the Pentateuch, the confused and utterlj’’ 
unchronological annals of the Doric, Hellenic, 
and Eolic races with even the earliest psrt of 
the Mosaic writings or the history of the Patri¬ 
archs, and he will see at once the difference. 
Darkness, confusion, shadows, deformities, 
painful perplexities or hopeless riddles, in the 
one,—the clear geography, the direct chronol- 
og 3 % the fact consistency^ the lifelike minute¬ 
ness of coloring, the strange combination of the 
marvellous in such perfect affinity with the 
familiar and the domestic that it loses its mar- 
vM, —all this in the other. Even after the com- 
menceinent of what is called the “ historical 
jreriod,” or the introduction of the Olyunpinds, 
the Grecian chronology is full of obscurities. 
It is not easy to fix the times of the historians 
themselves ; there is a doubt about Herodotus ; 
the Heraclidje and Lycurgus fail of being pre¬ 
cisely determined by some centuries ; but more 
than a thousand years before Herodotus, the 
18 


Hebrew writings set forth a regular chronology. 
Before Hellenians and Dorians had set foot in 
Greece, many centuries before even the Pelasgi 
“ were in the land,” we are told the time of life, 
and have the means of reck'-ning the very year, 
when Abraham went forth from Ur of the CJial- 
dees. There is no escape from it : the Jewish 
hi.story is the boldest of lies, the most unscru¬ 
pulous of f. rgeries, and, at the same time, the 
most inexplicable of literary enigmas, or it is 
the frutJi, attested inwardly and confirmed out¬ 
wardly, as no other ancient historical account 
was e%er attested in the multiplied annals of 
the race. T. L, 

The Bible unfolds the oldest history in the 
world. No other comes within sight of its ear¬ 
liest records. The Pentateuch was written by 
Moses a thousand j’ears before Herodotus re¬ 
cited his history at the public games of Greece 
and the boy Thucydides wept lest he might fail 
in future rivalry, and more than twelve hundred 
years before the two Egyptian writers, Manet ho 
and Eratosthenes, endeavored to explain the 
revolutions of their country. Ctesias and Bero- 
sus, the one thirty and the other a hundred and 
fifty years later than Herodotus, followed him 
with their somewhat conflicting accounts of 
Chaldean and Ass.yrian struggles and triumphs. 
The earliest Greek historian was thus the con¬ 
temporary of Ezra and Nehemiah ; and, long 
before Manetlio had arranged the details of 
Eg 3 "ptian dynasties, the prophet Malachi had 
closed the Old Testament record. The ancient 
testimonies w'hich monuments and written docu¬ 
ments have most opportunely supplied within 
the present century, indeed in a large measure 
within the present generation, have not only 
demolished all the old reasoning against the 
Bible, but have so vindicated its historical trust¬ 
worthiness, that “ Moses and the Prophets” are^ 
now left in undisturbed possession of the 
watch-tow'ers from which man}’^ centuries ago 
the}’^ spoke to the Israelites, and through them 
to the whole wmrld. In closely examining the 
tenth chapter, we find such diversity of histniy 
as precludes exact classification, but its general 
statements are beginning to admit of compara¬ 
tively easy historical exposition. To this chap¬ 
ter, as an ethnological table, scholars of opi3osite 
religious tendencies have united in paying hom¬ 
age. IF. Fraser. 

Here is an exhibition of the ultimate relation 
ship of all the nations far and near, outwardly 
and inwardly so diverse as the weierhty thought 
of this survey. Israel is but one member of 
universal humanity. All men and nations are 
of the same race, the same value, and the same 







2T4 


NATIONS DIVIDED IN THE EARTIIN 


consideration, hrethren and kindred. This Bibli¬ 
cal consideration sets out from the greatness 
vmd entirety of humanity, before it turns itself 
to the history of an individual people, the peo¬ 
ple of God, and then at length by the mouths 
of the prophets, points forward to the end and 
ultimate goal of this several history, the union 
of all nations in the kingdom of God. Dillmann. 

With this list the book of Genesis takes leave 
of mankind in general, and revelation hence- 
f )rth limits itself to a single chosen race. The 
register of nations is intended to keep in mem- 
or}’’ the origin'll hrolherhood of all the hutiohs of the 
e irth. This is a thought beyond the reach of all 
antiquity, with the exception of Israel. Among 
the cultivated Greeks it was not till the time of 
Alexander the Great, and chiefly through Stoi¬ 
cism, that the idea of a common world-citizen¬ 
ship of man found expression ; for the antithe¬ 
sis of Greeks and barbarians was invincible. 
When the Apostle Paul preached on the Areop¬ 
agus, *• He made of one blood every nation of 
men to dwell on all the face of the earth,” he 
attacked the very heart of heathenism and 
Athenian pride. 0. 


Outline of Race History. 

Each race, bj" Divine appointment, has its 
own work to do, its own errand to accomplish. 
The Hamitic race, hot, quick, versatile, leads 
off for a time in arts and arms ; but presently 
the glow becomes a fever, imagination masters 
the judgment, passion debauches conscience, 
and the plunge is made into barbarism. The 
elder Babylonian Empire soon passes away, and 
Egypt becomes in time the basest of kingdoms. 
The Semitic race, finer in fibre, of purer tastes, 
more thoughtful, intuitive and reverent, gives 
birth, indeed, to Phoenician commerce, and, 
from the shores of Carthage, thunders at the 
g ites of Rome ; but, in the main, prefers, even 
at the risk of historic immobility, to hold its 
original seat away from the sea, and there nurse 
the religions which are to rule the world. The 


only cosmopolitan religions are the Semitic : 
Judaism, ChristianPy and Mohammedanism. 
Heliopolis was for Egypt, and Delphi for 
Greece ; but Mecca is for millions of men not 
Arabs, and Jerusalem is the mother of us all. 
The Japhethic race, of iron muscle and of iron 
will, stirred by a mysterious impulse, turns its 
back upon the seats of rising empire, pushes off 
northward and westward, into less hospitable 
climes, and there awaits the later call of Provi¬ 
dence. In due time we behold the language 
and letters of Greece ; Roman roads, legions 
and laws ; and, finally, the whole life of mod¬ 
ern Europe and America, now striking for the 
dominion of the world. Just now, the race that 
was first, is last ; and the one that was last, is 
first. But the day is coming, when all shall 
enjoy together what each has contributed in its 
turn to win. 

What is thus true of the larger divisions of 
mankind, is equally true of all. There is that 
in the Keltic race, for example, distinguishing 
it from every other, which has always distin¬ 
guished it, and which inevitably qualifies the 
career of every nation which has the Keltic 
blood very largely in its veins. Better was it 
than the Iberian, or the Ibeiian would not have 
retired before it ; but inferior to the Teutonic, 
or the Teutonic would not have overborne it. 
Between the Teutonic and the Slavonic, the 
issue is still impending. The best races are the 
amalgams. An unmixed race will never hold its 
own ; and, ordinarily, the deterioration is rapid. 
Within certain limits, the mixing of races has a 
tendency to multiply the good points, and elim¬ 
inate the bad ones. As in France, where the 
modern Frenchman is better than either the 
Kelt, the Frank, or the Norman, of whom mainly 
he has been composed. As in the England of 
to-day, so greatly in advance of the England of 
Arthur, of Alfred, or of the Norman Conqueror. 
As in North America, where Providence is now 
preparing a new amalgam, which appears to 
have forces in it, and a destiny before it, more 
grand than either of its European ingredients. 
R. D. H. 






SECTION 35.—GENESIS 11 : 1-9. 


275 


Section 35. 


THE DISPEESION. 


Genesis 11 :1-0. 


1 And tho wliole earth was of one language and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they 

2 journeyed east, that they found a plain, in the land of Sliinar ; and they dwelt there. And they 

3 said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick 

4 for stone, and slime had they for mortar. And they said. Go to, let us build us a city, and a 
tower, whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us make us a name; lest we be scattered 

6 abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the Loud came down to see the city and the 

6 tower, which the children of men buihled. And the Lokd said, Behold, they are one people, 
and they have all one language ; and iJiis is what they begin to do : and now nothing will be 

7 withholden from them, which they purpose to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound 

8 their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the Lord scattered 
them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth : and they left otf to build the city. 

9 Therefore was the name of it called Bal'd ; because the Lord did there confound the language 
of all the earth : and from thence did tlie Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the 
earth. 


The same record that affirms and traces the 
original unity of the race, also gives us the old¬ 
est and the only account of its dispersion, its 
early locations, migrations and movements We 
are in a track otherwise untrodden. It is but 
recently that we have been able fully to test the 
correctness and value of this ancient source of 
information. S. C. B. 

1,2. This account of the confusion of the 
language of men and the dispersion of nations 
over the earth, is in the order of thought and 
of time anterior to the ethnological chart in the 
tenth chapter. The tenth chapter presents 
really the results which followed the confusion 
of the “ lip,” as recorded in the eleventh chap¬ 
ter. The record gives us to understand that 
this confusion occurred during the era of Peleg, 
the fifth in descent from Noah. “The whole 
earth was of one language and one speech.” To 
take the Hebrew Saphah literally, “ was of one 
lip and one stock of words.” In the previous 
chapter the word “ tongue” is used to describe 
what is here expressed in two words. “ One 
stock of words” refers to the substance and 
material of language, as the “ one lip” refers to 
the mode and manner of using and connecting 
the matter of speech. Until this time then the 
original language taught Adam as we most sup¬ 
pose by inspiration had continued without 
change. The occasion of the change was that 
as certain families became enterprising, and 
pressed on from the original seat of the family 
cf Noah, in the highlands of Armenia, they 
came to the plains of the Euphrates and the 1 


Tigris, very fertile, and affording the means of 
rapid advance in wealth and population. And 
a determination is immediately forme 1 to make 
here not only a permanent abode, but a grand 
centre of empire. S. R. 

Man’s ” evil imagination,” which remained 
after the flood, now took a different direction, 
and shows itself in an impious attempt to unite 
the whole of mankind in rebellion against God. 
The first land peopled after the flood was 
Shinar, Mesopotamia, or Babylonia. The two 
great rivers, Euphrates and Tigris, water this 
tract of country, which in ancient times was re¬ 
nowned for its fertility, though now a barren 
plain. The vast plain has a gentle declension 
from west to east. The Euphrates, when the 
snow melts on the mountains, overflows its 
banks, and descends into the level country of 
Mesopotamia. From this circumstance the in¬ 
habitants were induced, at an early period in 
its history, to convey the water by means of 
canals over the whole country ; so that in time 
it was entirely intersected by tliese tributaries 
from the Euphrates and Tigris. Herodotus 
speaks as an eye witness of the astonishing fer¬ 
tility of Babylonia. Gerl. 

The very greatness of the new beginning of 
humanity on earth evinces that the primitive 
man was a magnificent being even in his wicked¬ 
ness. There is no hint here of any gradual de¬ 
velopment from savagery. If not scientific and 
civilized in our modern sense, he was at least a 
being of great power both of body and mind. 
If he had everything to learn, man learned most 





27G 


THE DISPERSlOJSr. 


rapidly. Even aside from the inspired history 
the researches among the earliest monuments of 
man's existence reveal a degree of knowledge 
supposed to belong only to modern times. The 
skill in mechanical arts and manufactuies, 
whether glined scientifically or not, was evi¬ 
dently the result of mental and bodily power of 
the highest order. These early nn n had great 
aims, attempted great things, and accomplished 
great things. Though, as we have seen in chap 
ter 10, there are but a few words concerning 
their doings, yet these are stirring words. Nim¬ 
rod, the mighty hunter, taking the kingdom of 
Babylon ; settlements rapidly following it on the 
Upper Euphrates ; cities sprang up. It was an 
era of city builders, empire founders. Along 
with the pioneer and colonizing spirit are ex¬ 
hibited all the tendencies to associated effort. 
In this respect the inspired account here is fully 
confirmed by all the researches of our age among 
those earlier monuments of human existence 

upon earth. S. R.-The further we ascend 

toward the commencement of human enter- 
jH’ise, the greater do we find the combination of 
skill and effort in the production of imposing 
and colossal works of art. Probably the labcr 
bestowed on the tower of Babel -certainly that 
bestowed on man}^ a structure in Egypt, pv'ra- 
mid, labyrinth, or temple—would suffice to 
build a modern citj^ of very respectable dimen¬ 
sions. The truth is, for several centuries after 
the flood, something of the antediluvian si3irit 
and fashion seems to have prevailed among 
mankind. Everything was designed and ex¬ 
ecuted on a grand scale, and in the most durable 
style. Llnds'ey. 

1 - 9 , We have here the scriptural account of 
the meaning of the name “Babel,” the i^iim- 
itive term which the Greeks converted into 
“ Babvlon,’’ but which reiniins even now at- 
taclied to a portion of the ruins that mark the 
site of the great city, almost in its original 
form. It Avould not have been surprising if 
profane histoi*y had contained no notice of this 
matter, since it belongs to a very remote an¬ 
tiquit}', a time anterior to records. But the fact 
seems to be that the Babylonians either recorded ! 
at the time, or at any rate bore in memory, the | 
transaction. Two Greek writers, who drew 
their Babylonian histories from native sources, 
notice<l the occurrence, and gave an account of 
it, which is in most respects very close to the 
biblical narrative. Alexander Polyhistor said, 
that “ Once upon a time, when the whole race 
of mankind were of one language, a certain 
number of them set to work to build a great 
tower, thinking to climb up to heaven ; but 


I God caused a wind to blow, and cast the tower 
down, at the same time giving to every man his 
own peculiar speech. On which account the 
city was called Babylon.” Abydenus, a some- 
i what later historian, treated the subject at 
' greater length. “At this time,” he said, “ the 
ancient race of men were so putfed* up with 
- their strength and tallness of sta'ure, that they 
began to despise and contemn the gods, and 
I labored to erect that very lofty tower, which is 
now called Babyh n, intending theret*}' to scale 
j heaven. But when the building approached 
i the sky, behold, the gods called in the aid of 
the winds, and by their help overihrew the 
tower, and cast it to the ground. The name of 
the ruins is still called B ibel ; because until 
this time all men had used the same speech, but 
now there was sent upon them a confusion of 
many and diverse tongues.” These passages 
have long been known, and have been adduced 
as probable evidence that the native Babylonian 
records contained a notice respecting the tower 
of Babel and the confusion of human speech. 
But it is only recently that such a record has 
been unearthed. Among the clay tablets brought 
from Babylonia by Mr. George Smith, and de¬ 
posited in the British Museum, is one unfor¬ 
tunately much mutilated, which seems clearly 
to have contained the Babylonian account of 
the matter. G. R. 

3. The Babylonian soil furnished splendid 
architectural nn.terials for such a purpose. 
There abounds a fine clay, mingled with sand, 
i rvhich, even sun-dried, forms a good material. 

I But for this great w'ork, to make it ever-during, 
j they will burn them thoroughly. Then the pits 
! or springs of asphalt furnish a cement which 
I hardens into stone. Itw'as a giMnd conception. 

even in its wickedness. S. R.-Herodotus 

I describes the building of the walls of Babylon 
much as the sacred history describes this build¬ 
ing of the tower of Babel. He says a deep fcss 
wms dug all round the city, from w'hich the 
mud was taken in large bricks and burnt in fur- 
naces. Then for mud or mortar, they used hot 
bitumen, and so built the walls of the c ty. He 
mentions a town called Is, with a river of the 
same name near it, about eight days’ journf y 
from Babylon, where much bitumen was ob¬ 
tained and carried to Babylon for the building 

of the city. E. H, B.-It is interesting to 

notice how exactly what w'eknow of early Babv- 
Ionian architecture tallies with wdiat we read in 
Scripture : “ Let us make brick, and burn them 
thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and 
slime (or rather, bitumen) had they for mortar.’’ 
The small burnt bricks laid in bitumen are still 









s::cTioy 3\ genesis ii : 1 - 9 . 


277 


there ; not only in the towGi- but in the still 
existing ruins of the ancient palace of Babel, 

’ which was coeval with the building of the city 
itself. A, E. 

4. There appears a threefold design. “ Let 
us make us a name” — “ whose tup may reach to 
heaven'’ lest we be scattered abroad,”— 
severally evincing i>rid-!, arrogance against God, 
and a conspiracy to establish a universal tem¬ 
poral monarchy m opposition to the divine pur¬ 
poses. In the prediction of Noah (chap 9 : 25), 
and in the benediction of Jehovah (chap. 9 :1, 
7), it was intimated that men should spiead 
themselves abroad, and that servitude should 
be the lot of Hi n. In both ways they attempted 
to resist, and indepeudentl 3 ' of God to carry 
their own will into effect. C. G. B. 

Tne sons of Noah were to be “ Owkled 'ifler 
their ioiujiies, in their hnds, after ilnir nations." 
This dispersion and these distinctions are a 
part of the original divine ordtr ; the fulfil¬ 
ment of God's designs f«)r the race which He 
had made after His own likeness. To overturn 
that order, to frustrate that design, the wander¬ 
ing tribes met on the plain of Shinar, and said 
(in other words), let us build a society', not upon 
faith in the unseen God and His covenant, but 
upon faith in brick walls. Let us [irovide secu¬ 
rities against the divine power, lest it should 
crush us. The plan was confounded : they left 
off to build the tower. The earth was over¬ 
spread, though they determined that it should 
not be. Distinct families and nations were es¬ 
tablished, in spite of this attempt to reduce all 
into one indistinguishaltle mass. But we are 
told also that a Babel society was established 
by a mighty hunter, in whom all have recog¬ 
nized the beginner of the great Asiatic tyrannies. 
Polities rose up based upon a worship of nat¬ 
ural powers, feared, not trusted ; whose cruel 
purposes were to be averted by such a means as 
human wit and strength could devise. The 
rulers of these kingdoms owned no Lord of man 
after whose image they and their subjects were 
formed ; they bowed to the powers which they 
thought they discerned in the storm, or in the 
dark sky : powers to which they attributed their 
own qualities ; with which they had no s^’iii- 
pathy ; whose dominion was shadowed forth in 
their own. Such is society' according to man’s 
conception and arrangement of it. Society, of 
which self-will is the king, and animals are the 
subjects. But this was not God’s society. 
Maurice. 

It should ever be borne in mind that the 
whole race during the space of 500 years after 
the flood had the opportunity to be thoroughly 


evangelized. They had the revelation of God 
to the antediluvian world, enlarged and con¬ 
firmed in the covenant with Noah, the germinal 
gosijel of Eden already springing forth and 
shooting up to the view of all in the sacrifices, 
the typical disdnciion of clean and unclean, 
the reverence for human life. They had the in¬ 
struction of Noah, the great preacher of light- 
eousness, for three hundred and fifty years ; 
and the teaching of Shem, who had been con¬ 
temporary' with Lamech and Methuselah a cen- 
j lury before the flood. And the argument could 
now be enforced by the recent terrors of the 
flood. Yet in face of all this, men set them¬ 
selves to lesist and defy the revelations of Je- 
j hovah. The very existence of heathenism in 
the world at all evinces the intense enmity' of 
I fallen humanity to the true God. If man had 
1 not been as depraved as the Scriptures repre¬ 
sent, there need never have been any heathen¬ 
ism. S. R. 

How do these men reckon without God ! 
“ Come, let us build as if there had been no 
I stop but in their own will ; as if both ecirth and 
time had been theirs. Still do all natural men 
build Babel ; forecasting their own plots so 
resolutely, as if there were no power to counter¬ 
mand them. It is just with God that peremp- 
j tory determinations seldom prosper ; whereas 
j those things which are fearfully and modestly' 
undertaken, commonly succeerlr . . . Pride 
ever looks at the highest ; the first man would 
I know as God ; these would dwell as God ; cov- 
I etousness and ambition know no limits. And 
I what rf they had reached up to heaven ? some 
i hills are as high as they could hope to be, and 
yet are no whit the better ; no place alters the 
condition of nature : an angel is glorious, 
though he be upon earth ; and man is but earth, 
though he be above the clouds. The nearer 
they had been to heaven, the more subject 
should they have been to the violences of hea¬ 
ven ; to thunders, lightnings, and those other 
higher inflammations ; what had this been, but 
to thrust themselves into the hands of the re¬ 
venger of all wicked insolencies ? Bp. II. 

5. The Li€>rd eaiiic <lowii. The inter¬ 
posing providence of God is here set forth in a 
sublime simplicity, suited to the early mind of 
man. 6. In like simplicity is depicted the 
self-willed, god-defying spirit of combination 
and ambition which had now budded in the im¬ 
agination of man. The people is one, —one race, 
with one purpose. And they hare all one lip. 
They understand one another’s mind. This is 
their beginning. The Lord sees in this com¬ 
mencement the seed of growing evil. And non) 











278 


TUE DISPERSION. 


nothing will be restrained from them, which they 
have imagined to do. Now that they have made 
Ihis notable beginning of concentraticn, ambi¬ 
tion, and renown, there is nothing in this way 
which they w ill not imagine or attempt. M. 

7 , In allusion to the boastful language in 
which the builders of Babel and of its tower 
had in their self-confidence stated their pur¬ 
pose : “ Goto, let us make brick,” etc., Jehovah 
expressed His purpose of defeating their folly, 
using the same words : “ Go to, let us go down, 
and there confound their language.” And by 
this simple means, without any outw'ard visible 
interference, did the Lord arrest the grandest 
attempt of man’s rebellion, and by confounding 
their language “scattered them abroad from 
thence upon the face of all the earth.’’ ” There¬ 
fore IS the name of it called Babel, or confu¬ 
sion.” What a commentarj^ does this history 
afford to the majestic declarations of the second 

Psalm ! A. E. -He could have hindered the 

laying of the first stone ; and might as easily 
have made the trench for their foundation the 
grave of the builders ; but he loves to see what 
wicked men would do, and to let fools run 
themselves out of breath : what monument 
should they have had of their owm madness and 
of his powerful interruption, if the w’alls had 
risen to no height ? To stop them in the midst 
of their course, he meddles not with either their 
hands or their feet, but their tongues ; not by 
pulling them out, not by loosing their strings, 
nor by making them say nothing, but by teach¬ 
ing them to say too much : here is nothing 
varied but the sound of letters ; even this frus¬ 
trates the w^ork and befools the workmen : how 
easy it is for God ten thousand ways to correct 
and forestall the greatest projects of men ! He 
that taught Adam the first wmrds, taught them 
words that never w'ere. Bp. 11. 

The diversity of tongues is still God’s wull,— 
is something abiding and good : but sin was the 
cause of the false unity and of the separation, 
and severed the one body into many members ; 
so that now the members are strange and hos¬ 
tile to one another. The Gospel of Christ ap¬ 
peared to teach men that they were all of one 
blood, all had one common head, all had one 
God as their Father ; then the tongues of men, 
divided through pride at Babel, were united by 
love and humility at Zion. Gerl -Multiplic¬ 

ity of language had not been given bj" the Holy 
Ghost for a blessing to the Church, if the world 
had not been before possessed with multiplic¬ 
ity of languages for a punishment: hence it is 
that the building of our Sion rises no faster be¬ 
cause our tongues are divided ; happy were the 


Church of God if we all spake but one language. 

Bp. II. 

The building of the tower stands as the 
boundary between the unity of the primitive 
world and the conflicting movements of diverse 
tribes in subsequent ages. It explains what 
otherwise would have remained inexplicable—a 
manifold diversity of language, with a singular 
unity of apparently original structure. The 
moral cau.^e of the disjDersion has been thus 
stated : The unity which had hitherto bound 
together the human family was the commu¬ 
nity of one God, and of one divine worship. 
This irnity did not satisfy them ; inw^ardly they 
had already lost it ; and therefore *it was that 
they strove for another. There is therefore an 
ungodly unity which they sought to reach 
through such self-invented, sensual, outward 
means ; while the very thing they feared, they 
predicted as their punishment.” {Deliizsch) 
Their purpose w'as defeated by the ci nfusion 
of their tongues, or rather by the sudden use 
of Three languages instead of one. The intro¬ 
duction cf three tongues or languages would 
cause such confusion as would put an end to 
the undertaking. It would have been incon¬ 
sistent w'ith the method of the Divine govern¬ 
ment, so far as wm can judge, to introduce a 
multitude of dialects, and make each man un¬ 
intelligible to his companion ; and it appears 
from the record itself that the confusion was 
orderly or regulated, for w’e are told anticipa- 
tively in the tenth chapter, that the descendants 
of Japheth, of Ham, and of Shem, were divided 
“after their families, after their tongues, in 
their lands, after their nations.” Of each of the 
three, successively, is the same account given. 
W. Fraser. 

In this matter the account singularly accords 
with the highest results of modern comparative 
philology, which concludes that all langTiages 
w'ere from one centre originally, and are all di¬ 
vided into three great blanches. The one prim¬ 
itive tongue w'as made manifold by diversifying 
the law of structure w’ithout interfering with 
the material of which it was composed. The 
bases or roots cf words may lemain, while the 
etymological laws then work and form vocables. 
Thus from the root fer we have in Latin ferre, 
ferens, fert, ferebat, etc. ; in Gieek pheie, 
pherein, pheron, etc , and in the Hebrew pereh, 
paurch, etc., according to the primitive law of 
each language. Now, the confusion at Babel 
was of the “ lip,” the formative law's of Ln- 
guage, w'ithout effecting the substance. This 
w'as, of course, effective. They could no more 
converse together than an Englishman and a 









SECTION 35.-GENESIS 11 : 1-9. 


279 


German. As the result of this confusion, the 
language of the earth divided into three great 
stocks, from which, according to the ethnolo¬ 
gists, all of the near three hundred languages of 
the earth have sprung as variations. 8. li. 

What the original language was, coiunu n to 
the race uji to this point, has been much debated 
by learned men without arriving at uniform 
and satisfactory results. Whether it was, as 
some suppose, the veritable Hebrew tongue ; 
or as others think, the Aramaic, i.e. the Chal¬ 
dee ; or whether it is utterly lost—these are the 
alternatives ; but for the choice between them 
we can have no very positive data. That the 
Aramaic (Chaldee) tongue, closely allied to the 
Hebrew, held its place for ages in the valley of 
the Euphrates, strongly favors its claim to be, if 
not* the very tongue of Noah, at least of the 
same family. These points suggest probabili¬ 
ties but fall short of certainty. H. C. 

There is no reason why we should'think the 
confusion of tongues the work of a moment ; 
for details could not be given in so short a 
notice. Who does not see that the early days 
of the human race are here given with the ut¬ 
most brevity, and that the annals of many years 
are crowded between a few commas ? It is 
more likel}’’ that discord was first sent among 
men, and that from this cause, leaving the work 
unfinished, they scattered into neighboring 
regions, and gradually wandered further and 
further off ; and that their languages gradually 
changed as they were thus isolated over the 
face of the earth. The facts may have been 
brought succinctly together by Moses in his 
compendious narrative, but those interpreters 
surely err who think that they were carried out 
to completion by God almost as quickly as the 
verses themselves are read. Gltrici. 

8. Scattered tlieni abroad upon 
tlie face of tlic cartli. The migrations of 
the three primitive families took place from the 
central regions of Armenia, Mesopotamia, and 
Assyria ; and, by successive colonizations, es¬ 
tablished far distant communities, and various 
modes of society and government ; the Phoeni¬ 
cians, Arabians, Egyptians, Ethiopians, and 
Libyans, southward ; the Persians, Ethiopians, 
Indians, and Chinese, eastward ; the Scythians, 
Celts, and Tartars, northward ; and the Goths, 
Greeks, and Latins, even as far as the Peru¬ 
vians and Mexicans of South America, and the 
Indian tribes of North America, westward. All 
these various inhabitants of the globe retain a 
striking affinity in the leading principles of 
their language, customs, and religions, however 
diversified in process of time from each other 


by local circumstances : such affinity evincing 
their common descent from one and the same 
parent stock. Hales. 

Those tribes that eailiest found and retained 
their ntar and permanent abodes, other things 
being equa', earliest developed and best re¬ 
tained the highest forms of life and ait. Such 
was the case in Chaldea, Babylonia, India, with 
their fertile and productive jilains and mighty 
streams, and, above all, Egypt with its marvel¬ 
lous position close along the banks of its match¬ 
less river of clock-work overdow, and its won¬ 
derful facilities and resources, and means of 
luxur}'^, and also along the eastern and northern 
jiarts of the Mediterranean, where everything 
invited to commerce, to invention and produc¬ 
tion-climate, soil, minerals and harbors, espe¬ 
cially in Phoenicia, with her two noble harbors 
in convenient nearness to the trade and civiliza¬ 
tion of the more ancient East and to the new 
products of the rising West. The tribes that 
drove each other through the length of Europe, 
through its grim forests and over its mountains, 
across its rushing streams, and through its win¬ 
ter snows, never develojied the higher traits of 
human life till they too at last became station¬ 
ary, and that was only after they had ntarly 
extinguished what may have been the settled 
civilization of their earlier home. S. C. B. 

Upon the dispersion, as men travelled further 
from their original residence into colder, more 
sterile or unhealthful climes, into mountainous 
regions, impervious forests or deserts, especially 
when the colonies were small and indifferently 
furnished with artisans and mechanics or wdth 
implements and utensils of agriculture and car¬ 
pentry, in such circumstances it is easy to ac¬ 
count for the speedy degeneracy of numerous 
tribes, and for their lapse into a barbarous and 
savage state. Thus, Northern Asia, the greater 
part of Africa, the islands of the Mediterranean 
Sea and of the ocean, Europe and America, ap- 
]jear to have been inhabited by rude and migra¬ 
tory hordes as far back as history and tradition 
extend ; while the same history and tradition, 
together with Scripture, assure us that Chaldea, 
Assyjia, Phoenicia and Egypt, perhaps India 
and other eastern countries, were civilized and 
polished from the remotest times or from the 
beginning. And these have proved the foun¬ 
tain of civilization, letters and the aits, to every 
other part of the globe. From the building of 
Babel to the period at which Egypt appears on 
the page of authentic history, a great and flour¬ 
ishing empire famed alike for wealth and power, 
for wisdom and science, the interval is short ; 
the steps are few and easily marked. Lindsley. 




280 


THE DISPERSION. 


The great law of dispersion of the nations has 
had a steadfast and uniform assertion in the 
providence of God over the nations and over 
His ch\irch. It is not the purpose of God to 
permit these universal empires under a fallen 
and depraved humanity. And well, indeed, for 
the human race that it is so. In their ambitious 
dreams, the Nebuchadnezzars, the Alexanders, 
the C(esars, the Napoleons, have thought to defy 
the ordiuauce of separation enacted in the con¬ 
fusion of languages at Babel. But most notably 
have they failed. Nay, the Jehovah—Head of 
the Church—has not intrusted even His imj)er- 
foctly sanctified people to exist in a universal 
empire, however earnestly men have struggled 
to actualize their ideal of an external universal 
empire in the world, for the spiritual govern¬ 
ment of men. True, indeed, such an ideal of 
universal empire figures in all the prophetic 
visions ot Messiah. But that shall be only in 
an era when humanity shall be universally re¬ 
generative and under the rule of the only uni¬ 
versal King, who is “ King of Kings and Lord 
of Lords ” The history of the Christian Church 
has developed the same tendency of human na¬ 
ture to the centralization of spiritual power, and 
the like checks have been interposed by Divine 
Providence. As soon as Christianity became 
corrupted and tending to apostasy, then, under 
the same propensity which showed itself at 
Babel, spiritual Babel-builders attempted to 
“ make to themselves a name” by a universal 
ecclesiastical empire concentrating its power in 
Home, and ever since the effort for that sort of 
church unity by external bonds has m’auifested 
itself. S. II. 

Till very lately it used to be confidentlj’ be¬ 
lieved that a vast mound, bearing the name of 
Birs Nimroud, about six miles to the south¬ 
west of the modern town Hillah, on the Eu¬ 
phrates, and near the site of Babylon, was the 
remains of the Tower of Babel. It is a huge 
brick mound, oblong in form, measuring above 
700 yards round, and rising on one side to the 
height of 200 feet. But in 1854 Sir Henry Baw- 
linson carefirlly examined the Bir.s, and deci- 
))hered an inscription which contains its history. 
From it he gathered that the Birs was not situ¬ 
ated in Babylon at all, but in Borsippa ; its 
name was “ The Stages of the Seven Spheres 
it was dedicated to Nebo or Mercury : it was 
repaired by Nebuchadnezzar, whose name ap- 
j)ears on the bricks and the cylinders at the 
corners ; but it was built by a former king. 

W. G. B.-Whatever its historv', the ruin, Birs 

Nimroud, composed so largely of burnt brick 
laid in bitumen, commemorates the mode of 


construction peculiar to Babylonia. Indeed we 
can ascend almost to the date of this tower of 
Babel. For we have but to cross the Euphrates 
to the ruins of Mugheir—Ur of the Chaldees—to 
find in the basement of its temple this combi¬ 
nation in its most primitive form. The burnt 
bricks are of a small size and inferior qualit}’’, 
laid in bitumen, facing a solid mass of sun-dried 
brick and forming a solid wall outside of it, ten 
feet in thickness. >8. C. B. 

On a fragment of a tablet found by the late 
Mr. Smith among the ruins of Nineveh is the 
story of the first erection of the tower. Though 
it is greatly miitilated, yet we can gather from 
its broken sentences the general outline of 
events. Between this fragment and the narra¬ 
tive in Genesis the points of agreement are ; 
The sin of the peoi>le ; their uniting to build a 
tower ; the anger of God ; he confounds their 
speech ; the building is abandoned ; the peo 2 )le 
are scattered. Babylon vas thus abandoned, 
and it remained so for a time ; but its history 
is again taken uj) in the Assyrian records, just 
as it is in the Bible. J. L. P. 


The counterijart to this confusion of lan¬ 
guages, and dispersion of nations, is to be found 
in the history of the outpouring of the Holy 
Spirit and the communication of the gift of 
tongues, by means of which, what contradiction 
and jjride had severed, was once more united in 
love and humility. In the kingdom of God, the 
whole human race is to be congregated as one 

flock under one shej^herd. C. G. B-That 

was certainly'a most stujoendous miracle which 
led to the disjDersion of mankind over all the 
countries of the world. But there was another 
miracle equally stupendous, and a miracle of 
tongues too, by which the ^leople of all various 
languages were recalled to the Faith from which 
they had departed. By the first, God raised up 
barriers for the segregation of the sjjecies into 
distinct communities. By the second. He 
threw down these barriers, that the bearers of 
the heavenly message might range freely over 
the world, and gather out of all nations the 

family of the faithful. T, C.-In this first 

attempt to found a vast kingdom of this world, 
>yhich God brought to naught by confounding 
the language of its builders and by scattering 
them over the face of the earth, we see a typical 
judgment, of which the counterpart in blessing 
was granted on the day of Pentecost ; when, by 
the outjiouring of the Holy Spirit, another uni¬ 
versal kingdom was to be foundeti, the first 
token of which was that gift of tongues, which 
pointed forward to a reunion of the nations, 











SECTION 35.-GENESIS 11 : 1-9. 


281 


xvhen the promise would be fulfilled that they 
should all be gathered into the v^nts of Shem ! 
A E. 

It pleased God, in His own gool time and 
manner, to realize the presumptuous design of 
the Babel builders, and to unite together in one 
central institution the scattered families of 
man. In the mediation of His blessed Son, 
He hath reared up a Tower whose top reaches 
to heaven, while its base is accessible to the heirs 
of sinful flesh and blood,—a Jacob’s ladder, 
whereby the communications of prayer and 
})raise may pass upward to Him, and those of 
grace, mercy, and peace, may descend to His 
creatures. Clustering round the base of this 
Tower is a city which He hath founded, and 
which is designed to be indeed world-embrac¬ 
ing. The members of the community thus 
formed are united together b}’^ strong and eftica 
cious bonds, although such as are invisible to 
the eye of sense. They have one Lord, one 
faith, one baptism, one God and Father of them 
all, who is above all, and through all, and in 
them all. Daily they approach a common 
mercy-seat, as a refuge from sin’s condemning 
guilt. Daily they draw nigh to a common 
Throne of Grace, as a refuge from sin’s dom¬ 
ineering power. Daily they pursue the same 
pilgrimage through the wilderness of this world, 
with the same auspices and under the same 
guidance. Daily God communes with them out 
of His living oracles, speaking to them, as their 
case requires, in accents of warning, encourage¬ 
ment, or consolation; Continually is their fail¬ 
ing strength renewed by the bread which came 
down from heaven, imparted to them through a 
special channel ordained for its conveyance. 
The same hope animates, the same word guides, 
the same bread feeds, the same Providence di¬ 
rects, the same blood cleanses, the same grace 
quickens and consoles them. Ooulburn. 

Compare three well-known pictures presented 
by the Holy Scriptures :— 

Gen. 11 : The human race, as one nation, 
speaking one language. They attempt to preserve 
this unity by building a metropolitan city, 
where the whole race might dwell, under one 
government and one chief. Their leading idea 
was that oneness of nationality, of speech, and of 


government would bind the whole race in the 
closest bonds of brotherhood. But God was 
left out of their thoughts. To stop the human 
plan and thwart sinful intention, God interfered 
by confounding their language, and the race 
was split up into fragments, which became the 
starting points of nations, ami jieoples, and 
kindreds and tongues ; and men became, hence¬ 
forth, Barbarians, Scythians, bond, free -any¬ 
thing but Bro'hers. 

Acts 2 is the companion picture. The two 
should be studied side by side, lhat showed 
how men became strangers and aliens : this 
shows how God unites them into one family. 
On the Day of Pentecost visible tongues de¬ 
scended upon the Church of Christ, and forth¬ 
with, being filled with the Holy Ghost, each 
member thereof began to speak with foreign 
tongues “ the wonderful works of God.” And 
the whole community was really cemented into 
one brotherhood, and had all things common. 
This indicated God’s way of uniting them : not 
by all dwelling in one c'ty, or kingdom, or speak¬ 
ing one tongue ; not by any external bond *, but 
by giving each individual man Ilis Holy Spirit, 
They may speak all the languages of the earth, 
but their voice is one, the leaven is one, their 
communion is one ; all kindreds and tongues, 
nations and people, are being gathered together 
from the dispersion caused by sin. 

Bev. 7:9, 10 is the third picture. It is a 
scene in heaven, where all is completed which 
was only signified at Pentecost. The whole 
family are gathered together—once separated 
physically by seas and continents, and morally 
by sin. This great family is composed of the 
same diversities that existed on earth. They 
are still kindreds, and nations, and peoples,, and 
tongues, and yet they are united—one family, all 
speak the same praises, all sing one song. Ask, 
What has made them so ? Clearly not one tongue, 
as was attempted at Babel, but it is the posses¬ 
sion of one spirit, which has attuned them all, 
and brought them into fellowship with the 
Father and the Son. “ The Lamb is the light 
thereof, ” and His magnetic power attracts these 
once-scattered units, now no longer under the 
centrifugal power of sin, but under the centrip¬ 
etal influence of the Holy Spirit. Morgan Dix. 







2 S2 


Sn£JM TO ABRAHAM. 


Section 36. 


SHEM TO ABIIAIIA.M. 
Genesis 11 :10-32. 


10 These are the generations of Siiem. Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arpach- 

11 shad two years after the flood : and Sheni lived after he begat Arpachshad five hundred 

12 years, and begat sons and daughters. And Arpachshad lived five and thirty years, and 

13 begat Shelah : and Arpachshad lived after he begat Shelah four hundred and three years, 
14, 15 and begat sons and daughters. And Shelah lived thirty years, and liegat Eber : and 

16 Shelah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and 

17 daughters. And Eber lived four and thirty j’ears, and begat Peleg : and Eber lived after 

18 he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters. And 

19 Peleg lived thirt}’’ years, and begat Keu : and Peleg lived after he begat Eeu two .hundred 
20, 21 and nine 3 ^ears, and begat sons and daughters. And Keu lived two and thirty years, 

22 and begat Serug: and Keu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and 

23 begat sons and daughters. And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor : and Serug lived 

24 after he begat Nahor two hundred year-", and begat sons and daughters. And Nahor lived 

25 nine and twenty years, and begiit Terah : and Nahor lived after he begat Terah an 

26 hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters. And Terah lived seventy 
years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran. 

27 Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran ; and 

28 Haran begat Lot. And Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of 

29 his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. And Abram and Nahor took them wives : the 
name of Abram’s wife was Sarai ; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter 

30 of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. And Sarai was barren ; she 

31 had no child. And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, liis son’s 
son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife ; and they went forth with 

32 them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan , and they came unto Haran, 
and dwelt there. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years : and Terah 
died in Haran. 


The history of Noah’s children divides itself 
into two branches ; the general peopling of the 
earth bv the descendants of his three sons, and 
the particular line of the chosen family. The 
former subject is briefly dismissed, but with 
notices full of interest ; and the latter is pursued 

I 

down to Abram, on whose migration to Canaan j 
we again come in contact with the other races of 

men. P. S.-The chkonological thread of 

sacred history is now connected \yith the gene¬ 
alogy OF Shem, as before the flood it had been 
with that of Seth. Here as before, differences 
of numbers occur in the Hebrew text, as com¬ 
pared with the LXX. and the Samaritan. K 
10. The usual phrase. These are the genera¬ 
tions, marks the beginning of the fifth docu¬ 
ment We now enter upon a new phase of hu¬ 
man development. The nations have gradually 
departed from the living God, and have fallen 
into polytheism and idolatry. The knowledge 
of the one true God is on the verge of being en¬ 
tirely lost. Nevertheless the promises, first to 


the race of Adam that the seed of the woman 
should bruise the serpent’s head, and next to 
the family of Noah that the Lord should be the 
God of Shem, were still in force. It is obvious 
from the latter promise that the seed of the 
woman is to be expected in the line of Shem. 
10-26. Th is passage contains the pedigree of 
Abram from Shem. From this it appears that 
the sacred writer here reverts to the second year 
after the flood,—a point of time long before the 
close of the preceding narrative. Shem was the 
son of a hundred years, or in his hundredth year, 
two years after the flood, and therefore in the 
six hundred and third year of Noah, and con¬ 
sequently three years after Japheth. Abram 
was the twentieth, inclusive, from Adam, the 
tenth from Shem, and the seveuth from Heber. 
M. 

We have here the third genealogical table. 
The 1st was given in ch. 5 from Adam to Noah ; 
the 2d in ch. 10, the genealogy of the three 
sons of Noah, the descendants of Shem being 







SECTION 86.—GENESIS 11 : 10-32. 


283 


traced down as far as Peleg, Now we have the 
line of Shetn further carried down to Abraham, 
the father of the faithful, the ancestor of the 
promiseil seed. In ch. 10 no account is given 
of the length of the generations or of the dura¬ 
tion of life ; but-here as before in ch. 5, both 
these are supplied. We mark at once the tran¬ 
sition from the antediluvian to the postdiluvian 
duration of life. Noah lived 050 years, Shern 
only GOO, Arpaclishad, the firstborn of Shem after 
the deluge, only 438 ; when we come to Peleg, 
who seems to have been contemporary with the 
dispersion, life is stdl shorter ; Peleg lived 239 
years, lieu 239, Serug 230, Nahor 148. E. H. B. 

Table of IhbrevD and Seplii ufint Texts. 



Hebrew Text. 

Septuagint. 

Year.s 
before 
birth of 
8011. 

Whole 

Life. 

Years 
before 
birth of 
Son. 

Whole 

Life. 

Shem. 

100 

GOO 

100 

600 

Arpachshad . 

35 

43d 

l;35 

535 

Kainan. 



1:30 

460 

Shelali . 

30 

433 

1.30 

460 

Eber. 

U 

4G1 

131 

404 

Peleg. 

SO 

230 

i;30 

3:39 

KeuT... 

32 

23.) 

132 

3:30 

Senis. 

30 

230 

130 

3:30 

Nahor. 

20 

148 

179 

304 

Terali. 

70 

205 

70 

200 

Abram. 






On the whole, the predominant view has been 
to accept the Hebrew as the true text. But it is 
to be borne in mind that we have but one He¬ 
brew manuscript as old as the year 580 a.d., and 
that we in no case seem to get back of a Maso- 
retic revision ; while the Sejituagint represents 
a text which dates 250 years b.c. Whatever the 
decision as to relative correctness, the phenom¬ 
enon must raise questions and doubts, as it 
shows somewhere the hand of the emendator. 

"When now we attempt to follow down this 
second line of early consanguinitj^ the Shem- 
ite, with its figures, w^e find ourselves at once 
dealing with several extremely difficult and com¬ 
plicated questions, on which in the present state 
of our knowledge no man can offer an absolute 
solution, but on'y swjgesHons which look iowaid a 
solution. These questions concern the relation 
of the individuals to each other in the line of 
succession ; the length of life ascribed to them 
respectively ; and the total duration thus indi 
cated from the Creation to the Deluge. 

Reversing the order of these questions, there 
meets us that of the length of time prior to the 
Deluge, and thereby somewhat directly the du¬ 
ration of man’s history on the earth, involved 


chiefly in this period. For the length of time 
from the Christian era to the birth of Abraham 
can be reckoned without any large range of 
variation—perhaps 2U0 or 300 years ; and the 
period from .Abraham to Noah offers us two 
Biblical Chronologies (Hebrew and Septuagint) 
admitting, to s >me degree, possible confirma¬ 
tory or corrective collation with’ semi-historic 
events. But the previous period stands alone. 
No figures wdiatever ate offered from any souice 
except the Pentateuch. While making all allow¬ 
ance for possible exigencies, I do not as yet see 
valid reason to adopt an}'^ view of the time cf 
man’s existence very greatly in excess, if not of 
Usher’s, yet of Hale’s Chronolog 3 % 5411 b.c. All 
definite records and distinct traditions go up to 
a limited distance and stop there, this side even 
of the date thus gained. Thus the latest and 
most careful authorities. Chinese investigators- 
now find nothing solid in the antiquity of China 
earlier than eleven or tvelve hundred b.c ; w^e 
find no Iranic civilization earlier than 1500 b.c , 
nor Indian earlier than 1200. The Trojan epoch 
does not probably reach further than 1200 to 
1300 B.C., nor the subjactnt cities than 2000. 
The latest result in regard to Phoenicia gives 
but the sixteenth or seventeenth century b.c. 
Saj'ce and Lenormant place the beginning of 
Assyria about 1500 b.c , and Smith and Lenor- 
maut tbe beginning of Babylon 2300 b.c. In 
the case of Egypt one onlj" of the prominent 
Egj’ptologists (Mariette Bey) insists on finding 
no contemporaneous dynasties, but makes all 
successive ; and his estimate of 5004 years b.c. 
to the accession of Menes still falls within the 
limits of Hale’s Chronology, while Poole’s and 
Wilkinson's estimates subtract more than 2000 
years from Mariette’s figures. If we accept the 
Biblical antediluvian narrative as it stands, all 
eastern history i.s a simple and natural phenom¬ 
enon, thoroughly consistent with itself and wiih 
all known tacts. And in this line a very strik¬ 
ing coincidence is mentioned, viz. : “ Taking as 
a basis the annual increase of population in 
Fiance (w'hich has the best statistics for the 
pant two hundred years) at a year, six per¬ 
sons (say Shem, Ham, and Japheth, with their 
wives) would increase to 1,400,000,000 in 4211 
years. But in 1863, the estimated population 
of the earth was 1,400,000,000, and 4211 years 
would carry us back from that time to 2348 b.c., 
the common date of the Flood.” S. C. B. 

Christian apologists have shown unnecessary 
anxiety as to exactness in dates. The admitted 
elas’icity or differences in Bible chronology- 
should make us willing to grant a liberal mar¬ 
gin. What specially concerns us is the harmony 



























28-1 


SIIEM TO ABllAIIAM. 


'of hisiories. While exact dates are in their own 
place most valuable, they are not to supersede 
the cumulative evidence which the recognized 
harmony of profane with sacred history is bring¬ 
ing to the side of the Christian apologists. No 
one can recall the perpetually recurring depre¬ 
ciation of the Bible through the greater part of 
the last half century, on the plea that its his¬ 
torical statements were either mythical, or, when 
valid, had been written out after other histories 
had been published, without deep thankfulness 
for the striking vindication of all its statements 
which contemporary histories have of late been 
giving. W. Fraser. 

26. Terali litcd seventy years, and 
be^at Abram, A'alinr, an<l Haraii. 

Haran dies before his father, leaving behind 
him Lot, his son, Terah’s grandchild, alread 3 ’’ a 
grown-up lad. The 70 years assigned to Terah 
must consequently be his age at the birth of 
Haran, his first born. Abram’s birth may be 
inferred from chap. 12 ; 4 ; according to which 
he was 75 j^ears old when he departed out of 
Haran, where Terah died, being at the time 
205 years old. Abram was 75 years old at his 
father’s death, and consequently he was born 
when his father was 130 j'^ears old. Abram s 
name stands before that of his brothers for no 
other reason but because he was the heir of the 
promise. C. G. B. 

Shem could tell Abram, with whom he was 
contemporary one hundred j^ears, nearly what 
Lamech, his grandfather, had reported to him, 
and who lived also contemporary with Adam'fiftj^ 
years ; nay, what Methuselah had told Shem, 
after being contemporary with Adam 243 years. 
Thus it will be found that the first 2000 years of 
the world’s history is reduced to the testimony 
of but two uf our generations—the testimony of 
a grandfather, through father to the son. Even 
as late as the birth of Isaac there stood Shem to 
report and testify what Lamech and Methuselah 
had told him from Adam. S. B.-This gene¬ 

alogy here ends in Abram, the friend of God, 
and leads further to Christ, the promised Seed, 
who was the Son of Abram, and from Abram the 
genealogy of Christ is reckoned. Put ch. 5, 
11, and Matt. 1 together, and you have such an 
entire genealogy of Jesus Christ as cannot be 
produced concerning anj’^ person in the world, 
out of his line and at such a distance from 
the fountain-head. And lajdng these three 
genealogies together, we shall find that twice 
ten, and thrice fourteen, generations or de¬ 
scents passed between the first and second 
Adam, making it clear concerning Christ, not 
only that he was the Son of Abraham, but 


the Son of man and the Seed of the woman. 
H. 

27-^2, This passage forms the commence¬ 
ment of the sixth document, as is indicated by 
the cuotomarj’’ phrase. These are the generations. 
The sense also clearly accords wuth this distinc¬ 
tion ; and it accounts for the repetition of the 
statement, “ Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and 
Haran.” This passage and the preceding one 
form the meet prelude to the history of Abram, 
—the one tracing his genealogy from Shem and 
Heber, and the other detailing his relations 
with the family out of which he was called. . . . 
God has not forsaken the fallen race. Out of 
Adam’s three sons he selects one to be the pro¬ 
genitor of the seed of the woman ; out of Noah’s 
three sons he again selects one ; and now out of 
Terah’s three is one to be selected. Among the 
children of this one he will choose a second 
one, and among his a third one before he reaches 
the holy family. M. 

28. Ur of tlie Chaldees. Mugheir, 
which bore the exact name of Ur or llur, is en¬ 
titled to be (at least provisionally) regarded as 
the city of Abram (so Professors Bawlinson, 
Porter, Eadie, Loftus, Ayre, etc., after Sir 
Henr}'^ Bawlinson). Ur or llur, now Mugheir, or 
Um-Mugheir (= the hiiamened, or the mother of 
bitumen), is one of the most ancient,- if not the 
most ancient, of the Chaldean sites hitherto dis¬ 
covered. It lies on the right bank of the Eu¬ 
phrates, about six miles from the present course 
of the stream, nearl}^ opposite the point where 
the Euphrates receives the Shat-el-Hie from the 
Tigris. It is now not less than 125 miles from 
the sea ; but there are grounds for believing that 
it was anciently a maritime town, but now in¬ 
land from the rapid gi'owth of the alluvium. 
The remains of buildings cover an oval space, 
1000 yards long b}^ 800 broad. The most re¬ 
markable building near the northern end of the 
ruins is a temple of the true Chaldean type, built 
in stages of bricks laid chief!}' in bitumen, and 
bearing tbe name of Urukh, who is regarded as 
the earliest of the Chaldean monumental kings, 
B.c. 2000, or a little earlier. Ur, the capital of 
this monarch, retained its metropolitan charac¬ 
ter for above tvvo centuries, and, even after it 
became second to Babylon, was a great citj', 
with an especially sacred character. It is in the 
main a city of tombs. Die. B. 

The inscriptions which connect the name of 
Urukh with the cities of Niffar, Warka, Sen- 
kereh, and Mugheir, constantly apeak of the last 
of these places as the city of Ur or Hur. This 
word appears to contain the essential part of 
the word llurki, the moon-god, of whose wor- 








SECTION 86.—GENESIS 11 : 10-32. 


2S5 


ship, in eaily Chaldean times, this city was a 
principal seat. This notipn is confirmed by the 
indirect testimony of Enpolemus, a Jewish 
writer of about 150 b.c., who says that Abraham 
W'as born in Camorina, a city of Babylonia, 
which some call Uria, i.e. a city of the Chal¬ 
deans. Njw the word Cainarina appears to be 
a Greek name, derived from an Arabic word, 
kamar, which means “ the moon.” Thus in the 
two words Uria and Camarina the name of the 
place and its meaning appear to be brought to¬ 
gether ; and thus, if any single place is to be 
regarded as the site of Ur of the Chaldees, Mug 
heir has the strongest claim to be selected for 
that purpose. Mugheir was visited by the old 
Italian traveller Pietro della Valle, early in the 
seventeenih century, on his way from Basrah to 
Aleppo. He says that he had no idea what j^lace 
he was surveying, but that the ruins consisted 
of large well burnt bricks, stami:)ed and in¬ 
scribed with characters unknown to him, but 
which appeared to be very ancient. “ I carried 
away,” he saj\s, “ one of the bricks, and noticed 
that they were joined together in the building 
not with mortar, but with, bitumen, with which 
these plains abound, so that the Arabs call the 
hill of ruins Muqeier, i.e. ‘ the pitchy.’ ” H. W. P. 

The site of Ur was discovered about twenty 
years ago. It is marked by a number of large 
mounds in which were found embedded cylin¬ 
ders and bricks of the oldest type, showing that 
this was one of the earliest cities built b^’^ the 
Cushite Akkadians. The Chaldeans were fire- 
worshippers, and Ur (which signifies ” fire” or 
“ light ”) apjDears to have contained one of their 
chief temples, which, at a somewhat later period, 
was dedicated to the moon, the second great 
'‘light” of heaven. In Ur, and among the ruins 
of other early Chaldean cities, multitudes of 
bricks have been found, stamped with the name 
Urukh. This king founded many of the oldest 
temples in Babylonia, as his name is upon the 
bricks dug up from their ruins, and also upon 
tablets. One inscription reads : “ Urukh, king 
of Ur, who the house of Ur built.” He budt 
the temple of the moon at Ur ; he also built the 
temple of the sun at Larsa (the Ellasar of Gen. 
14 :1) ; the temple of Venus at Erech ; the tem¬ 
ples of Bel and Beltis at Nipur (Calneh) ; and 
the temple of Sarili at Zirgulla. These facts, 
while they show the all-pervading and inveter¬ 
ate idolatry of the ancient Chaldeans, strikingly 
illustrate the reason assigned by Joshua for the 
migration of Terah and his family from Ur. 
Had he remained there, he and his household 
would have been exposed to unceasing persecu¬ 
tion and temptation. To have adopted the 


worship of the true God and renounced idolatry 
would have been, humanly siieaking, impossible 
in such a country and among such a people. 
Their worship, as stated in the inscriptions 
sliown on their monuments, was grossly poly¬ 
theistic. J. L. P. 

In Shinar idolatry, which had insensibly com¬ 
menced in Armenia, and jiroceeded till it had 
almost superseded the worship of the one true 
God, was perfected. As the human mind never 
tolerates any violent or sudden change in re¬ 
ceived and well-confirmed opinions, the ancient 
wdolatry is supposed to have originated in slow 
and imperceptible innovations, alterations, and 
perversions of the pure patriarchal religion ; till 
it became a strange and monstrous compound of 
Demonolatry, Sabianism, Materialism, Polythe¬ 
ism, and cruelty. G. T.-It is very remarkable 

that wherever men went, they forsook the pure 
worship of the true God, and instituted religious 
rites and practices of their own. The most 
lamentable thing about idolatry was, that when 
men began to give license to their fancy in 
fashioning their gods, the}^ made them like 
themselves, with their own weaknesses, pas¬ 
sions, and lusts. Instead of being elevated by 
fellowship with a Being of purest and noblest 
mould, the worshippers were debased by the 
contemplation of beings of low passions and 
propensities, whom it was regarded a duty to 

resemble. W. G. B.-Idolatry is the religion 

of sight in opposition to that of faith. Instead 
of the unseen Creator, man regarded that which 
was visible—the sun, the moon, the stars—as 
the cause and the ruler of all ; or he assigned 
to everything its deity, and thus had gods many 
and lords many ; or else he converted his heroes, 
real or imaginary, into gods. The worship of 
the heavens, the worship of nature, or the wor¬ 
ship of man—such is heathenism and idolatry. 
A. E. 

Abraham, the highest born of the whole Se¬ 
mitic stock, is described as dwelling at Ur, a 
large and wealthy town, tlie chief seaport upon 
the Persian Gulf, though now left far inland by 
the deposit of the silt brought down by the 
Euphrates from tbe highlands of Armenia. The 
place was originally peopled by the Accadians, 
a race descende I from Jnpheth, and who are 
proved by the largo remains of their literature 
to have been a wealthy, learned, and highly 
civilized j^eople. The cuneiform method of 
writing seems to have been their invention, and 
clay’their ordinary though not their only writ¬ 
ing material. Papyrus was used by them at a 
very early date ; and so common was the use of 
writing, that all the ordinary transact ions of 







28G 


8IIEM TO ABRAHAM. 


business were carefully recorded, and numerous 
tablets in our museums refer to matters of the 
most insignificant kind. li. P. S. 

Ur was one of the most ancient cities of Chal¬ 
dea, and at the time of Abram must have been 
one of the most splendid. The Cushite popula¬ 
tion on the Lower Tigris and Euphrates had al¬ 
ready conquered the Accadians, and were min¬ 
gled with them ; to form in the course of time 
the race known as Babylonians. The city was 
then flourishing ; the arts and sciences were 
cultivated ; astronomers watched the heavens ; 
poets composed hymns and epics, and patienf 
scribes stamped, on soft clay tablets, the books 
which have in part come dowm to our day. For 
the ancient race which lived in these lands 
were, beyond most, given to writing and read¬ 
ing. There were libraries at Senkereh, Babylon, 
Borsippa, Cutha, Accad, Ur, Erech, Larsa, Nip¬ 
pur, Kalah Chergat, Calah, and Nineveh. Geikie. 

The Shemitic family of languages may be di¬ 
vided into four groups : 1. The Southern group 
—Arabic, Ethiopic, etc. 2. The Aramaic group 
—Syriac, Chaldee, etc. 3. T ie Hebrew group — 
the Phoenician, Hebrew, etc. 4. The Assyrian 
and Babylonian. These languages have given 
us a considerable literature ; they were spoken 
by cultivated nations of the ancient world, medi¬ 
ating between the great centres of primitive 
Turanian culture—the Euphrates and the Nile. 
Everything seems to indicate that they all emi¬ 
grated from a common centre in the desert on 
the south of Babylonia, the Arabic group sej^a- 
rating first, next the Aramaic, then the Hebrew', 
while the Babylonian gained ultimately the mas¬ 
tery of the original Accadian of Babylonia, and 
the Assyrian founded the great empire on the 
Tigris. Now the book of Genesis represents 
Abram as going forth from this central seat of 
Ur of the Chaldees, going first northw'ard into 
Mesopotamia, and then emigrating to Canaan, 
just as we learn from other sources the Canaan- 
ites had done before him. The monuments of 
Ur reveal that about this time, 2000 n.c., it w'as 
the seat of a great literary development. The 
father of the faithful, whose origin was in that 
primitive seat of culture, and who lived as a 
chieftain of military prowess and exalted relig¬ 
ious and moral character among the nations of 
Canaan, and who was received at the court of 
Pharaoh—that other great centre of primitive 
culture—on friendly terms, could not but have, 
to some extent at least, made himself acquainted 
with their literature and culture. Briggs. 

Brought up amid such influences, Abram, 
if not a person of education, must have been a 
man of great intelligence ; and his subsequent 


life proves that he also )?ossessed unusual pru¬ 
dence and a superior judgment. When God’s 
revelation came to him, it w'as to an enlightened 
mind. His renunciation of idolatry and his 
adoption of the w'orship of the true God, were 
not the result of impulse, but of an intelligent, 
deliberate choice, under special di viiie'^guidance. 

S. Merrill. -No reasonable doubt can be cast 

upon the assertion that the difference between 
Abram and the Chaldees lay in his being a 
worshipper of one God, while they ovorshiioped 
many. Nor can we find any explanation of the 
monotheism of Abram and his clan so simple 
and reasonable as that given b^' his possession 
of such histories as those contained in the ear¬ 
lier chapters of Genesis. 11. P. S. 

28. Atoram'j^ wife was Sarai. Abram 
says of Sarai, “ She is the daughter of my 
f.ither, but not the daughter of my mother” 
(Gen. 20:12). In Hebrew phrase the grand¬ 
daughter is termed a daughter ; and therefore 
this statement might be satisfied by her being 
the daughter of Haran. Lot is called the 
brother’s son and the brother of Abram (Gen. 
14 :12, 16). If Sarai be Haran’s daughter. Lot 
is Abram’s brother-in-law'. This identification 
would also explain the introduction of Iscah 
into the present passage. Still the studied 
silence of the sacred writer in regard to the 
parentage of Sarai, in the present connection, 
tells rather in favor of her being the actual 
daughter of Terah by another wufe, and so strict¬ 
ly the half-sister of Al)ram. For the Mosaic law 
afterward expressly prohibited marriage with 
“•the daughter of a lather’ (Lev. 18 : 9). And 
the text does not state of Iscah, “ This is Sarai,” 
which w'ould accord wdth the manner of the 
sacred writer, and is actually d. ne in the Tar- 
gu 11 of Pseud )-Jonathan. 

3Io T.> g,) i:8to alic DaiiiS of Canaan. 
Terah was two hundred years old when he un¬ 
dertook the long journey to the land of Canaan ; 
for he died at two hundred and five, when 
Abram was seventy-five. Thej came to Haran 
and dmU ther-^. F.lial piety, no doubt, kept 
xibram watching over the last days of his vener¬ 
able parents, who probably still hope to reach 
the land of his adopti-m. Hence the}^ all abode 
in Haran for the remainder of the five years 
from the date of Abram’s call to leave his native 
land. And Terah. d e I in IIiran. This intimates 
that he would have proceeded with the others 
to the land of Canaan if his life had been pro¬ 
longed, and likewise that they did not leave 
Haran until Lis death. 

We have already seen that Abram was seventy, 
five years of age at the death of Terah. It fol- 







SECTION 36.—GENESIS 11 : 10-32. 


287 


lows that he was born when Terah was one hun¬ 
dred and thirty years okl, and consequently 
sixty years after Haran. Abram is placed first 
in the list of Terah’s son*^, simply on' account of 
his personal pre-eminence as the father of the 
faithful and the ancestor of the promised seed ; 
he and his brother Nahor are both much younger 
than Haran, are married only after his death, 
and one of them to his grown-up daughter Mil- 
cah ; and he and his nephew Lot are meet com¬ 
panions in age as well as in spirit. Hence also 
Abram lingers in Haran, waiting to take his 
father with him to the land of promise, if he 
should revive so far as to be fit for the journey. 
But it was not the lot of Terah to enter the 
land, where he would only have been a stranger. 
He is removed to the better country, and by his 
departure contributes no doubt to deepen the 
faith of his son Abram, of his grandson Lot, 
and of his daughter-in-law Sarai. This expla¬ 
nation of the order of events is confirmed by the 
statement of Stephen : “ The God of glory ap¬ 
peared unto our father Abraham when he was 
in Mesopotamia, before he chcelt in Charran. Then 
came he out of the land of the Chaldeans and 
dwelt in Charran ; and from thence, ichen his 
father was dead, he removed him into this land, 
wherein ye now dwell ” (Acts 7 : 2-4). M. 

In Haran, charmed probably by the fertility 
of the country, and claiming the right of a first 
choice, Nahor settled. We shall find his family 
here in the next two generations, bearing a 
character suited to the motive thus suggested 

(G. 24 :10 ; 27 : 43). P. S.-Hiiran lies in one 

of the extensive plains of Mesopotamia (to the 
south-east of Edessa), and is specially adapted 
for a residence of Nomadic tribes. This ac¬ 
counts for the fact that the progress of the emi¬ 
grants was arrested, and that Nahor remained 

there. K-As far back as the Accadian 

epoch, the district in which Haran was built 
belonged to the rulers of Babylonia ; Haran 
w'as, in fact, the frontier town of the empire ; 
the name itself was an Accadian one signifying 
“ the road.” Sayce. 

It is strange to think what a great part the 
descendants of the Chaldean shepherd, Terah, 
have played in the history of the world. Those 
of Nahor gradually formed a great kingdom 
which only passed away before the rising j)ower 


of Syria and the fierce attacks of Edom. The 
twelve tribes sprung from Ishmael scattered 
themselves over the vast pasture and desert re¬ 
gions of Anibia, Sjuia, Mesopotamia, the shores 
of the Persian Gulf, and the east of the Jordan. 
The sons cf-Keturali, in the same wav", grew into 
similar tribes, to vliom the deseit solitudes have 
ever since been the chosen home. The Arab 
race, indeed, over the world, are the posterity 
of Nahor and Abraham. Nor have they been 
without their great part on the stage of the 
world, for it is to an Arab that more than 200,- 
000,000 of men look to-day as the great prophet 
of God, and the empire they founded in the first 
days of Mahometanism stretched from India to 
the Strait of Gibraltar, and by its culture and 
civilization prepared the way for the revival of 
Letters in Western Europe. But the supremo 
interest of mankind centres in the Hebrew, not 
in the Arab descendants of Abiaham. Gtikie. 

32. Two liiiiiclrcd siiid live years. 
There was an observable gradual decrease in the 
years of their lives ; Shem reached to 600 years, 
which yet fell short of the age of the patriarchs 
before the flood ; the three next came short of 
500 ; the three next did not reach to 300 ; after 
them, we read not of any that attained to 200, 
but Terah ; and, not many ages after this, Moses 
reckoned 70 or 80 to be the utmost men ordi¬ 
narily arrive at : when the earth began to be re- 
I)lenished, men’s lives began to shorten ; so that 
the decrease is to be imputed to the wise dis¬ 
posal of providence, rather than to any decay of 
nature. H. 


Without these first eleven chapters of Genesis 
we should be in the deepest darkness in refer¬ 
ence to the origin and nature of the world and 
of man. In these chapters we have true light 
on the beginning, in the prophecies on the end ; 
in the former on the originating principle, in 
the latter on the issues of history ; in the one 
on the reason or cause, in the other on the pur¬ 
pose of the world. Without this light, a uni¬ 
versal history and philosophy of history are im¬ 
possible. Prophecy itself has its roots in these 
chapters. All later revelation is founded on 
them. Auberleii. 








288 


ABRAM'S CALL. 


Section 37. 

« 

ABEAM’S CALL—BLESSING—JOUENEY TO CANAAN. 

Genesis 12 :1-5. 

1 Now the Loed said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and 

2 from thy father's house, unto the land that I will shew thee : and I will make of thee a great 
o nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great ; and be thou a blessing : and I wdll 

bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse : and in thee shall all the 

4 families of the earth be blessed. So Abram w^ent, as the Lord had spoken unto him ; and Lot 
went with him : and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 

5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they 
l)al gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran ; and they went forth to go into the 
land of Canaan : and into the land of Canaan they came. 


From this point, through fort^’’ chapters, the 
sacted historian leaves the history of the w^orld 
to dwell on the records of three biographies. 
For not only is the individual life sacred to 
God, but those three iiatriarchs—Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob—were the fathers cf the chosen 
jieople. They lived peaceful and, for the most 
part, uneventful lives in their pastoral tents ; 
they were but men ; they were not sinless ; they 
sometimes fell into acts of meanness and deceit. 
But even with all their human weaknesses they 
were men eminently good, and their one great 
distinguishing feature was faith in God. It is 
this which, more tlum anything else, differen 
tiates one life from another. We arc helped to 
grasp the lesson by the striking way in which 
each one of them is silently contrasted with 
another who has his good things in this life — 
Abraham with Lot, Isaac with Ishmael, Jacob 
with Esau. Few lessons are more instructive 
than those wdiich spring from drawing out this 
contrast in its details and in its results. But 
the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews points 
out to us the great lesson that it was faith which 
lit up their characters with every virtue and 
every grace ; it was like one sunbeam brighten¬ 
ing jewels of many colors. Farrar. 

For nearly four centuries, at the briefest com¬ 
putation, the new race, saved from the flood, 
had been left to multiply and spread and cor¬ 
rupt itself, without anything that w^e know of, 
better than tradition, to keep alive a pure faith 
or the memory of God’s past dealings with man¬ 
kind. Like the four hundred years in Egypt, 
or the period of the Judges or the interval from 
Malachi to John the Baptist, these centuries 
formed one of those longer pauses in the suc¬ 
cession of divine communications to mankind, 
which have sometimes served to sharpen the 


ears of the few who did hearken for God’s voice, 
as well as to accentuate that voice when it spoke 
again. When this interval of silence was over, 
two results of it were found to mark the condi¬ 
tion of mankind. For one thing, the world was 
left broken up into states, tribes, and races held 
well apart from one another, partly by varia- 
tions of dialect, and partly by blood-aftinities 
and repulsii ns. In the next place, a system of 
nature-worship, which tended rapidly to deify 
the chief forces and phenomena of matter, was 
found to have spread itself, though under vary¬ 
ing forms, over all lands. The former of these 
facts made the separation of a single tribe, for 
the jiurpose of being divinely educated in re¬ 
ligion, a possible step ; the latter made it a need¬ 
ful one. The time was ripe for the interposi¬ 
tion of Heaven, that in one sheltered and se¬ 
lected family at least might be unfolded an up¬ 
ward religious progress under supernatural im¬ 
pulses, to serve for a counterpoise or corrective 
to the downward movement everywhere else in 
progress. In a word, the beginnings must be 
made of a kingdom cf God, if more and more 
the kingdom of fallen spirits were not to be suf¬ 
fered without challenge to engulf humanity. 
Di/kes. 

Even with the advantage on the side of right 
eousness gained by the terrific judgment of the 
Deluge, the same sinful tendencies soon began 
to develop themselves anew after that event ; 
within a few generations the miracle at Babel 
w^as necessary to confound the projects of men, 
combining in one vast scheme to thwart the 
purposes cf heaven ; and even the iiosterity of 
Shem, Avhi h had some kind of general distinc¬ 
tion conferred on it in Divine thing-i by the 
prophecy of N mh, was ready to be engulfed in 
the swelling stream of pollution. It was neces- 



SECTION 37.—GENESIS 12 : 1-5, 


sary, therefore, to adopt another course, and, 
fur the sake of the general good of the world, to 
select a particular channel of blessing. This is 
the principle of the Divine government of which 
Abraham became the first living representative 
— individual election to special privileges, 
hopes, and obligations ; primarily, indeed, for 
the behoof of those more immediately cen- 
cerned, but mainly for the benefit of others, 
with the express object and design that the par¬ 
ticular in this respect might become the univer¬ 
sal. Gosae -The revelation, promise, and 

favor bestowed on Abraham are only vouchsafed 
to him in order, through him and his descend¬ 
ants, to pour on the whole human race the same 
blessing of the knowledge of God, and com¬ 
munion with Him. While God confines His 
grace to a single chosen family. He declares it 
is intended for all men. The first revelation 
to the great forefather of the Israelites shows 
that the Old Testament knows nothing of a 
Jewish national God, to whom the rest of the 
world is alien. Geri. 

It was needful that there should be a particu¬ 
lar nation separated from the rest of the world, 
to receive the types and proj)hecies to be given 
of Christ, to jjrepare the way for his coming ; 
that to them might be committed the oracles of 
God ; and that by them the history of God’s 
great works of creation and providence might be 
upheld ; and that so Christ might be born of 
this nation ; and that from hence the light of 
the gospel might shine forth to the rest of the 
world. These ends could not well be obtained, 
if God’s people, through all these two thousand 
years, had lived intermixed with the Heathen 
world. So that this calling of Abraham may be 
looked upon as a new foundation laid for the 
visible church of God, in a more distinct and 
regular state, to be upheld and built upon this 
foundation from henceforward, till Christ 
should actually come, and then through him to 
be propagated to all nations. So that Abraham 
being the person in whom this foundation is 
laid, is represented in scripture as thoTigh he 
were the father of all the church, the fatner of 
all them that believe ; as it were a root whence 
the visible church thenceforward through Christ, 
Abraham’s root and offspring, rose as a tree, 
distinct from all other plants ; of which tree 
Christ was the Branch of righteousness ; and 
from which tree, after Christ came, the natural 
branches were broken off, and the Gentiles were 
grafted into the same tree. So that Abraham 
still remains the father of the church, or root of 
the tree, through Christ his seed. It is the 
same tree that flourishes from that small begin- 
19 


m. 

ning, that was in Abraham’s time, and has in 
these days of the gospel spread its branches 
over a great part of the earth, and will fill tho 
whole earth in due time, and at the end of the 
world shall be transplanted from an earthly soil 
into the paradise of God. Edwards. 

From tho selection or one j^articular nation 
onward every revelation of God clusters around 
that nation, in order to prepare it so that ulti 
mately the climax and the final aim of all revela 
tion, the incarnation of God, might bo attained 
in the midst of that ^reople, and thence a salva¬ 
tion issue, adapted not only to that nation but 
also to all other nations. The h"sis of this his¬ 
tory is a covenant into which God entered with 
that nation, and which, amid all the vicissitudes 
and dangers attending every human develop¬ 
ment, He preserved and directed till its final 
aim was attained. This covenant, whose object 
was a salvation which was to he accomplished, is 
designated the Old Covenant, in contradistinc¬ 
tion to the Neio Covenant which God made with 
all nations, on the basis of a salvation which, 
in the fulness of time, had actually been accom 
plished. Sacred history commences with the 
creation of the world, while the history of tho 
Old Covenant only begins when God entered 
into covenant with Abraham. The ultimate aim 
and the highest point of the Divine covenant 
activity, in all its manifestations, is the incar¬ 
nation of God in Christ. The purpose of all 
Divine operation and co-operation in the Old 
Covenant is to typify it and to prepare for it. 
The law, the word of prophecy, the general lead¬ 
ings of the chosen people, and the individual 
leadings or its more prominent members—in 
fine, every miraculous interposition points tow¬ 
ard this. The law is the mirror where the ideal 
of that Divine perfection, which, since the en¬ 
trance of sin, can only be realized in the God- 
man, is reflected ; prophecy is the canvas on 
which the hand of the divinely-enlightened seer 
traces the lineaments of the God-man. The 
Avhole course of this history implies a continual 
descending and condescending to man on the 
part of the Divine Being. K. 

With the Life of Abraham the Mosaic history 
may be said to commence : all that precedes 
being introductory to it. If we consult the map 
of the countries through which Abraham passed, 
and consider at the same time the probable 
amount of the population of the earth at this 
period, we shall find that Abraham, in comply¬ 
ing with the Divine command, preached the 
true religion to the great majority of mankind. 

G. T.-No other name in all history forms so 

conspicuous a starting-point for the develop- 






ABRAM’S CALL AND BLESSING. 


*290 

\ 

ments of after time. “ Abram the Hebrew” 
Btands at the head of many a great stream of 
lustory, like the river of Eden which parted into 
four. Of the leading faiths of the world, there 
are three which cherish his name with equal 
veneration ; and these three are the only mono¬ 
theistic faiths. To the Jew, the Moslem, and 
the Christian alike, the prophet Abraham forms 
a common ancestor. Trace these three forms 
of belief to their fountain-head, and they meet 
in the tent of that ancient confessor, exiled in 
the dawn of the world for his faith in the unity 
of God. Divided in so much else, the English¬ 
man and the Turk, the Moor and the Arab, the 
Catholic and the Jew, agree in deriving their 
spiritual, if not also their natural, descent from 
that primeval “ friend of God.” Most literally 
has the jjromise of his new name been fulfilled. 
He has become a “ father of many nations.” 
Dykes. 

The stream of sacred history first of all starts 
with Adam as its fountain-head ; and next, 
Noah forms a new fountain-head for the race 
after the flood ; so now the history takes a new 
departure from Abraham and continues its 
course onward from Abraham till inspiration 
closes. And accordingly it will be found that 
through all the remaining history Abraham is 
the prominent name, rather than that of Adam 
or of Noah. For, in the subsequent books of 
the Bible, while there are some seven references 
to Adam and eight to Noah, there are more than 
one hundred references made to Abraham, 
And these are not mere historical allusions, but 
the references are to Abraham as the most prom¬ 
inent of all the actors in the covenant of grace 

with the Church of God. S. B.-In some 

fourteen or fifteen passages of the New Testa¬ 
ment we find his place in the unfolding of rev. 
elation distinctly referred to. In several of 
these passages incidents of his career are care¬ 
fully discussed, in order to illustrate or confirm 
Oardinal principles of the gospel. Our Lord 
himself in his controversy with the Jews, Paul 
in his two leading theological epistles, James, 
and the anonymous writer to the Hebrews, all 
devote long passages to the exposition of Abra- 
Uam’s position or of the lessons of his life. In 
fact, the section of the Book of Genesis in which 
this patriarch’s career has been recorded may 
be called the principal as well as the earliest 
seed-plot of evangelical teaching. Dykes. 

How is the fact to be explained that the three 
greatest religions of the world, in which the 
unity of the Deity forms the key-note, are of 
Semitic origin? Mahometanism, no doubt, is 
a Semitic religion, and its very core is monothe¬ 


ism. But did Mahomet invent monotheism ? 
Did he invent even a new name of God ? Not 
at all. And how is it with Christianity ? Did 
Christ come to preach faith in anew God ? Did 
He or His disciples invent a new name of God ? 
No. Christ came, not to destroy’, but to fulfil, 
and the God whom He preached was the God 
of Abraham. And who is the God of Jeremiah,, 
of Elijah, and of Moses? We answer again : 
The God of Abraham. Thus the faith in the 
One Living God, which seemed to require the 
admission of a monotheistic instinct, grafted in 
every member of the Semitic famil}^ is traced 
back to one man ; to him “ in whom all the 
families of the earth shall be blessed.” And if 
from our earliest childhood we have looked 
upon Abraham, the Friend of God, with love 
and veneration, his venerable figuie wdll assume 
still more majestic proportions, when we see in 
him the life-spring of that faith which w'as to 
unite all the nations of the earth, and the author 
of that blessing which w^as to come on the Gen¬ 
tiles through Jesus Christ. And if we are asked 
how this one Abraham passed, through the de¬ 
nial of all other gods, to the knowledge of the 
one God, we are content to answer that it teas 
hy a special divine revelation, granted to that one 
man, and handed down by him to .Jew's, Chris¬ 
tians, and Mahometans, to all who. believe in 
the God of Abraham. We want to know more 
of that man than we do ; but even with the little 
we know of him, he stands before us as a figure, 
second only to One in the whole history of the 
world. Max Muller. 

1. Xow tlie LiOrcl said. Before he left Ur 
Stephen tells us, what also appears most likely 
from the history in Genesis, that God appeared 
to Abram ” when he was in Mesopotamia, before 

he dwelt in Charran. ” Cook. -Get tliee out 

from tliy country, Abraham is chosen to be 
the head of a new dispensation, as Noah w'as ; 
but with this difference, that the world is not 
taken away this time, but only left to W'alk in 
their own ways. But, w'hile the world is not 
taken away from Abraham the coming man, 
Abraham the coming man is taken away from 
the world. Abraham and his descendants are 
to be separated to the life of faith and hope and 
holiness, separated to ” walk with God.” We 
shall find that God trained him by separation ; 
by a series of separations. This is a key-thought 
of Abraham’s life. Gibson. -From thy kin¬ 

dred, thy father’s house. It w'as to sunder three 
ties,—country, kindred, and home, —and he was 
to go by faith He is chosen as (he founder of a 
new fumily, and a new order of things. Jarobvs. 

It was grace that honored him with the call. It 








SECTION 37.—GENESIS 12 ; 1-5. 


291 


is very important to have this fully in mind if 
you would understand the force of Paul’s reason¬ 
ing from this case of Abraham to prove that 
“ we are justified before God by faith only, and 
not from our own deservings” (Gal. 3 ; 8). His 
argument is that to Abraham, while yet ungodly 
and idolatrous, God preached the gospel and 

promised the blessings of His grace. S. R.- 

He was singled out from the world’s inhabitants 
to begin a new order of things, which were to 
bear throughout the impress of God’s special 
grace and almighty power ; and he must sepa¬ 
rate himself from the old things of nature, to be 
in liis'life the representative of God’s holiness, 
as in his destiny he was to be the monument of 
God’s power and goodness. It is this exercise 
of faith in Abraham which is first exhibited in 
the Epistle to the Hebrews, as bespeaking a 
mighty energy in its working. “ By faith Abra¬ 
ham, when he was called to go out into a place 
which he should after receive for an inheritance, 
obeyed ; and he went out, not knowing whither 
he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of 
promise, as in a strange country, dw'elling in 
tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs 
with him of the same promise.” P. F. 

tj, The promise advaoces in six degrees 
upward, until in the highest the Messias is per¬ 
ceptible, who was to be of the race of Abraham. 

“ I will make of thee a great nation,” both of 
thy bodily and spiritual seed ;—” I will bless 
thee,” and yet he possessed not a foot of land ; 
—“ make thy name great,” and yet it behoved 
him to be a stranger in a strange land. Abraham’s 

name did become great. C. G, B.- 1 will bless 

them that b'ess thee, and curse him that curseth thee^ 
this made it a kind of a league, offensive and de¬ 
fensive, between God and Abram. Abram heart¬ 
ily espoused God’s cause, and here God promises 
to interest himself in his. He promises to be a 
Friend to his friends, to take kindnesses shown 
to him as done to Himself, and to recompense 
them accordingly. God will take care that none 
lie losers, in the long run, by any service done 
f.)r his people. He promises to appear against 
his enemies ; there were those that hated and j 
cursed even Abram himself ; but while their i 
causeless curses could not hurt Abram, God’s 
righteous curse would certainly overtake and 
ruin them (Num. 24 :9). This is a good reason 
why we should bless them that curse us, because 
it is enough that God will curse them. In thee | 
sh/dl all families of the earth be blessed j this was j 
the promise that crowned all the rest ; for it 
p tints at the Messiah, in whom ad the promises 
are yea and amen. H.-This promise is re¬ 

peated seven times. It is the third prophecy of 


the Messiah, and is here attached to a single 
person,—then to his family,- afterward to the 
people that descended from them, —and finally 
expands itself to all the nations of the earth. 

C. G. B.-The wealth of blessing which lay 

folded up in this germ took more than two 
thousand years to ripen into fruit. But from 
the very first God left it in no doubt that when 
the fruit of that chosen vine should at last be 
ripe, it should be for all nations. In God’s 
great plan, whatever is narrow, elective,or indi¬ 
vidual, contemplates in the long run a wider 
good, God is not the God of Shein only. For 
a time He was Shem’s God in a peculiar sense, 
only that in the end both Japheth and Ham may 
partake in the blessing. God is not the God of 
Abraham alone ; but He blessed Abraham in an 
eminent degree, that at last the blessing of Abra¬ 
ham might come on the nations through Jesus 
Christ. Dykes. 

Here are two distinct covenants or blessings : 
the first temporal, which respects only Abram 
and his family ; the second spiritual, which has 
regard to Christ and the whole world. And all 
future prophecies have regard to these two cov¬ 
enants. Ishrnael, and Esau, and all the family 
of Abram, had a right to the blessings of the 
first ; and all the world to the blessings of the 
second. The Jew;s indeed expect, by virtue of 
the last, to bear rule over the whole world ; but 
surely this would be no great blessing to the 
rest of the nations of the world, whatever it 
might be to them. Therefore, saith Paul with 
respect to this promise, “ There is neither Jew 
nor Greek, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus,” 
the promised seed in which all the families of 
the earth were to be happy. From this time a 
particular providence attended the people of 
Israel, his posterity by his sons Isaac and Jacob ; 
correcting, trying, punishing, redeeming them 
out of the hands of their enemies, until the 
promised seed came. Bp. Wilson. 

The expression ” all families,” repeated four 
times, is the centre of all promises, and that 
round which all the others revolve. The knowl¬ 
edge and the love of the one, true, living God 
—his covenant with Him — this w'as the unspeak¬ 
ably rich blessing which Abram possessed, the 
source of all other benefits which he enjoyed. 
This blessing was through him to pass to all 
people. The beginning of the Great Promise 
which is annexed to his family declares this 
only with clearness—that the knowledge of God, 
and covenant with Him, shall one day be the 
possession of all nations through Abram. Gerl. 

-Christ is the essential kernel of the promise ; 

and the seed of Abraham, rather than Abraham 










ABRAM'S JOURNEY TO CANAAN. 


himself, was to have the honor of blessing all 
the families of the earth. But in Abraham as 
the living root of all that was to follow, the 
whole and every part may be said to take its 
rise ; and not only was Christ after the flesh of 
the seed of Abraham, but each believer in Christ 
is a son of Abraham, and the entire company of 
the redeemed shall have their place and their 
portion with Abraham in the kingdoni of God. 
P. F. 

Hitherto deliverance had been expected 
through the seed of the woman ; now the circle 
narrows and all nations of the earth are to be 
blessed in Abraham's seed. The history which 
commences with Abraham continues unbroken 
fill the judgment which Titus was called to ex¬ 
ecute against the covenant-people. The giving 
of the law on Mount Sinai is only a high point, 
although the most prominent, in the history be¬ 
tween Abraham and Christ. It is not the com¬ 
mencement of a new history. True, it is called 
a covenant, but it does not differ essentially 
from that with Abraham. It does not stand in 
the same relation to the Abrahamic as the latter 
to the Noachic covenant. The covenant with 
Noah was made with all mankind ; the covenant 
with Abraham was made with him as the ances¬ 
tor of the holy people, while that on Sinai was 
inade with the people as the seed of Abraham. 
K. 

4. 4 brain went, the I^ordliad 

spoken to him. It is the Divine method 
and law that man should co-ojierate with God, 
and that God should act by means of men who 
are fitting instruments ; and this law implies 
that those who are God’s instruments possess 
real character of their own in correspondence 
With their mission. A man who throws off the 
chains of authority and association must be a 
man of extraordinary independence and strength 
of mind, ahhowjh he does so in obedience to a 
Divine revelation. So the recipient of a new 
revelation must have self-reliance, otherwise 
he will not believe that he has received it ; he 
will not be sure of it against the force of current 
opinions. Abraham comes before us as a per¬ 
son who lives in the future, whose mind is cast 
forward, beyond the immediate foreground of 
his own day, upon a very remote epoch in the 
history of the world, and fixed upon a remark¬ 
able event in the most distant horizon of time, 
the nature of which is vague and dimly known 
to him, but which is charged with momentous 
consequences, involving a change in the whole 
state of the world The revelation is made to 
him, “ In thee shall all families of the earth be 
blessed he looks onward perpetually to the 


accomplishment pf this prediction. Our Lord 
himself has singled out this prophetic look of 
Abraham as something unexampled in clearness, 
certainty, and far-reaching extent. “ Your father 
Abraham saw my day and w'as glad.” This 
was a revelation made to him indeed ; but he is 
equal to the revelation, he embraces it and con¬ 
curs in his w'hole power of mind with it. Mozley. 

Abraham, like Paul, ” confers not with flesh 
and blood.” He instantly believes and accepts 
the offer. It calls him to go out, not knowing 
whither he went, on the simple promise of God. 
There were many things to try his faith. His 
children were to become a great nation, and yet, 
though now seventy-five years old, he is child¬ 
less. That he felt this difiSculty, his after con¬ 
duct in stumbling at it shows. S. B.-The 

writer of the biblical narrative occupies him¬ 
self in no respect with the question. Row God 
had spoken to Abram. God is, for him, pres¬ 
ent and an actor in the history just as much as 
Abram is ; the intervention of God has in his 
eyes nothing but what is perfectly simple and 
natural. The same faith animates Abram ; 
he issues forth from Chaldea and wanders 
through Palestine, according to the word and 
under the direction of the Eternal. Guizot, 

Abram heard and recognized God’s voice ; he 
bowed to his authority and went. This first 
recorded illustration of his faith in God and 
obedience made its impression upon future ages 
—as we may see in the words of Joshua (24 : 2, 
8) ; of Nehemiah (9 ; 7, 8) ; of Stephen (Acts 
7: 2-5) ; and of the writer to the Hebrews 
(11 : 8-10). H. C.-The Father of the Faith¬ 

ful “ went out not knowing whither he W'ent !” 
And every true descendant in the lineage of 
faith will but rejoice in that ignorance which 
urges him to cling the closer to his immortal 
Friend ; which bids him gladly, for intimations 
which could but be obscure at best, substitute 
omniscience itself, and teaches him to crj', 
“ Lord, I know but faintly what it shall be, and 
I ask not to know ! Only assure me that Thou 
wilt be there.” W. A. B. 

God cut him off from kindred that He might 
draw him closer to Himself. The emigration of 
a godly man at God’s call forces him to lean 
much on God, w'ho becomes his only constant 
comrade and unfailing helper. It throws him 
back at each emergency upon the spiritual re¬ 
sources of faith, and trains into full maturity 
the graces of his religious nature. Inwardly, 
Abram could hardly have become the spiritual 
hero he was in later life, if he had not been 
forced to walk through the long trials of his ex¬ 
ile with nothing but the unseen eternal God for 







SECTION 37.—GENESIS 12 : 1-5. 


293 


his “ shield,” and compelled to brood through 
Homeless years over the mighty thoughts which 
(lod had uttered to his faith. Dykes. 

Does God give “ the reason why” in the c.ase 
of every command ? Certainly not. Where be 
does not give a reason he gives in reality the 
best reason of all. To give a promise is to show 
that the reason though undisclosed is all-suffi¬ 
cient, for in the case of the All-wise a promise 
is the harvest of which a reason would be bat 
the bare seed. We can understand a promise 
where we could not understand a reason : the 
reason may be too high or too recondite for our 
faculties ; but a promise is practical, positive, 
literal, and if we have faith in the speaker we 
know that if the promise be so good the com¬ 
mand wffiich precedes it must be founded upon 
a reason equally valid. In reality we have noth¬ 
ing to do with the reasons upon which God’s 
commands are founded. We are to walk by 
faith, not by sight. To have faith in God is to 
comprehend all reasons in one act. . . . Life 
IS a discipline. Shrewd men want to know 
whither they are going before they set out on a 
journey ; but men of higher shrew'dness, men 
of Christian faith, often go out into enterprise 
and difficulty without being able to see one step 
before them. The w'atchword of the noblest, 
truest souls is, “We walk by faith, not by 
sight faith has a wider dominion and a more 
splendid future. Life is to be spiritual; not 
made up of things that can be counted and 
valued, but of ideas, convictions, impulses, and 
decisions that are Divine and imperishable. 
The world of faith is large, and rich, and brill¬ 
iant. Those who live in it dominate over all 
lower worlds. J. P. 

Abram was seventy andL five years 
old when lie left Ilaran. He was an 

hundred and seventy-five when in Canaan he 
closed his eyes. Through all that long interval 
had it been literally true of him, that “ if he had 
been mindful of the country frdm whence he 
came out, he might have had opportunity to re¬ 
turn.” There was nothing to forbid a return. 
It was only the unfulfilled promise which held 
him fast. “ This land will I give,” God had 
said. So in “ this land” he waited, and wait¬ 
ing died. Dykes. 

5. His brother Nahor stayed behind in the 
plains of Haran ; to become the father of twelve 
Arab tribes—the Nahorites-as Abraham was to 
be that of twelve tribes of Hebrews. But the 
descendants of Nahor were to wander in Edom, 
on the Euphrates, and over Mesopotamia ; in 
Bashan, and to the east of Jordan, and in North¬ 
ern Arabia, almost unknown and wholly insig¬ 


nificant in history, while those of Abraham we're 
to form the people of God, and to give man¬ 
kind His Incarnate Son, the Saviour of the 
world. Nor is it unworthy of notice, in conTiec- 
tion with their divergent futures, that Abra¬ 
ham’s posterity alone, of all the tribes descended 
from Terah, abandoned the nomadic for a set¬ 
tled life. . . . That Abraham set forth at thte 
head of a large body of tribesmen is evident, 
from his taking with him all his herds, and all 
the male and female slaves born in his tents, or 
whom he had bought in Haran ; a multitude so 
lavge in the aggregate as to enable him, a fevv 
years later, to select from among them three 
hundred and eighteen men trained to the sol¬ 
dierly defence of the camp, to pursue Chedor- 
laomer. Geikie. ' 

After crossing the Euphrates, Abraham skirted 
the northern border of the great Syrian desert, 
passed through Damascus, and then followed 
the ancient road from that city to Egypt. W. H. 

-The pilgrims passed through the plain of 

Jezreel, which, so to speak, formed a large gate¬ 
way into the land, and then turned to the moun¬ 
tains of Ephraim. Shechem (the present Nabu- 
lus) lies in the beautiful and fruitful valley 
which divides Mounts Ebal and Gerizim ; to 
the south, the broad plain of el-Mukhna joins 
this valley. K. 

Into tile laiiil of Canaan tliey eaiiic, 

Palestine is a small country, but it presents 
great varieties of soil, climate, and water sup¬ 
ply in various districts. We have the tropical 
Jordan Valley and the arctic region of Upper 
Hermon and Lebanon. We have rich volcanic 
corn plains in Bashan and round Jezreel, and 
sandstones covered with pines and cedars, and 
hard limestones over which perennial streams 
flow between fine woods of oak and terebinth in 
Galilee, and yet more in Gilead. We have flat 
maritime plains, bounded by ever-rolling dunes, 
but well watered by sluggish streams from the 
clear springs at the mountain foot. These 
plains run from Carmel to Gaza, ever widening, 
and supporting rich harvests. We have the low 
chalk hills, with their luxuriant olive-j’^ards and 
wells of living water, all along the eastern side 
of the maritime plains. Above, rise mountains 
3000 to 4000 feet high, and on the north attain¬ 
ing to 10,000 feet. These are generally rugged 
and bare, but carefully terraced and partly cul¬ 
tivated. The vine flourishes on these higher 
ranges, where the frost and mist aid the strong 
reflection of heat from the rock to ripen the 
grapes. But besides these richer districts, we 
have the old deserts unchanged from the days of 
Abraham and of David ; the flat marly plateau 





294 


TllK LAND OF CANAAN. 


of Beerslieba, where the nomads feed their 
flocks and herds as Isaac did before them ; the 
desolate peaks and gorges of the Jeshiimm, 
where the dun partridge and the brown ibex 
roam as they did when David hid in these fast¬ 
nesses from Saul, among the “ rocks of the wild 
goats.” The land is still as fertile as of old ; 
still well w'atered in certain districts ; still with 
a sufficient rainfall ; and when a just and stable 
goverument exists (as in the Lebanon) the coun¬ 
try still flows with oil and v ine. We learn fi oiu 
a study of the land and of history the desolation 
wrought by human means in Palestine. We 
see that poverty and decrease of population, the 
decay of roads and aqueducts, the ruin of the 
old cisterns, the destruction of the woods, ter¬ 
races, and vineyards, are the causes of the 
present desolation. And experience proves that, 
given a just and strong government in the 
country, Palestine might become, like Southern 
Italy, a garden of the world. Colder. 

Not by accident did that strip of Syrian terri¬ 
tory become the theatre of sacred events, the 
home of the covenant people, and the seat of 
divine revelation. There was no other region 
on the earth’s surface which could have an¬ 
swered so well. It unites, as no other does, the 
two indispensable conditions of central position 
and yet of isolation. To lie in the midst of the 
nations, at the focus and gathering-place of 
those mighty and cultured empires, whose rival¬ 
ries ruled the politics, as their example led the 
civilization, of antiquity, j'et at the same time 
be shut off from such contact with them as must 
of necessity prove injurious, seemed to be op¬ 
posite requirements, very hard to be recon¬ 
ciled. To a curious extent they are reconciled 
in the land of promise. It lies at a corner 
where Asia, Africa, and Europe meet, or all but 
touch. The six ancient states of Babylon, As¬ 
syria, Media, Persia, Phoenicia, and Egypt stood 
round about it. The main lines of ancient 
traffic ran close past its border. Whenever, for 
purposes of war or trade, bodies of men sought 
to pass from the populous and powerful states 
of the north, whose centre lay along the Eu¬ 
phrates, to the populous and powerful states of 
the south, whose centre lay along the Nile, there 
was only one road by which they could travel. 
“ Syria,” says Bitter, “ is bounded by a great 
sea of sand on the east, as by a great sea of 
water on the west. Across that natural barrier 
of sea and sand, there is but one convenient 
highway.” Palestine is like “ a bridge arching 
across a double sea of desert sands and of 
waters which the want of harbors made useless 
to it. It connected the Euphrates with the 


Nile.” While thus set in the middle of all 
lands, it stood strangely apart from all. “No 
great highway,” says the same authority, “ led 
through it from nation to nation ; all went by 
it, over the roads which skirted it without trav¬ 
ersing it ; and which all found their type in 
the sea-line which ran from the harbors of the 
ancient Phoenician cities to Eg.ypt, along a 
shore which was almost devoid of havens.” In 
fact, it v^as so isolated, that if its jjeople chose 
they could dwell apart. On the west, a harbor¬ 
less coast ; on the north, great mountain 
ranges ; on the east and south, vast waterless 
wastes ; yet alongside it, and c’ose by its very 
borders, there must pass, by fatiguing and haz¬ 
ardous journeys, the long caravans or laden 
ships which carried traffic from one civilized 
state to another, and the cumbrous armies by 
which rival empires sought to crush each other. 
Geographicallj”, politically, commercially, ” no 
country is so situated in relation to three great 
continents and five great bodies of water ; none 
unites such amazing contrasts,—perfect isola¬ 
tion and independence, with the ability to go 
oat from this isolation and establish relations 
with all the greatest nations of antiquity.” 
Dykes. 


Divine tuition, under its earlier form of mere 
paternal superintendence, was cut short by sin, 
before as yet the race had begun to be cradled. 
Then came that other form, the redemptive, 
which was at once inaugurated, and v»fhich, 
from then till now, has inspired and determined 
the whole course of human history. The Ser¬ 
pent-Bruiser was not yet born, was only prom¬ 
ised, and foreshadowed by type and symbol ; 
but the Logos economy began to work, and, 
like the central wheel of some gigantic machin¬ 
ery, sent its motion to the farthest points. 
Christ began to rule the world long before ho 
entered it through the Virgin’s womb. It was 
he that vitalized the pious civilization of Seth. 
It was he that cursed the godless race of Cain, 
and drowned the reeking plains of Western Asia 
beneath the Deluge. It was he that divided the 
earth among the three great races that came 
of Noah. It was he that elected the race of 
Shem as the special nurse and guardian of the 
great religions of the world. It was he that ap¬ 
peared to Abraham, and evoked, through him, 
the Hebrew people to their stupendous destiny. 
From that hour, till he appeared in person to 
tread its mountains and its valleys, Palestine 
became, and remained, the central country of 
the globe. Diminutive in territory, embraced 




SECTION 38.—GENESIS 12 ; 6-9. 


295 


by the glowing arms of the Desert on the South 
and East, sentinelled on the North by the rug¬ 
ged mountains of Lebanon, washed on the West 
by the Mediterranean, with scarcely a single 
harbor to break the line of its inhospitable 
coast, it laj' apart from the nations, and yet in 
the midst of them, to be the pivot of their 
policy, the tempting prize of their ambition, 
the end for which they flourished, though they 
knew it not, and through its Prophets, the angel 
of their doom. Egypt bloomed just in time to 
adorn the Nomadic Hebrews with science, arts 
and arms. The Kingdom of Syria was strong 
just in time to tease, the Assyrian Empire just 
in time to break in pieces, for Providential 
ends, the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Then 
Babylon arose just in time to crush the South¬ 
ern Kingdom of Judah. The Medo-Persian 
Empire, intensely hating idolatry, next rushed 
upon the scene just in time to bear the repent, 
ant Hebrews back to Palestine. Then Greece 
appeared, advancing her breast of flint to shiver 
the Persian lances, just in time to weave a fitting 
garment of language for Christian thought. 
Followed by iron Rome, lacing the conquered 
world with imperishable roads, teaching the 
nations law, and shutting the Temple of Janus, 
to await the coming of the Prince of Peace. 
Thus all things pointed toward this one issue. 
There is the unity as of a perfect drama ; and 
the conclusion of every healthy judgment is, 
that it must have been designed. Rightly, 
then, did Augustine, thus surveying the grand 
procession of races and nations, pronounce the 


history of the world, the history of redemp¬ 
tion. No other philosophy of histor}^ will an¬ 
swer ; no other solution of the problem is valid. 
Blind must be the student of ancient bistorv 
who cannot trace in every land the footprints, 
and deaf his ears who cannot hear, in every 
century, the footfalls, of the coming Christ. 

None of those antique civilizations were 
native to the soils that nourished them. Rome 
took her light from Greece ; Greece from Egypt ; 
Egypt from Western Asia ; and Western Asia 
was where the race was twice cradled, where 
Adam lived and died, and where the Ark rested. 
Each of these civilizations, it is true, had some- 
thing peculiar to itself, in obedience to other 
laws ; but they all proceeded, by natural de¬ 
scent, from one original ; and that original was 
a survivor of the Deluge, the bequest of an 
elder, perished world, and, in its last analysis, 
an inspiration of God himself. The only civili¬ 
zations, of much historic interest, which failed 
to play an important part in preparing the way 
for Christianity, were the Hindoo and the Chi¬ 
nese. Why these had nothing to do, is obvi¬ 
ous : They stood apart, outside of the line of 
march. But neither were they indigenous. 
They both proceeded from Western Asia, shoot¬ 
ing eastward, as the more important historic 
civilizations shot westward, from the central 
stem. As to the ordering of these events, the 
fact of a general Divine superintendence is 
hardly to be questioned. Such adaptations in¬ 
dicate design ; and such design necessitates the 
inference of a competent designer. R. D. H. 


Section 38. 

ABRAM ENCAMPS AT SHECHEM. PROMISE OF THE LAND. BETH-EL. THE SOUTH 

COUNTRY. 

Genesis 12 :6-9. 


6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem, unto the oak of Moreh. 

7 And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said. Unto 
thy seed will I give this land : and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared 

8 unto him. And he removed from thence unto the mountain on the east of Beth-el, and 
pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Ai on the east : and there he builded an altar 

9 unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed, going on still 
toward the South. 


6. Slieclietn. See N. T., vol. 1, pp. 96, 98, 
and 100 for Sketch. Maps and Illustrations. B. 

-The western side of the Flain of Shechem, 

El Miikhna, is bounded by the abutments of 


two mountain ranges, running from east .to 
west. These ranges are Ebal and Gerizim. Ex¬ 
actly opposite Jacob’s Well is the opening be¬ 
tween them. A mile and a half above the well. 







296 


ABRAM ENCAMPS AT SHECHEM. PROMISE OF THE LAND. 


and out of sight of tho plain, is Nahlous, the 
modem lihechem. Geographically and histori¬ 
cally we are here in the central spot of the Holy 
Land. So exactly is Shechem in the centre be¬ 
tween east and west, that the streams, which 
hurst forth copiously from springs within its 
walls, run from the east gate down to the Jor¬ 
dan ; and those which dash over the pavements, 
at the west end of the town, find their way 
through the Plain of Sharon to the Mediter 
ranean. 

For distinctness and variety of detail the view 
from Gerizim has no superior. Once more Her- 
mon rose before us in spotless purity far be¬ 
yond and above Tabor, Gilboa, and the lesser 
hills of Galilee. On our right we could trace 
the trans-Jordanic range from the Sea of Galilee, 
Bashan, Gilead, down to Moab. On the left the 
Mediterranean formed the horizon from Carmel 
perhaps to Gaza ; while Joppa and Cmsarea 
could be distinctly recognized. The southern 
view was shut in by the hills of Benjamin. At 
our feet was spread the long plain of Mukhna, 
into which the vale of Shechem debouches, 
where Jacob pastured his flocks, and where 
there was ample space for the tents of Israel 
when gathered there by Joshua. All Central 
Palestine could be taken in at a glance. H. B. T. 

Rohinson, who entered the valley of Sychem 
through Mukhna, describes it as one of the 
most attractive portions of Palestine. “ All at 
once the ground sinks down to a valley running 
toward the west, with a soil of rich black veg¬ 
etable mould. Here a scene of luxuriant and 
almost unparalleled verdure bursts upon our 
view. The whole valley was filled with gardens 
of vegetables and orchards of all kinds of fruits, 
watered by several fountains, which burst forth 
in various parts and flow westward in refresh¬ 
ing streams. It came upon us suddenly, like a 
scene of fairy enchantment. We saw nothing 
tio compare with it in all Palestine.” Such then 
must have been the first view which Abram 
got of the land of promise. The plain (or rather 
the wood) of Moreh, where Abram settled, prob¬ 
ably derived its name from the Canaanitish 
proprietor of that district. K. 

A site so fair and lovely invited, like Damas¬ 
cus by its many waters, the earliest settlement 
of mankind : destined by nature to be a city. 
In which man, wherever he exists at all, is sure 
to congregate. As old as Damascus and He¬ 
bron, older than any other known city of Syria, 
Shechem was a city while Abram yet tarried in 
(fiialdea. It is the artery through which all 
commerce between north and south must pass. 
Tho history of Shechem first dawns when Abram 


made his first encampment in toe Land 
of Promise, under the terebinth of Moreh, at 
Shechem. “ The Canaanite was then in the 
land,” when the Father of the Faithful, under 
the shade of that tree, erected the first altar 
ever raised in that land to the honor of Jeho¬ 
vah ; and the pledge that his seed should pos¬ 
sess it was renewed to him. H. B. T. 

The Canaanite was in the land on the arrival 
of the first Hebrew immigrant. So open was 
the face of the country, that Abram found no 
hindrance to his pasturing extensive flocks both 
in the centre and in the south. There was 
plainly room for all. As yet we have to con¬ 
ceive of Abram as free to shift his black hair¬ 
cloth tents and spreading herds from spot to 
spot over the face of tho country ; and free, 
wherever he encamped, to erect his altar and 
woisbip the God of his fathers, as Abel wor¬ 
shipped, with innocent blood, the first-fruits of 
his simple sheep. Dykes. 

7 , Asad llic S.<or€l appeared unto 
AS>raaii. This is the first mention of a dis¬ 
tinct appearance of the Lokd to man. His 
voice is heard by Adam, and he is said to have 
sj)oken to Noah and to Abram ; but here is a 
visible manifestation. Was it an angel person¬ 
ating God ? This question has been answered 
by many in the affirmative. Or was it a mani¬ 
festation of the Son of God, a Theophany, in 
some measure anticipating the Incarnation? 
This opinion was held by the great majority of 
the fathers from the very first. . . . The fact, 
that the name Angel of the Lord is sometimes 
used of a created Angel, is not proof enough 
that it may not be also used of Him who is 
called “ the Angel of the covenant ’ (Mai. 3:1): 
and the apparent identification of the Angel of 
God with God Himself in very many j^assages 
leads markedly to the conclusion, that God 
spake to man by an Angel or Messenger, and 
yet that that Angel or Messenger was Himself 
God. No man saw God at any time, but the 
only begotten Son, who w'as in the bosom of 
the Father, declared him. He, who was the 
Word of God, the voice of God to His creat¬ 
ures, was yet in the beginning with God, and 
He was God. E. H. B. 

The forms which revelation takes in patri¬ 
archal history are chiefly either that of immedi¬ 
ate inward communication, when God speaks in 
the soul of man without employing the medium 
of the senses, or that of Theophany, when, by 
way of revealing Himself, He assumes human 
form. The latter manifestation w^as either in¬ 
ternal, being then a vision or a dream; or ex¬ 
ternal, when He appeared in bodily form. The 





SECTION 3S.—GENESIS 12 : 6-9. 


297 


principal, and perhaps the only form of this 
second mode of Theophaiiy, is by means of what 
Js designated as the Angel of the Lord, in whom 
Jehovah appears and manifests Himself to the 
senses. This mode of manifestation occurs for 

the first time in patriarchal history. K.-If 

the end of the Divine ways is the realization of 
the perfect union between the God of love and 
man, His beloved.creature, in one and the same 
person, the God-Man, then there could be no 
more natural or rational preparation in view of 
this aim, than those transitory visits or appari¬ 
tions of God to the patriarchs. Later on, the}'^ 
will transform themselves into those glorious 
visions granted to the prophets, and will event¬ 
ually end in the permanent Incarnation which 
the New Testament recounts. And this view of 
the apparitions of God in the life of the patri¬ 
archs may be applied to all the miracles of 
sacred history. They are all like so many steps 
on the way that leads from the calling of Abra¬ 
ham to the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ. 
They are like the links of a chain of which these 
two events are the first and last circles. Break 
these and the chain will fall to pieces of itself. 
Consequently, all there is of superhuman in the 
Old Testament is implicitly contained in the 
incarnation and resurrection of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. It is on the ground of (he New Testa¬ 
ment that the question of the supernatural in 
the Old must be settled. It is before the open 
grave of Jesus Christ that we must discuss con¬ 
cerning Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Elijah. Godel. 

Uiit<» thy seed will I $;D% e tSiis land. 
The Most High unfolds his counsels and promises 
gradually ; rewarding one degree of faith with 
such intimations of mercy as will beget another. 
He at first signified his purpose of merely show¬ 
ing to Abraham a distant land in which he was 
to sojourn. He now speaks of giving it, but 
not immediately'^ to himself, but to his seed. 
This promise is still further amplified in chap¬ 
ter 15. Bush. -Behold, Abraham takes pos¬ 

session for that seed which he had not, which 
in nature he was not like to have ; of that land 
whereof he should not have one foot, wherein 
his seed should not be settled for almost five 
hundred years after : the power of faith can 
prevent time, and make future things present ; 
if we be the true sons of Abraham, we have al¬ 
ready, while we sojourn here on earth, the pos¬ 
session of our land of Promise : while we seek 
our country, we have it. Bp. H. 

And iliere lie budded an altar unto 
the IjOril. The first recorded act of religious 
worship since that of Noah on emerging from 
the ark—very simple in outward form and cir¬ 


cumstance. A few stones piled up—perhaps a 
green sod laid upon them ; on that lude altar 
some produce of the eaith, some firstling of 
the flock, offered up in sacrifice ; Abram be¬ 
fore it, bowing in lowly adoration, calling upon 
the name of the Lord. W. H. 

Here, at the foot of Ebal and Gerizim, in the 
holy heart of the land, he received from God 
his earliest intimation that this was the des¬ 
tined home of his future seed —the land in 
search of which he had travelled so far. Under 
the branches of that sacred tree, which, after 
looking down on the cruel and imj^ure rites of 
many more generations, w^as still to stand, a 
venerable landmark in the eyes of his conquer¬ 
ing descendants, Abram reared his first rude 
altar to Jehovah on the soil of Canaan. It was 
his response to God’s word : “ Unto thy seed 
will 1 give this land.” It expressed both confi¬ 
dence and gratitude. It was his way of taking 
the country in possession. Lykes. 

When God appeared to him, then and there 
he built an altar, with an eye to the God who 

appeared to him. Thus he returned God’s 

» 

visit, and kept up his correspondence with 
Heaven, as one that resolved it should not fail 
on his side ; thus he acknowledged with thank¬ 
fulness God’s kindness to him in making him 
that gracious visit and promise ; and thus ho 
testified his confidence in, and dependence 
upon, the word which God had spoken. And 
wherever he had a tent, God had an altar, and 
that an altar sanctified by prayer. For he not 
only minded the ceremonial part of religion, 
the offering of sacrifice ; but he made conscience 
of the natural duty of seeking to his God and 
calling on his name, that spiritual sacrifice with 
which God is well pleased ; he preached con¬ 
cerning the name of the Lord, that is, he in¬ 
structed his family and neighbors in the knowl¬ 
edge of the true God and his holy religion. 
Those that would approve themselves the chil¬ 
dren of faithful Abram and would inherit the 
blessing of Abram, must make conscience of 
keeping up the solemn worship of God, particu¬ 
larly in their families, according to the example 
of Abram : the way of family worship is a good 
old way, is no novel invention, but the ancient 
usage of all the saints. H. 

A grand sight that was in the heart of the old 
heathenism—that one man against the world 
almost—that solitary I’elic of Eden memories, 
green yet amid the wide desolations—thst altar 
of a pure worship like the ark of the deluge, the 
sole resting-place for the foot of pilgrim piety ! 
See that standard for the true God set up, more 
sublime than granite monument or obelisk. 





298 


ABRAM A7 BETHEL. THE SOUTH COUNTRY. 


There it stands, more than a fortress to guard 
that home ; more than a sanctuary to kindle a 
devotion ; an ever-speaking witness for God, 
the proi^hetic pledge that the world’s great sac¬ 
rifice was 3 ’et to be offered. . . . Surely the 
tent and the altar should ever be conjoined. 
Every household should be the sanctuary of a 
hallow^ed affection, the earthly image of the 
family of heaven. Religion shoiildbe there, not 
in mere form, but in its living spirit ; not as a 
mere outward ceremonial, but as an inspiring 
principle. Gilleil. 

Abram set up his altar along the line of his 
march. Blessed are they whose way is known 
by marks of worship. The altar is the highest 
seal of ownership. God will not lightly forsake 
his temples. This setting up of the altar shows 
that our spiritual life ought to be attested by 
outward sign and jDrofession. Abram had the 
promise in his heart, yet he was not lost in re¬ 
ligious musings and prophesyings—he built his 
altar and set up his testimony in the midst of 
his peoj)le, and made them sharers of a com¬ 
mon worship. J. P. 

§. From the vale of Shechem, which had been 
his first halting-place, Abram moved ei’elong to 
more open quarters on the hills to the south of 
it. The place is described as lying between 
Bethel and Ai. Bethel, as a name and as a 
town, is of course of later date. Between these 
two sites there lay then, as there lies now, a 
“ high and beautiful plain,” which Robinson 
describes as “ one of the finest tracts for past¬ 
urage in the whole land,” Dykes. 

Bethel. The place which was afterward called 
BeiKel by Jacob ; for its first name was Lnz. 
Beith el literally signifies the House of God. A. C. 

-According to Robinson, the ruins, now called 

Beitin, are the remains of ancient Bethel. They 
lie five geographical miles to the south of She¬ 
chem, two geographical miles north of Jeru-, 
Salem. The agreement both of situation and 
of name affords decisive confirmation that Bei¬ 
tin is the ancient Bethel. K.-There is a 

gently sloping grassy valley, south-east of 
Bethel, where the patriarch’s flocks may have 
grazed ; and we recognize the mountain in the 
little rugged hill opposite, with shapeless cairns 
on its top, Tell-el-Hajar, “ the hill of the 
stones.” Ai, destroyed by Joshua, appears to 
have been situated on the hill above the village 
of Deir Duwan, a couple of miles further to the 
east. When Bethel is known and examined, it 
is almost impossible to mistake the site of Ai ; 
and also that of Abram’s second encampment. 
H. B. T. 

There lie pUelied liis lent -and 


hiiilded an aUar uiilo llie Lord. 

Where Abram has a tetd, there God must have 
an altar, as he well knows there is no safety but 
under the Divine protection. The house in 
which the worship of God is not established, 
cannot be considered as under the Divine pro¬ 
tection. A. C. 

By the gift or promise of One to whom all' 
lands belong, that land was his from one end of 
it to the other ; in actual ijossession he could 
not call a foot of it his own. To a position so 
unusual as this he was required to accominorlate 
his conduct. Until it pleased God by his provi¬ 
dence to put him in peaceable possession of the 
soil, Abram had to reconcile himself to seeing 
it in other hands. Because he owned no terri¬ 
tory, he built no fixed dwelling. Altars he 
erected, but no house. To the last he would 
not exchange the encampment for a ‘‘ city of 
habitation,” simply because to tho last he re¬ 
mained, as he said, “ a stranger and a so¬ 
journer” among the people of the land. Dykes. 

9. Ooing^ on §lill towaiMl ll&e soiilli. 
In the first verse of the next chapter we read 
that ” he went up out of Egypt into the 
south.” One of the recent valuable attain¬ 
ments of biblical geography is the recognition 
of the fact that the term here rendered south is 
in truth a proper name, and denotes a certain 
territory of irregular boundaries, stretching, 
southward of Palestine, from the bottom of the 
Dead Sea across to the Mediterranean. So 
when Moses sent the spies from Kadesh, he 
did not say (Num. 13 :17), “ Get you up south¬ 
ward,” for that course would have taken them 
back to Egypt ; but, “ Get you up into the 

Keyeh." Chambers. -The south, as being 

nearer the arid desert, and further removed 
from the drainage of the mountains, is drier 
and less productive than the north. The tract 
below Hebron, which forms the link between 
the hills of Judah and the desert, was known to 
the ancient Hebrews by a term originally de¬ 
rived from its dryness, Neyeb. This was The 
South country. P. S. 

The entire soxdhern half of Palestine Proper, 
west of the Jordan, was from a very early period 
divided into four main regions. 1st. The larg¬ 
est and most familiarly known was the Hill 
Country ; the elevated district or plateau 
stretching eastward to the Wilderness border¬ 
ing the Dead Sea, and westward to the Shefe- 
LAH, or lowland on the Mediterranean Sea. It 
includes Hebron and Jerusalem. 2d. The Low¬ 
land or Shefelah, a broad strip between the 
central highlands and the Mediterranean. 3d. 
The smallest is the Wilderness, including the 






SECTION S9.-0ENE8I8 12 : 10-20. 


299 


slopes and the base of the cliffs on the west 
shore of the Dead Sea. And 4th. That which 
is of most moment in the Patriarchal History, 
The South, i.e. the Negeb, or South Country. 
This comprises “ the undulating pasture coun¬ 
try. which intervened between the Hill Coun¬ 
try and the deserts which encompass the lower 
part of Palestine.” In this South Country, 
chiefly at Beersheba and in its wide vicinage, 
Abraham and Isaac lived for many years. B. 

In passing from the “ south country” of 
Judah to the “ hill country” marked indeed was 


j the change, from easy smooth tracks over gently 
1 rolling downs to rocky slippery paths, up and 
down narrow valleys, between naked rugged 
hills full of caves, dreary and now (in winter) 
barren. There is a wonderful reality in many 
of these apparently trifling expressions of Script¬ 
ure, which day by day our journey brings home 
to the mind—“ the wilderness,” “ the south 
country,” “ the hill countrj^” all in Judah, yet 
each so distinct, so characteristic in every feat¬ 
ure. H. B. T. 


Section 39. 


SOJOURN IN EGYPT. 
Genesis 12 :10-20. 


10 And there was a famine in the land ; and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there ; 

11 for the famine was sore in the land. And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter 
into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman 

12 to look upon : and it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall 

13 say. This is his wife : and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, 
thou art my sister : that it may be well with me for thy sake, and that my soul may live be- 

14 cause of thee. And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Eg.vptians 

15 beheld the woman that she was very fair. And the princes of Pharaoh sa-w her, and praised 

16 her to Pharaoh ; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. And he entreated Abram 
well for her sake ; and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and menservants, and maid- 

17 servants, and she-asses, and camels. And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great 

18 plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife. And Pharaoh called Abram, and said. What is this 

19 that thou hast done unto me ? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife ? Why saidst 
thou. She is my sister? so that I took her to be my wife : now therefore behold thy wife, take 

20 her, and go thy way. And Pharaoh gave men charge concerning him : and they brought him 
on the way, and his wife, and all that he had. 


lO, Famine in the land. Soon after 
Abram entered Canaan, the land, for the sake 
of which he had forsaken fertile Mesopotamia, 
became unable to sustain his household, or to 
feed the comparatively small flocks which at 
that time composed his fortune. In this first 
serious trial, the new emigrant does not appear 
to have either asked or received counsel from 
Heaven. Dykes. 

Went into Eg-ypt. Egypt being watered 
by the Nile, which we now know to be fed by 
immense lakes that drain the vast mountain 
regions of the equator, often had plentiful har¬ 
vests, when Syria, which was dependent upon 
the uncertain rains, was suffering from famine. 
This contrast between these two neighboring 
countries often comes out in the sacred narra¬ 


tives. J. P. T.-In Egypt, the fertility of the 

loamy soil depends on the annual rise of the 
Nile, which is fed by the rains of far-distant 
mountain ranges. Hence, when the land of 
Canaan was wasted by drought and consequent 
famine, Egypt was generally so productive as to 
be the granary of the neighboring countries. 
As Canaan was the brother of Mizraim, the in¬ 
tercourse between the two countries in which 
they dwelt was natural and frequent. Dry 
seasons and dearth of provisions seem to have 
been of frequent occurrence in the land of 
Canaan. M. 

II. Was conic near to enter Esypt. 

When he passed the well-guarded frontier wall, 
a new and strange world would be around him. 
The vast pyramids were already ancient, for at 







300 


SOJOURN IN EGYPT. 


least eight dynasties had passed away since the 
first had been built. Populous colonies of 
Semitic peoples had brought the north of the 
Delta into high cultivation, and filled it with 
busy commerce, w^hile to the south of them 
the M'^hole valley of the Nile had been united 
under one sceptre, and the country covered 
with towns, cities and villages, the former 
adorned bj’’ great temples and joalaces, of which 
the ruins still excite wonder. GeUcie. 

Abram’s visit to Lower Egypt is the first in a 
long series of similar incidents in the annals 
of his race, of which the last was the escape 
thither of his divine descendant, the persecuted 
Infant. What a stretch of time lay between 
these two flights ! How many centuries sepa¬ 
rate us even from the later of the two ! Yet 
across all these millenniums lies this land of 
mystery and superstition, like a link to bind 
history together. Egypt is the key to the poli¬ 
tics of the East to-day, just as it was four thou¬ 
sand years ago. It was already the foremost 
state in the world. Peopled by the same race 
which in Chaldea had made such early advances 
in arts and polity, it already possessed a vener¬ 
able history. It had sent out its colonies to 
the north and to the east. It was ruled by a 
semi.deified monarch, whose sway reposed on 
a compact and mighty priesthood. Its religion 
was a low and superstitious nature-worship, ad¬ 
dicted to magic, and only redeemed from cor¬ 
ruption by the clearness with which it pro¬ 
claimed two great moral doctrines,—immortal¬ 
ity, and a rigorous distribution of rewards and 
punishments in a future life. 'Dykes. 

When Abram went down into Egypt the 
empire was already very old. Its history be¬ 
gins with Menes, who united the independent 
states of the Nile vallej'^ into a single kingdom, 
and established his capital at Memphis. The 
first six dynasties of kings represent M'^hat is 
called the Old Empire. It was under the mon- 
archs of the fourth dynasty that the pyramids 
of Gizeh were built ; and at no time during its 
later history did the art and culture of Egypt 
reach again so high a level as it did under the 
Old Empire. With the close of the sixth dy¬ 
nasty came a period of disaster and decline. 
When Egypt again emerged into the light of 
history it was under the warrior princes of the 
twelfth dynasty. The capital had been shifted 
to the new city of Thebes in the south ; a new 
god, Amun, presided over the Egyptian deities, 
and the ruling class itself differed in blood and 
features from the men of the Old Empire. 
Henceforth Egyptian art was characterized by 
a stiff conventionality wholly unlike the free¬ 


dom and vigor of the art of the early dynasties 5 
the government became more autocratic ; and 
the obelisk took the place of the pyramid in 
architecture. But the Middle Empire, as it 
has been termed, did not last long. Semitic in- 
valers from Canaan and Arabia overran the 
country, and established their seat at Zoan or 
Tanis. For 511 years they held the Egyptians 
in bondage, though the native j^rinces, who had 
taken refuge in the south, gradually acquired 
more and more power, until at last, under the 
leadership of Aahmes or Amosis, the founder 
of the eighteenth dynasty, they succeeded in 
driving the hated foreigners out. These for¬ 
eigners are known to history as the Hyksos or 
Shepherds, Hyksos being the Egyptian liik 
shasii, “prince of the Shasu,” or “Beduins.” 
The name which they bear upon the monuments 
is Menti. It must have been while the Hyksos 
monarchs were holding their court at Zoan that 
Abram entered the land. He found there 
men of Semitic blood, like himself, and speak¬ 
ing a Semitic language, A welcome was assured 
him, and he had'no need of an interpreter. But 
the Hyksos kings had already begun to as.sume 
Egyptian state and to adopt Egyptian customs. 
In place of the Semitic shala*, “ ruler,” the title 
by which their first leaders had been known, 
they had borrowed the Egyptian title of Pharaoh. 
Pharaoh appears on the monuments as pir-aa, 
“great house,” the palace in which the king 
lived being used to denote the king himself, 
just as in our own time the “ porte” or gate of 
the palace has become synonymous with the 
Turkish Sultan. Sayce. 

13. Abram “ was a man of like passions with 
us,” and of like weaknesses. When God spoke 
to him he believed, and when he believed then 
he obeyed. But God had said nothing as yet 
to him about Sarai ; and, in the absence of any 
special direction, he seems to have taken the 
matter into his own hands, after the manner of 

those times and countries. A. E.-But what 

a change is this! hitherto hath Sarah been 
Abram’s wife, now Egypt hath made her his 
sister : fear hath turned him from a husband to 
a brother ; no strength of faith can exclude 
some doubtings : God hath said, “ I will make 
thee a great nation Abram says, “ The 
Egyptians will kill me he, that lived by his 
faith, yet shrinketh and sinneth. How vainly 
shall we hope to believe without fear, and to 
live without infirmities ! Bp. H 

His faith wavers, because he looks tohiswufe, 
to Egypt, and to himself, and not to God alone. 
He fears and trembles for the Eiiyptmns, who, 
as the event shows, were quite capable of doing 





. SECTION 89.—GENESIS 12 : 10-20. 


301 


what he apprehends at their hands ; and so he 
persuades Sarai • to-tell a lie. Sarai was in 
point of fact his half-sister, as apjjears from 

chap. 20 : 12. C. G. B.-The equivocation is 

certainly not to be justitied, either on this or 
on the future occasion on which it was again 
resorted to ; for though it contained a half truth, 
this was so employed as to render “ the half 
truth a whole lie.” Both circumstances—his 
repairing to Egypt, and when there betaking to 
such a worldly expedient for safety -betray the 
imperfection of his faith, which, while strong 
enough to set him on this new course of sepa¬ 
ration from the world and devotedness to God, 
still wanted clearness of discernment and im¬ 
plicitness of trust sufficient to meet iho unex¬ 
pected difficulties that so early presented them¬ 
selves in the way. The first failure stood in 
his seeking relief from the emergency that arose 
by withdrawing, without the divine sanction, 
to another country than that into which he had 
been conducted by the special providence of 
God. Instead of looking up for direction and 
support, he betook to worldly shifts and expedi¬ 
ents, and thus became entangled in difficulties, 
out of which the immediate interposition of 
God alone could have rescued him. In this 
way, however, the result proved beneficial, 
Abram was made to feel, in the first instance, 
that his backsliding had reproved him ; and 
then the merciful interposition of Heaven, re¬ 
buking even a king for his sake, taught him the 
lesson, that with the God of heaven upon his 
side, he had no need to be afraid for the out¬ 
ward evils that might beset him in his course. 
He had but to look up in faith, and get the di¬ 
rection or support that he needed. P. F. 

15. Princes of Pharaoh. Pharaoh 
was, from the earliest times to which the monu¬ 
ments go back, supported by powerful nobles, 
or “ princes,” who were hereditary' landed pro¬ 
prietors of great wealth.- Saw flier and 

praised her Piiaraoli. A scene in a 
tomb at Beni Hassan clearly shows that, under 
the Old Empire, foreigners on their arrival in 
the country, especially if they came with a train 
of attendants, as Abraham would, were received 
at the frontier by the governor of the province, 
whose secretary took down in writing their 
number, and probably their description, doubt¬ 
less for the purpose of forwarding a “ report ” 
to the court. Reports of this character, belong¬ 
ing to later times, have been found, and are 
among the most interesting of the ancient docu¬ 
ments. It was regarded as especially important 
to apprise the monarch of all that happened 
upon his north-eastern frontier, where Egypt 


abutted upon tribes of some considerable 
strength, whose proceedings had to be watched 
with care. G. R. 

Taken into Pliaraoli’s lioa)«»e. The 

inadequacy of Abram’s expedient appears in 
the issue, which is difierent from what he ex- 
jiected, Sarai is admired for her beauty, and, 
bt-ing professedly single, is selected as a wife 
for Pharaoh ; while Abram, as her brother, is 
munificently entertained and rewarded. Sarai 
was sixty-five years of age (Gen. 17 : 17) at the 
time when Abram describes her as a woman 
fair to look upon. But we are to remember that 
Sarai’s age corresponds wdth twenty-five or 
thirty years in modem times, as she was at this 
time not half the age to which men were then 
wont t.i live ; that she had no family or other 
hardship to bring on premature decay ; and 
that the women of Egypt were far from being 
distinguished for regularity of feature or fresh¬ 
ness of complexion. M. 

There is no occasion to deny, as certain apol¬ 
ogists have unwisely done, the guilt of the patri¬ 
arch’s cowardice and falsehood. It was dictated 
by such a timorous concern for his personal 
safety as implied distrust in the 2 ^rotection of 
God. It did a cruel wrong to his wife, for it 
exposed her to the most serious of all hazards. 
Dykes. 

Abram came forth from a land of idolaters. 
He was surrounded by idolaters in Canaan, and 
by idolaters in Egypt, and, we may add, was 
himself born of idolatrous parents. And wher¬ 
ever idolatry abounds falsehood abounds. A[f. 

-As the minister of God, Abram is great and 

noble ; as the “ architect of his own fortune,” 
he is cowardly, selfish, and false. In our own 
life we know what it is to have great faith and 
great unbelief. Abram went out at God’s 
binding, cheerfully encountering all the trials 
of pilgrimage in unknown places, yet he cannot 
trust God to take care of his wife. How little 
are the greatest men ! Where there was great 
grace there should have been great courage. 
We are not to qualify the disgrace by talking 
about spots on the sun ; we are to learn by the 
failures of other men that our own life will bo 
called to trials which will need higher strength 
than merely human joower. J. P. 

The record here is a signal instance of the 
fidelity of this historian, and of how marvel¬ 
lously unlike all other biographies are these ac¬ 
counts of great men in the Scriptures, in never 
either holding back or apologizing for the dis¬ 
creditable acts of their lives. This Abraham— 
he of the exalted character, and the hero of the 
faith ; he who, at the simple call and promise 







302 


SOJOURN IN EGYPT. 


of God, had forsaken home and friends and 
country —is now described as capable of falling 
through unbelief. Consulting * his own wis¬ 
dom, now under the pressure of famine, instead 
of continuing to rely upon God, he places him¬ 
self in the way of strong temptation, and falls. 
The hero becomes cowardly ; the man of high 
integrity begins to scheme and prevaricate, till 
at last he stands disgraced under the rebuke of 
a heathen king ! So we shall find throughout 
the record this same faithfulness of history in 
recording the faults of good men. And it is a 
further striking fact that the faults committed 
stand in most utter contrast with the prominent 
virtues by which those who fell were distin¬ 
guished. It was the Abraham” who 

lost his confidence in God. It was the meek 
Moses who fell under the trial of his temper 
and “spoke unadvisedly with his lips” It 
was the (jentlo, amiable “ disciple whom Jesus 
loved” who received the rebuke of his bad 
spirit for desiring to call down fite from Heaven 
on the Samaritans. It was the bold Peter who 
plajmd the coward under the questioning of a 
servant maid, and with others denied his Mas¬ 
ter. These records seemed designed to stain 
the pride of all human glory, and teach men to 
“ glory only in the Lord.” And they admonish 
us to watch the points in which there is least 
apparent danger, and to “ take heed how we 
stand lest we fall.” The prime fault and folly 
of Abram in this instance consisted in not wait¬ 
ing for the Divine direction in leaving the land 
of promise, and, of course, in not committing 
himself to the care of the Lord Jehovah, but 
trusting to his own devices after he had gotten 
into danger. Just here is the prime cause of 
the follies and faults of all good men who fall. 
Tinder the pressure of some imminent danger, 
for which they forget that God has provided, or 
under the allurement of temptation or the im¬ 
pulses of passion, forgetting God they under¬ 
take to be their own directors and guides, and 
fall. S. R. 

Deceit, in order to gain a point or to avert a 
disaster, is to this day an inveterate habit with 
most Orientals ; and in the best times of Israel, 
men otherwise of lofty character are found suc¬ 
cumbing to this dastardly vice. The tendency 
evidentl}’^ lay deep in the race from its first ap¬ 
pearance. God did not select this race to be 
the medium of His revelations to mankind be¬ 
cause they were by nature more noble or more 
generous than surrounding nations. With 
strong religious instincts, indeed, they were 
certainly endowed,—with a faculty for appre¬ 
hending and. surrendering themselves to the 


voice of the Eternal. Of this their great pro¬ 
genitor was the typical instance ; and the char¬ 
acteristic descended to the race. But of those 
lofty virtues which actually came to bloom on 
Hebrew soil, the greater part were the fruit of 
Heaven’s culture rather than of indigenous 
goodness. They were products, not of nature, 

but of grace. Dykts. -The character of the 

patriarchs is represented in Scripture with un¬ 
disguised truthfulness. We see in them the ex¬ 
amples of men who sinned indeed, but strug¬ 
gled against sin, conquered, and grew in holi¬ 
ness. We see men who now and then suc¬ 
cumbed under temptation, but in the end over¬ 
came, and were in truth men of God. Oerl. 

B8. Abiam for his insincerity must bear in 
silence, and to his deej) humiliation, the just 
reproaches of Pharaoh. God also shows him 
his iniquity" by the injurious consequences which 

his attempt at deception entailed. C. G. B.- 

In this matter Pharaoh was a greater, a no¬ 
bler man than Abram. Natural nobleness ought 
never to be underrated. Why begrudge to the 
heathen a nobleness which was as surely of 
God as our own Christian excellence ? There 
are men to-day who make no profession of 
Christian faith : whose honor, straightforward¬ 
ness, and generosity would put to shame many 
who claim a good standing in the Church, Yet 
it is not because of Christianity, but for the 
want of it, that professors are humbled before 
men of the world ; and it must be added, that 
men of natural elevation of temper and senti¬ 
ment would attain a still intenser lustre by the 
possession of that life in Jesus Christ, without 
which all other life is either artificial or incom¬ 
plete. Natural openness and honorableness of 
disposition must not be valued as a substitute 
for the renewed life which is wrought in men 
by God the Holy Ghost. J. P. 

19, 20, To him who follows God fully in 
simplicity of heart, everything must ultimatelj’ 
succeed. Had Abram and Sarai simply passed 
for what they were, they had injcurred no danger. 
Neither Pharaoh nor his courtiers would have 
noticed the woman, had she appeared to be the 
wife of the stranger that came to sojourn in their 
land. The issue sufficiently proves this. A. C. 

-It deserves to be noticed, that throughout 

the history of the chosen race, Egypt was to 
them the scene of spiritual danger, of covetous¬ 
ness and love of riches, of worldly security, of 
temptation to rest on an arm of flesh, on man’s 
own understanding, and not on God only. All 
this appears from the very first, in Abram’s 
sojourn there, Sarai’s danger, their departure 
full of wealth and prosperity. E. H. B. 







SECTION 39.—GENESIS 12 : 10-20. 


803 


The Bible is remarkable for its candor and 
fidelity in dealing with the characters of good 
men. Their frailties are made as prominent 
as their virtues, and they appear in all respects 
completely human. This is one token of the 
Divine Mind in the book ; for God knows what 
is in man, and God is alwaj s true. It is never 
profitable, as it can never be justifiable, to 
swerve from the truth. The attempt to deceive 
others degrades our own moral sense, and is 
likely at some time to lead to exposure, and re¬ 
act to our injury. It is a true proverb, that one 
lie leads to another ; and by and by the deceiver 
becomes so involved in the meshes of his own 
falsehoods, that he cannot extricate himself, 
and must stand convicted of his shame. And, 
when one has lost the confidence of others in 
his word, it is very hard to regain it. There 
can be no sterling character where truth is want¬ 
ing. J. P. T.-Though the wicked dishonor 

Him by their flagitious lives, jmt let not His 
own children dishonor Him. Sins in you are 
worse than in others. A fault in a stranger is 
not so much taken notice of as a fault in a 
child. A spot in a black cloth is not so much 
observed, but a spot in scarlet every one’s eye 
is upon it, A sin in the wicked is not so much 
wondered at, it is a spot in black ; but a sin in 
a child of God, here is a spot in scarlet ; this is 
more visible, and brings an odium and dishonor 
upon the gospel. T. Waison. 

There is yet another lesson here, the lesson 
of Divine forbearance with human infirmity. 
God did not cast off Abram, or send him back 
to Ur of the Chaldees—a man disgraced and 
condemned. God forbid that we should make 
any excuse for sin ; yet there are sins that come 
out of weakness rather than out of love of sin 
for its own sake, Abram’s sin arose rather from 
weakness than depravity. A great fear seized 
him, and for the time being he foolishly took 
his affairs into his own hands. “ Let him that 
is without sin cast the first stone” at Abram ! 
It was something after all, standing between 
Babylonian and Egyptian idolatry—colossal and 
splendid—to say. There is but one God and I 
put my faith in him ! It was a new voice in the 
earth. It was the first note of Christian civili¬ 
zation. Now it is common to avow this creed, 
but it went for something when a Chaldean 
shepherd declared it amidst polytheistic and 
sumptuous idolatries. When we say Abram 
sinned, we ought also to say that Abram was 
the friend of God ; and if we hide ourselves 
under the plea of his weakness, we ought also 
to strive after the holiness and sublimity of his 
faith. J. P. 


Recent explorations in Egypt, conducted 
mainly by Brugsch, Mariette, and Chabas, and 
those in Palestine, undertaken by English and 
American scholars, are no less interesting and 
important than the Assyrian researches. They 
illustrate every book in the Bible. Evidences 
of its historic accuracy are impressed on the 
ruins of Palestine, they are written on the tombs 
and temples of Egypt, and they are buried deep 
on sculptured stones and clay tablets, beneath 
the scathed mounds of Babylonia and Assyria. 
The touch of infidelity cannot obliterate them. 
J. L. P. 

The learned Egyptologists of our time are 
laboring with enthusiasm to bring to light the 
records in papjui, in painting and in stone, 
of that ancient civilization. How comes it that 
this single record by Moses has been the only 
survivor as a living history in the hands of all 
men, while all these contemporary records of 
the same civilization have lain buried for three 
thousand years, to have a resurrection at last in 
this nineteenth centirry as witnesses to attest 
his accuracy and fidelity as a historian ? Is it 
after all a weak superstition of ours when we 
claim not only that the book is God-inspired, 
but that the.providence of God has singularly 
watched over a book which alone of all the 
learned writings of that era survived the wreck 
of civilization, and passed on down through 
ages unscathed for over three thousand years ? 
S. R. 

Explorations in Egypt and Assyria. 

Through Young, Champollion, and Lepsius 
three systems of writing, and the changing dia¬ 
lects of thousands of years, have been turned 
from dumb monuments to speaking voices, just 
as through Grotefend and Birnouf and Rawlin- 
son a half-dozen kinds of cuneiform texts, and 
as many separate languages, have been rescued 
from forgotten tombs. E Brown {New Prince- 
ion Bev., Nov., 1886). 

It is now more than forty years since Cham¬ 
pollion, the younger, astounded the learned 
world by the publication of the results of his 
studies of Egyptian antiquities, first brought to 
light by the expedition of Napoleon into Egypt 
and removed to the royal museum in Paris, 
and subsequently explored on the ground by 
himself as the head of a learned commission, 
sent by the French and Tuscan Governments to 
Egypt, in 1828. After his death in 1832, among 
his scholars the subject was prosecuted with 
zeal : and Roselini, professor of Oriental lan¬ 
guages and antiquities at Pisa, who had gone 
in 1829 with Champollion, as the representative 





304 


EXPLORATIONS IN EGYPT AND ASSiUlJA. 


of Tuscany, at the request of his great asso¬ 
ciate, brought out the results of their joint in¬ 
vestigations in a volume entitled “ The Monu¬ 
ments of Egypt and of Nubia, interpreted and 
illustrated—consisting of a series of treatises 
on the history and civil institutions of the 
Pharaoh dynasties, and the languages, civil his¬ 
tory and arts of the Nile.” These investiga¬ 
tions were subsequently followed up with great 
zeal by several British explorers and students 
—among them Dr. Young, who shares with 
Champollion the honor of having first indi¬ 
cated the right method of deciphering the 
hieroglyphic language, and Sir Gardner Wilkin¬ 
son, a man of singular erudition and of great 
energy, regulated by modesty and good judg¬ 
ment, who published about 1841, in six volumes, 
the “ Manners and Customs of the Ancient 
Egyptians, including their private life, govern¬ 
ment, laws, arts, manufactures, religion and 
early history.” In 1842 Dr. Lepsius was sent 
to Egypt also by the Prussian Government, in 
connection with other learned men, and car¬ 
ried on the investigations so auspiciously be¬ 
gun with great energy and success. Among 
the results of these investigations it is reported 
by these learned men that they have found 
” paintings numerous and beautiful beyond 
description, as fresh and perfect as if finished 
only yesterday.” And these pictures, with 
multitudes of hieroglyphic records, thus disen¬ 
tombed, after lying buried near three thousand 
years, thus arise in this age of scepticism and 
rationalism to attest the authenticity of what 
Moses wrote three thousand years ago, and the 
evident accordance of his accounts of those an¬ 
cient civilizations as a contemporary with them. 

The marvellous discoveries in Egypt aroused 
general interest in the subject of those ancient 
civilizations, and soon expeditions were under¬ 
taken to explore the ruins on the Euphrates and 
Tigris, the region known anciently as Mesopo¬ 
tamia—‘‘between the rivers”—because lying 
between the Euphrates and the Tigris. Bear 
in mind, here, the geographical facts that along 
the eastern side of the continent of Africa, 
nearly parallel with the Red Sea, comes the Nile 
from the far south, emptying into the Mediter¬ 
ranean about latitude 31 degrees and longitude 
31 degrees, while some 15 degrees to the east¬ 
ward comes down from Armenia in the north, 
the original seat of Noah’s family, and empties 
into the Persian gulf at about the same latitude 
the Euphrates, receiving the Tigris as a tribu¬ 
tary near its mouth. Thus the first great em¬ 
pires of the earth were founded in the valleys 
through which ran the Euphrates and the Nile. 


the Assyrian and Chaldean empires north ol 
latitude 30 degrees on the Euphrates and the 
empire of Egypt south 30 degrees on the Nile. 

After the discoveries on the Nile, scientific 
exploration directed its effoits to the eastern 
seat of ancient empire on the Euphrates of the 
Tigris. The mountain-like mounds that rose 
from the plains of Shinar or Babylonia were 
excavated, and on every hand were found sculpt¬ 
ures, basso-relievos, impressions upon bricks^ 
the ruins of ancient buildings, and innumerable 
inscriptions in singular wedge-shaped letters, 
in this respect differing from the ” hieroglyph¬ 
ics” or pictured words of the Egyptian inscrip¬ 
tions. By the persevering studies of skilful 
Orientalists the key has been found to the read¬ 
ing of these inscriptions, and thus the records 
of these ancient civilizations of Babylonia and 
Chaldea, after a sleep of near three tliousund 
years, have had a resurrection to furnish their 
testimony also to the entire trustworthine.ss of 
“ Moses and the prophets.” As the result of 
these remarkable modern discoveiies, we are 
brought face to face with civilizations of the tra 
of Abraham, of which for 3000 years the world 
has had but little conception, very much as 
we are brought face to face with the Roman 
civilization of the era of the Apostle Paul by 
the study of the ruins of Pompeii and Hercu¬ 
laneum. 

Among the general logical results of these 
discoveries is, first, an entire overthrow of the 
theorists who would have all civilization to be 
simply the last highest result of a series of de¬ 
velopments from society in a state of savagery ; 
and, second, a sad lesson to the materialism of 
our times which boasts of the marvellous ad¬ 
vance of men toward the perfection of humanity 
through the advancing power of man over the 
jiowers of material nature. For “ it will bo 
shown,” says Layard, ‘‘that in Assjuia, as in 
Egypt, the arts do not appear to have advanced 
after the construction of the earliest edifices 
with which we are acquainted, but rather to 
have declined. The most ancient sculjitures wo 
possess are the most correct and severe in form 
and show the highest degree of taste in the 
details.” I cite a paragraph from Rawlinson both 
as confirmatory of Layard, and as showing the 
coincidence between the picture of Abraham in 
Egypt, and the disentombed pictures of the 
ancient Egyptian civilization, in the time of the 
‘‘Pharaohs of the Pyramid period,” which I 
take to be contemporary with Abraham or nearly 
so. “The scenes depicted in the sculptured 
tombs of this epoch show.that the Egyptians had 
already the same habits and arts as in after times. 



SEOTIOJS 40.—GENESIS 13 : 1-18. 


305 


We see no primitive mode of life ; no barbarous 
customs ; but the same fowling and fishing 
scenes ; the rearing of cattle and wild animals 
of the desert ; the scribes using the same kind 
of reed for writing on papyrus the inventory of 
the estate to be presented to the owner ; the 
same mode of entertaining ; the same music 
and dancing ; the same trades, as glass-blowers, 
cabinet-makers, and others. Thus no signs are 
found on the earliest monuments of a progress 
from infancy to the more advanced stages of art.” 

Furthermore, there are several facts, either 
expressly stated or implied, whereby we are 
able to compare this sacred history with what 
we may gather from profane sources. 1 . That 
Egypt was already under an established govern¬ 
ment, having a king and princes who acted as 
the king’s subordinates, three thousand eight 
hundred years ago. This fact is confirmed by 
the fact that Herodotus, Diodorus, and other 
Greek historians all agree in giving to the 
Egyptian civilization an antiquity beyond that 
of any other people, and modern explorers justi¬ 
fy that ancient judgment. 2. Egypt was the 
granary to which surrounding tribes resorted 
for food in times of scarcity, because its agricult¬ 
ure was not dependent upon the rains of the 
clouds as in other countries. Tliis fact is uni¬ 
versally attested by history from that day to the 
present. 3. The name of the monarch was one 
that to Semitic ears sounded as “ Pha-ra-oh.” 
And the modern hieroglyphic research has 
pointed out how this name would readily be 


taken from the Egyptian “ Per-a-o,’’ the “great 
house,” which was the regular title of the Egyj)- 
tian kings. 4. The catalogue of Abram’s wealth 
in the sacred record is peculiar. He had, gen¬ 
erally, “ cattle, gold and silver,” and specifi¬ 
cally, “ sheep and oxen and he-asses, menser- 
vants, maidservants, and she-asses and camels.” 
Not only do ancient profane writers describe 
sheep and asses as existing in Egypt, but the 
monuments represent them as common. For 
there sheep appear in great numbers. So both 
he-asses and she-asses, the former also as sculpt 
ured as used for riding, and the latter as beasts 
of burden. Wilkinson describes one monu¬ 
mental picture in which appear 760 asses. But 
what is most striking in this catalogue is the 
fact that it mentions slaves—menservants and 
maidservants — at that early age. Yet, says 
Taylor, “ We find from the monuments that 
domestic slavery was established in Egypt from 
the earliest ages, and the mistress of the man¬ 
sion is very rigid in enforcing her authority. 
We see these unfortunate beings trembling and 
cringing before their superiors, sometimes 
threatened with a formidable whip wielded by 
the lady of the mansion herself.” “ Most of 
them,” says Wilkinson, ” appear to have been 
foreigners, either taken in war or brought to 
Egypt to be sold as slaves.” Thus, then, this 
history conforms in a very remarkable manner 
with the testimony from profane records, and 
thereby proves itself to be no poetic picture, 
but authentic history. S. K. 


Section 40. 

RETUKN TO BETHEL. LOT’S CHOICE. RENEWAL OF PROMISE. REMOVAL TO 

HEBRON. 

Genesis 13 :1-18. 

1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, 

2 into the South. ^ And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. And he went on 

3 his journeys from the South even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been at the 

4 beginning, between Beth-el and Ai ; unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at 

5 the first : and there Abram called on the name of the Lokd. And Lot also, which went with 

6 Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. And the land was not able to bear them, that they 
might dwell together : for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. 

7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen o£ Lot’s 

8 cattle : and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. And Abram said unto 
Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and 

9 thy herdmen ; for we are brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I 
pray thee, from me : if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right ; or if thou take 

20 






306 


RETURN TO BETHEL. LOTS CHOICE. 


10 the right hand, then I will go to the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the 
Plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and 

11 Gomorrah, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou goest unto Zoar. So 
Lot chose him all the Plain of Jordan ; and Lot journeyed tast : and they separated them- 

12 selves the one from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled'in the 

13 cities of the Plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked 

14 and sinners against the Lord exceedingly. And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot 
w'as separated from him. Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, 

15 northward and southward and eastward and westward : for all the land which thou seest. to 

16 thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the 
earth : so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be iium- 

17 bered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it ; for unto 

18 thee will I give it. And Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, 
which are in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord. 


1, The length of Abram’s residence in Egypt 
cannot be determined. He returned to his 
highland camping ground near Bethel a much 
more extensive sheep-master than he left it. 

Di/kes. -Aaid willi him. Lot is not 

mentioned in the descent into Egypt, because 
no part of the narrative there concerns him. On 
the return to Canaan he becomes a principal 

actor. E. H. B.- Iiato the SoHtli. Not 

southward ; for Canaan was north of Egypt ; 
but into the southern part of Canaan. This 
part of the land is called the South (Josh. 
10 ; 40), and the South country (Josh. 11 :16). 
Bp. Kidder. Hebrew, The Negeb. B. 

2. IBieh in cattle. In Egypt, being a 
rich country, his exchanging his cattle might be 
more advantageous to him. For which reason, 
perhaps, his being rich in silver and gold is 
mentioned immediately after his return from 

thence. Harm.er. - In silver and in 

gold. Egypt seems to have abounded in gold 
from the earliest times, earlier perhaps than in 
silver. The gold mines of Ethiopia have wuthin 
a few years been brought to light in the Bisharee 
desert. S. C. B. 

Abram increased in riches, but never suf- ■ 
fered his affections to fasten on these as his ! 
supreme good. He knew how to receive that 
degree of enjo^^ment they were designed to 
afford, without sensuality and without being 

insensible to God as the giver. R. Hall. - 

Abram, it is expressly said, was rich ; but his 
riches did not interfere with his growth as a 
■saint. The Gospel, while it cautions against 
the danger and the deceitfulness of riches, 
.gives no countenance to the current absurdity 
that the rich man must go to hell because he is 
.rich, and the poor man to heaven because he is 
poor. The apostle does not say that money, 
but the love of money, is a root of all evil ; and 
'the love of money may be, and often is, a per- 
. feet idolatry in the heart of the poor who in¬ 


dulge in cant about the rich. The Word indeed 
declares, “ How hardly shall a rich man enter 
the kingdom.” And “ They that will be rich 
fall into a snare and drown their souls in 
perdition.” But the snare is as near many who 
are panting to be rich as to those who have 

attained riches. S. B.-liiches not only 

afford mailer for contention and are the things 
most commonly striven about, but they also 
stir up a spirit of contention, b}" making people 
proud and covetous. 3/me and Thine are the 
great make-bates of the world. Wants and 
wanderings could not separate between Abram 
and Lot ; but riches did it. H. 

5, The patriarchs were in the habit of en¬ 
camping on the same spot for years together. 
To some extent at least, the}’’ cultivated the 
soil. They certainly aimed at amassing vast 
flocks of the smaller cattle ; and with the in¬ 
habitants of adjacent w^alled towns they culti¬ 
vated terms of friendship. All these things in¬ 
dicated their peaceful, industrious character. 

8, 9, As the older man and leader of the ex¬ 
pedition, Abram might not unfairly have se¬ 
lected for his own use the richest pasture- 
I ground. But this would have ill become his 
! nobler tempter. Dykes. 

And Abram i^aid uiilo l>ot, l..et there 
be no strife. It was most unseemly that 
this strife should arise before the heathen. Now 
Abram’s noble character shines out. Tomkins. 

-He who has the promises can well afford to 

yield a point of difference for the holy sake of 
peace. And he it is who is the gainer by all he 
seems to concede. “ The meek (and only they) 
inherit the earth.” Abram appeals to their 
brotherly relations against any strife between 

themselves or their herdsmen. Jacobus. -He 

gave his nephew the full choice. He was the 
head ; yea, the whole land was given to him by 
the promise. But in his magnanimity he said 
to Lot, “ Let there be no strife. Is not the 












SECTION 40.--GENESIS 13 : 1-IS. 


307 




whole land before thee?” Tomkins. -Abram 

was older than Lot, and richer than Lot, and 
yet he spoke with the meekness of great strength 
and ripe wisdom. His words would make a 
beautiful motto to-day lor the kitchen, for the 
parlor, for the factory, for the Church ! Brave 
Abram ! we say as we read his words. He 
walked by taith and not by sight. Certainly 
his foot slipped in Egypt, but he is strong now, 
and he looks every inch a king as he stoops be¬ 
fore Lot. It is beautiful to see strength stoop 
to weakness, but a very hard thing for strength 
to do. J. P. 

The earliest on record this of those family 
quarrels about rights of property by which mul¬ 
titudes of human households have been so mis¬ 
erably dislocated. With what admirable dis¬ 
cretion and good temper does Abram deal 
with it. What a bright constellation of the vir¬ 
tues—i)rudence, meekness, forbearance, unsel- 
lishness, peace-lovingness, brotherly kindness, 
trnbounded generosity—shine forth in the mag¬ 
nanimous pro^josal, all the more remarkable be¬ 
cause of the age of the world in which it ap¬ 
pears ! In speculative ideas, gifted men have 
often preceded their own age by centuries—in 
moral sentiments such precedence has been 
rare. Yet here is Abram, centuries before 
Christ, '* walking in the moral atmosphere of 
the Sermon on the Mount,” by one act winning 
at least three of the beatitudes. W. H, 

This beautiful sketch, simply as an exhibition 
of magnanimit}’^ and generosity, has well ex¬ 
cited the admiration of the world. But it has 
a most practical value as illustrating certain 
great principles of Christian conduct, applicable 
to the affairs of the Church as a body, and great 
lessons for the instruction of the individual 
Christian, to which there is need of special at¬ 
tention at this day. The substance of the argu¬ 
ment against any strife among the people of 
God is here very forcibly put. First, there 
should be no strifes because we are brethren. 
It is against that beautiful order of our nature 
which God has established, whereby the very 
instincts and impulses of the soul draw together 
those of the same kindred for mutual protec¬ 
tion. And, secondly, we are in the presence of 
a common foe—the Canaanite and the Perizzite 
—ready to take advantage of our strife for the 
injury of both, and to the dishonor of the name 
of God. Here is the substance of the argument 
against all strifes in the Church of God. We 
are all brethren of the same household of faith ; 
and we live ever in the presence of a hostile 
world, between whom and us the grace of God 
has “put enmity”—a world ever ready to take 


I advantage of our strifes Nor can these two 
thoughts ever be too prominently before the 
mind of the Church. All who by Divine grace 
are born again are children of the same Father, 
by a double bond, and therefore brethren of the 
same family. If, then, those of the same flesh 
and blood should be as one, surely those ” born 
not of flesh and blood, nor of the will of man, 
but of God,” are doubly one. And, besides 
this, we are all voyaging together over a very 
tempestuous ocean, looking for a city whose 
builder and maker is God. We are all meeting 
the same obstructions, and encompassed with 
the same difficulties, and need, therefore, not 
to be hindered bj”^ strifes with each other, but 
encouraged and assisted by the strength which 
grows out of union in the same great brother¬ 
hood. S. B. 

V. 10 describes the appearance of the valley, 
plain of the Jordan, as it was before the great 
catastrophe in wdiich the five cities perished. 
From the lofty highlands on the west, more 
than three thousand feet above the plain of the 
valley, the ejm could trace the stream of the 
Jordan, winding its way through meadow-lands, 
and groves, and cultivated fields, and losing it¬ 
self in a beautiful lake bordered by rich plains, 
that furnished subsistence to the thronged cities 
that dotted their surface. The great depression 
of the valley-plain, more than thirteen hundred 
feet below the level of the Mediterranean Sea, 
gave to this tract a tropical climate ; and being 
all “ a well-watered region,” the more intense 
the heat the more active and vigorous w^as every 
form of vegetation. To the eye that ' beheld 
this scene, stretching far to the north and south, 
it seemed “ like the garden of Jehovah, like the 
land of Egypt.” T. J. C. 

IjOI lifted up liis eyes. They were en¬ 
camped on that mountain on the east of Bethel, 
having Bethel on the west and Hai on the east, 
where Abram had built the altar and called on 
the name of the Lord. E. H. B.-Immedi¬ 

ately east of the low gray hills on which the 
Canaanitish Luz and the Jewish Bethel after¬ 
ward stood, rises,—as the highest of a succes¬ 
sion of eminences, each now marked by some 
vestige of ancient edifices,—a conspicuous hill ; 
its topmost summit resting, as it w^ere, on the 
rocky slopes below, and distinguished from 
them by the olive-grove which clusters over its 
broad surface above. From this height, thus 
offering a natural base for the patriarchal altar, 
and a fitting shade for the patriarchal tent, 
Abraham and Lot must be considered as taking 
the w'ide survey of the country “ on the right 
hand and on the left,” such as can be enjoyed 






308 


LOTS CHOICE. 




from no other point in the neighborhood. To 
the east there rises in the foreground the jagged 
range of the hills above Jericho ; in the distance 
the dark wall of Moab ; between them lies the 
wide valley of the Jordan, its course marked by 
the tract of forest in which its rushing stream 
is enveloped : and down to this valley a long 
and deep ravine, now, as always, the main line 
of communication by which it is approached 
from the central hills of Palestine—a ravine 
rich with vine, olive, and fig, winding its way 
through ancient reservoirs and sepulchres, re¬ 
mains of a civilization now extinct, but in the 
times of the patriarchs not yet begun. In the 
south and west the view commanded the bleak 
hills of Judea, varied by the heights crowned 
with what were afterward the cities of Benja¬ 
min, and overhanging what in a later day was 
to be Jerusalem, and in the far distance the 
southern range, on whose slope is Hebron. 
Northward are the hills which divide Judea 
from the rich plains of Samaria. And now, 
from this spot, he and his kinsman made the 
choice which determined the fate of each, ac- 
cording to the view which that summit com¬ 
mands. Lot looked down on the green valley 
of the Jordan, its tropical luxuriance visible 
even from thence, beautiful and well watered 
as that garden of Eden of which the fame still 
lingered in their own Chaldean hills, as the 
valley of the Nile in which they had so lately 
sojourned. A, P. S. 

In this fertile plain—or “ circle”—of Jordan 
the four cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, 
and Zeboim appear to have been situated. In 
the subsequent account of their destruction, the 
same topographical term “plain” (Hebrew 
circle or circuit) is emjDloyed. Mr. Grove thinks 
that the mention of the Jordan is conclusive as 
to the situation of the district, for the Jordan 
ceases where it enters the Dead Sea, and can 
have no existence south of that point. Die. B. 

-As it is hardly possible for any one to read 

the account without feeling that Abram and 
Lot were actually looking down on Sodom and 
Gomorrah, when “ Lot lifted up his eyes and 
beheld all the plain of Jordan,” it follows that 
those cities must have been situated on some 
part of the plain north of the Dead Sea and 
visible from the heights of Bethel. Wilson. 

-For the northern site we have the argument 

from the simple statement of the inspired 
writer, who calls them “ the cities of the plain,” 
or circle of Jordan ; an expression which cannot 
possibly apply to any other than the northern 
end of the Dead Sea. “ Then Lot chose him 
all the plain of Jordan ; and Lot journeyed 


east." Looking from these hills the plain of 
Jericho and its far more extensive sister plain 
of Shittim, on the east side of the river, are 
spread almost at the beholder's feet. It is prob¬ 
able that some of the four cities were on the 
east side of the Jordan, H. B. T. 

The meaning will become clear if one will 
read all the middle portion of the verse as a 
parenthesis, as follows : “ and Lot lifted up his 
eyes and beheld all the plain of Jor !an (that it 
was well watered everywhere, before the Lord 
destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the 
garden of the Lord like the land of Egypt), until 
thou comest to Zoar.” \^Zoar (Bela), here so 
called by anticipation (ch. 14 : 2, 8 ; 19 : 22).] 
Lot saw all the plain of the Jordan as far as 
Zoar, or until you come to Zoar. Zoar was both 
the limit of the plain and the limit of vision in 
that direction, as far as the land was con¬ 
cerned. How much of the Dead Sea he saw is 
not stated ; but no human vision, unless mir¬ 
aculously aided, could reach to the southern 
end and distinguish anything ; while from the 
point where he stood the greenness and beauty 
of the great Shittim plain are distinctly seen. 
The phrase, “ all the plain of the Jordan,” can¬ 
not include the salt marsh at the southern end 
of the Dead Sea, since this marsh is fiftj' miles 
from the river, and belongs to a water system 
entirely distinct from that at the northern end 
of the sea. The few ruins at the south end are 
insignificant. The small amount of fertile land 
there could never have been a desirable location 
for towns or villages. On the other hand, there 
is a remarkable group of tells (mounds) at the 
north end of the Dead Sea, which are covered 
with ruins, and some of which arc the sites of 
cities that existed in the days of Joshua, JSIer- 
rill. 

11. Lot c'liose all tSic plain of Jor¬ 
dan. We find not any instance of deference 
or respect to his uncle, in the whole manage¬ 
ment. Abram having offered him the choice, 
without compliment he accepted it, and made 
his election. Passion and selfishness make 
men rude. H.-He seeks not first the king¬ 

dom as the primary idea, and as secondary to 
that what else God may give. He seeks first 
the maximum herd of cattle, and with that as 
muck of religion as time will permit him to ex¬ 
ercise. Hence while the record of Abram al¬ 
ways is that he set up his altar, that is never 
said of Lot. Lot lifted up his eyes—real gra¬ 
zier’s eyes—and could see nothing but that rich 
bottom along the lower Jordan, with its weaving 
grass ; and Sodom and Gomorrah in the centre 
—such a market. But Sodom and Gomorrah 







SECTION 40.-GENESIS 13 : 1-18. 


309 


are very wicked places—no place of desire to a 
saint of God ! True ; but Lot is after their 
money, not their wickedness. He would not 
think of settling there, or being nearer than to 
be within reach of market. To that one idea, 
all must be sacrificed—character, family, every¬ 
thing. S. K. 

Better doth it beseem every son of Abraham 
to win with love, than to sway with power. 
Abraham yields over his right of choice ; Lot 
takes it. And behold. Lot is crossed in that 
which he chose, Abraham is blessed in that 
which was left him ; God never suffers any man 
to lose, by an humble remission of his right in 

a desire of peace. Bp. IL -Lot lost all he 

had ; he lost his wife ; and he had like to have 
lost his life, had not Abraham prevailed with 
God for his deliverance. This choice was 
made about 20 years before Sodom was de¬ 
stroyed. Bp. Wilson. -Lot makes the worst 

choice, while he thinks that he has chosen 
well. For his worldly-mindedness, the sin in 
his choice, he was first punished through the 
plundering of his house, and his captivitj^ in 
the war of the kings, which follow^ed soon after 
his choice, and then through his fearful flight 
from Sodom, and the losses, misfortunes, and 
crimes which v'ere connected with it. Thus the 
want of regard to true piety, the selfishness, 
the carelessness as to the snares of the W'orld, 
must ever be punished. And, indeed, it is 
just W’hen one thinks that in his own wilful 
and sinful ways he has attained his highest 
wishes, he finds himself ensnared in the retribu¬ 
tions of divine righteousness, which rules over 

him and works with solemn irony. Lange. - 

Lot chose wisely, as they of the world speak. 
Well, if this world be all —he got a rich soil— 
b'ecame a prince, had kings for his society and 
neighbors. It was nothing to Lot that “ the 
men of the land were sinners before the Lord 
exceedingly”—enough that it was well W'atered 
everywhere. F. W. R. 

This brief history throws around the language, 
“ he pitched his tent as far as Sodom,” a mean¬ 
ing of fearful and momentous interest. Here 
was that passage in his life which was ominous 
of all his future disaster ; which was, in fact, 
its procuring cause. We shall find Lot’s ex¬ 
perience a prototype. The grand reason why 
men are drawn into sin, or at least into irre¬ 
ligious and worldly company till they become 
Sodomized in hardness of heart, is in very many 
cases the purpose of making money. What 
friendships and partnerships money makes ! 
What crimes it glosses over, what meanness it 
covers, what infamy it hides ! And if these 


things are so, can we wonder that good men 
often forget their religion while they hurry on 
to make money ? They pitch their tents near 
Sodom without knowing the character of the 
place—except that a heavy business is done 
there. They leave the Abrahams, the praying 
men, and mix themselves up w'ith those that 
worship the dollar—the Judases, and Demases, 
and Balaams—whom they will soon resemble. 
Their families are becoming naturalized Sodom¬ 
ites, and they are, perhaps, coining the eternal 
hopes and welfare of their children into the 
wealth and fortune which they mean to leave 
them when they die. Gilleil. 

IJJ. Sinners before tlie Lord. Sodom, 
Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim are mentioned 
(Gen. 10 :19) as among the first settlements of 
the Canaanites. The fertility of the soil in 
this Valley of the Jordan, with the luxurious 
and enervating character of the climate, rapidly 
I developed the sensual vices of this early civil- 
j ized but depraved race. Their wickedness is 
mentioned here perhaps in anticipation of the 
history in ch. 19 ; but partly also in order to. 
exhibit more clearly the thoughtlessness and 
worldliness of Lot in choosing their neighbor¬ 
hood for his residence, as distinguished from 
the unselfish spirit of Abraham. E. H. B. 

Lot’s eye regarded neither the dangers sleep¬ 
ing beneath, nor the light of God above, but 
only the corn and wine and verdant pastures. 
It is not the part of religion to teach us to de¬ 
spise natural beauty, or make us prefer to cul¬ 
tivate barren soil if we can get better. Asceti¬ 
cism is no feature of the Bible, from first to 
last. But to make outward advantage the first 
and main object in choosing our path in life, 
is certainly not the guidance of the Word of 
God ; and either Lot was without true principle 
at the time, or he had for the season forgotten 
it. Wealth, or the chance of making it, is not 
the one thing needful ; and that man pursues a 
very unwise and unchristian course who rushes 
straight at it, without taking other things into 
I account. There are many signs of materialism 
I in our age, and this among them, that the ac- 
I quisition of money is one of the first things 
which men think of in choosing a profession 
for themselves or their children. Our natural 
1 capability of mind is one thing to be consid- 
' ered, for only as we cultivate it can we be most 
j useful to our fellow-men, and most happy in 
ourselves. It is not with impunity that a man 
can do violence to his own nature, or crush that 
of his child, with no other motive than hasting 
to be rich. And still higher than natural taste 
is principle. The question, Can I, with a clear 










310 


HENEWAL OF FRO MUSE. 


sense of duty, enter into such a line of pursuit? 
Am I not venturing into relationships where it 
will be hard, if not impossible, for me to main¬ 
tain a conscience void of offence ? These points 
do not seem at all to have troubled Lot, or they 
were lightly put aside in view of his material 
interests. We do him no injustice, for he re¬ 
mained clinging to Sodom, years afterward, 
though he must have felt the deleterious atmos¬ 
phere. He returned to Sodom w^hen he had 
lost all, and had recovered it again through 
Abram. That sharp warning was ineffectual, 
and he needed to be forced from the place by 
God’s destroying angel. What weighed with 
him all the while was that which determined 
him at first,—the rich returns of the fertile soil. 
When, in any step of life, the readiest thought | 
which occurs to a man is not duty, or benevo¬ 
lence, or mental taste and capability, but bare 
worldly advantage, let him look at it well in 
other lights. Such a motive, if indulged, is 
certain to end by shutting out his view of ail 
that is high and true in life, and to lead him 
into dark and miry ways. Ktr. 

14. Tlie Ivord said unto Abram. He 
was more than rewarded for his true action 
toward Lot. We may be sure that this was a 
great crisis in the life of Abram ; and, in his noble 
and unworldly conduct, we must “ glorify the ; 
grace of God,” It is likely that up to this time j 
he had viewed Lot as his heir. The first j 
promise, “ I will make thee a great nation,” I 
may have been regarded as consistent wdth this. 
Hut now Lot was gone ; and at this very time 
the blank was filled by the direct promise of 
” seed as the dust of the earth.” Tomkins. 
—^15. All the land thou Nec§t. God 
renewed to him the promise first given at 
Shechem, that the land in which he Avas a j 
stranger should become the possession of him- ! 
self and his j^osterity. From that outlook, on 
the hill-summit east of Bethel, the view in every 
direction, except the west, was far-reaching ; 
and Avestward it stretched across the almost en¬ 
tire width of the plateau of Judea. N. C. B.- 

God promised Canaan to Abram, and yet 
Abram never inherited Canaan : to the last 
he AA'as a wanderer there ; he had no possession 
of his OAvn in its territory ; if he wanted even a 
tomb to bury his dead, he could only obtain it 
by purchase. Now the surprising jjoint is that 
Abram, deceived, as you might almost say, 
did not complain of it aa a deception ; he was 
even grateful for the non-fulfilment of the 
promise : he does not seem to have expected its 
fulfilment; he did not look for Canaan, but for 
‘‘ a city which had foundations his faith ap¬ 


pears to have consisted in disbelieving the let¬ 
ter, almost as much as in believing the spirit of 
the promise. F. W. B.-His conduct sug¬ 

gests a further remark :—He had been promised 
the land in which he now lived as a stranger ; 
; —he had valiant troops, though few in number, 
i who, doubtless, had he so desired, might have 
conquered for him a sufficient portion of it. 
But he did not attempt it : for he kneAV God 
' could bring about His design and accomplish 
His promise in His own good time, Avithout 
his own use of unlawful means. This is the 
true spirit of faith : to w'ait ujion God, to Avatch 
j for and to follow His guidance, not to attempt 
to go before Him. Newman. 

15, 1^. In the renewed form, the promise 
embraces tAvo more particulars—viz., perpetuity’, 
” foi’ever and the increase of his posterity to 
an innumerable multitude, “ as the dust of the 
earth.” Both stretch far beyond the bounds of 
earth and nature to the heavenly Canaan, and 
comprehend the spiritual posterity of Abram, 

his children by faith. C. G. B.-The design 

of God Avas not that Abram himself should pos¬ 
sess it, but that his posterity should, till the 
manifestation of Christ in the flesh. And this 
is chiefly what is to be understood by^ the Avords 
for ever, ad olam,, to the end of the present 
dispensation, and the commencement of the 
new. dlarn means either eternity, AA'hich im¬ 
plies the termination of all time or duration, such 
as is measured by the celestial luminaries ; or 
a h idden, unknown period, such as includes a com¬ 
pletion or fiyial termination of a particular era, 
dispensation, etc. The first is its proper mean¬ 
ing ; the latter its accommodated meaning, 

A. C.-All that God does is eternal. Even 

the transitory things He bestows with reference 
to the eternal, and if a man receives them in 
faith they bear everlasting fruit. The land of 
Canaan is the jrledge and type of the new 
world, which the faithful, who are the children 
of Abram, shall receive for an everlasting pos¬ 
session. Gerl. 

1(6. The Angel of the Covenant appeared to 
Abram in open day, when he could take a dis¬ 
tinct view of the length and the breadth of this 
good land. The revelation made (ch. 15 :5) 
was evidently made in the night, for then he was 
called to number the stars, which could not be 
seen but in the night season : here he is called 
on to number the dust of the earth, Avhich could not 
be seen but in the daylight. A. C, 

The world was waiting for some Abraham- - 
i.e. for just the system of which the great and 
godly Abraham was the prominent figure and 
the historic representative. The patent points 


















SECTION 40.—GENESIS 18 : 1-18. 


in this new system, put in briefest words, were 
—Abraham the head of a great family ; the 
founder of a great nation ; the representative of 
the family covenant and its first and illustrious 
exemplar ; the progenitor of the Great, long- 
promised Messiah ; and coupled with his lineal 
posterity, the repositories of God’s truth and 
promises—/i,?s offspring, the people with whom 
God dwelt and was publicly worshipped for ages 
in the presence of the idolatrous nations of the 
earth ; over whom God became their visible 
earthly Sovereign, their recognized King and 
God. Thus the Lord laid the foundation for 
progressive manifestations of himself and for a 
growing development of religious truth and of 
its legitimate forces from age to age till the Mes¬ 
siah should appear. H. C. 

Great lives are trained by great promises. 
The world has never been left without a great 
promise singing in its wondering and troubled 
heart-something to rely upon ; something to 
appeal to when difficulty was extreme. God 
never calls men for the purpose of making them 
less than they are, except when they have been 
dishonoring themselves by sin. This may be 
taken as a law : God’s calls are upward ; they 
are calls toward fuller life, purer light, and 
sweeter joy. ‘ Men do not know their full 
capacity, except in the service of God : his 
presence in the soul is a life-expanding and life- 
glorifying presence. This is the claim that we 
set up on behalf of true religion—the religion 
of Jesus Christ—that it exalts human nature, 
it enriches the soul, it increases the substance 
and worth of manhood. To confound obedi- 
ence with slavery is to overlook the argument 
which is founded upon the nature of God ; to 
obey the little, the mean, the paltry is to be en¬ 
slaved ; to enter the cage of custom or passion 
is to be subject to bondage ; but to accept the 
invitation of the sun, and to poise ourselves in 
his gladdening presence is liberty and joy. J. P. 

17. Lot turned his face eastward, and left to 
Abram the hardship, the glory, and the vir¬ 
tues of the rugged hills, the sea-breezes, and the 
inexhaustible future of Western Palestine. It 
was Abram’s henceforward ; he was to “ arise 
and walk through the length and through the 
breadth of it, for God had given it to him.” 
This was the first appropriation, the first con¬ 
secration of the Holy Land. A. P. S.-We 

passed over the high region or ” mountain east 
of Bethel the place to which Abram returned 
from Egypt, and in which God called him to 
walk through the length and breadth of the land. 
The region commands a wide view. In travel¬ 
ling over these places one begins early to per¬ 


;3ii 

ceive that not only is the geography and scenery 
of Palestine “a fifth gospel,” but it is a second 
Pentateuch, Joshua and Kings. The feeling 
deepened at every step of the journey. S. C. B. 

The result to Abraham is a vision of God— 
a glorious vision—saying, “ Arise, go where you 
will, I am with thee ; all is yours.” Lot goes 
to the well-watered bottom land. He pitches 
his tent only toward Sodom. But it turns out 
according to that remarkable graduation of the 
psalmist, Blessed is the man who walks not in 
the ways of the ungodly, stands not in the way 
of sinners nor sits in the seat of the scorner. So 
gradually Sodom appears less dreadful. Busi¬ 
ness calls him there often. He is a man of 
wealth ; the families of Sodom court him and 
his family till at length a town residence is 
taken. Both these men are rich alike. Both 
have s’addenly added to their wealth. Both are 
worshippers of the true Jehovah. The evidences 
of piety in the one are of course much brighter 
than in the other. We should be led from the 
history of the other to conclude the contrary. 
But as he is emphatically called just Lot by the 
apostle, w^e accept him as a believer. It is un¬ 
doubtedly the teaching of Scripture that there 
are a great many varieties and degrees of Chris¬ 
tian character, and down to the very feeblest 
i:)ulses of spiritual life. The grace of God in 
this world has to work upon all sorts of ma¬ 
terials. Often the noblest specimens of men 
are left in sin, while some of the meanest are 
taken. So we say in answer to cavils of the 
men of the world at the meanness of some 
Christians : When you are comparing character 
as evidence for or against Christianity, act fairly 
and compare grade of natural character with 
grade. If Jesus Christ had to select out onl}-- 
the better specimens of men for His kingdom, 
your process would be fair enough. But it is 
not when He tells you that He comes to call not 
the righteous but sinners to repentance ; to 
save to the uttermost. S. B. 

The lesson to be gained from the history of 
Abram and Lot is obviously this -that noth¬ 
ing but a clear apprehension of things unseen, a 
simple trust in God’s promises, and the great¬ 
ness of mind thence arising, can make us act 
above the world—indifferent, or almost so, to 
its comforts, enjoyments, and friendships ; or 
in other words, that its goods corrupt the com¬ 
mon run even of religious men who possess 
them. Lot, as well as Abram, left his owm 
country “ by faith,” in obedience toGod’scom- 
mand ; yet on a further trial, in which the will 
of God w'as not so clearly signified, the one was 
found ” without spot and blameless,” the other 




312 


REMOVAL TO HEBRON. 


“ was saved so as by fire.” Abraham became 
the “ father of all them that believe Lot ob¬ 
scured the especial hope of his calling—impaired 
the privileges of his election—for a time allowed 
himself to resemble the multitude of men, as 
now seen in a Christian country, who are re¬ 
ligious to a certain point, and inconsistent in 
their lives, not aiming at perfection. Newman. 

We see in these two persons, that the con¬ 
duct of parents desc« nds, in its effects, very far 
into their posterity. Abraham, by his piety, 
transmitted his religion to his descendants ; 
while in those of Lot we find no disposition to 
it. Abraham is great in this world, and he is 
great in heaven ; for the highest happiness of 
the saints is represented by our Saviour in par¬ 
able, as being found reclining on Abraham’s 
bosom. True greatness can be found ouly in 
the fear of God, in the freest and fullest de¬ 
votedness of heart to his service and a fear of 
sinning against Him. li. Hall. 

All good men have in their measure all 
graces ; for he, by whom they have any, does 
not give one apart from the whole : he gives 
the root, and the root puts forth branches. But 
since time, and circumstances, and their own 
use of the gift, and their own disposition and 
character, have much influence on the mode of 
its manifestation, so it happens, that each good 
man has his own distinguishing grace, apart 
from the rest, his own particular hue and fra¬ 
grance and fashion, as a flower may have. Abra¬ 
ham, Jacob’s forefather, was the pattern ot faith. 
He seems to have had something very noble 
and magnanimous about him. He could realize 
and make present to him things unseen. He 
followed God in the dark as promptly, as firmly, 
with as cheerful a heart, and bold a stepping, 
as if he were in broad daylight. There is some¬ 
thing very great in this ; and therefore, Paul 
calls Abraham our father, the father of Chris¬ 
tians as well as of Jews. For we are especially 
bound to walk by faith, not by sight ; and are 
blessed through faith ; and justified by faith, 
as was faithful Abraham. Newman. 

The Patriarch appears in the page of Scripture 
as a solitary ; a solitary in his creed ; a solitary 
in the extreme and dim remoteness of the scene 
and object upon which his mind rests. As a 
believer he has cast off the popular religion and 
is a witness against it ; as a prince he is a 
wanderer without alliances in a strange land ; 
and his only compensation is that he is enabled 
to live in thought out of the present scene and 
circumstances, and to repose upon futurity 
We are brought here for the first time in contact 
with the majesty, the strength, and the splen¬ 


dor of prophecy in the religion of the chosen 
race. There is nothing in the history of the 
character, the sentiment, the aspirations of na¬ 
tions, which is equal to or can for a moment be 
compared with this mighty impulse and current 
of faith in the Jewish community. The creed 
of Abraham has become the creed of the civil¬ 
ized world. The Patriarch’s creed has been vic¬ 
torious over the idolatry of the human race, 
and grown from a deposit in the breast of one 
man into a universal religion. It is this force 
which is characteristic of Jewish prophecy ; 
there may be true prophecy elsewhere in the 
world, but it is weak, it is broken and its utter¬ 
ance dies away on the ear. In the Jewish chan¬ 
nel it is strong, compact and consistent ; it has 
a fixed and confident hold upon the future, a 
grasp of forecast and a practical ever-gazing 
assurance ; it provided from the first for its own 
transmission, created laws and institutions, and 
made a prophetical nation. Mozley. 

1§. We are told what Abraham did, when God 
had thiis confirmed the promise to him. 1. 
He removed his tent. God bid him walk through 
the land, that is, “ Do not think of fixing in it, 
but expect to be alwaj’^s unsettled, and walking 
through it to a better Canaan ;’ ’ in compliance 
with God’s will herein, he removes his tent, con¬ 
forming himself to the condition of a pilgrim. 
2. He huilded there an altar, in token of his thank¬ 
fulness to God for the kind visit he had made 
him. When God meets us with gracious prom¬ 
ises, he expects that we should attend him with 
our humble praises. H. 

Hebron. This is the first mention of this 
famous city. It is situated among the moun¬ 
tains, 20 Roman miles S. of Jerusalem, and the 
same distance N. of Beersheba. It is one of 
the most ancient cities in the world. In Num. 
13 :22 it is said to have been built seven years 

before Zoan, in Egypt. Alf. -This was the 

third resting-place of Abram : 1. Shechem, 2. 
Bethel, 3. Hebron. Near it was the cave of 
Machpelah, where he and Sarah were buried. 
It is now called El Khalil, “ the friend,” i.e. the 
house of the friend of God. E. H. B.-He¬ 

bron w’as the earliest seat of civilized life in 
Palestine, its immediate neighborhood singu¬ 
larly favorable for all kinds of tillage and gar¬ 
den culture, especially the growth of the vine. 
Abraham in the first instance did not take up 
his abode in the town of Hebron, which was 
occupied by a lowland Hittite tribe. The rich 
valleys which sloped down to it from the north 
were occupied by three chiefs of the Amorites 
(mountaineers), Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner, the 
first of whom gave his name not only to those 






SECTION 41.—GENESIS 14 : 1-24. 


313 


oak-trees, beneath one of which Abraham’s own 
tent was pitched, but for a time to the neigh¬ 
boring town itself. W. H.-In an oak grove 

not far from the town Abram now made his 
headquarters Here he made for himself the 
nearest approach to a home w'hich Providence 
permitted him in this world. At Mamre he ex¬ 
perienced most of the chief honors and trials of 
his later life. At Hebron he found at last a 
resting-place. Dykes. 

The country around Hebron gives one an idea 
of what Palestine once was in agricultural 
wealth, and of what it again might be with a 
thrifty people and an honest government. The 
hills are terraced, step above step, and planted 
with the grape-vine, the fig-tree, the pomegran¬ 
ate, the apricot and the olive, or are sown in 
grain. Hebron has two elements of interest to 
all travellers : the first is its almost unrivalled 
age, its history stretching back as far as any 
still-existing cities can be traced with certainty 


—Damascus being its one rival, Sidon, perhaps, 
another ; the second, its close association with 
the life of that grand figure of autiquity, Abra¬ 
ham, and his immediate descendants, the patri¬ 
archs of the Hebrews. It was from Hebron that 
Abram started northward in pursuit of the con¬ 
federate chieftains from Mesopotamia who had 
harried the cities of the plain, taking captive 
his nephew Lot. It was at Hebron that the 
promise w^as given to the childless patriarch 
that his seed should be as the stars of heaven. 
It was at Hebron that Sarah died, and that Abra¬ 
ham acquired by purchase a burial-place—the 
only ground he ever owned in the land promised 
to his children—the cave of Machpelah. Here 
he buried Sarah, and here he too was laid to 
rest. Here Isaac was buried, and Rebekah. 
Hither the embalmed body of Jacob was brought 
from Egypt and laid beside the tomb of Leah. 
Dulles. 


Section 41. 

ABRAM RESCUES LOT. MELCHIZEDEK. 

\ 

Genesis 14 :1-24. 

1 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Che- 

2 dorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, that they made war with Bera king of 
Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of 

3 Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar). All these joined together in the vale of 

4 Siddim (the same is the Salt Sea). Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thir- 

5 teenth year they rebelled. And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that 
w^ere with him, and smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the 

6 Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, and the Horites in their mount Seir, unto El-paran, which is by 

7 the wilderness. And they returned, and came to En-mishpat (the same is Kadesh), and smote 

8 all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazazon-tamar. And 
there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the 
king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar) ; and they set the battle in array 

9 against them in the vale of Siddim ; against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of 
Goiim, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar ; four kings against the five. 

10 Now the vale of Siddim was full of slime pits ; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, 

11 and thej^ fell there, and they that remained fled to the mountain. And they took ail the goods 

12 of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way. And they took Lot, 

13 Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. And there came 
one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew : now he dwelt by the oaks of Mamre 
the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner ; and these were confederate with Abram. 

14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born 

15 in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan. And he divided him¬ 
self against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them unto 

16 Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods, and also 

17 brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people. And the 







314 


ABRAM RESCUES LOT. 


king of Sodom went out to meet him, after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer 

18 and the kings that were with him, at the vale of Shaveh (the j-amo is the Xing’s Vale). And 
Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine ; and he was priest of God Most 

19 High. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of 

20 heaven and earth : and blessed be God Most High, which hath delivered thine enemies into 

21 thy hand. And he gave him a tenth of all. And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give 

22 me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have 

23 lift up mine hand unto the Lokd, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will 
not take a thread nor a shbelatchet nor aught that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have 

24 made Abram rich : save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the 
men which went with me ; Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, let them take their portion. 


Joshua came upon the Canaanites as an in¬ 
vader, to dispossess or to exterminate. He 
found a population before him dense enough to 
occupy the whole land, numerous communities 
living in walled towns. Everywhere he met 
witn hostile, defiant tribes, bold to resist each 
footstep of advance. Abraham came in peace, 
a wandering shepherd-prince, coveting no terri¬ 
tory, aiming at no dispossession, for whom and 
his jiursuits there was room enough without 
any clashing of interests between him and the 
inhabitants around. These were comparatively 
few in number, mostly dwellers in villages, 
tillers of the ground, cultivators of the vine, or 
rude artificers. There is no instance of the 
Canaanites resisting or resenting the residence 
of Abraham among them. He openly worship¬ 
ped, and that exclusively, the one great God of 
heaven and earth. Wherever he pitched his 
tent he raised his altar. But his worship was 
the simplest and least offensive in its form and 
manner ; nor does it appear anywhere to have 
been interfered with or opposed. We are not 
surprised, therefore, that all Abraham’s rela¬ 
tionships and intercourse with the Canaanitish 
chiefs were of the friendliest description, and 
that a speedy and close confederacy was formed 
between him and the three Amoritish brothers 
beside him at Mamre. W. H. 

1-24. In this chapter a graphic though brief 
account is given of the invasion of Palestine by 
certain Eastern princes, during the life of Abra¬ 
ham ; and, independent of all views about in¬ 
spiration, the narrative bears strong internal 
evidence of historical accuracy. Names, j)laces, 
and lines of march are given with the clear¬ 
ness and minuteness of contemporary history. 

J. L. P.-If any one were inclined, with this 

unique piece before him, to doubt the real ex¬ 
istence of Abraham and Lot, or the historical 
greatness of the former, he could scarcely be 
supposed to have commenced the study of the 
marks by which any reall}^ historical circum¬ 
stance can be recognized. Ewald. -The ac¬ 

ceptance and incorporation of such earlier true 


narratives into this history, no more militates 
against its proper Mosaic authorship than the 
introduction of large extracts from Bradford or 
Morton, or other and later sources of contem¬ 
porary information, interferes wdth the proper 
authorship of a history of the United States b}' 
Bancroft ; and when this latter historian, re¬ 
cording with quotations a condensed statement 
of the establishment of Fort du Quesne, adds, 
“ where now is Pittsburgh,” he almost exact- 
ly imitates the Hebrew historian, in Gen. 14, 
with a mere substitution of the English idiom. 

S. C. B.-This account of a general raid by the 

powers on the Euphrates and Tigris upon the 
whole western region near the Mediterranean 
Sea is introduced here only incidentally as ex¬ 
planatory of the story of Lot after he had sepa¬ 
rated from his uncle and chosen the beautiful 
bottom land of the Jordan, “ pitching his tent 
toward Sodom.” Its spiritual lesson is deeply 
interesting,bringing out, as it does, the hero of 
the faith and the man of peace, who said, “ Let 
there be no strife between me and thee, for we 
are brethren,” in the new character of the bravo 
man of war and the magnanimous conqueror. 
S. E. 

1. Amraphel, the king of Shinar, the country 
whereof Babylon was the capital, is plainly, in 
the entire narrative, secondary and subordinate 
to Chedorlaomer, king of Elam. The conquered 
monarchs “ serve” Chedorlaomer (ver. 4), not 
Amraphel ; Chedorlaomer leads both expedi¬ 
tions, the other kings are “ with him” (vs. 5, 
17), as subordinate allies, or, more probabl}', as 
tributaries. This is an inversion of the usual 
position occupied by BabvIonia toward Elam, 
its eastern neighbor, of which, until recentl}', 
there v/as no profane confirmation. Eecently, 
however, traces have been found of an Elamitic 
conquest of Babylon, and also of an Elamitic 
dynasty there at an early date, which show that 
there were times when the more eastern of the 
two countries which lay side by side upon th« 
Lower Tigris had the greater power, and exer¬ 
cised dominion over the more western. G. E. 






SECTION 41.-GENESIS 14 : 1-24. 


315 


-Elam lies beyond Chaldea, on the east side 

of the Tigris, and embraces the rich flats which 
separate that river from the bmnding moun¬ 
tain range of Zagros. Its capital was the very 
ancient and powerful city of Susa. Its present 
ruler, whose name reads in Genesis Chedor- 
laomer, but in the monuments Khudur-Lagamer, 
now extended his arms as far as Canaan. His 
object is evident. The ambition of all empires 
on the Euphrates, from the earliest time, was to 
keep open communication with their rivals in 
Egypt. The only practicable route betwixt the 
Euphrates and the Nile, either for military 
marches or for commerce, traversed the great 
Syrian Desert south-westward till it struck the 
northern end of the Jordan valley, then either 
crossed to the coast or held down that valley as 
far as the south of the Dead Sea. Possession 
of this route, or at least political supremacy 
over the tribes along its course, became, there¬ 
fore, a supreme object with conquerors from the 
farther East. It was in this way that Palestine 
became in every age involved in that gigantic 
strife betwixt the states of Euphrates and Nile, 
which fills ancient history. Dykes. 

Arioch king of EUasar was also of the company. 
And, curiously enough, not onlj'^ has his capital 
city Larsa (now Senkereh on the east of the 
Euphrates) been identified, but Eriaku, the 
same with the Hebrew Arioch, is found to be 
the son of Kudur-Mabuk and to have dwelt in 
Larsa. The fourth of these royal aggressors. 
Tidal king of “ Goiim,” is less definitely local¬ 
ized either in the narrative or the inscriptions, 
Guti or Gutium, both of which sources favor 
the idea that his monarchy was over less con¬ 
solidated tribes to the north. S. C. B.-Goy- 

yim or “ nations” has been shown by Sir Henry 
Rawlinson to be a misreading for Gutium, the 
name given to the tract of country northward of 
Babylonia, which stretched from Mesopotamia 
to the mountains of Kurdistan, and within 
which the kingdom of Assyria afterward arose. 
G. R.-In striking correspondence to and ex¬ 

planation of this consecutive narrative, the in¬ 
scriptions disclose great expeditions of Kudur- 
Mabuk and Arioch, with conquests in Syria, 
whereby the former attained the title “ lord of 
Martu,” ie., of the god of the West ; and Raw¬ 
linson, Sayce and Lenormant all bring the date 
singularly close to the time of Abraham, Raw¬ 
linson 2100 B.C., Sayce 2000, Lenormant “ ap¬ 
proximately to the time of Abraham. ” S. C. B. 

-By aid of these disentombed inscriptions on 

the plains of Chaldea we have the means of 
verifying this account in Moses of events among 
the nations of the earth some four thousand 


years ago, and therefore this is no mere ancient 
legend, but veritable history. The theory of 
non-historic years, on the one hand, is demon¬ 
strated to be a “ fond imagination,” as the 
Scotch fathers call it. And, on the other hanrl, 
the ethnological chart of the 10th chapter of 
Genesis is in precise accordance with all iho 
relics which we have of the histories of tho.se 
early civilizations. S. R. 

Each of the more imjaortant Canaanitish 
towns had, as the book of Joshua shows, its 
king. We find something like this in the earlier 
Greek times. The Canaanites of the rich valley 
Siddim, in spite of their inferior power, trusted 
so much to their own strength that they set 
themselves against the combined forces of the 
important countries of the east. Geil. 

The five towns attempted after 12 years to 
shake off the yoke. To chastise this revolt, 
Chedorlaomer undertook a second expedition. 
Combining his own forces with those of the 
three vassal rulers in the Euphrates valley, he 
swept across the desert, and fell upon the wild 
tribes which then harbored in the mountains of 
Bashan and Moab. The invader’s plan was to 
ravage the country to the east, south, and 
south-west of the Jordan towns, before actually 
investing them, so as to cut them off from sup¬ 
port from their neighbors. His progress can be 
tracked from tribe to tribe. Formidable clans 
of aborigines of great stature then held the fast¬ 
nesses to the east of Jordan : the Rephaim, in 
the north, which was later termed Bashan ; the 
Zusim, between the Jabbok and the Arnon, 
whom afterward the Ammonites expelled ; south 
of the Arnon, the Emim, where Moab was by 
and by to dwell. Beyond the southern end of 
the Dead Sea, the conqueror came upon a race 
of cave-dwellers or Horites, in those singular 
rock excavations of Mount Seir which the art of 
a later time enlarged into the cave palaces, tem¬ 
ples, and tombs that still astonish the traveller. 
This was his southern limit. Turning then 
sharply to the westward, the Elamites ravaged 
the desert which stretches between Edom and 
Egypt. Thence they turned back to retrace 
their steps eastward. Dykes. 

10. Bitumen-pits of asphalt or bitumen, from 
which the Dead Sea was afterward called Lacus 

Asphaltites, or Sea of Asphalt. E. H. B.- 

Bitumen, in Hebrew chemdr, sometimes trans¬ 
lated “slime,” was used for cementing the 
bricks of Babylon. It is found in the neigh¬ 
borhood of that city, and also in connection 
with the Dead Sea. The bitumen pits in the 
vale of Siddim caused the defeat of the kings 
of Sodom and Gomorrah. Deane. 











316 


ABRAM RESCUES LOT 


12. They look Tot. They took Abram's I 
brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom. So near a re¬ 
lation of Abram should have been a companion 
and disciple of Abram, and should have abode 
by his tents ; but if he choose to dwell in 
Sodom, he must thank himself, if he share in 
Sodom’s calamities. When we go out of the 
way of our duty, we put ourselves from under 
God’s protection, and cannot expect that the 
choices which are made b}' our lusts should 
issue to our comfort. Particular mention is 
made of their taking Lot’s goods, those goods 
which had occasioned his contest with Abram, 

and his separation from him. H.-That 

wealth which was the cause of his former quar¬ 
rels is made a prey to merciless heathens ; that 
place which his eye covetously chose betrays 
his life and goods. How many Christians, 
while they have looked at gain, have lost them¬ 
selves ! Bp. II. -See how Lot’s choice came 

back on him. He grasped recklessly at worldly 
advantage, and twice he lost his entire posses¬ 
sions,—the second time, as it would seem, be¬ 
yond recovery. In the first instance, the kings 
of the East plundered Sodom, and carried off 
Lot and all he had. “ They took Lot and hvi 
goods," —an emphatic conjunction. There was 
much property, and it was much to him, for his 
heart was in it. No doubt it was a sore blow to 
Lot, and was meant as a warning to quit the 
place. But he refused to take it, and the stroke 
came next time direct from God, and with more 
crushing weight. He who would not leave 
Sodom of his own free will must be driven 
from it by the sword of the avenging angel. 
He went out poorer than he entered, and all his 
wealth perished with the men of Sodom. Ker. 

13, 14. There was no question in Abram’s 
mind that he should do his utmost to deliver 
his kinsman. Though he could hope for suc¬ 
cess only by joining for the time with the 
Canaanitish sheiks, and seeming to be on the 
side of the king of Sodom, yet he did not hesi¬ 
tate to take that course and leave the issue with 
God. Herein he has left us an example which is 
not without its significance. There are move¬ 
ments, some political, some moral, in which 
we can hope to succeed only by accepting the 
alliance of men with whom in the highest parts 
of our nature we have no sympathy. So there 
are many enterprises of benevolence in which 
we can take no part unless we consent to work 
with persons of whose characters we cannot in 
all respects approve. What then ? Must we 
refuse to sit at a benevolent board because Aner, 
Eshcol and Mamrc are there also ? No ! So 
long as we are in the world we shall have to 


meet the men of the world ; we shall have to 
work with them, too, in benevolent matters. 
And they who hold back from the fear of con¬ 
tamination are signally deficient in that faith 
for which Abraham was remarkable. W. M. T. 

Abraham is treated by the native princes aud 
chieftains of the land as “a mighty prince, ’ 
an equal, if not a superior, to themselves. His 
house-born servants able to bear arms and to 
make a rapid march were not less than 318. A 
body of such men can be furnished only by a 
population four times its own number, includ¬ 
ing women and children. We can, therefore, 
not reckon the patriarch’s camp as containing 
less than 1272 souls ; and this number of people 
could not well have been accommodated in so 
few as 100 tents. Kit. 

15, 16. In Egypt. Abram had shown how 
distrustful and pusillanimous he could be. It 
was the capture of his nejDhew with all his 
household and fortune which roused the family 
spirit in the son of Terah ; and the pressure of 
this great need threw him once more upon God 
as the arm of his strength. Though the Amo- 
rite leaders beside him had their own griefs to 
avenge, yet Abram was the soul of the league as 

well as its head. Dykes. -He appeals to the 

three brother chiefs, his immediate neighbors, 
who rally at his cry. If each of them brought 
with him a following anything like Abraham’s, 
it may have been a band of nearly 1000 men 
who set off in pursuit. A five or sixdaj^s’ rapid 
march carries them up to Dan, at the sources of 
the Jordan. There are the invaders and their 
prey ; three times, let us suppose, as numerous 
as their pursuers, but lying in loose array, in 
imagined security, ignorant of the pursuit. 
Abraham espies them, but does not rush rashly 
to the attack. He w'aits till nightfall, pursues 
the tactics that Gideon afterward pursued, di¬ 
vides his forces, from different quarters flings 
each company in upon the sleepers. The success 
is complete ; a panic is created ; they fly in all 
directions, leaving all their spoil behind. The 
victorious band chases them over the mountains 
to Hobah on the left hand (ie., north) of Da¬ 
mascus, and returns. W. H.-The success was 

principally due to the faith of Abram, and to 
the assistance of God. At the same time we 
must not forget that the re-enforcements of his 
neighbors may probably have increased the army 
of Abram to a thousand men, while it is errone¬ 
ous to suppose that the army of Chedorlaomer, 
which was only intended for a foray, would be 
very considerable. Besides, we have to keep in 
mind that the enemy thought himself perfectly 
secure, was suddenly overtaken during a dark 









SECTION 41.—GENESIS 14 : 1-24. 


31 ? 


night by the army of Abram, who evidently 
came upon them from different directions, and 
that confusion mid panic must ha^e i nsned. K. j 
IT, Abrahfnii never stood higher in honor 
among his fellow-men than when the king of 
Sodom came out to meet him, and bowed before 

him.-18. But there came out another before 

whom Abraham in his turn bowed—Melchize- 
dek, the representative of a higher than earthly 
honor, a greater than earthly royalty. The two 
men who met that day and stood in each other’s 
presence in the “ King’s Dale,” were each soli 
tary in his sphere, unique in the spiritual posi¬ 
tion he occupied. The one a last surviving con¬ 
fessor of the faith intrusted to Noah ; the other 
the first recipient of that new light from 
Heaven, which, conoentrated in the Levitical 
institute, was to burn for centuries in Judea for 
the world’s enlightenment. Mysterious he is, 
and must remain—this king and priest of 
Salem, emerging from his hidden nook, his pedi- ■ 
gree untold, his office undescribed, not a single ^ 
event in all his former or in all his latter history 
related, appearing on that single occasion, to 
do that single act, to be recognized as a greater 
than Abraham, and then to pass away, coming 
and going like a spirit, casting no shadow be¬ 
fore or behind. W. H. 

]?IelcJiizcclck. Bearing a title which Jews 
in after-ages would recognize as designating 
their own sovereign, bearing gifts which recall 
to Christians the Lord’s Supper, this Canaanite 
crosses for a moment the path of Abram, and is 
unhesitatingly recognized as a person of higher 
spiritual rank than the friend of God. Disaj)- 
pearing as suddenly as he came in, he is lost to 
the sacred writings for a thousand 3 "ears ; and 
then a few emphatic words for another moment 
bring him into sight as a tyj)e of the coming 
Lord of David. Once more, after another thou¬ 
sand 3 'ears, the Hebrew Christians are taught to 
see in him a proof that it was the consistent 
2 )urpose of God to abolish the Levitical priest¬ 
hood. Bulloch. 

He is mentioned in Ps. 110 : 4, and again in 
the New Testament (Heb. 5-7), where the com¬ 
parison between the royal priesthood of Mel- 
chiaedek and that of Jesus is drawn out at 
length. The special points of resemblance of 
Melchizedek to Christ are : 1. That he was not 
of the Levitical order, local, national, but pre¬ 
vious to the giving of the Law, catholic, univer¬ 
sal ; 2. That he was superior to Abraham, 
blessed and took tithes of him ; 3. That he was 
both king and priest ; 4. That no beginning and 
no end are assigned either to his priesthood or 
his life ; 6. His names too, “ king of righteous- 


ness and king of peace,’’ are eminently suited 
to a type of the Son of God (Heb. 7 : 2, 3). 

of 8aleiil. Joseiihus, Onkelos nnd 
all the Targums understand Jerusalem, wliijli 
is called Salem in Ps. 7G : 2, and this is pretty 
certainly the true interpretation. Prubably 
Salem was the oldest, Jebus the next, and Jeru¬ 
salem the more modern name of the same city, 
E. H. B. 

It is interesting to see the view taken of this 
incident by Kaiisch, a Jew: “Everything is 
here significant, everything typical : it is ob¬ 
vious that tho dim background is designed to 
veil a grand religious and jiolitical future. 
Melchizedek brought forth to Abraham bread 
and wine, not to refresh him or his men, for 
Abraham had, among the booty of the enemies, 
seized their large stores of jirovisions also, but 
to perform a s^’^mbolical ceremony, in which 
bread and wine had a t^^pical meaning. For 
bread rejiresents the ordinary daily food, the 
necessities of phv^sical subsistence, while the 
wine points to the cheering delights of life and 
to the spiritual cravings of religion, in the rites 
of which it formed an important object.” Alf. 

He was priest. This is the first time that 
the word priest Cohen, occurs in the Bible, and 
it is in connection with the worship of an an¬ 
cient people, perhaps not related by blood to the 
chosen race. The etymological meaning of the 
word is unknown. The word itself is apjilied 
afterward both to the Levitical jiriesthood and 
to the priesthood of false religions. The jjatri- 
archs seem to have had no other priesthood than 
that of the head of the family ; but here we find 
Melchizedek designated as a priest and as per¬ 
forming many priestly acts, solemnly blessing, 

taking tithes, etc. E. H. B-The evidence 

that his priesthood was acknowledged to be of 
a higher order lies in two facts : first, in the be¬ 
stowal of the divine blessing upon Abram bj’’ 
his lips : and next, in the offering of Abram’s 
tithe to God through his hands. Both were 
strictly sacerdotal acts. He brought to the con¬ 
queror bread and wine,—not simjDl}', as Josephus 
jDuts it, for the refreshment of his followers, 
but as a symbol of the divine blessing, which as 
God’s priest he invoked ui^on the head of God’s 
projihet and servant. For the first time these 
ty^pe-forms of all solid and liquid food—des¬ 
tined long after to become sacramental symbols 
of the nutriment of the spirit's higher life— 
occur as emblems of every material blessing. 
They represent all those jiroducts of the soil 
which minister to man. The blessing which 
was uttered over the hero, along with such sym¬ 
bols of benediction, recognized his military sue- 











318 


MELCHIZEDEK. 


cess as given by God. God is the true ruler of 
the rescued land, and the only giver of victory 
to the arms of its defenders. Dykes. 

Tlie most liigli God. Here we meet with 
a new name of God, El, the Lasting, the 
Mighty, cognate with Elohim; and previously 
occurring in the compound proper names Me- 
hujael, Mahalalel, and Bethel. We have also 
an epithet of God, Elion the most high, now ap¬ 
pearing for the first time. Hence we perceive 
that the unit}’’, the omnipotence, and the abso¬ 
lute pre-eminence of God were still living in the 
memory and conscience of a section at least of 

the inhabitants of this land. M.-It is to be 

observed that there is not used regarding him, 
nor does he use, the title of Jehovah, but that 
of the High God, a title found also in the ques¬ 
tion addressed by the Moabitish king Balak to 
his prophet Balaam : but that Abram in answer¬ 
ing the King of Sodom probably in his pres¬ 
ence, afiirms the identity of his covenant-God, 
Jehovah, with the High God, passesso?' of heaven 
and earth, of whom Melchizedek had spoken. Alf. 

Take all philosophy from Plato to Cousin, and 
where do we find any ideas of God more ele¬ 
vated than those that are associated with these 
grand epithets so frequent in the Old Testament, 
and most frequent in its oldest parts ? What is 
there which carries us farther toward the in¬ 
finite in all directions ? And yet, it should be 
observed, with what unshrinking boldness the 
Bible writers connect with them the ideas of 
the local and the finite. This is, in fact, one 
chief peculiarity of the Scriptures. The Divine 
Being is very near, and yet very far off. The 
God of the universe is at the same time regarded 
as a patrial Deity, the “ God of his people.” 
He who ‘‘ fills heaven and earth,” is spoken of 
as dwelling in consecrated localities. The Gov¬ 
ernor of all worlds in time and space, the Most 
High, the Almighty, the Everlasting, is at the 
same time the God of Mamre, ot Bethel, of 
Peniel. El 01am, El Shaddai, El Elioun, is 
at the same time El Elohe Israel. . . . It would 
have been far better for the growth of Biblical 
knowledge in the common mind, had more of 
these old Hebrew terms, asSheol and the Divine 
names Elohim, El 01am, El Shaddai, El Eli¬ 
oun, etc., been transferred directly into our 
common English version. They would long ere 
this have become naturalized. The spirit of 
the word, which is ever strongly attached to its 
old body, would have come down with it. T. L. 

Melchizedek is mentioned elsewhere in the 
Scriptures only in the 110th Psalm and in the 
Epistle to the Hebrews (chaps. 5, 6, 7), where 
the apostle, aiming to show the pre-eminence of 


Christ’s priesthood over that of Aaron, avails 
himself of the somewhat remarkable coinci¬ 
dences which subsisted between what is here 
related of Melchizedek and what he designed to 
affirm of Christ, As Melchizedek combined in 
his own person the dignity both of king and 
priest, this fact enabled him to illustrate more 
strikingly, to the Jews to whom he wrote, the 
union of the same offices in Christ, who sits “ a 
priest upon his throne.” Again, as far as ap¬ 
pears from the sacred record, Melchizedek was 
a priest, not by inheritance, but by immediate 
divine appointment. He derived his office from 
no predecessor, and delivered it down to no 
successor, but stands before us in the sacred 
record single and alone, constituting himself an 
order of priesthood. In this respect he was 
eminently “ made like the Son of God who 
was also a priest, not after the manner of the 
sons of Aaron, by descent from their predeces¬ 
sors, but after the similitude of Melchizedek, 
that is, by an immediate, divine constitution. 
Bush. 

King David himself (Ps. 110) was guided to 
borrow this venerable figure of the grand, dim 
priest-king of old, before whom even the founder 
of his people took the second place, in order to 
foreshadow that coming Seed of Abram in 
whom was to meet every office of dignity and of 
service. A Priest He was to be above all conse¬ 
crated men of Israel’s race ; a King nobler far in 
blood and ampler in sway than the royal singer 
who owned Him for his Lord. . . . No priestly 
Israelite, sprung from Abram through his great- 
grandson Levi, can claim as lofty or divine a 
priesthood as the man before whom Abram him¬ 
self was content to bend for the blessing. If 
“perfection” had been attained “through 
means of the Levitical priesthood,” it was fair 
for the Christian teacher to ask his Jewi.sh 
brethren, “ what further need there was that 
another priest should rise after the order of Mel¬ 
chizedek. ’ ’ Dykes. 

Amid the abundance of genealogical details 
of that period we know absolutely nothing of 
his descent ; in the roll of kings and their 
achievements, his name and reign, his birth and 
death remain unmentioned. Considering the 
position which he occupies toward Abram, that 
silence must have been intentional, and its in¬ 
tention typical ; that is, designed to point for¬ 
ward to corresponding realities in Christ. Still 
more clearly than its silence does the informa¬ 
tion which Scripture furnishes about Melcbize- 
dek show the deep significance of his personal¬ 
ity. His name is “ King of Kighteousness,” his 
government that of the “ Prince of Peace he 





SECTION 41.—GENESIS 14 : 1-24. 


319 


IS “a priest,” neither in the sense in which 
Abram was, nor yet “ after the order of Aaron, ” 
his priesthood being distinct and unique ; he 
blesses Abram, and his blessing sounds like a 
ratification of the bestowal of the land upon the 
patriarch ; while Abram gives “ him tithes of 
all.” There is in this latter tribute an acknowl¬ 
edgment of Melchizedek both as king and priest 
—as priest in giving him “ tithes,” and as king 
in giving him these tithes of all the spoil, aB if 
he had royal claim upon it ; while Abram him¬ 
self refuses to touch any of it, and his allies are 
only allowed to “ take their portion.” What 
lay in germ in Melchizedek was to be gradually 
unfolded—the priesthood in Aaron, the royalty 
in David—till both were most glorious!}’’ united 
in Christ. Melchizedek was, however, only a 
shadow and a type ; Christ is the reality and 
the antitype. It is for this reason that Script¬ 
ure has shut to us the sources of historical in¬ 
vestigation about his descent and duration of 
life, that by its silence it might point to the 
heavenly descent of Jesus. A. E. 

To this person, simply because he was a right¬ 
eous king and priest of the Most High God, 
Abraham, the elect of God, the jiossessor of the 
jiromises, paid tithes, and received from him a 
blessing ; and did it, too, at the very time he 
stood so high in honor, and kept himself so 
carefully aloof from another king then present 
—the king of Sodom. He placed himself as 
conspicuously below the one personage as he 
raised himself above the other. Melchizedek 
already in a measure possessed what Abraham 
still only hoped for—he reigned where Abra¬ 
ham’s seed were destined to reign, and exer¬ 
cised a priesthood which in future generations 
was to be committed to them. The union of 
the two in Melchizedek was in itself a great 
thing—greater than the separate offices of king 
and priest in the houses respectively of David 
and Aaron ; but it was an expiring greatness : 
it was like the last blossom on the old rod of 
Noah, which thenceforth became as a dry tree. 
In Abraham, on the other hand, was the germ 
of a new and higher order of things —the prom¬ 
ise, though still only the budding promise, of a 
better inheritance of blessing ; and when the 
seed should come in whom the promise was 
more especially to stand, then the more general 
and comprehensive aspect of the Melchizedek 
order was to reappear, and find its embodiment 
in one who could at once place it on firmer 
ground, and carry it to unspeakably higher re¬ 
sults. Here, then, was a sacred enigma for the 
heart of faith to ponder, and for the spirit of 


truth gradually to unfold ; Abraham, in one re¬ 
spect, relatively great, and in another relatively 
little ; personally inferior to Melchizedek, and 
yet the root of a seed that was to do for the 
world incomparably more than Melchizedek had 
done ; himself the type of a higher than Mel¬ 
chizedek, and yet Melchizedek a more peculiar 
type than he ! It was a mystery that could be 
disclosed onlj’ in partial glimpses beforehand, 
but which now has become comparatively plain 
by the person and work of Immanuel. What 
but the wonder-working finger of God could 
have so admirably fitted the past to be such a 
singular image of the future ! P. E. 

20. Gave a titlie. To God, under the 
same character as Lord of the soil and Arbiter 
in battle, who alone has ordained to every 
tribe the bounds of its habitation, Abram de¬ 
voted one tenth of the recovered spoil. The 
origin of this proportion—a tithe—is too remote 
now to be traced. Plainly it was a religious 
sacrifice of thanksgiving. Dykes. 

21-24. Here is a war undertaken by Abram 
on motives the most honorable and conscien¬ 
tious—it was to repel aggression, and to rescue 
the innocent from the heaviest of sufferings and 
the worst of slavery ; not for the j^urpose of 
plunder, nor the extension of his territories ; 
therefore he takes no spoils, and returns peace 

ably to his own possessions. A. C.-He had, 

or might have had, a double title to the goods. 
They were his by ihe law of arms and naiions ; 
having won them in the field, and in a just 
war ; and they might have been his hy ihe king's 
free donation, if he had been minded to accept 
the offer. But Abram would not take them : 
contenting himself with what the Lord had 
blessed him with, he did not desire, neither 
W’ould he take “ from a thread even to a shoe- 
latchet,” of anything that appertained to the 
king of Sodom. Bp. Sanderson. 

This unwillingness to incur even the shadow 
of an obligation may have arisen from the 
anxiety that not a word of reproach might be cast 
on him as a worshipper of the one true God ; 
but mingling with this may there not have been 
here a stirring of honest pride, the spirit of 
independence, a touch of nature telling us that 
Abraham was a true brother of our humanity ? 
The brotherly affection, the friendly alliance 
with the Amcrites, the spirit, energy, and skill 
displayed, the quick and complete success, the 
renouncing of all personal advantages, the len¬ 
der care for his confederates, must have raised 
Abraham to high repute among the Canaanitish 
tribes. W. H. 




*520 


COVENANT WITH ABRAM. 


Section 42. 

COVENANT WITH ABEAM. 


Genesis 15 :1-21. 


1 Aetee these things the word of the Loed came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, 

2 Abram ; I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said, O Lord God, what 
wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and he that shall be possessor of my house is Dam- 

3 mesek Eliezer ? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed : and, lo,^one born 

4 in my house is mine heir. And, behold, the w^ord of the Loed came unto him, saying, This 
man shall not be thine heir ; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be 

5 thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said. Look now toward heaven, and tell 

6 the stars, if thou be able to tell them : and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he 

7 believed in the Loed ; and he counted it to him for righteousness. And he said unto him, I 
am the Loed that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. 

8 And he said, 0 Lord God, w'hereby shall I know that I shall inherit it ? And he said unto 

9 him. Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of 

10 three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon. And he took him all these, and 
divided them in the midst, and laid each half over against the other : but the birds divided he 

11 not. And the birds of prey came down upon the carcases, and Abram drove them away. 

12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram ; and, lo, an horror of great 

13 darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a 

14 stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them ; and they shall afflict them four 
hundred years ; and also that nation, w'hom they shall serve, will I judge : and afterward shall 

15 they come out with great substance. But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace ; thou shalt be 

16 buried in a good old age. And in the fourth generation they shall come hither again : for the 

17 iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full. And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, 
and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch that passed between these 

18 pieces. In that day the Loed made a covenant with Abram, saying. Unto thy seed have I 

19 given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Eujihrates : the Kenite, 

20 and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Eephaim, 

21 and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite. 


It has been often pointed out, and rightly, as 
a proof of the genuineness of the patriarchal 
history, that these fathers are not represented 
as performing miracles. The myth would cer- i 
tainly have adorned their honored heads with a 
wreath of wonders. A still stronger proof of 
the sacred truthfulness of this history is the fact 
that it begins with the mind-miracle of the faith 
of Abraham. No one in later ages within the 
old covenant times reached the height of faith 
that Abraham did. This faith, standing at the 
threshold of the old dispensation, like the life 
of Christ at the threshold of the new, could not 
be invented. It stretches, as Paul has shown 
(Gal. 3), across the whole old covenant history, 
which, as depending on it, stands beneath it, 
and points directly onward to Christ himself. 
Auherlen. 

Ten years had now elapsed since Abram bade 
farewell to his fatherland at God’s bidding, yet 
the hopes with which he entered Canaan seemed 


as far as ever from being realized. Only twice 
during these years had God broken silence. 
The voice which spoke in Haran had spoken 
I once at Moreh on his arrival, and again near 
Bethel on his return from Egypt. Each succes¬ 
sive utterance confirmed what had gone before. 
Each added a little definiteness to the original 
promise. In Haran God said : “ I wdll show 
thee a land : I will make of thee a great nation.” 
At Moreh, both the halves of this promise be¬ 
came better defined ; ” This is the land : I 
will give it to thy seed.” Still more ample w'as 
the third repetition of it. Then Abram was 
told to search Canaan through, w’ith the assur¬ 
ance that it should become his own, “ in the 
length of it, and the breadth of it wfflile the 
seed of promise w^as to be as numerous as the 
dust of the land beneath his feet. So much, 
then, and no more, had been given to the man 
on which to rest his confidence. How such 
prospects as these were to be realized had not 




SECTION 42.—GENESIS 15 ; 1-21. 


321 


yet been told. Of their ever being realized at 
all, no sign appeared. Abram was a childless 
man. iJykes. 

Abram, a man of peaceful tastes and habits, 
had been roused to an unwonted course of 
action ; but now all the recent excitement has 
passed away. Human regrets and fears press 
him down ; and solemn and earnest thoughts 
overwhelm him. What is his reward for all the 
toil and labor he has undergone ? Lot, whose 
alienated heart he had probably hoped to win 
by so great a service, is still as far from him as 
ever. For the sake of the fat pastures and well- 
watered lands of Sodom, he is content still to 
dwell among men whom he must by this time 
have known from experience to be “ sinners 
before the Lord exceedingly.” Kii. 

1. A signal manifestation of himself was now 
made to Abram by the personal Word of the 
Lord ; who announced Himself as the same 
God who had brought him out of Ur of the 
Chaldees, to give him the inheritance of the 

land of Canaan. Hales. -This is the first time 

that the expression so frequent afterward “ the 
word of the Lord ” occurs in the Bible. It has 
been questioned whether the “ vision” was a 
dream or waking vision. The same word is 
used of Balaam, “ which saw the vision of the 
Almighty, falling, but having his eyes open” 
(Num. 24 : 4, 16). The way in which Abram 
was led out and saw the stars, and the subse¬ 
quent reality of the sacrifice, look like a waking 
vision, and it is not till v. 12 that he falls into 

a deep sleep. E. H. B.-God revealed his 

will : 1. By a personal appearance of Him who 
was afterward incarnated for the salvation of 
mankind. 2. By an audible voice, sometimes 
accompanied with emblematical appearances. 
3. By visions, which took place either in the 
night, in ordinary sleep, or when the persons 
were cast into a temporary trance, by daylight, 
or when about their ordinary business. 4. By 
the ‘ministry of angels, appearing in human 
bodies, and performing certain miracles to ac¬ 
credit their mission. 5. By the powerful 
agency of the Spirit of God upon the mind, giving 
it a strong conception, and supernatural per¬ 
suasion of the truth of the things perceived by 
the understanding. So unequivocal were the 
discoveries which God made of himself, that on 
the minds of those to whom they were made, 
not one doubt was left, relative either to the 
truth of the subject, or that it was God himself 
who made the discovery. A, C. 

Thy §liiclfl and rewar<l. The true de¬ 
fence of the soul agjiinst fear, and her true rec¬ 
ompense under sacrifice or loss in the path of 
21 


duty, is God Himself. That He is our “ shield " 
so long as we do His will, our “ reward ” for 
whatever His will may cost us, is tne real stay 
of faith. To such a deep and everlasting source 
of sujrport and consolation did the Almighty 
des gn to lead His desponding servant by those 
opening words of the new oracle : “ Fear not, 
Abram : I am thy shield, and thy exceeding 
great reward.” God is better than His gifts ! 
The best portion any soul can win is to know, 
and love, and possess in the indestructible com 
munion of love, Him who is the possessor of 
earth and heaven ! Dykes. 

The consideration that God himself is, and 
will be, a shield to his people to secure them 
from all destructive evils, and a shield round 
about them, should be sufficient to silence all 
their perplexing, tormenting fears. I will be thy 
exceeding great revcard ^ not only thy revvarder, 
but thy reward. Abram had generously re¬ 
fused the rewards which the king of Sodom 
offered him, and here God comes and tells him 
he shall be no loser by it. The rewards of be¬ 
lieving obedience and self-denial are exceeding 
great. God himself is the chosen and promised 
felicity of hol}’^ souls ; chosen in this world, 
promised in a better. He is the portion of the'r^ 

inheritance, and their cup. H.-There are word>i 

that are welcomed as friends the very first tim^ 
we hear them. They are, too, nearly always 
short words, words that a child can say and that 
the heart needs. Look at such short words as 
life, love, peace, rest, faith, hope, home ! Wordn 
small as drops of dew, yet holding the sun » 
And, wonderful in graciousness, God himself 
and his dear Son take up these words and claim 
them as their own. It is God that says, “ I am 
thy shield;" and it is Christ that says, I aju 
the vine ;” “I am the door “ I am the true 
bread “ I am the way, the truth, and the life 
“ I am the light of the world.” 

2. And Abram §aicl, L.or<l €<041, This 
is the first use of these two words together, the 
words being Adonai Jehovah. The same com 
bination occurs only twice more in the whole of 
the five books of Moses, and these cases are both 
in Deuteronomy. It is instructive to notice how 
great words are used in great necessities : this 
sacred word “ shield ” is used in the necessity 
of fear, and this holy word “ Lord God ” is used 
in the necessity of doubt and wonder. J. P. 

iJ-6. On the four previous occasions of direct 
communications from God, the patriarch niake.s 
no response ; no other answer comes from him 
than the simple trust, the i:)rompt obedience, 
the ready sacrifice. It is in this fifth interview 
that his lips open before the Lord. To the 












COVENANT WITH ABRAM. 



gracious and seasonable assurance, “ Fear not, 
Abram : I am thy shield, and thy exceeding 
■great reward,” his reply is, “ Lord God, what 
‘'\trilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the 
'steward ot my house is this Eliezer of Damas- 
’cus?” Silence follows the strange speech, a 
silence broken, but not by God. “ And Abram 
said. Behold, to me thou hast given no seed : 
and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.” 
The freedom is not repelled, nor the impatience 
rebuked. He is simply told that he was mis¬ 
taken as to Eliezer and the heirship, and then 
'led forth and bade to look up to that magnifi¬ 
cent spectacle—a cloudless Eastern sky at mid¬ 
night. “ Look now toward heaven, and tell the 
Stars, if thou be able to number them : so shall 
thy seed be.” Alone with God, in the deep 
''silence of the night, gazing on that starry host, 
imch an impression of the boundless power and 
love and faithfulness of Jehovah fills Abram’s 
spirit that all doubts dissolve ; improbabilities, 
"apparent impossibilities, disappear ; he staggers 
no longer at the promise. It is of him at this 
time and in these impressive circumstances it is 
said, “He believed in the Lord; and He 
counted it to him for righteousness.” It was a 
pure act of faith, without any of its ordinary 
adjuncts. The one and only thing that he was 
called at the time to do was to confide. And 
the faith he exercised was as strong as it was 
pure. The Hebrew word expressing it is unique 
in the fulness and force of its significance— 
“ He was supported, he was built up, he reposed 
as a child in its mother’s arms.” Where, in all 
Old Testament history, can we find an instance 
of simpler, purer, fuller, and more confiding 
trust in God ? Where could Paul have found a 
better type and illustration of that “ faith with¬ 
out works” by which alone the sinner is justi¬ 
fied before God ? W. H. 

Abram’s repeated complaint was that which 
gave occasion to this promise. The great afflic¬ 
tion that sat heavy upon Abram w^as the want 
of a child ; and the complaint of this he here 
pours oui before the Lord, and shows before him his 
trouble (Ps. 142 : 2). Though we must never 
complain of God, yet we have leave to complain 
lo him, and to be large and particular in the 
statement of our grievances ; and it is some 
ease to a burdened spirit to open its case to a 
faithful and compassionate friend ; such a 
friend God is, whose ear is alwaj’^s open. H. 

-Abram told God his fear in plain words. 

He said, “ I have no child ; all my goods are in 
the hands of a steward, a true enough servant, 
but still not a son ; what is to become of all 
these tokens of thy love ?” and while he was 


talking the stars came out, throng upon throng, 
glowing overhead, sparkling over the distant 
hills, glitter ing irr the east, throbbing like hearts 
on the western horrzon, the singing Pleiades, 
the mighty Arcturus and his soirs, and the 
Milky Way, there they were, angels talking in 
light, servants watchrng the gate of the King’s 
city. It was in that hour that the Lord said to 
Abram, “Look up and Abram looked; and 
God said, “ Count them, so shall thy seed be.” 
J. P. 

6. Believed in Ihc Lord. The Hebrew 
term aman, from which comes the familiar 
“ Amen,” so be it, signifies to be firm, fixed, stable, 
sure; and in the conjugation here emi^loyed, 
followed by in or to, to establish one's self, or one's 
faith, firmly in or toward an object, to d*em, ^ 
account, or make sure to one's self and so to lea\ 
upon, confide in, or trust to, anything as stable and 
steadfast. Hence as applied to the act of a be¬ 
lieving agent in reference to divine promises, it 
denotes a degree of assured confidence amorrnt- 
ing, as it were, to a creative efficacy, making to 
exist, substantiating, confirming the thing be¬ 
lieved, “ calling things which are not as though 
they w'ere.” Thus “faith is the substance (the 
substantiating principle) of things hoped for 
and in this view Christ is denominated the 
“ Amen, the faithful and true witness,” from 
his being the ground of the most^red and stable 
confidence, w'hose fidelity or trustworthiness may 
be relied upon with unbounded assurance. The 
circumstances wdiich gave so much efficacy and 
value to the faith of Abram are recited (Bom. 

4 : 18-22). Bush. -Thus has come to the 

birth in the breast of Ahiam faith in Jehovah, on 
his simple promise in the absence of all present 
performance, and in the face of all sensible 
hindrance. Thus faith springs solely from the 
seed of promise. M. 

“ And Abram believed /" This is the first time 
the word believed occurs in the Bible. Paul says 
of Abram that “against hope he believed in 
hope,” and “ that he staggered not at the prom¬ 
ise of God through unbelief.” Abram hid his 
life and his future in this promise. He took 
the promise as a fulfilment ; the word was to 
him a fact. Thus ho was called out of himself, 
out of his own trust, out of his own resources, 
and his life was fostered upon God, —he by- 
lived, lived-by, be-lieved, God ! Appearances 
were against the promise. But Abram “stag¬ 
gered not.” Henceforward the stars had new 
meanings to him, as long before the rainbow 
had to Noah. They spoke to him of Jehovah’s 

presence and promised blessing. J. P.- 

Abram had not merely faith in the word, but 





SECTION 42.—GENESIS 15 : 1-21. 


d23‘ 


trastfulness in the person of Jehovah as his 
Covenant-God. And from this faith in the 
living God sprang all the obedience of Abram. 
Like the rod of Aaron, his life budded and blos¬ 
somed and bore fruit “ within the secret place 
of the Most High.” A. E. 

And lie eoiiiited it to liiiii for ri;;lit- 
coii§iies§. We have here the opening germ 
of the great doctrine of “ the Loan our right¬ 
eousness,” redeeming us on the one hand from 
the sentence of death, and on the other to a 

title to eternal life. M.-The promise here 

made by the Lord to Abram was given to him 
before circumcision, while there was yet not 
even the germ of Levitical Law. It contained 
in it the promise of Christ. It elicited from 
Abram the great evangelical principle of faith. 
God promised that which was opposed to all ap¬ 
pearance and likelihood. Abram relied on that 
promise. He surrendered his own wisdom to 
the wisdom of God, and so gave up his own will 
to the will of God. So ho became the heir of 
the promises ; and the internal principle of 
faith became to him the true principle of right¬ 
eousness. It was the only righteousness possi¬ 
ble for the feeble and the sinful ; for it was a 
reposing on the power and the love of the Al¬ 
mighty and the Holy One. It was therefore 
reckoned to him as what may be called a passive 
righteousness, and at the same time it was pro¬ 
ductive in him of an active lighteousness : for 
the soul which relies on the truth, power, and 
goodness of another, in the strength of that 
truth, power, and goodness, can itself be active 
in them all ; taking advantage of the power and 
goodness relied upon, it becomes itself power¬ 
ful and good and true. The Apostles naturally 
dwell upon this first recorded instance of faith, 
faith in God, implied faith in Christ, and con¬ 
sequent accounting of righteousness, recorded 
before all legal enactments, as illustrative of the 
great evangelical grace of faith, its j)ower as rest¬ 
ing on One who is all powerful, and its sancti¬ 
fying energy, as containing in itself the princi¬ 
ple of holiness and the'germ of every righteous 
act. E. II. B. 

Righteousness expresses in general the con¬ 
formity of man to God’s will, —his normal rela¬ 
tion to God. Since God’s will is elective and 
promissory, it consists in full surrender to elec¬ 
tive grace and the divine word of promise. 
Thus it is the righteousness of faith. In this 
sense Abram’s faith in Jehovah was imputed 

to him as righteousness. 0.-Righteousness 

is here imputed to Abram. Hence mercy and 
grace are extended to him ; mercy taking effect 
in the pardon of his sin, and grace in bestowing 


the rewards of lighteousness. That in him 
which is counted for righteousness is faith in 
Jehovah promising mercy. This is the only 
thing in the sinner which, while it is not right¬ 
eousness, has yet a claim to be counted for such, 
because it brings him into union with one who 
is just and having salvation. It is not material 
what the Almighty and all-gracious promises in 
the first instance to him that believes in him, 
whether it be a land, or a seed, or any other 
blessing. All other blessing, tempi-ral or eter¬ 
nal, will flow out of that express one, in a per¬ 
petual course of development, as the believer 
advances in experience, in compass of intellect, 
and capacity of enjoyment. Hence it is that a 
land involves a better land, a seed a nobler 
seed, a temporal an eternal good. IM. 

When arguing from the statement respecting 
the righteousness of faith in Abraham, Paul 
lays stress simply upon the natural impossibili¬ 
ties that stood in the way of God’s promise and 
on the implicit confidence Abraham had, not¬ 
withstanding, in the power and faithfulness of 
GoJ, that He would perform what He had 
promised. ‘‘ Therefore,” adds the apostle, “ it 
was imputed to him for righteousness.” There¬ 
fore —because through faith he so completely 
lost sight of nature and self, and realized with 
undoubting confidence the sufficiency of the 
divine arm, and the certainty of its w^orking. 
His faith w^as nothing else than the renunciation 
of all strength in himself, and a hanging in 
childlike trust upon God for what He was able 
and willing to do. Transfer such a faith to the 
field of the New Testament—bring it into con¬ 
tact wdth the manifestation of God in the per¬ 
son and work of Christ for the salvation of the 
world, and what would inevitably be its lan¬ 
guage but that of the apostle : “ God forbid that 
I should glory save in the cross of the Lord 
Jesus Christ ,”—“ not my own righteousness, 
which is of the law, but that w'hich is of God 
through faith.” P. F. 

Justification by faith alone is the doctrine 
of the Reformers ; it is older, for it is the doc¬ 
trine of the Fathers ; it is older than the 
Fathers, for it is the doctrine of the Apostles ; 
yea, older still, it is the doctrine of the Patri¬ 
archs and Prophets. It is the marrow of re¬ 
vealed truth. Bp. Horsley. 

7. To give tSiee lliis land. We have 
here the assurance given to Abram, of the land 
of Canaan for an inheritance. Observe here, 
Abram made no complaint in this matter, as he 
had done for the w^ant of a child. Those that 
are sure of an interest in the promised seed 
will see no reason to doubt of a title to the 






S24: 


COVENANT WITH ABRAM. 


promised land. If Christ is ours, heaven is 
ours. Observe, again, when he believed the 
former promise (v, 6), then God explained and 
ratified this to him. To him that has (improves 
what he has) more shall be given. H. 

Faith, even though we thereby arrogate to our 
own sinful selves the greatest and highest of all 
blessings, has no arrogance and no presumption 
at all in it. It is yielding a due honor to one 
of the divine attributes, even the attribute of 
truth--so that the stronger the faith, the 
greater is the glory we render unto God. What 
a precious harmony is this, that our greatest 
peace and God’s greatest glory are at one—that 
in counting Him faithful who has promised, we 
do that which at one and the same time most 
advances His honor and most tranqiaillizes our 

own fears. T. 0.-We live by faith, and not 

by sight. We do not preach that all is disap¬ 
pointment—the dreary creed of sentimentalism ; 
but we preach that nothing here is disappoint¬ 
ment, if rightly understood. The city which 
hath foundations is built in the soul of man. 
He in whom Godlike character dwells has all 
the universe for hisown—“ All things,” saith 
the apostle, ” are yours ; whether life or death, 
or things present, or things to come ; if ye be 
Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs 
according to the promised F. W, R, 

8. Lord Ood. Adonai Jehovah : Adonai is 
the word which the Jews in reading always sub¬ 
stitute for Jehovah. This word often occurs in 
the Hebrew Bible, and is rendered in our trans¬ 
lation Lord ; the same term by which the word 
Jehovah is expressed. But to distinguish be¬ 
tween the two, and to show the reader when the 
original is Jehovah, and when Adonai, the first 
is always put in capitals, LORD, the latter in 
plain Roman characters. Lord. A. C. 

Whereby §hall I know? Not an ex¬ 
pression of doubt, but of desire for the confir¬ 
mation or sealing of a promise which transcended 

human thought and conception. Keil. -Many 

instances are recorded where God has been 
graciously pleased to give signs to his people 
for the confirmation of their faith, when there 
was not any doubt upon their minds respecting 
either his faithfulness or power. See Judg. 
6 : 14-21, 36-40 ; 2 Kings 20 : 8-11. Bvsh. 

O, 10. The promise was ratified by a new 
Covenant, in which Abram stood to God in the 
relation of the Father of the Faithful, just as 
Noah, in the covenant made with him, stood 
for all his race. The forms with which this new 
covenant was made are minutely related ; and 
they agree with the customs then observed in 
covenants between man and man P. S.- 


The covenant with Noah was universal and un¬ 
alterable. It referred to nothing higher than 
animal life on earth. It secured no moral or 
spiritual blessing. Quite a new thing happened 
when God was pleased to covenant for the 
second time,—not now with all men, but with 
one man and his posterity ; not by mere prom¬ 
ise on His own part, but by promise conditioned 
by religious trust and obedience on the part of 
man ; not for the sake of guaranteeing to all 
men physical existence, but for the sake of 
securing to faithful men the spiritual blessing 
of eternal life. Dykes. 

To confirm his faith Jehovah now gave to 
Abram a sign and a seal, which yet were such 
once more only to his faith. He entered into a 
covenant with him. For this jDurpose the Lord 
directed Abram to bring an heifer, a she goat, 
and a ram, each of three years old, also a turtle¬ 
dove and a young pigeon. These sacrifices 
were to be divided and the pieces laid one 
against the other, as the custom was in making 
a covenant, the covenanting parties always 
passing between them, as it were to show that 
now there W'as no longer to be division, but 
that what had been divided w'as to be considered 
as one betw'een them. But here the covenant 
was made not, as usually, by both parties pass¬ 
ing between the divided sacrifice, but by 
Jehovah alone doing so, since the covenant was 
that of grace, in which one party alone—God— 
undertook all the obligations, while the other 
received all the benefits. A. E 

9. Take for me. An heifer, a goat, a 
ram, and two doves, Abram was bidden to select 
when daylight came, and to set apart for a sacri¬ 
fice on God’s behalf. In these last words lay 
the unprecedented feature of this ceremony. 
Here it is not Abram or any human party, but 
God Himself, who by this solemn formality 
binds Himself to the contract. The transaction 
assumes the shape of a concession on the jjart 
of the high celestial Covenanter, in order that 
the man may “ know,” as he has petitioned to 
know, that the word of the Eternal may be ab 
solutely trusted. Dykes. 

Every animal allowed or commanded to bo 
sacrificed under the Mosaic law, is to be found 
in this list God was now giving to Abram an 
epitome of that law and its sacrifices, which he 
intended more fully to reveal to Moses ; the 
essence of wdiich consisted in its sacrificesy 
which typified the Lamb of God, that takes 
away the sin of the world. A. C.-The ani¬ 

mals are (strikingly enough) all those which 
were afterward used in the Levitical sacrifices. 
It was thus a foreshadow of that ritual, as that 







SECTION 42.—GENESIS 15 : 1-21. 


‘326 


was of the gospel system. Of three years 
old. Under the law these animals were generally 
offered when they were one year old ; but these 
were, no doubt, required to be of the age of 
three years, because they were then full grown, 

in their most perfect state Bush. -It has been 

said that the transaction was not a real sacrifice, 
as there was no sprinkling of blood nor offering 
on an altar ; but the essence of the true Hebrew 
sacrifice was in the slaying of the victim, for 
the very word {Zehach^ sacrifice) signifies slay¬ 
ing, and it was rather with the shedding of blood 
than with its sprinkling that atonement was 
made (Heb, 11 : 22). Cook. 

God himself thus condescended to become 
Abram’s celestial ally, his shield in every peril, 
and his reward for every sacrifice. It is surely 
a sublime thought which then for the first time 
entered into human experience, to color it for¬ 
ever. To be thus lifted into alliance with the 
Eternal, gives to the soul a lien, a clear, lawful 
hold, upon Omnipotence, if only the soul will 
dare, in the enthusiasm or abandonment of a 
childlike faith, to reckon ujjon the fidelity of 
God. When the Most High, out of His own 
mere mercy, volunteers to bind Himself by a 
promise for the future, and, having done so, 
stoops still further to give a pledge for the exe¬ 
cution of that promise, then what may fairly be 
termed a “ covenant” is established. Always, 
in one form or another, God binds Himself to 
bless the man. He takes the man’s side against 
his foes ; or He permits the man to count upon 
His aid in emergencies : or He pledges Himself 
to compensate in higher blessings for whatever 
sacrifice He may meanwhile demand : or He 
promises inward benefits, as a pacified con¬ 
science and a pure heart. Dykes. 

13, Four hundred years and more elapsed 
while Jacob and his family were in Egypt. Such 
are the terms of the prediction to Abraham : 
his seed to Vie a stranger and a servant in a land 
that was not theirs for four hundred years. 
So Stephen quotes the words again in Acts 
7:6; while the four hundred and thirty years 
mentioned by Paul (Gal. 3 :17) exactly agree 
with the statement in Exod. 12 :40, 41, that 
such was the length of the sojourn of the Israel¬ 
ites in Egypt to a day, and are not, therefore, 
to be understood of the whole interval from 
Abraham to Moses. In spite, however, of the 
express assertion of the Book of Exodus, a 
different chronology is generally followed. For 
this the Septuagint led the way by rendering 
Exod, 12 ;40 as follows :—“ The sojourning of 
the sons of Israel, which they sojourned in the 
land of Egypt (and in the land of Canaan), they 


and their fathers, was 430 years.” But every 
scholar knows that the authors of the Septuagint 
had very strange ideas about the duties of trans¬ 
lators, and altered the text without scruple 
whenever they thought they had a reason for 
it. Here their reason was that they hoped to 
avoid a difficulty. First it is said that Amram’s 
wife was Jochebed, “ a daughter of Levi, whom 
one bai’e to Levi in Egypt” (Num. 26:59). 
This, of course, only means that she was a 
Levite, and the impersonal manner inwdiich the 
Hebrew says “ whom one bare to Levi,” is a 
confirmation of this. Levi plainly is the tribe 
of Levi, and not the patriarch. Literally under¬ 
stood, it makes Amram not merely marry his 
aunt, but an aunt of the respectable age of 
eighty-five at the least ; while it further gives 
Moses no fewer than 8600 first cousins (Num. 
3 : 28). Such are the results of tampering with 
the text of Scripture. To this we add a second 
similar reason. The genealogies generally give 
onl}' four generations in Egypt. Thus -Levi, 
Koliath, Amram, Moses (E.v. 6 :16-20). So 
again, Judah, Zerah, Zabdi, Carmi, whose son, 
Achan, in Joshua’s time, stole some of the spoil 
of Jericho (Josh. 7 :1). But these genealogies 
are merely compendiums, in which apparenth% 
as a rule, one name is given for a century. 
They were legal documents, showing who was 
the representative of each branch of the families 
of the high chiefs of pure blood. Fortunately 
we have one full genealogy of no less a i^erson 
than Joshua, and we find (1 Chron. 7 :23-27) 
that this great prince of Ephraim was the hcelfih 
in descent from Joseph. One such genealogy 
settles the question ; for we can account for the 
shorter forms, but not for the longer one. In 
fact, no one who studies the family histories 
given at the beginning of Chronicles can doubt 
that they are legal and technical formulae, rep¬ 
resenting rank and propert 3 % and not necessarily 
relationship. Nothing is more possible than 
that names are omitted in the genealogy even' 
of David ; and, in short, the chronology based 
upon these genealogies is as worthless as that 
based on Gen. 5. It is using these documents 
for a purpose for which they never were in¬ 
tended, and no amount of them would weigh 
against the plain assertion that the Israelites 
were in Egypt for a period of four hundred and 
thirty j^ears, and that there were twelve genera¬ 
tions between Joseph and Joshua. B. P. S. 

-The 400 years is plainly mentioned as a 

round sum ; it was afterward more precisely and 
historically defined as 430 (Ex. 12 : 40, 41), From 
the juxtaposition of the 400 years and the fourth ' 
generation in the words to Abraham, the ond 










326 


COVENANT WITH ABRAM. 


must be understood as nearly equivalent to the 
other, and the peiiod must consequently be re¬ 
garded as that of the actual residence of the 
children of Israel in Egypt, from the descent of 
Jacob—not, as many after the Septuagint, from 
the time of Abraham. For the shortest geneal¬ 
ogies exhibit four generations between that 
period and the exodus. Looking at the geneal¬ 
ogical table of Levi (Ex, 6 :16 sq.), 120 years 
might not unfairly be taken as an average life¬ 
time or generation ; so that three of these com¬ 
plete, and a part of the fourth, would easily 
make 430. In Gal. 3:17 the law is spoken of 
as only 430 years after the covenant with Abra¬ 
ham ; but the apostle merely refers to the known 
historical period, and regards the first forma¬ 
tion of the covenant with Abraham as all one 
with its final ratification with Jacob. P. F. 

I I. And tliat nation, etc. How 

remarkably was this promise fulfilled, in the 
redemption of Israel from its bondage, in the 
plagues and destruction of the Egyptians, and 
in the immense w'ealth which the Israelites 
brought out of Egypt! Not a more circumstan¬ 
tial or literally fulfilled j)romise is to be found in 
the sacred writings. A. C. 

15. Go to tliy fatlicrs. This implies 
that the fathers, though dead, still exist. To go 
from one place to another implies, not annihila¬ 
tion, but the continuance of existence. The 
doctrine of the soul’s perpetual existence is here 
intimated. Abram died in peace and happiness, 
one hundred and fifteen years before the descent 

into Egyi)t. M.-The death of Abraham is 

X>redicted in one of those remarkable phrases 
which seem to prove that the Hebrews were not 
unacquainted wdth the doctrine of immortality. 
Here the return of the soul to the eternal abode 
of the fathers is, with some distinctness, sepa¬ 
rated from the interment of the body : that both 
cannot be identical is evident ; for while Abra¬ 
ham was entombed in Canaan, all his forefathers 
died and were buried in Mesopotamia ; and the 
reunion of the spirits is in some passages ex- 
j)ressed still more clearly by the term being 
‘‘gathered to the fathers’’ after the fact of the 
death itself had been stated, and with a sepa¬ 
rate allusion to the act of sepulture (ch. 25 :8, 

9 ; 49 :29, 33 ; Num. 20 :24, 26 ; 31 : 2). 
Kalisch. 

. 16. Iniquity of llic Amorite§. The 

Amorites, the most powerful people in Canaan, 
ai;e here put for the Canaanites in general. Their 
skate of moral corruption is abundantly manifest ' 
in the early chapters ofGenesi^5; and in the divine 
foreknowledge it was seen that they would add 
sin to sin, and so at length be destroyed by the ' 


divine vengeance. Still the long-suffering of 
God waited for them, giving time for repent¬ 
ance. Cook. -Here is Abram expressly told 

that, personally, he shall have no part m the 
enjoyment of the promised blessing, and that he 
will partake of it only in his descendants. The 
Amorites, who are here mentioned as being the 
most distinguished of the Canaanili.sh nations, 
are still an objtct of the Divine mercy : their 
measure must be first full, —the day of grace 
must have passed, before God punishes. Gerl. 

-Israel cannot be possessed of Canaan, till 

the Amorites be dispossessed ; and they are not 
yet ripe for ruin. The righteous God lifts 
determined that they shall not be cut off, till 
they have persisted in sin so long, and arrived 
at such a pitch of wickedness, that there may 
appear some equitable proportion between their 
sin and their ruin ; and therefore till it come 
to that, the seed of Abram must be kept out of 
possession. The measure of sin fills gradually : 
those that continue impenitent in wicked ways 
are treasuring up unto themselves wrath. Some 
people’s measure of sin fills slowly. H. 

17 , Wlieu U wa-* dark, toelaald a 
OasiiiiBif lorcli. Abram awoke. The sun 
had set. Darkness of the starry night, a night 
without moon, fell upon the slaughtered sacri¬ 
fices, and the solitary, awe-struck watcher. 
Then at last came, in the solemn stillness and 
silence that hushed all the camp, the awful act 
of ratification. For the first time since man left 
the gates of Eden, there appeared the glory of 
God—that luminous symbol of the divine pres¬ 
ence with which the children of Abram were 
afterward to become f.imiliar. What Moses was 
to witness as a burning but unconsumed bush, 
and the tribes as a pillar of cloud enwrapping 
fire, appeared now to Abram as a furnace wdth 
red flame at the heart of it, but sending up into 
the night a dense and lurid column of smoke. 
In the thick darkness this strange ax)parition 
glided along the narrow lane which divided the 
portions of the sacrifice ; and thus, before the 
eyes of His human friend and ally, it pleased 
Jehovah in His condescension to Ifind Himself 
forev'er, as a man does, to the promises of His 
grace. Dykes. 

For the first time the gloky of the Lokd (the 
Shechinah) appears in a symbol similar to that 
which was afterward seen b^’^ Moses in the burn¬ 
ing bush, by the Israelites during their passage 
through the wilderness in the pillar of cloud 
' and of fire, and in the tabernacle in the cloud 
above the mercy seat. As at a later period it 
was hid by the bush and by the cloud, so here 
' it appears enveloped in a furnace (of the kind. 









ISECTION 42.~GENESI8 15 : 1-21. 


more common in the East, shaped like a cylin¬ 
der, at the upper opening of which fire, envel 
oped by smoke, bursts forth). It is the symbol 
of the gracious presence of God. 

We read here for the first time of a covenant 
into which God enters with Ahram. All that 
had preceded, all the demands, promises, and 
leadings on the part of God, and all the obedi¬ 
ence, faith, self-renunciation, and self-reliance 
on the part of Abram, were only preliminary 
steps. But even the covenant rJOio made is only 
partial, and requires completion. It is only 
partial, inasmuch as God only, and not Abram 
also, enters into and binds Himself by it. For 
only God and not Abram passed between the 
pieces of the sacrifice. By formally and 
solemnly entering into covenant, God gives 
Abram a ph dge that His promise might be im¬ 
plicitly relied on, and at the same time a token 
to support his faith. For these purposes it is 
quite sufficient that God alone ratifies the cove¬ 
nant, nor does He yet require Abram solemnly 
to undertake the covenant obligations devolving 
on him. It is only afterward, when, on the 
ground of the engagement which God had in 
this covenant undertaken, the faith of Abram 
had become strong, and when the birth of the 
promised seed was nigh at hand, that giving 
and asking, on the part of God, go hand in 
hand, and that He calls upon the patriarch to 
ratify the covenant by solemnly undertaking 
its obligations. This takes place in the cove¬ 
nant of circumcision (chap. 17). Hence these 
two events condition and supplement each 
other. K. 

18. Tlie river of Ej^ypt, “ Sihor” and 
“ the river of Egypt ” are the same. And it ap¬ 
pears from Jer. 2 : 18 that Sihor was the Nile. 
The Hebrew name, “ Sihor,” signifies “ black 
it is an apt epithet of the Nile, bringing down, 
with its flood, from Ab 3 'ssinia, a rich, black, 
loamy sand, which fertilizes the lower Egypt. 
In the Ethiopian, Egyptian, Greek, and Hindoo 
languages, the Nile is distinguished by appella¬ 
tions, all of which signify ” black.” Hales. - 

From the river of Egypt (the Nile) . . . the 
river Euphrates. These two streams are here 
used as representative of the two great world- 
])owers between which Israel should dwell. It 
is thus a prediction that the descendants of 
Abram should have an independent existence 
by the side of these two great empires, and that 
no nation should have any permanent sway be¬ 
tween them and these two empires. So that 
their dominion may be said to reach from the 
Euphrates to the Nile. These two rivers are, 
moreover, constantly referred to in the later 



Scriptures, as the extreme boundaries of Israel. 
In its best days, the Israelitish dominion 
reached, to all intents, to Egypt, since all or 
nearly all the intervening powers were subject 
to David and Solomon. (Josman. i 

It is estimated that the Bible contains the. 
names of four thousand persons and places dis¬ 
tributed through all the early ages, and over the^- 
surface of the whole earth as known to the 
ancients. Many of these jaersons and places 
have not been identified. But whenever a. 
cydinder or tablet has been dug up, bearing one, 
of these perished names, or the site of a buried 
city has been discovered, in no one instance has 
! the testimony of Scripture been invalidated, 
We openly challenge and defy'^ the unbeliever to 
produce, out of all the lands of the Bible, on^ 
dead man’s name who is a myth, or one old ruin 
misplaced, aye, one out of the four thousand. 
In the controversy now waged over what th§ 
Bible says of the history^ manners, customs 
and traditions of Egypt, Syria, Assyria, Baby¬ 
lon, Persia, Palestine, Phoenicia, Greece, and 
Borne, the enemy will be defeated at every turn.. 
He is already fairly driven off the field in Egyq>ti 
and wherever he attempts to make a stand over 
the whole vast region from Thebes to Mosul, the- 
witnesses for the truth will spring up out of the 
earth and lay siege to his encampment. That 
entii’e domain, “from the river of Egypt to that 
great river, the river Euphrates,” w'as given by 
I covenant to Abraham and his seed for an ever¬ 
lasting possession. We, his spiritual seed, will 
in due time make good our title to it all ; “ for 
the inheritance is ours and the redemption is 
I ours.” E. P. Humphrey. 

' • . • • 
The Old Testament Covenant. 

! The chief burden and central thought of the 

1 

j Old Testament is the plan of redemption adopted 
1 by Jehovah to be inaugurated and developed by 
means of a covenant with his own peculiar peo¬ 
ple. The covenant between Jehovah and his 
people is the pivot around which all the other 
thoughts and facts of the Old Testament circle, 
and in relation to which they find their impor¬ 
tance and mission. Manifestly Old Testament 
theology has no profounder theme than the 
elucidation of the character and nature of this 
covenant, and its bearing and influence upon 
the whole spiritual, religious, and social life of 
those who lived under it, as also its connection 
with the covenant of the New Testament as 
established by Christ. 

The notion is not infrequently expressed, 
and still more frequently implied, that the basis 
of the Old Testament covenant is Mosaism ; or, 










328 


THE OLD TESTAMENT COVENANT. 


in other words, that the principle of righteous¬ 
ness in the old dispensation was a righteous¬ 
ness through the works of the law ; and that 
the faithful, in order to be just before the Lord 
within this covenant, would have to earn this 
distinction by obedience. This view proceeds 
from the premises that Mosaism is identical 
with the Old Covenant and the Old Covenant 
with Mosaism, No error could do greater 
violence to the essence and spirit of the cove¬ 
nant than this identification. Mosaism is not 
the Old Covenant, nor is the Old Covenant the 
same as Mosaism. The error of identifying the 
two is that of making obedience to the law of 
Mount Sinai the basis of righteousness and jus- 
tihcatioii in the pre-Christian dispensation. 
Paul (Rom. 4 ; Gal. 3 : 6-14) appeals to the ear¬ 
lier revelation and history of God’s kingdom 
on earth, to prove that the true righteousness 
before the Lord is the righteousness by faith 
alone. He adduces the accounts given by the 
Old Testament of those two men who V’ere 
undeniably the best representatives of the spirit 
and character of the covenant between God 
and Israel, — namely, Abraham, the father of 
the faithful, and David, the man after God’s 
own heart ; and lie shows that, according to 
these accounts, they were justified before God 
not on account of any obedience to the laws, 
but because they had faith in the promises of 
God. In other words, their righteousness was 
one of faith, and not one of works. He cites 
the words of Gen, 15 : 6 as conclusive in Abra¬ 
ham’s case ; and he quotes David’s own words 
in Ps. 32 :1, 2, to show that the great singer of 
the Old Covenant puts his trust and hope in 
God alone. The rest of the chapter (Rom. 4) 
is devoted to an elucidation, on the basis of Old 
Testament citations, of Abraham’s case, and the 
apostle draws his conclusion in verse 22 : “ And 
therefore it (i.c., his faith) was imputed to him 
for righteousness.” Abraham, then, the his¬ 
torical head, and, as acknowledged by revelation 
and the author of revelation, the most faithful 
exponent of the Old Testament covenant, was 
justified because he had faith in the promises 
of God. He is, argues Paul on scriptural basis, 
as is also David, a convincing proof, that, also 
under the old dispensation, acceptance before 
God, or, what is the same, righteousness and 
justification, was based not upon merit or worth, 
but upon faith and grace alone. Even after the 
law, he argues in Gal. 3, there were no changes 
in the covenant relation between God and his 
people, and all later generations of Abraham’s 
children must be justified before God as was 
their father Abraham,—namely, by faith in the 


promises of redemption through Christ. Like 
all things in God’s nature and God’s kingdom, 
the covenant with Abraham was a growth. In 
chapter 17, which records events at least four¬ 
teen years later than those of chapter 15, the 
second stage of this covenant is depicted and, 
beside the re-announcement of the fundamental 
l^rinciples of the covenant, its sign, namely cir¬ 
cumcision, is revealed to the patriarch, as also 
the theocratic line of descent established 
through Isaac, the promised son of Abraham 
and Sarah. In that chapter (v. 1) Abraham’s 
covenant duty is put in these words, “ Walk be¬ 
fore me and be thou perfect,” an injunction 
which presupposes and embraces in its compli¬ 
ance the confidence of faith which had been 
counted to Abraham as righteousness, and ex¬ 
presses rather the outward proof of the inward 
faith. Naturally this covenant relation is not 
developed in Abraham’s case as it is in the time 
of the prophets, or under the new dispensation ; 
but the cardinal principles and truths are there : 
it is a covenant of faith. The accounts in 
Genesis show how, in the cases of both Isaac 
and Jacob, the same covenant with the same 
conditions continued, with very little, if any, 
advance beyond the stage it had already 
reached, externally and internally, in the person 
of Abraham. As long as the covenant relation 
was an individual and a family relation its 
primitive status did not change, nor were the 
fundamental ideas developed by further revela¬ 
tions. We are not informed by the sacred rec¬ 
ords that the later patriarchs were further in¬ 
structed as to the character and nature of this 
faith in God’s providential guidance, nor that 
any higher theological or ethical truths in this 
con nection were made known to them. Schodde. 


The history of the Old Covenant passes, from 
its commencement to its termination, through 
six stages. In the^r.9t stage it is only a, family- 
history. During that period we are successively 
made acquainted with each of the three patri¬ 
archs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The twelve 
sons of the latter form the basis of the national 
development. In the second stage these twelve 
tribes grow into a people, which under 31oses 
attains independence and receives its laws and 
worship. Under Joshua it conquers its country, 
while during the time of the Judges the cove¬ 
nant is to be further developed on the basis of 
what had already been obtained. The third 
stage com.mences with the institution of royalty. 
By the side of the royal office, and as a counter¬ 
poise and corrective to it, the prophetical office is 
instituted, which is no longer confined to iso- 




JSECTJOiV 43.—GENESIS 10 : 1-16. 


329 


]ated appearances, but remains a continuous 
instVuiion. The separation of the one common¬ 
wealth into two monarchies divides this period 
iuto two sections. The fourth stage comprises 
the exile and return. Prophetism survives the 
catastrophe of the exile, so as to rearrange and 
to revive the relations of the people who re¬ 
turned to their country, and to open the way 
for a further development. Tlhe fifth stage, or 
the time of expectation^ commences with the ces¬ 


sation of prophecy, and is intended to prepare 
a place for that salvation which is now to be 
immediately expected. Lastly, the sixth stage 
comprises the time of the fu'filnunt, when sal¬ 
vation is to be exhibited in Christ. The cov¬ 
enant-people reject the sahation so j^resented, 
the Old Covenant terminates in judgment 
against the covenant-people, but prophecy still 
holds out to them hopes and prospects for the 
future, K. 



Section 43. 

HAGAR GIVEN TO ABRAM. HER FLIGHT. ANGEL OF JEHOVAH. 

Genesis 16 ; 1-16. 


1 Now Sarai Abram’s wufe bare him no children : and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, 

2 whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Loed hath restrained 
me from bearing ; go in, I pray thee, unto my handmaid ; it may be that I shall obtain c*hil- 

3 dren by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. And Sarai Abram’s wife took 
Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, 

1 and gave her to Abram her husband to be his wife. And he went in unto Hagar, and she 
conceived : and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. 

5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee : I gave my handmaid into thy bosom • 
and when she saw that she had conceived, I w^as desjiised in her eyes : the T oed judge 

6 between me and thee. But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is i'l Cay hand ; do to 
her that wdiich is good in thine eyes. And Sarai dealt hardly w’th ner, and she fled from her 

7 face. And the angel of the Loed found her by a fountain of wmter in the wilderness, by the 

8 fountain in the way to Shur, And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s handmaid, whence earnest thou? 

9 and wdiither goest thou? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai, And the 
angel of the Loed said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. 

V) And the angel of the Loed said unto her, I will greatly multiply thy seed, that it shall not be 

.*■1 numbered for multitude. And the angel of the Loed said unto her. Behold, thou art with 
child, and shalt bear a son ; and thou shalt call his name Ishmael, because the Loed hath 

12 heard thy affliction. And he shall be as a wild-ass among men ; his hand shall he against 
every man, and every man’s hand against him ; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his 

23 brethren. And she called the name of the Loed that spake unto her. Thou art a God that 

14 seeth ; for she said. Have I even here looked after him that seeth me ? Wherefore the well 

15 was called Beer-lahai-roi ; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. And Hagar bare Abram 

16 a son : and Abram called the name of his son, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. And Abram was 
fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram. 


1-3. We have here the marriage of Abram to 
Hagar, who was his secondary wife ; herein, 
though some excuse may be made for him, he 
cannot be justified ; tot from the beginning it was 
not so ; and when it was so, it seems to have 
proceeded from an irregular desire to build up 
their families, Christ has reduced this matter 
to the first institution, and makes the marriage 
union to be between one man and one woman 
only. H,-Hagar probably came into Abra¬ 


ham’s family during his sojourn in Egypt, and 
may have been one of the “maid-servants” pre¬ 
sented by Pharaoh to the patriarch. Her name 
“ Hagar,” or a fugitive, was one that ac¬ 

crued to her in process of time from the leading 
event in her history here recorded. Multitudes 
of similar instances occur in the sacred narra- 
tive. Her descendants were called ” Hagarites ’ 
or “ Hagarenes” (1 Chron. 5 :10), rendered by 
the Gr. strangers. From her, by Ishmael, the 






330 


HAG All GIVEN 20 ABRAM. HER FLIGHT. 


Saracens and Arabs were descended, and the 
word “ Hegira,” applied to the flight of Moham¬ 
med from Mecca to Medina, comes from the 
same root, or “ Mohajerin,” fellowfl'jers, the 
name given by the false j^rophet to the compan¬ 
ions of his flight. 

2. The Liord hath restrained me 
from heartiig[. This acknowledgment is 
almost the only redeeming feature of Sarah’s 
conduct. She owns God’s providence in her 
childless condition, and yet well-nigh destroys 
the virtue of this confession by making the fact 
a plea for contriving some other means for the 

fulfilment of the promise! Bash. -“-What 

a lively pattern do I see in Abraham and Sarah, 
of a strong faith and weak ; of strong in Abra¬ 
ham, and weak in Sarah ! She, to make God 
good of his word to Abraham, substitutes a 
Hagar ; and, in an ambition of seed, persuades 
to polj^gamy. Abraham had never looked to 
obtain the promise by any other, if his own wife 
had not importuned him to take another. 
When our own apparent means fail, weak faith 
is put to the shifts, and projects strange devices 

of her own to attain her end.” Bp. II -The 

father of mankind sinned by hearkening to his 
wife, and now the father of the faithful follows 
his example. How necessary for those who 
stand iri the nearest relations, to take heed of 
being snares, instead of helps, to one another I 
Fuller. 

2. Obtain eliildreii. Heb. “ 6e huHded 
hy her.'' A family is called a house, and so to 

beget children is to build. Gerl. -The pos- 

.session of children, by which the house is huill up, 
is looked on as a divine blessing from Gen. 1 ; 28 
onward. “ From Jehovah” Eve obtains her 
first son ; it is God who in Seth gave her an¬ 
other seed instead of the murdered Abel ; it is 
always God who makes a mother fruitful or un- 
‘ruitful (29 ; 31 ; 30 : 2), and who will be en¬ 
treated for the fruit of the body (25 :21, etc.). 
Unfruitfulness is a heavy divine dispensation ; 
childlessness is looked upon as the greatest mis¬ 
fortune to a house. Compare also such passages 
as Ps. 127 : 3 ; 128 :3, where a fruitful wife and 
a group of happy and growing children are des¬ 
ignated as the crown of earthly joy. Thus the 
natural forms of human society are sanctified 
from the beginning by the religious point of 
view under which the}" are placed. 0. 

The Hebrew word pilgash, here translated 
“ wife,” is frequently in other places rendered 
“concubine.” It describes a wife of a second 
and inferior class. Such women were consid¬ 
ered real wives, inasmuch as the connection 
was legal and customary ; but the absence of 


certain solemnities and contrauts ot dowry 
marked the condition as inferior, though not in 
itself degrading. The children did not inherit 
the property of the father ; who usually pro¬ 
vided for them in his owm lifetime, if he had 
sons by the principal wife or wives to claim the 
inheritance. We thus find Abraham providing 
for the sons of his concubines Hagar and Ketu- 
rah. Things are still much the same in the East, 
where similar practices are legalized by the 
Mohammedan law. Pic. Bib. -In concubin¬ 

age, these secondary wives were accounted law¬ 
ful and true wives, and their issue was reputed 
legitimate ; but they were inferior to the ebiet 
wife, having no authority in the family, nor any 
share in household government : so, if they had 
been servants in the family before they became 
concubines, they continued to be such after¬ 
ward, and in the same subjection to their mis¬ 
tresses as before. Stackhouse. 

With respect to the manifestly imperfect 
moral standard, which in some cases is displayed 
in the characters and actions of good men in 
the Old Testament, it is manifest that had not 
our Lord himself vouchsafed his help, one of 
two things must have happened—either that 
we must have followed the old heresy of reject¬ 
ing the Old Testament altogether, or else that 
our respect for the Old Testament must have 
impeded the growth of the more perfect law of 
Christ. The time solution I do not think that 
we could have discovered, or ventured to admit 
on less authority than our Lord’s. But his ex¬ 
press declaration, that some things in the law 
itself were permitted because nothing higher 
could then have been borne, and his stating in 
detail that in several points what was accounted 
good or allowable in the former dispensation 
was not so really, while at the same time he 
I constantlv refers to the Old Testament as di- 

V 

vine, and confirms its language of blessing with 
respect to its most eminent characters, has 
completely cleared to us the whole question. 
T. Arnold. 

The promise of offspring had been made to 
Abram, and he believed the promise. It had 
not, however, been distinctly' assured to him 
that Sarai should be the mother of the promised 
seed " The expedient devised by Sarai was ac¬ 
cording to a custom still 2 '>i’evalent in the east. 
Laws concerning marriage had not been so ex¬ 
pressly given to the i^atriarchs as they afterward 
were. Yet the compliance of Abram with 
Sarai’s suggestion may be considered as a proof 
of the imperfection of his faith ; and it is justly 
observed, that this departure from the irrimeval 
princiide of monogamy by Abraham has been 










SECTION 43.—GENESIS 16 : 1-16. 


331 


an example followed by bis descendants in the 
line of Ishmael, and lias proved, morally and 

physically, a curse to their race. E. H. B.- 

God’s promises are for Himself to fulfil in Ilis 
own way, not for us to expedite in ours. The 
unhasting hope of the husband was a nobler 
and wiser reply to divine grace than the gener¬ 
ous impatience of the wife. Still, Sarai’s im- 
jjulse, even if mistaken, was admirable for its 
unselfish abnegation of what is most precious 
to her sex. It w'as such a sacrifice as only a 
woman had it in her power to make. To seek 
by means of a female slave what Providence 
had denied to herself was regarded as neither 
immoral nor revolting. It was not even held 
to be any real departure from the law of monog¬ 
amy, or any infraction of conjugal fidelity. 
But in most cases, as in the present instance, it 
could scarcely fail to turn out ill. Human na¬ 
ture' will assert its instincts against wdiutever 
violence may be done to it by the artificial ar¬ 
rangements of society. Dykes. 

4-6. We have here the immediate bad con¬ 
sequences of Abram’s unhappy marriage to 
Hagar ; a deal of mischief it made quickly ; 
when we do not well, both sin and trouble lie 
at the door ; and we may thank ourselves for 
the guilt and grief that foltow us, when we go 
out of the way of oiir duty. See it in this 
story. H. 

4. The Egyptian Hagar may w'ell have proved 
a compliant and obeisant maid so long as she 
was not lifted above her place. But all the 
wmman rose up in herw'hen she believed herself 
about to become the mother of the desired heir. 
From the handmaid, she at once aspired to be 
the rival, of her mistress. Dykes. 

5, 6. As one not wdlling to hear w’hat Abram 
had to say for the rectifying of the mistake, and 
the clearing of himself, she rashly appeals to 
God in the case. The Lord judge helween me and 
thee ; as if Abram had refused to right her. 
Thus does Sarai, in her passion, speak as one 

of the foolish women speaketh. H.-Abram’s 

ill-judged compliance with the rash counsel of 
his wdfe has created an unpleasant state of feel¬ 
ing between him and her ; it constrains him to 
connive at her cruel treatment of an unhappy 
woman, who is at least as much to be pitied as 
blamed ; and renders the prospect of the prom¬ 
ised seed a heavy affliction instead of a blessing. 
Sarah is betraj'ed by the eagerness of her spirit 
first into a culpable expedient ; then into un¬ 
kindness and undutifulness toward her lord ; 
then into irreverence and impiety toward God ; 
and finally, by an easy transition, into barbar¬ 
ity toward the hapless handmaid whom her own 


scheme had brought into a condition that 
claimed her utmost compassion and kindness. 
In what deep and accumulated woe, then, may 
one inconsiderate step involve the heedless • 

I And if good and well-intentioned people suffer 
thus severe)}' from one act of inq^rudence, who 
but mu-t tremble to think of the fearful conse¬ 
quences of deliberate wickedness ! A thousand 
volumes w'ritten against polygamy would not 
lead to a clearer, fuller conviction of tlie evils of 
that practice, than the story unvler review. 
Bush. 

Sarai’s character showed itself under the prov¬ 
ocation in a new and unpleasant light. Severe 
to her slave, she became unjust to her husband. 
A more magnanimous woman might have spared 
the sister whom she had herself thrust into a 
position of difficulty ; but this Chaldean prin¬ 
cess was not above showing unhandsome spite 
where her woman’s pride had been touched to 
the qiiick. She made the girl’s life so bitter, 
that at last Hagar fairly ran away from her mas¬ 
ter’s encampment, and fled toward her native 
land of Egypt. Dykes.— —-The custom of the 
times scarcely warranted such a treatment. But 
Abram saw and felt it was the onl}' way to 
domestic peace, and he took it. By Hagar’s 
flight and the manner of her return, the mis¬ 
tress was softened—the maid for the time sub¬ 
dued. W. H. 

7. TSic aiig'el of JJeliovaBi. In many 
passages “ the angel of God,” “ the angel of 
Jehovah,” is a manifestation of God himself. 
Compare Gen. 22 :11 with 12, and Ex. 3 :2 with 
G and 14; where the “angel of Jehovah” is 
called “ God” and “ Jehovah,” and accepts the 
worship due to God alone. Side by side with 
these expressions, we read of God’s being mani¬ 
fested in the form of man; as to Abram at 
Mamre, to Jacob at Peniel, to Joshua at Gilgal. 
Apparently both sets of passages refer to the 
same kind of manifestation of the Divine Pres¬ 
ence. Now, since “ no man hath seen God ” 
(the Father) “ at any time,” and “ the only-be¬ 
gotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, 
he hath revealed Him,” the “ Angel of the 
Lord ’ ’ in such passages must bo He, who is 
from the beginning the “ Word,” i.e. the Mani- 
festeror Revealerof God, and these appearances 
must be “ foreshadowings of the Incarnation.” 

Barry. -[Read “The Theophanies,” etc. at 

the close of this Section. Also note Sect. 49, 

V. 17.] 

8, Hag^ar, Sarai’s niaHl. This mode of 

address is used to show her that she was known ; 
and to remind her, that she was the property of 
another'. A. C.-O. Submit tliysclf. Sub 











332 


milMAEL AND HIS POSTERITY. 


mission itseJf, though so hard, may be so ac¬ 
cepted as to become useful in the mellowing 
and strengthening of character. The angel ad¬ 
vised suhiidssion, and this is the first instance in 
which such advice is given in the Scriptures. 
It is a great Christian law, but it is early to find 
it in Genesis ! “ Submit yourselves one to an¬ 

other for the Lord’s sake,” is a lesson which 
Hagar heard “ by a fountain of water in the 
wilderness” J. P. 

10. tliy §t?e€l. We find in 

Gen. 25 a list of twelve princes, with their 
towns and castles. And in the 37th chapter we 
find the Ishmaelites already a great trading peo¬ 
ple. Afterward we find several multitudinous 
peoples mentioned among his descendants, as 
the Hagarenes, named from his mother Hagar ; 
the Itureans, from his son Itur ; the Nabathe- 
ans, from his son Nebaioth. And so onward in 
later times Strabo makes frequent mention of 
the Arabian phylarchs or rulers of tribes. And 
to this day they live and are ruled by tribes, 
and have continued as the Saracens and other 
Arabic peoples a great nation, almost as distinct 
as the Jews among the nations of the earth. 
Perhaps the Jews and the Arabs are the only 
peoples on earth who can trace back their pedi¬ 
gree for nearly 4000 years. S. R. 

1 B. Ishmael signifies “ God hears.” The first 
of the seven persons whose names are an¬ 
nounced before their birth. The others were— 
Isaac, Solomon, Josiah, C 3 a'us, John, and Jesus. 

C. G. B.-For, says the Angel, ihe Lm'd haih 

heard thy offllc'ion. Thus the name of the child 
must ever keep the mother in remembrance of 
God’s merciful interposition in her behalf; 
and remind the child and the man that he was 
an object of God’s gracious and providential 
goodness. Afflictions and distresses have a voice 
in the ears of God, even when prayer is re¬ 
strained—but how much more powerfully do 
they speak w'hen endured in meekness of spirit, 
with confidence in, and supplication to the 
Lord! A. C. 

12, It is in the original a wild ass-man; 
meaning as wild as a wild ass : so that that 
should be eminently true of him which is af¬ 
firmed of mankind in general, ‘ ‘ Man is born like 
a wild ass’s colt” (Job 11 :12). The nature of 
the creature to which Ishmael is compared 
cannot be described better than in the same 
book (chap. 39 : 5, etc.), according to which 
Ishmael and his posterity were to be wild, 
fierce, savage, ranging the deserts, and not 
easily softened and tamed to society. And who¬ 
ever hath read or known anything of this peo¬ 
ple, knoweth this to be their true and genuine 


character. Ifi« liaiKtl will be ng'aiti§t 

every iiiaii. The one is the natural and al¬ 
most necessary consequence of the other. Ish¬ 
mael lived by prev'’ and rapine in the wilder¬ 
ness ; and his posterity have all along infested 
Arabia and the neighboring countries wdth their 
robberies and incursions. They live in a state 
of continual war wilh the rest of the world ; 
and are both robbers by land and pirates by 
sfa. Bp. Rewton. 

EvcB'y man’s baiul against liiin. 

Many potentates among the Abyssinians, Per¬ 
sians, Egyptians, and Turks, have endeavored 
to subjugate the wandering or wild Arabs ; but 
though they have had temporary triumphs, they 
have been ultimately unsuccessful. Sesoslris, 
Cyrus, Pompey, and Trajan, all endeavored to 
conquer Arabia, but in vain. From the begin¬ 
ning, to the present day, they have maintained 
their independency ; and God preserves them 
as a lasting monument of his providential care, 
and an incontestable argument of ihe iruih of 
D'vine Revelation. Had the Pentateuch no other 
argument to evince its divine origin, the ac¬ 
count of Ishmael and the prophecy concerning 
his descendants, collated with their historj^ and 
manner of life, during a period of nearly/o?(r 
thousand years, is an absolutely demonstrable 
argument. The country which these free de¬ 
scendants of Ishmael may be properly said to 
possess, stretches from Aleppo to the Arabian 
Sea ; and from Egypt to the Persian gulf. A 
tract of land not less than 1800 miles in length 
by 900 in breadth. A. C. 

Aii<S lie »>liiilS dwell tlae prcMenee 
of all lais brellircn. Shall tabernacle; for 
many of the Arabs dvvell in tents, and are, there¬ 
fore, called Semites, irom a Greek word, signify¬ 
ing a tent. They dwelt in tents in the wilder¬ 
ness as long ago as Isaiah’s and Jeremiah’s time 
(Is. 13 ; 20 ; Jer. 3 : 2), and they do the same at 
this day. This is very extraordinary, that “ his 
hand should be against every man, an every 
man’s hand against him and yet that he 
should be able to ” dwell in the presence of all 
his brethren but, extraordinary’^ as it was, 
this also hath been accomplished both in the 
person of Ishmael and in his posterity. As 
for Ishmael himself, the sacred historian after¬ 
ward relates (chap. 25 ; 17, 18) that “the years 
of the life of Ishmael were an hundred and 
thirty and seven years, and he died in the pres- 
(nee of all his brethren.” As for his 
they dwelt likewise in the presence of all their 
brethren ; Abraham’s sons by Keturah ; the 
Moabites and Ammonites, descendants of Lot ; 
the Israelites, descendants of Abraham, Isaac, 






SECTION 43.—GENESIS 16 : 1-16. 


333 


and Jacob ; and the Edomites, descendants of 
Abraham, Isaac, and Esau. They still subsist a 
distinct people, and inhabit the country of their 
progenitors ; they have from first to last main¬ 
tained their independency ; and, notwithstand¬ 
ing the most powerful efforts for their destruc¬ 
tion, still dwell in the presence of all their 
brethren, and in the presence of all their ene¬ 
mies. Bp. Newton. 

From Havilah to Shuryou behold him to-day, 
as roving and untamed as the wild ass, and 
dwelling in the presence of his brethren. “ Un¬ 
til to-day the Ishmaelites are in undisturbed, 
free possession of the great peninsula lying be¬ 
tween the Euphrates, the Isthmus of Suez and 
the KedSea, from whence they have spread over 
wide districts in Northern Africa and Southern 
Asia” {DelUzfich). Ishmael has also become, ac¬ 
cording to this prophetic utterance, a great na¬ 
tion, and more than “twelve princes” have 
sprung from his stock, “ Every addition to our 
knowledge of Arabia and its inhabitants,” says 
Kalisch, “ confirms more strongly the Biblical 
statements. While they have carried their arms 
beyond their native lands, and ascended more 
than one hundred thrones, they were never 
subjected to the Persian empire. The Assyrian 
and Babylonian kings had a transitory power 
over small portions of their tribes. Here the 
ambition of Alexander the Great and his succes¬ 
sors received an insuperable check, and a Ho¬ 
man expedition in the time of Augustus totall^'^ 
failed. The Bedouins have remained essen¬ 
tially unaltered since the times of the Hebrews 
and the Greeks,” Is it not one hundred and 
twenty millions that speak the Arabic tongue 
to-day? S. C. B.-This prophecy has photo¬ 

graphed a national character which, for more 
than three thousand years, has continued un¬ 
changed- In all ages, historians have described 
the Bedouin Arab as a ” wild man,” or wild ass 
man ; as roving, predatory, engaged in ceaseless 
feuds with his neighbors, reckless of the milder 
restraints of civilization, and setting at defiance 
those international laws which regulate the in¬ 
tercourse of surrounding nations. The Ishmael¬ 
ites or Arabians have ever held fast by the same 
country. Anchored in one land, they have 
swung ov^er surrounding communities, only to 
settle, at last, in their owm appointed territory, 
and to retain precisely the same characteristics. 
The “wildness,” which in other tribes and 
nations has been first softened, then effaced, 
has, in their features, never been even lessened 
by the lapse of ages. Not dispersed by con¬ 
quest, nor wasted by migration, they dwell still 
“ in the presence of all their brethren,’ ’ a strange 


national spectacle, utterly inexplicable by those 
laws which regulate other races. Comparatively 
fugitive and unstable as are the general charac¬ 
teristics of nations while the influences of cen¬ 
turies sweep over them as tidal waves on tbo 
shore, the Ishmaelites remain the same as when 
this strangely-expressed j)ropheey was first ut¬ 
tered by the angel of the Lord. The more 
powerful national influences, the attractions of 
fairer lands, and the luxury of indolent races, 
utterly failed to change in the least their char¬ 
acteristic features, during that splendid period 
when their empire extended from the borders 
of India to the Atlantic. Through all they 
stood forth a perpetual rejiresenfation of the 
facts predicted in their history, and their pres¬ 
ent condition harmonizes with that of many 
ages ago. IF. Frazer. 

Again and again have they been hunted down 
by invading armies ; but neither the Macedo¬ 
nian, nor the Roman, nor the Turk has been able 
to establish a settled rule over their inaccessible 
and inhospitable wastes. Again and again have 
their predatory hordes swept over adjacent 
states ; but neither have they been willing to 
exchange the free air of the desert for the re¬ 
straints of a settled community. Broken up 
forever into petty tribes at endless feud with 
one another, the words of prophecy have act¬ 
ually grown into a proverb of their own ; “In 
the desert,” say the Btdouin, “ every one is 
the enemy of every one else !” Most unchange¬ 
able of races, they dwell where they have al¬ 
ways dwelt, “ in the presence of all I heir breth¬ 
ren,” stable in their instability, w'hile empire 
has succeeded empire, and civilization has 
grown upon the ruins of preceding civilizations. 
With characteristic fidelity have their own un¬ 
written traditions handed down the memory of 
their boasted descent from the “ father of mul¬ 
titudes,” through him whose birth wuis an¬ 
nounced by the angel at the fountain. Dykes. 

13. This Jehovah, Whonr she knew as her 
master’s friend, was, as she now confessed, a 
“ God of vision One Who could see, and 
could be seen. Not only had He seen her, a 
lonely fugitive by the desert well, far from the 
tents of men, but He permitted Himself to be 
seen of her in grace. Not only could He fore¬ 
see the birth that was to be, with all its hidden 
issues in the long hereafter, but He could re¬ 
veal to mortals what onl}’’ the immortals know. 
Impressed by this discovery of God,—to her an 
unknown God till now — she conferred upon 
Jehovah a new name. “ Thou art,” said she, 
“ the God of seeing,” with the double sense un¬ 
derlying the words. For she said ; “ Here have 





334 


THE TIIE0PIIANIE8, OR MANIFESTATIONS OF JEHOVAH. 


I also seen, even after seeing Him !” To have 
beheld the self-revealing God, and yet live— 
this made to her mind the marvel of that hour. 
In after days the fountain is said to have re¬ 
ceived its name in recollection of the woman’s 
words. Dykes. 

14. Wliei’efore tlic well was called 
Beer-laiiai-roi. That is, the well of the 

living that saw God. Medd. -“ Well of the 

seeing to life ; ’ i.e., a well, where man sees God 
and jet lives, and then at the same time is 
looked on by Him with grace, and blessed. Cf. 
ch. 32 : 30 ; “ P'ni el,” a place where one sees 
God’s countenance and the soul is preserved. 

Gerl. - She called the name of ike Lord that spake 

unto her, that is, thus she made confession of 
his name, this she said to his praise, Thou God 
seesl me : this should be with her his name for¬ 
ever, and this his memorial by which she will 
know him and remember him while she lives. 
Thou God seest me. The God with whom we 
have to do is a seeing God, an all-seeing God. 
God is (as the ancients expressed it) all eye. We 
ought to acknowledge this with application to 
ourselves. He that sees all, sees me. H. 

The Christian does not think of God as a spj”^ 
upon his actions, or resent the doctrine of His 
omnipresence as intrusive inquisitiveness, but 
he delights in the assurance that the .Lord is by 
his side. The words, “ Thou God seest me,” 
so often used as if they were a warning to the 
sinner, were first employed by Hagar as an ex¬ 
pression of her gratitude for the appearance of 
God to her by the fountain on the way to Shur. 
They are not, therefore, expressive of alarm, 
but rather of delight ; and everj' true believer 
can appropriate them in that sense. For the 
Lord is as near to those who love Him now as 
He was then to Hagar ; and if we could only 
remember that, we should be delivered from 
despondency and encouraged to stand fast be¬ 
fore all our spiritual adversaries. The child is 
not afraid to venture even in the darkest night 
when his father is by his side ; and if we but 
realized that God is at our right hand, we should 
never be moved. For there is no help so avail¬ 
able to us as His. With the speed of thought 
we majf communicate with Him. With un¬ 
spoken ejaculation we have but to lift our hearts 
to Him, and He will respond. To whom, then, 
are we so near as we are to Him ? He is to 
those who love Him a constant companion, 
friend and protector, Oue with whom I can 
enjoy the sweetest fellowship, and from whom 
I may receive the richest blessings. W. M. T. 

Godknovysthe thoughts which are incessantly 
streaming through every intellect, the lights and 


shadows that chase each other over every 
heart. Every corroding care, every restless 
anxiety, every glad hope, everj'^ jileasant remem¬ 
brance, every half-formed purpose to do a just 
or kindlj" act, or to leave an acknowledged duty 
undischarged, every scheme of selfishness, 
every malignant impulse, all are known to him. 
If there w'ere no angels for him to think of, if 
some dreadful pestilence suddenly swept away 
the whole human race excej^t jmurself, and left 
jmu and God absolutely alone in the universe, 
he would not know j'on more perfectly, or think 
of you more constantly than he does now. If 
there is something terrible in this, there is 
something inspiring and animating in it, too. 
If it makes us tremble when we think of our 
secret faults and sins, since he knows and re¬ 
members them all, it should give courage and 
energy to the attempt to live a life that God 
can approve and honor. We maj^ have little 
to show for efforts which cost us much, but God 
knows what the efforts are. We may be baffled 
and defeated again and again, but God sees the 
heroic uprising of the soul after every disap¬ 
pointment and failure. The best w’e can do 
may attract no attention, win no praise ; but if 
it is our best, God know's it, and he asks for 
nothing more. D ile. 

The Theophanus, or Manifeslalions <f Jehovah 

The sixteenth- chapter of Genesis introduces 
to us One Who, there and in many other places 
of the Bible, is pre-eminently entitled The Amjel 
(f the hoB.T>. The unique grandeur of this Per¬ 
sonage is distinctly marked in every instance in 
the Sacred Text. Dr. Pusey, speaking on this 
point, says, “ Whether it were God the Son Who 
so manifested Himself beforehand—as was the 
common belief of the earliest fathers—His God¬ 
head invisible, as in the daj's of His flesh, or 
no, yet there w’as one known as the Angel of 
the Lord, distinct from and above all the rest.” 
He stands everj^where alone and unapproach¬ 
able. There is but one so called ; just as there 
is also but one in the Holy Scriptures who is 
called the Devil, the Satan, the Adversary. Fur¬ 
ther, in every place where ihe Am/^l of the Lord 
is introduced His divine character and dignity 
are also most clearly intimated. Who can this 
be but the Son of God, the Word of the Father ? 
Medd. 

Throughout the whole of Old Testament there 
runs the distinction between the hidden God 
and the lievealer of God, Himself equal with 
God, who most frequently is called “ the Mes¬ 
senger, the Angel of the Lord,” “ Malachi- 
Jehovah, ” — one with Him, and yet distinct 






SECT102{ 43.-GENESIS 16 : 1-16. 


335 


from Him. This Messenger of the Lord is the 
Guide of the patriarchs ; the Caller of Moses ; 
the Leader of the people through the wilder¬ 
ness ; the Champion of the Israelites in Canaan ; 
and also, j^et further, the Guide and Kuler of 
the people of the covenant ; or, as He is called 
(Isa. G3 : 9), “the Angel of His Presence by 
Malachi, as the Messenger of the Covenant, 
greatly longed for by the people, whose return 
to His temple is promised. It nowhere occurs 
in the Old Testament, that an angel speaks as 
if he were God (since Gabriel (Dan. 10) and 
the angel who talks with Zechariah (1:2) 
clearly distinguish themselves from Jehovah) ; 
while this Angel of the Lord, in the passage 
under consideration, and often elsewhere in the 
Old Testament, speaks as Jehovah, and His ap¬ 
pearing is regarded as that of the Most High 
God Himself. Nay, God says expressly of this 
Angel, “ My name— i.e.. My revealed Being—is 
in Him.” His name ‘‘ Messenger,” or “ Angel,” 
is to be taken in a general signification, and by 
no means as if it denoted a class of higher cre¬ 
ated beings. In the New Testament the expres¬ 
sions, “ The Word,” “ Son,” “ Express Image, ” 
“ Brightness,” betoken the same, viz., the coun¬ 
tenance turned to man, the Revealer of the in¬ 
visible God. The future appearance on earth 
of the God-man is gradually prepared in the Old 
Testament in two ways : on the one hand, there 
is promised a mighty and glorious human Ruler 
over all (in later times called “ Messiah,’’—the 
Anointed of the Lord), to whom at the same 
time in His human nature, Divine names, attri¬ 
butes and works are ascribed ; on the other hand, 
the personal distinction in the Godhead, the 
Revealer of the invisible God as a separate per¬ 
son, is more and more clearly made known. Oerl. 

We read in the Patriarchal history of various 
appearances of x4.ngels so remarkable that we 
can scarcely hesitate to suppose them to be gra¬ 
cious visions of the Eternal Son. For instance : 
it is said that “ the Angel of the Lord appeai’ed 
unto” Moses “ in a flame of fire out of the midst 
of a bush yet presently this supernatural 
Presence is called “ the Lord,” and afterward 
reveals His name to Moses, as “ the God of 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” On the other 
hand, Stephen speaks of Him as “ the Angel 
which appeared to Moses in the bush.” Again 
he says soon after that Moses was ‘ ‘ in the 
Church in the Wilderness with the Angel which 
spake to him in the mount Sinai yet in the 
Book of Exodus we read, ” Moses went up unto 
God, and the Lord called unto him out of the 
mountain “ God spake all these words, say¬ 
ing, ” and the like. Now, assuming, as we seem 


to have reason to assume, that the Son of God 
is herein revealed to us, as graciously minister¬ 
ing to the Patriarchs, Moses and others, in an¬ 
gelic form, the question arises. What was the 
nature of the appearance? We are not in¬ 
formed, nor may we venture to determine ; still 
anyhow, the Angel was but the temporary out¬ 
ward form which the Eternal Word assumed. 
Neicm'in. 

There is no abstract common angelic nature. 
Each angel is, from his first creaiioii, perfect 
in his own personality, from which it follows 
that the Son of God could not have taken the 
angelic nature without superseding, indeed an¬ 
nihilating, the personality of some one particu¬ 
lar angel ; and the sin ( f the evil angels, who 
might seem to satisfy the condition of necessity, 
is irremediable. Thomas Aquinas. 

Nor is the office itself of an angel or an¬ 
nouncer of the Father’s will unbecoming Him. 
In a word, God the Father could not have be¬ 
come an angel consistently with His loierogativo 
as Father ; for then .He would have been sent 
by another. Who yet is indebted for His au¬ 
thority to no one. To the Son of God, however, 
both'the name of God altogether belongs, as 
being most true God ; and also the appellation 
of Angel, forasmuch as He is in such wise very 
God, as to be God of God, and was, therefore, 
capable of receiving and undertaking, consis¬ 
tently with the dignity of his person, the mission 
and dispensation committed to him by God, of 
whom he is. Bp. Bull. 

The New Testament distinguishes between 
the hidden God and the revealed God —the Son 
or Logos—connected with the former by one¬ 
ness of nature, who from everlasting, and even 
at the creation itself, filled up the immeasur¬ 
able distance between the Creator and the cre¬ 
ation,—Who has been the Mediator in all God's 
relations to the world,—Who at all times, and 
even before he became man in Christ, has been 
the light of the world, and to whom, specially, 
was committed the direction of the economy of 
the old covenant. It is evident that this doc¬ 
trine stands in the closest connection with the 
Christology,—that it forms indeed its theologi¬ 
cal foundation and groundwork. . . . The 
question then is, Whether any insight into this 
doctrine is to be found as early as in the Books 
of the Old Testament. Sound Christian Theol¬ 
ogy has discovered the outlines of such a dis¬ 
tinction between the hidden and the revealed 
God, in many passages of the Old Testament, 
in which mention is made of an Angel or Mes¬ 
senger of God. Hengslenberg (Gkristology of the 
Old Testament). 






336 


THE THEOPUAmES, OR MANIFESTATIONS OF JEHOVAH. 


Whatever line of interpretation be adopted 
with respect to the Theophanies, no sincere be¬ 
liever in the historical trustworthiness of Holy 
Scripture can mistake the importance of their 
relation to the doctrine of our Lord’s Divinity. 
Do they not point in any case to a purpose in 
the Divine mind which would only be realized 
when man had been admitted to a nearer and 
more jDalpable contact with God than svas possi¬ 
ble under the Patriarchal or Jewish dispensa¬ 
tions ? Do they not suggest, as their natural 
climax and explanation, some personal self-un¬ 
veiling of God before the eyes of his creatures ? 
Would not God appear to have been training his 
people, by this long and mysterious series of 
communications, at length to recognize and to 
worship him when hidden under and indissol¬ 
ubly one with a created nature ? Considering 
them as a series of phenomena, is there any 
other account of them so mucn in harmony 
with the general scope of Holy Scripture as that 
they were successive lessons addressed to the 
eye and to the ear of ancient piety, in anticipa¬ 
tion of a coming Incarnation of God ? H. P. L. 

It remains, then, that the grand initial oracle 
of Revelation is the true key to this mysterious 
appellation, “ the Angel of the Lord ”—namely, 
the plurality of persons in the Divine Nature, 
the very unity of which not only admits but re¬ 
quires such distinctions as this appellation im¬ 
plies. Their essential relations as Triune give 
rise to an order of agency and outgoing strictly 
conformable to, and in effect, exj^ository of 
them, since all things are designed to manifest 
God to His creatures, and to glorify Him as lie 
is. Hence, we can understand how the term 
Angel as well as the term Word may distinguish 
a person truly God, though these cannot be ap¬ 
plicable to each person of the Godhead indis- 
criminatel 3 \ He whose Angel this divine Per¬ 
son is must be supreme on the ground of per¬ 
sonal priority to Him who is His Angel ; and this 
order, therefore, cannot be arbitrary and inver¬ 
tible. This fact becomes fully manifest when 
the New Testament statements on this point are 
applied to elucidate the more vague and general 
statements of the Old. In them, personal rela¬ 
tions are brought out, not only as consistent 
with the Unity, but as of its very essence. This 
shows us why the term Angel is used to denote 
the Mediating Deity : it belongs to Him as “ the 
head of all principality and power.” He is the 
Angel or Envoy, who is not only the head of a 
whole host of these “ ministering spirits,” but 
in a very peculiar sense the Minister of God on 
behalf of the world. It is His ministry that gives 
rise to every other, and that ordains and sets all 


these in motion. It is the vinculum or bond 
between ” Him whom no man hath seen, nor 
can see,” and the creatures made Lke Him, and 
to be restored to Him, by Him who is ” become 
one of us.” Thus, we see that Angel implies 
the position of a Mediator and all the preroga- 
tives and works proper to Him, while it has 
this advantage over the term Word, that it is 
more strongly personal. It cannot be resolved 
into personification. It is also worth notice, 
that the passage in which the fiist mention oc¬ 
curs of “ the angel of the Lord ” is in the chap¬ 
ter immediately following the one opening with 
the first mention of the “ Word of the Lord ” in 
a sense undoubtedly personal, as if this colla¬ 
tion of the terms Word and Angel were meant 
to form together an outse' in the career of media¬ 
torial personcdity, which from this point onwat'd ac¬ 
quires increasing variety and fulness if expression ^ 
while the evidence before adduced is in proof 
that the functions any more than the office of 
the Mediator did not take date from this point, 
but connected the manifestations now referred 
to with the earliest times. It is but distinct 
personal development that now occurs ; a fact 
which supposes official pre-existence just as cer¬ 
tainly as it does a personal one, and in entire 
keeping with the germinant principle inherent 
in all the divine counsels and works, of which 
the. history of Creation itself sujDplies a great 
example. Steward {Mediatorial Sovereignty). 

Thus we trace throughout the volume of the 
Old Testament the gracious intervention, from 
time to time, of the Son of God, the one Medi¬ 
ator, in the character of The Angel of the. Lord, 
sent by the Father, and seen in human form by 
man, in waking life and in vision, in significant 
preparation for His permanent Incarnation, 
This great Presence, so clearly apprehended b^ 
the earlier Christian writers and Apologists, 
and, in later times, so largely admitted by th- 
great majority of orthodox reformed, and espe 
cially English, biblical writers, lights up th*., 
whole previous Dispensation with a wonderfu . 
anticipation of the glorious future Gospel. K 
binds together, as nothing else does, the 01c». 
Testament in a compact unity with the New , 
giving a special strength and consistency to the 
great Revelation contained in the two. Read 
in the light of this bond of coherence, the great 
saying of Saint Augustine receives additional 
force and meaning. Novum Testamentum in vetera 
latet ; Vetus Testamentum in novo pa'el; and, 
taking prophecy in its widest, truest sense, le. 
for the whole inspired utterance of the whole 
Bible as a historic Revelation, it is seen clearly 
that its spirit, its whole inner meaning and aim. 




SECTION 44,~GENESIS 17 : 1-27. 


337 


is the hearing witness to Jesus, the Same in the 
yesterday of the Old Covenant, as in the to-day 
of the New. Medd. 

Views of ancient and modern writers. That the 
Angel of the Lord is the Logos of John, who is 
connected with the supreme God by unity of 
nature, but personally distinct from him, was, 
if we except Augustine, Jerome, and Gregory 
the Great, the universal doctrine of the Early 
Church. The Fathers of the first Synod in An¬ 
tioch (A.D. 269), in a letter sent to Paul of Samo- 
sata before his deposition, affirm that “ the 
Angel of the Father, being himself Lord and 
God,” appeared to Abraham and to Jacob, and 
to Moses in the burning bush. Ilengstenberg. 

-Two principal opponents of this view among 

the German biblical writers, Hofmann and De- 
litzsch, maintain the Angel of the Lord to be 


a created angel. Kurtz at first agreed with 
Hengstenberg, but afterward adopted the view 
of Hofmann and Delitzsch. Among later Eng¬ 
lish writers the view maintained in these pages 
is held by Dr. Gordon, Christ as made known to 
the Ancient Church (Edinburgh, 1854) ; Canon 
Barry, Article Angel, in Smith’s Bible Diction¬ 
ary, 1860 ; Macdonald, Introduction to the Penia- 
teach. 1861 ; Steward. Mediatorial Sovereignty, 
1863 ; Dr, 'Walsh, Bishop of Ossory, in his verj? 
interesting work, The Angel of the Lord, or Mani- 
feslations of Christ in the Old Testament (Seeley, 
1876) ; and the Speaker's Commentary ; also by the 
Danish Bishop of Seeland, Dr. H. Martens? i, in 
his Christian Dogmatics, 1866. Medd. 

[Read note in Sect. 49, verse 17, for fu> out¬ 
line of arguments on either side.] 


Section 44. 

COVENANT RENEWED. SEALED BY CIRCUMCISION. 

Genesis 17 : 1-27. 

1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said 

2 unto him, I am God Almighty ; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my 

3 covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his 

4 face : and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and 

5 thou shalt be the father of a multitude of nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called 
Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham ; for the father of a multitude of nations have I made 

6 thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings 

7 shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed 
after thee throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and- 

8 to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of thy 
sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting iiossession ; and I will be their God. 

9 And God said unto Abraham, And as for thee, thou shalt keep my covenant, thou, and thy 

10 seed after thee throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, 
between me and you and thy seed after thee ; every male among you shall be circumcised. 

11 And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin ; and it shall be a token of a 

12 covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, 
every male throughout your generations, he that is born in tlie house, or bought with monej 

13 of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is 
bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised : and my covenant shall be in your flesh 

14 for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the 
flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people ; he hath broken my covenant. 

15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but 

16 Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and moreover I will give thee a son of her ; 
yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations ; kings of peoples shall be of her. 

17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart. Shall a child be born 

18 unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? And 

19 Abraham said unto God, Oh that Ishmael might live before thee ! And God said. Nay, but 
Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son ; and thou shalt call his name Isaac ; and I will establish 

22 






338 


COVENANT RENEWED. 


20 my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his seeii after him. And as for Ishmael, 
I have heard thee : behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply 

21 him exceedingly ; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my 
covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the 

22 next year. And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. And Abraham 

23 took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his 
money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of their 

24 foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him. And Abraham was ninety years old 

25 and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was 

26 thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. In the selfsame day 

27 was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. And all the men of his house, those born 
in the house, and those bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him. 


1. A second time God appeared, to repeat His 
promises with greater explicitness than before, 
and to seal by a sacramental symbol His ser¬ 
vant’s adhesion to the covenant. In substance, 
the earlier promises to which God had bound 
Himself by the night ceremony thirteen years 
before were reiterated on this second occasion. 
But they were reiterated with an amplitude 
and completeness which had never been ap¬ 
proached. 

I am Oo<1 ASinig^fity. By this time, a 
child of their marriage was become, according 
to the usual laws of life, a physical impossibil¬ 
ity. It is no wonder that, when God designed 
to demand of His aged servants faith in so im¬ 
probable an announcement. He should have pref¬ 
aced the oracle by proclaiming as His new 
name El Shaddai — God the Almighty one. For 
the only key that will unlock such a difilculty 
as this—it is in effect the standing diflicuJty of 
our age, the presence of the supernatural among 
the sequences of nature—lies in these words of 
a greater than Abraham : “The things which 
are impossible with men are possible with 
God.” “ Is anything too hard for Jehovah,” if 
the Jehovah Who is Abraham’s God be indeed 
El Shaddai, the all-powerful Maker and Lord of 
nature, the quickener of all things. Who vivifies 
the dead, and calls the things that are not as 
^.though they were ? 

Walk before me, and be tlioii per- 
lecl. God had chosen Abraham to be His 
friend. If Abraham accept such a lofty title, 
ihe must walk in friendship with God. Jehovah 
/'had pledged Himself to be the God of Abra¬ 
ham. If Abraham receive such a pledge, he 

must faithfullv own and serve Jehovah as his 
%> 

God. A loyal, obedient, "worshipful attitude 
' toward this gracious Covenanter is implied in 
the very act of becoming a party to His cov- 
■ enaut. Before dhe details of the divine engage¬ 
ment fall to’be recited, the interview is prefaced 
by these words, which must be viewed as a 
i Bummary of the whole an .its outstanding lines : 


“ I am El Shaddai : walk before me and be per¬ 
fect, and I will make my covenant between me 
and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.” 
To “ walk before the face or presence of God,” 
meant to order his daily life and behavior ac¬ 
cording to His "will, so as to retain His friendly 
approval. To be “perfect” in this holy bond 
of amity meant to adhere to it 'v\dth an undivided 
loyalty to the service of Jehovah Shaddai. 
Dykes. 

The words seem to imply that the realization 
of the Divine Presence in all things is the great 
secret of perfection ; that is, of such perfection 
as man can by grace attain unto. But how 
shall we obtain an habitual assurance of a truth 
whereof our senses give us no notice whatever ? 
—how shall we walk before God, as seeing Him 
who is invisible ? In the same way by which 
all other results in the spiritual life are obtained, 
—by trustful, exiiectant, sanguine prayer, and 
effort. It is obvious that this very grace—mind¬ 
fulness or consciousness of God’s presence—may 
be made the subject of special prayer, an an¬ 
swer to which, as in the case of every spiritual 
blessing which we petition for, should be looked 
for with confidence, on the ground of God’s 
promise to prayer. But then there is, besides 
this, the doing what in us lies to attain the end. 
And M'hat in us lies is this, - -to call the atten¬ 
tion definitely to God’s presence, as occasion 
offers, at the necessary breaks or periods in our 
work, and the occasional mingling with the act 
of recollection two or three w'ords of secret 
prayer which may suggest themselves on the 
moment. And it will be found in course of 
time, that the constant recurrence of the 
thoughts to God will pass into an instinc¬ 
tive consciousness of His presence and that 
the mind will acquire a tendency to gravitate 
toward Him at all times, which will operate 
easily and naturally as soon as it is relieved of 
the strain which worldly affairs put upon it, 
E. M. G. 

I 

i Communion with God consists chiefly in an 




SECTION 44.—GENESIS 17 : 1-27- 


339 


ordering our waj's as in the presence of Him 
that is invisible. This would make us spiritual, 
careful and watchful in all our passions, if we 
considered that God is present with us as with 
the angels in heaven ; who though they have a 
presence of glory above us, yet have not a 
greater measure of His essential presence than 
we have. If God should appear visibly to us 
when we were alone, should we not be reverent 
and serious before Him ? God is everywhere 
about us, He doth encompass us with His pres¬ 
ence ; should not God’s seeing have the same 
influence upon us as‘our seeing God? He is 
not more essentially present if He should so 
manifest Himself to us than when He doth not. 
We could not seriously think of His presence, 
but there would pass some intercourse between 
us ; we should be putting ujr some petition 
upon the sense of our indigence, or sending up 
our praises to Him upon the sense of His 
bounty. The actual thought of the presence of 
God is the life and spirit of all religion ; we 
could not have sluggish spirits and a careless 
watch if we considered that His eye is upon us 
all day. Charnock. 

Walk before me, and he ihou perfect, that is, up¬ 
right and sincere ; for herein the covenant of 
grace is well ordered, that sincerity is our gospel 
perfection. To be religious is to walk before 
God in our integrity ; it is to set God always 
before us, and to think and speak and act in 
everything, as those that are always under his 
eye. It is to have a constant regard to his word 
as our rule, and to his glorj'^ as our end, in all 
our actions, and to be continually in his fear. 
It is to be inward with him, in all the duties of 
religious worship, for in them particularly we 
walk before God, and to be entire for him, in all 
holy conversation. Upright walking with God, 
is the condition of our interest in his all suffi- 
cienc}'. If we neglect him, or dissemble with 
him, we forfeit the benefit and comfort of our 
relation to him. A continual regard to God’s 
all-sufficiency will have a great influence upon 
our upright walking with him. H. 

Those who profess to believe in him must not 
live as they list, but as he pleases. Though re- 
doemed from the curse of the law and from the 
rites and ceremonies of the Jewish church, they 
{ire under the law to Christ, and must walk before 
him—h^ in all things obedient to that mom/ law, 
which is an emanation from the righteousness 
of God and of eternal obligation ; and let it 
ever be remembered, that Christ is the author of 
eternal salvation to all that obey him. Without 
faith and obedience, there can be no holiness ; 
and without holiness, none can see the Lord. 


Be all that God would have thot to Pe, and God 
will oe to thee all that thou canst possibly m 
quire He never gives a precept, but he otters 
sufficient grace to enable thee to perform it. 
Believe as he would have thee, and act as he 
shall strengthen thee ; and thou wilt then be¬ 
lieve all things savingly, and do all things wolL 
A. C. 

4-6. A most numerous and wide branching 
posterity was secured by the contract. Already 
it had been again and again promised—rirst in 
Haran, next af Bethel, and last at Mamre. TUt 
fullest, exjiression was now given to it in these 
words : “ Thou shall be a father of many na¬ 
tions.” Dykes. -Mark the increase and grad¬ 

uation of the divine promise. The seal to it is 
the new name, ” Abraham,”—that is, father of 
a multitude (of nations). Even from Ishmael 
sprung a great people. The Edomites spread 
themselves abroad. Numerous families came 
from Keturah. From Jacob the twelve tribes 
and their descendants derived their origin, with 
all the numerous Abrahamidae who, during 
eighteen centuries, have been incorporated into 
the Christian Church ; and besides these, the 
spiritual Israel, to which the nations converted 
from heathenism to Christ also belong.—“ And 
kings ’ Saul and David, and their successors 
for centuries. Above all, we must not forget 
him who has said, ” My king'lorn is md of this 

world," C. G. B.-To be called “ Father of Ji 

multitude” was not a reward attached to his 
confidence in the divine assurances, so much a.s 
a gracious attestation and memorial of them. 
It made it easier, so to say, to keep alive his 
confidence in the future, when the very name 
by which other men addressed him was itself a 
standing pledge .of that future, given from 
Heaven. 

7. Thus ran the wonderful words; “/ w4l 
establish my covenant between me and thee and thy 
seed after thee'in their generations, fur an everlast¬ 
ing covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed 
after thee." Here lay the heart and kernel of 
the whole. It is the heart of all the deepest 
experiences of the saints, from that day to this. 
It is the “ blessing” which wraps up within it 
every other divine benefit, and makes our 
earthly boons to be blessings indeed. That 
God did bind Himself to act as God—their God 
—toward this man and his posterity ; to bless 
them ; to make them channels of blessing for 
mankind ; to be all and do all for their advan¬ 
tage that a friendly, propitious God can do or 
be for His fallen human children ;—here was 
the magnificent and quite inexhaustible treasure 
of this amazing treaty. Dykes. 









340 


COVENANT RENEWED. SEALED BY CIRCUMCISION. 


The promise to be a God to him and his seed 
could not have meant simply a covenant for his 
personal salvation ; for this had been assured to 
lum before when “ he believed God, and it was 
accounted to him for righteousness.” Nor can 
it mean to be a covenant of natural blessings to 
his natural descendants, for in the covenant are 
included the household, embracing servants and 
all ; while, on the other hand, many of his de¬ 
scendants, as the families of Ishmael and Esau, 
hkd no birthright in this covenant. The Apos¬ 
tle Paul expresses it fully by declaring that in 
this covenant Abraham was “ the heir of the 
world, ’* and the representative of all who in all 
ages after should exercise the faith of Abraham. 
If so, then the covenant to be their God and to 
make them a blessing indicates a purjDose spe¬ 
cially to dwell among, and manifest himself to, 
this peculiar body, and, through it, to manifest 
his grace to the nations. In short, here are all 
the elements of a definition of the visible 
Church ; and this is the beginning of that 
lieculiar society as a separate visible body on 
earth. Nor is this charter ever to be annulled. 
It is “ an everlasting covenant.” And though 
the term everlasting maj^ at times, be used in a 
limited sense, such cannot be the case here ; 
for its blessings are to reach to all generations 
of him who is the representative father of the 
faithful. Under this charter Moses may develop 
the theocratic commonwealth, and David the 
theocratic kingdom, and these may pass away 
again—but still the covenant charter is not an¬ 
nulled. Just as, under the covenant of grace, 
the great fact of justification by faith may be 
exhibited, now in the simple sacrifices of Adam 
or Abel or Noah, or now in the elaborate ritual 
of Moses, or now in the simple ordinances of 
the New Testament, without thereby annulling 
or even impairing that covenant ; so in the case 
of this great charter covenant of the Church. 
This covenant with Abraham is, therefore, the 
divine charter of the visible Church as hereto¬ 
fore and still existing. There is no other char¬ 
ter found in Scripture. Paul, in Kom. 3 :29 
and 4 :11-17, and in Gal. 3 :7-9, expressly de¬ 
clares that the New Testament Church of be¬ 
lievers is the true successor to the covenant 
with Abraham. S. R. 

The wonderful argument in Gal. 3 :16-29 
proves the identity of the system of grace in the 
Old Testament and the New. The gospel is, in 
reality, older than the law. When Jehovah en¬ 
tered into a covenant with Abrahg,m to bless all 
nations in his seed, that promise looked forward 
to Christ. Between the giving of the promise 
and its fulfilment, the law came in as a means 


of training and discipline. It was our school 
master, or, more exactl}'-, our pedayixjue ,—the 
name given to a guardian who every day led the 
child to the teacher, and kept him under proper 
restraint in going aud coming So the law led 
to Christ ; and this in two ways : its commands 
caused men to realize the failure of self-made 
righteousness, of attempts at character ; and its 
sacrifices fixed in the human mind and in hu¬ 
man speech the idea of an atonement. With 
the coming of Christ, the Jewish system, with 
all that was local or national or typical in it, 
passed away ; but the original platform of the 

gospel remained. J. P. T.-To this hour there 

is for none of us any standing more secure or 
blessed. That covenant with Abraham is in 
essence the new covenant of our peace, which 
has been sealed by the blood of Abraham’s seed. 
Dykes. 

10-14. The covenant of circumcision, which 
was made wdth Abraham after the birth of Ish¬ 
mael, and the change which took place in his 
name, brought out with a quite new force the 
truths which he had been gradually ajiprehend¬ 
ing before. That covenant, like the covenant 
with Noah, was one not of bargain, but of bless¬ 
ing. It was an assurance, that he who entered 
into it was called, chosen, setajjart by God. He 
had not taken up the position himself ; his 
business was simply to acknowledge that it W'as 
his, and to act as if it w'ere. But, unlike the 
former covenant, man was to make the sign ; 
the sign was a perpetual indication to him that 
he must give up his own natural inclinations if 
he would be a true man according to God’s call 
and purpose. It taught Abraham a truth about 
himself which the rainbow could not teach him. 
Yet he only acquired this wisdom through an 
ordinance which concerned every member of his 
household, and all who were to come after him, 
as much as it concerned him. Mwirice. 

And tlioti. On the earlier occasion (13 
years before, Gen. 15) it was the Divine Party 
in the covenant Who, as the gracious originator 
of it, bound Himself to its observance by a sol¬ 
emn ceremony,—the passage of the glory be¬ 
tween the sacrifices. Now it -was His human 
friend, elevated to the dignity of a covenanter 
with God, who was called upon to accept his 
share of obligation, and bind himself to its per¬ 
formance by a parallel ceremony—the symbolic 
rite of circumcision. It has to be noted with 
care, that not until the promises of God had all 
been for a long while accepted by the tacit faith 
of the patriarch, did he receive any command 
touching circumcision. To this order in the 
events Paul calls attention as significant (Rom. 





SECTION 44—GENESIS 17 : 1-27. 


341 


k : 9). Faith precedes the sacramental seal ; 
and the man s acceptance in God’s sight as His 
covenanted friend hangs upon his failh, and is 
synchronous with that, not with his circum¬ 
cision. The sign which attested on man’s side 
his adhesion to the alliance and his acceptance 
of the blessing, was no more than “ a seal of 
the righteousness of the faith which he had, 
yet being uncircumcised.” It is the uniform 
order of the divine dealings with fallen man. 
Grace comes first ; for God must volunteer the 
blessing which through sin we have forfeited. 
Dykes. 

IB. Token of a coveiiinit. All theo¬ 
cratic ordinances are in general signs and pledges 
of the covenant relation. But the main sign of 
the covenant is circumcision, which is the con¬ 
stant symbol of covenant obligations, and of 

consecpient covenant rights. O.-Its first and 

most obvious design was to serve as a sign of 
the covenant into which the posterity of Abra¬ 
ham were, in the person of their father, to 
enter ; or in other words, to fix upon the per¬ 
sons of all his natural descendants a distin¬ 
guishing mark, separating them from the rest of 
the world and denoting their peculiar relation 
to the true God. There are expressions of 
Scripture wdiirrh show that this rite imported 
the highe-t degree of sanctification and holi¬ 
ness. Moses repeatedly speaks of the“ circum¬ 
cising of the heart to love the Lord with all 
our heart and all our soul” (Dent. 10:16; 
30 : 6). And the prophet Jeremiah’s language 
is singularly emphatic (Jer. 4 : 4). It served 
also to Abraham and his seed as a memorial 
of their engagements. When they submitted 
to this ordinance, whether it were in infancy or 
at an adult age, they were no longer to consider 
themselves tbeir own or at their own disposal, 
but as dedicated to the service of their God. 
Paul instructs us to consider it as “ a seal of the 
righteousness of faith, ” inasmuch as it shadows 
out a circumcision of the heart, which is an 
inward seal that the sinner is justified by faith 

as Abraham was. Bush. 

% 

For Abraham and Israel alone circumcision 
was divinely comynanded, and established as a 
covenant-sign. And because God actually did 
enjoin it, it here appears a sacred institution, 
which was destined to endure until the Lord 
should establish a higher covenant-sign, and, in 
])lace of the circumcision of the flesh, should 
divinely appoint that of the heart, which the 
former prefigured, and which enlarged means 
of grace rendered more attainable. Its object 
and significance is no doubt cleansing, moral 
purity—purity (/T circumcision of heart; the I 


outward, as in baptism, being the emblem of 
the inward. C. G. B. 

Viewed in its negative bearing, circumcision, 
as introduced in the family of Abraham, im¬ 
plied a symbolical removal from generation of 
what was unholy and impure ; viewed positively, 
it conveyed a symbolic dedication and setting 
apart thereof for Divine jiurposes, in and 
through the covenant. For in this manner the 
covenant people is called into lieing and con¬ 
tinued, and this people is to be a holy and a 
priestly nation (Ex. 19 : 5 and 6). This is the 
objective import of circumcision, the ground on 
which God insists upon it. Its subjective aspect, 
the ground on which Abraham administered the 
rite to himself and to his family, was, that 
thereby man falls in with the Divine covenant- 
idea and undertakes the covenant obligations 
devolving on him. Thus circumcision becomes 
a .sign and seal of the coveiumt, i e., it makes 
every one who has submitted to it a pay taker of 
the privileges, and deinands at his hands fulfil¬ 
ment of the duties connected with the covenant. 
And because not only the abstract and ideal 
totality of the peoj)le, but eveiy single individ¬ 
ual, shares in the covenant privileges and obli¬ 
gations, he must also personally have part in 
the covenant and take its sign upon himself. 
If even the generatUm of the covenant people is 
to be sanctified and devoted to covenant-j)ur- 
poses, it follows, as matter of course, that their 
whole life, which commences with this genera¬ 
tion, is to be set apart for these objects (Rom. 
11 ; 16), to subserve and to advance them. The 
child begotten in circumcision is thereby sancti¬ 
fied for the covenant (1 Cor. 7 ; 14), and this is 
realized when in turn it undergoes circum¬ 
cision. Circumcision, which is to remove the 
growth of nature —that which is unholy and im¬ 
pure—from the principle and source of life, is, 
so to speak, to extend its power and influence 
through all the ramifications of life. It implies 
the obligation of withdrawing all the other rela¬ 
tions of life from the dominion of nature, of 
circumcising the foreskhi of the hear f, of the Ups, 
of the ear, and of devoting heart and mind to the 
duties and purposes of the covenant. K. 

Circumcision may be called, with Ewald, 
“ the offering of the body.” It does not oper¬ 
ate as an individual means of grace. Circum¬ 
cision is no vehicle of sanctifying forces, as it 
makes no demand in reference to the internal 
state of the recipient. The rite effects admis¬ 
sion to the fellowship of the covenant people, 
securing to the individual as a member of the 
nation his share in the promises and saving 
I benefits granted to the nation as a whole. On 







342 


COVENANT RENEWED. SEALED BY CIRCUMCISION. 


the other hand, circumcision binds him who 
ims received it to obedience to God, whose cov¬ 
enant sign he bears in his body and to a blame¬ 
less walk before him. Thus it is the symbol of 
the renewal and purification of heart. This signifi¬ 
cation of the rite is in the Old Testament spe¬ 
cially brought out in the use of the phrase, wi- 
circumcision of heart, to denote a want of recep¬ 
tivity for the things of God ; while, on the 
other hand, the purification of the heart by 
which it becomes receptive for the things of 
God and capable of executing God’s will, is 
called circumcision of the heart. With circum¬ 
cision was combined the naming of the child, 
which although it is first expresslj’ mentioned 
in Luke 1 : 59 ; 2 : 21, is clearly indicated by the 
connection of Gen. 17 :5 with what follows and 
21 3 f. By this it is signified that his name ex¬ 
presses his having a place in the divine cove¬ 
nant. How frequently the giving of a name was 
in Israel an act of religious confession, is seen 
in the meanings of numerous biblical proper 

names. O.-Circumcision taught that what is 

born of the flesh can only be flesh. It suggested 
that it is by the painful renunciation of fleshly 
desire and natural self-confidence, man must be 
surrendered to God’s service as His fit instru¬ 
ment for gracious ends. It was like a symbol 
carved upon the very flesh of Abraham, to tell 
him that his entire being, even in its merely 
animal basis of physical desires and physical 
powers, was claimed for the service of that God 
Who had called him to be His friend. Dykes. 

In later times, when the children of Israel had 
grown into a distinct people, and everything 
was placed under the strict administration of 
law, it was always left open to people of other 
lands and tribes to enter into the bonds of the 
covenant through the rite of circumcision. 
This rite, therefore, must have had a signifi¬ 
cance for them, as well as for the more favored 
seed of Jacob. It spoke also to their hearts and 
consciences, and virtually declared that the cov¬ 
enant which it symbolized had nothing in its 
main design of an exclusive and contracted 
spirit ; that its greater things lay open to all 
who were willing to seek them in the appointed 
way ; and that if at first there were individual 
persons, and afterward a single people, who 
were more especially identified with the cov¬ 
enant, it was only to mark them out as the 
chosen representatives of its nature and ob¬ 
jects, and to constitute them lights for the in¬ 
struction and benefit of others. There never 
was a more evident misreading of the palpable 
facts of history than appears in the disposition 
so often manifested to limit the rite of circum¬ 


cision to one line merely of Abraham’s posterity, 
and to regard it as the mere outward badge of 
an external national distinction. It is to be 
held, then, as certain in regard to the sign of 
the covenant as in regard to the covenant itself, 
that its more special and marked connection 
with individuals was only for the sake of more 
effectually helping forward its general design. 
And not less firmly is it to be held that the out¬ 
wardness in the rite was for the sake of the in¬ 
ward and spiritual truths it symbolized. It was 
appointed as the distinctive badge of the cov¬ 
enant, because it was peculiarly fitted for sym¬ 
bolically expressing the spiritual character and 
design of the covenant. It marked the condi¬ 
tion of every one who received it, as having to 
do both with higher powers and higher objects 
than those of corrupt nature, as the condition 
of one brought into blessed fellowship with 
God, and therefore called to walk before Him 
and be perfect. When God was establishing a 
covenant, the great object of which was to re¬ 
verse the propagation of evil, to secure a seed 
that should be itself blessed, and a source of 
blessing to the world. He affixed to the covenant 
this symbolical rite—to show that the end was 
to be reached, not as the result of nature’s or¬ 
dinary productiveness, but of nature purged 
from its uncleanness—nature raised above itself, 
in league with the grace of God, and bearing on 
it the distinctive impress of His character and 
working. It taught the circumcised man that 
he must no longer follow the unregulated will 
and impulse of nature, but live in accordance 
with the high relation he occupied, and the 
sacred calling he had received. 

Most truly, therefore, does the apostle say 
that Abraham received circumcision as a seal of 
the righteousness of the faith which he had—a 
divine token in his own case that he had at¬ 
tained through faith to such fellowship with 
God, and righteousness in him—and a token 
for every child that should afterward receive it ; 
not indeed that he actually possessed the same, 
but that he was called to possess it, and had a 
right to the privileges and hopes which might 
enable him to attain to the possession. Most 
truly also does the apostle say in another place : 
“ He is not a Jew which is one outwardly (i.e., 
not a Jew in the right sense, not such an one as 
God would recognize and own) ; neither is that 
circumcision which is outward in the flesh. But 
he is a Jew which is one inwardly : and circum¬ 
cision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not 
in the letter ; whose praise is not of men, but 
of God.” The very design of the covenant W'as 
to secure a seed with these inward and spirituai 






SECTION U.—GENESIS 17 : 1-27. 


343 


characteristics ; and the sign of the covenant, 
the outward impression in the flesh, was worth¬ 
less, a mere external concision—as the apostle 
calls it, when it came to be alone—excepting in 
so far as it was the expression of the corre¬ 
sponding reality. . , . The children of Israel 
had no right to the benefits of the covenant 
merely because they had been outwardly cir¬ 
cumcised ; nor were any promises made to them 
simply as the natural seed of Abraham, Both 
elements had to meet in their condition, the 
natural and the spiritual ; the spiritual, how. 
ever, more especially, and the natural only as 
connected with the spiritual, and a means for 
securing it. Hence Moses urged them so ear¬ 
nestly to circumcise their hearts, as absolutely 
necessary to their getting the fulfilment of what 
was promised. ... It may also be noted, 
that by this quite natural and fundamental view 
of the ordinance, subordinate peculiarities ad¬ 
mit of an easy explanation. For example, the 
limitation of the sign to males—which in the 
circumstances could not be otherwise ; though 
the special purifications under the law for wom¬ 
en might justly be regarded as providing for 
them a sort of counterpart. Then, the fixing 
on the eighth day as the proper one for the rite 
—that being the first day after the revolution of 
an entire week of separation from the mother, 
and when fully withdrawn from connection with 
the parent’s blood, it began to live and breathe 
in its own impurity. P. F, 

14. Tlie uiicirciiiaiciscd be eiit 

ofl*. The entrance into this covenant was not 
voluntary. None of Abraham’s posterity could 
withdraw from the grace which, b}^ means of 
this covenant, was bestowed on the whole peo¬ 
ple, and through them on the whole world. The 
punishment of “ beingcut off from his people,” 
which God threatens on the neglect of circum¬ 
cision, occurs very frequently afterward, under 
the law, as the penalty for very grievous crimes. 
This punishment is a threatening, on God’s 
part, that all the evil should overtake the trans¬ 
gressor, from which, through God’s covenant, 
he was defended. Gerl. -The simple mean¬ 

ing seems to be, that the uncircumcised should 
have no right to nor share in the blessings of 
the covenant, which were both of a temporal 
and spiritual kind : and if so, then eternal 
death was implied ; for it was impossible for a 
person who had not received the spiritual purifi¬ 
cation to enter into eternal glory. The spirit of 
this law extends to all ages and dispensations 
—he whose heart is not purified from sin can¬ 
not enter into the kingdom of God. A. C. 

6 , Tiiy name sliall be Abrabain. 


15. Sarah her name sliall be. It cer¬ 
tainly has a peculiar meaning, that when we 
enter on the second stage in the life of the 
chosen, the names of Abram and his wife should 
he changed. This, as it were, is a symbol and an 
earnest of the new thing which the Lord is to 
bring forth. For “the name indicates the 
character.” It is the motto for the new path of 
life opening before them. K. 

17. Abraham fell upon hi§ fac^e 
an<l lan^he<l. Fjrom the reverential atti¬ 
tude assumed by Abraham we infer that his 
laughter sprang from joyful and grateful sur¬ 
prise. Said in his head. The following questions 
of wonder are not addressed to God ; they do 
not express doubt of the fuldluif^nt of the 
promise, but surprise at the unexpected mode 

in which it is to be fulfilled. M,-It w^as a 

laughter of delight, not of distrust. Even the 
promises of a holy God, as well as his perform¬ 
ances, are the joys of holy souls ; there is the 
joy of faith as well as the joy of fruition. Now 
it was that Abraham rejoiced to see Christ’s 
day ; now he saw it and was glad (John 8 : 56), 
for as he saw heaven in the promise of Canaan, 
so he saw Christ in the promise of Isaac. He 
does not here speak as at all douhfid (for we are 
sure that he staggered not at the promise), but as 
very wonderful, and that which could not be ef¬ 
fected but by the almighty power of God. H. 

IS. In that plaintive, clinging cry of father¬ 
hood, “ Oh that Ishmael might live before 
Thee 1” one hears with w'hat a painful rending 
of heart the man tore himself loose from the 
anticipations of a dozen years, to school him¬ 
self into the expectation of a gift, new, strange, 
and unheard-of—the gift of a miraculous child. 

Dykes. -Even so—responds the great parental 

heart of God—I know the heart of a parent ; 
therefore I said “ I will be a God to thee and to 
thy seed after thee;" not to thee alone but to 
thee, and also, not less, to thy beloved offspring 
besides. I have heard thee, for Ishmael! H. C. 

1J>. Temporal blessings were assured to Ish¬ 
mael, in answer to Abraham’s earnest prayer ; 
but the covenant was “ established wdth Isaac.’’ 
He is emphatically called the child of the promise 
and Ishmael the chdd of the flesh by the Apostle 
Paul, w'ho carries out the contrast in a very 
remarkable passage (Gal. 4 : 21-31). Ishniael’s 
share in the temporal promise w'as confirmed 
by his circumcision ; and the rite is still ob¬ 
served by the Arabs and other Semitic races. 
P. S. 

20. Twelve priiiees §liail Eie beget. 

This circumstance is particular, but it was ful¬ 
filled. Moses hath given us the names of these 










34i 


COVENANT RENEWED. SEALED BY CIRCUMCISION 


twelve princes (chap. 25 :13-16), by which we 
urc to understand,'not that they were so many 
distinct sovereign princes but heads of clans or 
tribes. Heathen writers speak of the Arabian 
pkylarchs, or rulers of tribes ; and of that peo¬ 
ple having twelve kings over them. The people 
have ever since lived in tribes ; and still con¬ 
tinue to do so, as Thevenot and other modern 
travellers testify. ... It was somewhat won¬ 
derful and not to be foreseen by human sagac¬ 
ity, that a man’s whole posterity should so 
nearly resemble him, and retain the same in¬ 
clinations, the same habits, and the same cus¬ 
toms, throughout all ages ! These are the only 
people, besides the Jews, who have subsisted 
as a distinct people from the beginning ; and in 
some respects they very much resemble each 
other. 1. The Arabs, as well as the Jews, .are 
descended from Abraham, and both boast of 
their descent from the father of the faithful. 
2. The Arabs, as well as the Jews, are circum¬ 
cised, and both profess to have derived this 
ceremony from Abraham. 3. The Arabs, as 
well as the Jews, had onginiilly iweJvepatriarchs, 
who were their princes or governors. 4. The 
Arabs, as well as the Jews, marry among them¬ 
selves, and in their own tribes. 5. The Arabs, 
as well as the Jews, are singular in several of 
their customs, and are standing monuments to 
all ages, of the exactness of the divine predic¬ 
tions, and of the veracity of Scripture history. 
We may, with more confidence, believe the par¬ 
ticulars related of Abraham and Ishmael, when 
we see them verified in their posterity at this 
day. This is having, as it were, ocular demon¬ 
stration for our faith. Bp. Newton. 

21. Hy covenant will I e!!itafi>li§li 
tvitll Isaac. All temporal good things are 
promised to Ishmael and his posterity, but the 
establishment of the Lord’s covenant is to be 
with Isaac. Hence it is fully evident, that this 
covenant referred chiefly to spiritual things—to 
the Messiah, and the salvation which should be 
brought to both Jews and Gentiles by his incar¬ 
nation, death, and glorification. A, C.-My 

spiritual covenant ; my everlasting covenant. 
As for the temporal covenant, or promise, Ish¬ 
mael was made as much partaker of it as Isaac ; 
and so was Esau as well as Jacob. Bp. Wilson 
-Paul points out a material difference be¬ 
tween these two sons of Abraham. He says 
that Ishmael, the son of the bond-woman, was 
born only according to the flesh, in the com¬ 
mon course of nature ; but that Isaac was born 
by virtue of the promise, and by the particular 
interposition of the Divine power : and that 


these two sons of Abraham were designed to 
represent the two covenants of the Law and of 
the Gospel ; the former a state of bondage, the 
latter of freedom (Gal. 4). Bp. Tomline. 

22. God went up from Abraliaiii. 
Ascended evidently before him so that he had 
the fullest proof that it was no human being, 
no earthly angel or messenger, that talked with 
him : and the promise of a son in the course of 
a single year, at this set time hi the next year (ver. 
21), which had every human probability against 
it, was to be the sure token of the truth of all 
that had hitherto taken place ; and the proot 
that all that was further promised should be 
fulfilled in its due time. A. C. 

23-27. Abraham executes the divine com¬ 
mand first upon Ishmael, whose descendants 
(the Arabs) still perform the rite at the age of 
thirteen ; next upon his servants, both those 
born in his house, and those bought (“ with his 
money of any stranger, not of his seed,” ver. 
12), and lastly upon himself (ver. 26), being 
now no less than ninety-nine years old. We 
may infer from the execution of this order how 
greatly Abraham was reverenced by his family, 
his authority over them, and the excellent dis¬ 
cipline he maintained among them. How punc¬ 
tual also his obedience : ” on the self-same 

day !” C. G. B.- Abraham funfits the Divine 

command in the obedience of faith. Here was the 
sign of his unwavering faith in God’s promise 
and covenant. However momentary doubt may 
have dimmed his spiritual sight, the direct as¬ 
surance from God clears it again. He hesitates 
not to perform the painful operation on himself 
and all in his house. Nor is there the slightest 
delay. It is done the self-same day.” Atf. 
-It was a speedy obedience. Sincere obedi¬ 
ence is not dilatory. While the command is yet 
sounding in our ears, and the sense of duty is 
fresh, it is good to apply ourselves to it imme- 
diatel 3 % lest we deceive ourselves by putting it 
off to a more convenient season. It was an 
univei'sal obedience ; he did not circumcise his 
family and excuse himself, but set them an ex¬ 
ample ; nor did he take the comfort of the seal 
(tf the covenant to himself only, but desired 
that all might share with him in it. H. 

Ever since those days has the sign of circum¬ 
cision remained to bear testimony to the cov¬ 
enant wdth Abraham. On the eighth day, as 
the first full period of seven has elapsed, a new- 
period is, as it were, to begin ; and each Jewish 
child so circumcised is a living witness to the 
transaction betw^een God and Abraham more 
than three thousand years ago. A. E. 









SECTION 44.—GENESIS 17 : 1-27. 


345 


Circumcision and Baptism. 

As the sense of the passover covenant, ex¬ 
pressive of faith in the atoning blood of the 
Bamb from a prophetic standpoint, in eating 
the flesh and sprinkling the blood, was modified 
to express faith in the atoning blood from a his¬ 
toric standpoint, by eating the bread, symboL 
izing the broken body, and drinking the wine, 
symbolizing the shed blood of the Lamb of 
God so circumcision, the seal of the covenant 
with Abraham organizing the Church, was 
changed—from the act symbolizing from a pro- 
phetic standpoint, faith's longings and hoi^eful 
trust in divine power for the cutting off the sins 
of the flesh -to the act of washing with water, 
symbolizing from a historic standpoint, faith 
contemplating the divine power to regenerate 
and purify, given in the outjjouring of the 
Spirit. Just !is the Lord's Supper is simply a 
New Testament modification of the passover 
seal of the covenant throtigh Moses to redeem 
the Church by his blood, so the ordinance of 
baptism is but the New Testament modification 
of the seal of circumcision appended to the 
covenant with Abraham organizing the visible 
Church. S. K. 

The relation between circumcision and bap¬ 
tism is not properly that of type and antitype •, 
the one is a symbolical ordinance as well as the 
other, and both alike have an outward form and 
an inward reality. It is precisely in such ordi¬ 
nances that the Old and the New Dispensations 
approach nearest to each other, and, we might 
almost say, stand formally upon the same level. 
The difference does not so much lie in the 
ordinances themselves, as in the comparative 
amount of grace and truth respectively exhib¬ 
ited in them—necessarily less in the earlier, and 
more in the later. The difference in external 
form was in each case conditioned by the cir¬ 
cumstances of the time. In circumcision it 
bore respect to the propagation of offspring, as 
it was through the production of a seed of bless¬ 
ing that the covenant, in its preparatory form, 
was to attain its realization. But when the 
seed in that respect had reached its culminating 
point in Christ, and the objects of the covenant 
were no longer dependent on natural propaga¬ 
tion of seed, but were to be carried forward by 
spiritual means and influences used in connec¬ 
tion with the faith of Christ, the external ordi¬ 
nance was fitly altered, so as to express simply a 
change of nature and state in the individual 
that received it. The apostle makes use of the 
earlier rite to explain the symbolical import of 
the later, and describes the spiritual change in¬ 


dicated and required by it as “a putting-off of 
the body of the sins of the flesh by the circum¬ 
cision of Christ,” and “ having the uncircum¬ 
cision of the flesh quickened together with 
Christ.” It would have been travelling en¬ 
tirely in the wrong direction, to use such lan¬ 
guage for purposes of explanation in Christian 
times, if the ordinance of circumcision had not 
shadowed forth this spiritual quickening and 
purification even more palpably and impres¬ 
sively than baptism itself ; and shadowed it 
forth, not prospectively alone for future times, 
but immediately and personally for the mem 
hers of the Old Covenant For the outward 
putting awa}^ of (he filth of the flesh in circum¬ 
cision could never have symbolized a corre¬ 
sponding inward purification for the members 
of the New Covenant, if it had not first done 
this for the members of the Old. The shadow 
must have a substance in the one case as well 
as in the other. Such being the case as to the 
essential agreement between the two ordinances, 
an important element for deciding in regard to 
the propriety of infant baptism may still be 
derived from the jiractice established in the 
rite of circumcision. The grand principle of 
connecting parent and child together for the at¬ 
tainment of spiritual objects, and marking the 
connection by an impressive signature, was 
there most distinctly and broadly sanctioned. 
And if the parental bond and its attendant obli¬ 
gations be not weakened, but rather elevated 
and strengthened, by the higher revelations of 
the Gospel, it would be strange indeed if the 
liberty at least, nay, the propriety and right, if 
not the actual obligation, to have their children 
brought by an initiatory ordinance under the 
bond of the covenant, did not belong to parents 
under the Gospel. The one ordinance no more 
than the other insures the actual transmission 
of the grace necessary to effect the requisite 
change ; but it exhibits that grace—on the part 
of God pledges it—and takes the subject of the 
ordinance bound to use it for the accomplish¬ 
ment of the proper end. Baptism does this now, 
as circumcision did of old ; and if it w as done in 
the one case through the medium of the parent 
to the child, one does not see why it may not 
be done now, unless positively prohibited, in 
the other. ... It is not in respect to the 
soul’s inward and personal state, that either 
ordinance can properly be called initiatory (for 
in that respect blessing might be had initially 
without the one as well as the other), but in re¬ 
spect to the person's recognized connection with 
the corporate society of those who are subjects 
of blessing. This begins now with baptism, 







346 


CIRCUMCISION AND BAPTISM. 


and it began of old with circumcision : till the 
individual was circumcised, he was not reck¬ 
oned as belonging to that society ; and if pass¬ 
ing the proiier time for the ordinance without 
It, he was to be held as ipso/ado cut off. Under 
both covenants there is an inward and an out¬ 
ward bond of connection with the peculiar 
blessing : the inward faith in God’s word of 
promise (of old, faith in God ; now more spe¬ 
cifically, faith in Christ) ; the outward, circum¬ 
cision formerly, now baptism. Yet the two in 
neither case should be viewed as altogether 
apart, but the one should rather be held as the 
formal expression'and seal of the other. P. F. 

Ill this covenant charter to Abraham a prin¬ 
ciple common to all the covenants pertaining 
to the work of redemption, the principle of 
family representation, stands out with jieculiar 
prominence. While the scriptures, eveiywhere, 
especially guard us against the error of suppos¬ 
ing that the blessings of salvation, according to 
the covenant of grace, have respect to natural 
descent, or that men born again are born “ of 
blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will 
of man,” or any other than “ born of God 
yet, on the other hand, special prominence is 
given to the fact, that in the out-working, in 
time, of the scheme of redemption, the children 
of those who are themselves parties to the cov¬ 
enants of God have a birthright to the priv¬ 
ileges and the penalties of those covenants. 
Thus, by virtue of the penalty of the broken 
covenant of works with Adam, every child 
born of the race of Adam is born to die. By 
virtue of the covenant of redemption with 
Christ, as the second Adam, every mortal that 
dies must rise again from the dead. Under the 
covenant of grace wiih Adam, when there was 
to be a destruction of the race by water, God 
said unto Noah, “ Come thou and all iky house 
into the ark, for thee have I seen righteous and 
for the righteousness of Noah, even the scoffing 
Ham is sheltered from the impending doom. 
Under the covenant w'ith Noah, not to destroy 
again with a flood, everj’’ child descended from 
Noah to the end of time has a birthright in that 
guarantee promise. Under the covenant with 
David, his male offspring, in every succeeding 
generation, had a birthright cl{vm to the throne 
of Israel, to which even their unfaithfulness 
could prove no bar ; the reason assigned for not 
rejecting the unworthy apostates, as Saul was 
rejected, is—“ the oath which I swear to 
David.” In several careful repetitions that 
principle is made to stand forth pre-eminently 
in this covenant with Abraham. His children, 
in successive generations, are recognized as 


having a birthright, not only in its general 
privileges, but as born members of the great 
visible community which this covenant, as a 
charter, founds and organizes : and it is com¬ 
manded that they be formally recognized as 
citizens by birth, by affixing, through their 
parents for them, their signature, and the seal 
to this covenant. And so intimate a part of 
the structure is this princijile, that no matter 
what extent of meaning be given to the cov¬ 
enant, this principle must go into that mean¬ 
ing ; and no matter what enlarged degree of 
development of the covenant, this principle 
must go into that development. Here, then, 
far back at the very root of the visible Church, 
and fundamental in its charter, we find the 
rights of our children to a place with us in the 
Church, as Christ’s spiritual commonwealth. 
S. E. 

Listen to the covenant : “ He that is eight 
days old shall be circumcised among you.” 
Mark how this renewal of the covenant turns 
upon the consecration of children. God did 
appoint circumcision for the child eight days 
old ! Christian baptism is founded upon this 
very covenant. Abraham was ninety-and-nine 
years old when he was circumcised, Ishmael his 
sou was thirteen years old. and then came the 
infant men children. So in heathen countries, 
the man is baptized, and the woman, and the 
child of days. We plead Divine precedent. 
Whatever objections stand against baptism 
stand against circumcision, and, therefore, stand 
against God. The child does not underntand 
the alphabet, do not teach it ; the child does 
not understand language, do not teach it ; the 
child does not understand the Lord’s Prayer, 
do not teach it. Y"ou saj^ the child will under¬ 
stand by and by ; exactly so ; that answer is 
good ; and by and by the child will understand 
that it was baptized in the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, three 
persons in one God. Beautiful, too, is Christian 
bajitism when regarded as the expansion of the 
idea of circumcision. It well befits a tenderer 
law ; circumcision vwas severe ; baptism is 
gentle : circumcision was limited to men-chil¬ 
dren ; baptism is administered to all : circum¬ 
cision was established in one tribe, or family, 
or line of descent ; baptism is the universal 
rite,—Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, 
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and 
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. So we go 
from law to grace ; from Moses to the Lamb , 
from the mount that might be touched, and 
that burned with tire, to the‘quiet and holy 
Zion. J. P. 




SECTION 44. -GENESIS 17 : 1-27. 


347 


When the Son of God came to earth he found | 
a church existing. Of that church not only j 
up-grown believers, but their little ones, were 
members. That Church, with all its faults of 
administration, was still the Church of God, 
and the Lord Jesus joined it, and he joined it 
in his infancy. True, he himself set up another j 
Church, but that other Church was virtually an j 
expansion and a spiritualization of the old one. [ 
There was still a chosen generation,—a holy | 
nation, a peculiar people, a royal priesthood,— j 
and the question just is, “ Are the privileges of j 
the Christian Church equal to those of its He- i 
brew predecessor? Federally, in respect of a | 
covenant relation to God, is the child of a New j 
Testament believer on as good a footing as the 
child of an Old Testament saint ; and in join- j 
ing Christ’s Church, with its new and better ' 
promises, .may I claim as much for my children 
as in joining the old church of Moses V” Re- j 
member that Christ’s charge, “ Go and make 
disciples of all nations, baptizing them,” was 
addressed to Hebrew apostles. It was ad¬ 
dressed, that is, not to Gentiles nor to anti- 
pedobaptists, but to Jews,—men to whom the 
idea of infant-membership in the Church was 
as familiar as the membership of adults. Ten 
days had elapsed since the baptismal commis¬ 
sion was issued. The Holy Ghost was given, 
and the great Christian mission began, and to 
his audience of five thousand awakened peni¬ 
tents, all Jews or Jewish proselytes, all familiar 
with the idea of infant Church-membership, 
all clinging with a fond intensity to the great 
federal promise on which that infant Church- 
membership was founded, in the first Christian 
sermon ever preached, Peter exclaimed ; “ Re¬ 
pent and be baptized, and receive the Holy 
Ghost ; for the promise is to you, and io your 
children.'' Publishing the salvation of the Gos¬ 
pel covenant, and summoning that convinced 
assembly to Christian Baptism, Christ’s Apos¬ 
tles, endowed with power from on high, main¬ 
tain that the old connection between parents 
and children still subsists. What would be the 
inference of their Hebrew auditors ? What else 
could it possibly be, but that, like the Abra- 
hamic covenant, the covenant of Christian Bap¬ 
tism was broad enough to take in not only the 
up-grown proseljde, but his children too ? 
We feel that the Church cannot err in receiving 
into its arms those whom the Saviour embraced 
in His own. We feel that the New Testament 
Church cannot err in receiving as its inmates 
those who were members of the Old Testament 
Church, and who are to be members of the 
Church in heaven. Hamilton, 


The Abeahamic Covenant and the New Testa¬ 
ment Church. 

The covenant of God with Abraham under 
the old dispensation, ana his covenant with 
men in these days of the Gospel, compose his 
great church arrangement for the salvation of 
the world. The Church of God, as to its oriyin, 
was intimated to man at the moment of his 
fall, but found its first development in the Abra- 
hamic covenant ; as to its essence, the unity of 
the Church in earlier and in later times is es¬ 
tablished by identity of parties, relations, agen¬ 
cies, and objects ; as to its, form, it was encum¬ 
bered by a multitude of observances, ceremonial 
and political, in ancient times, while its modern 
administration is marked by simplicity and 
spirituality ; and as to its fmce, while the 
Abrahamic covenant worked as a tem]roral ar¬ 
rangement to the close of the first dispensation, 
it clearly carried at the same time a spiritual 
bearing, co-extensive with the general features 
of the Christian Church in the gospel dispen¬ 
sation. Therefore J'he Church under the Abra¬ 
hamic covenant, and the Neuo Testament dispensa¬ 
tion are substantially one and the same institution. 

The New Testament Church embraces six par¬ 
ticulars, and only six that are material : 1. Its 
dignity; a permanent covenant. 2. Its parties; 
God and man. 3. Its provisions ; the Son and 
the Spirit. 4. Its great reqxrirement of man ; 
faith. 5. Its great promise by God ; salvation. 
6. Its appointed seal ; a significant rite. Each 
of these particulars is fully embraced in God’s 
covenant with the patriarch ; that covenant 
therefore is the great gospel covenant ; the 
constitution of the Church. 

I. The Abrahamic covenant is a permanent 
arrangement. This appears from the language 
of the covenant itself; “I will establish my 
covenant between me and thee, and thy seed 
after thee in their generations for an everlasting 
covenant.” The multiplied and most solemn 
rehearsals of the covenant through all periods 
of the Old Testament dispensation declare it 
to be an everlasting covenant. It survives the 
Old Testament dispensation, and acts in full 
force under the reign of the Gospel, as an ever¬ 
lasting covenant. Writing to the Galatians, 
Paul argues the necessary jxerpetuity of the 
Abrahamic covenant, from its very nature as a 
solemnized compact. Such a transaction be¬ 
tween men, says the apostle, is stable and bind¬ 
ing ; “ Though it be but a man's covenant, yet 
if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth or add- 
eth thereto” (3 :15). The Abrahamic covenant 
had been ordered in all things and sure,” and 









348 


THE ABRAIIAMIC COVENANT AND THE N. T. CHURCH. 


preceded the Sinai covenant more than four 
centuries, wherefore Paul continues, “ Now this 
I say, brethren, that the covenant which was 
confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, 
which was four hundred and thirty years after, 
could not disannul, that it should make the 
promise of none effect.” In substance this is 
Paul’s reasoning : All the integrities of the 
Godhead had solemnly pledged certain blessings 
to Abraham and his seed forever. This cove¬ 
nant is immutable in its nature. Therefore the 
introduction of a new economy five hundred 
years after, in the days of Moses, could not de¬ 
stroy the covenant. By parity of reasoning, the 
introduction of another, two thousand years 
after, in the days of Christ, could not make the 
promise of none effect. Thus, with the strong¬ 
est assurance, the apostle speaks of the bless¬ 
ings of God’s covenant with Abraham as act¬ 
ually descending upon Gentiles in these days of 
the Gospel. 

The Abrahamic covenant is therefore clearly 
a permanent arrangement for all periods of this 
world’s history : because it is God’s covenant 
with Abraham and his seed in their generations 
for an everlasting covenant ; it was renewed in 
the Iversons of Isaac, Jacob, David, and all 
Israel as a covenant, an oath, a law, a word to a 
thousand generations, an everlasting covenant ; 
was rehearsed as such b}^ the prophets to the 
very close of the Old Testament dispensation ; 
is still denominated in the New Testament an 
everlasting covenant, and marked by the well- 
known patriarchal promises ; and is finally 
proved by the express argument of an inspired 
man to be essentially immutable. 

II. The parties to the Abrahamic covenant 
are clearly God and man, because Abraham, the 
representative of man’s interest in the cove¬ 
nant, is styled the “ father of many nations,” 
“ of all that believe,” “ of us all,” and “ heir of 
the world ;” because the condition of the cov¬ 
enant being spiritual, one man is as near to the 
covenant as another, and all have access to it ; 
because Abraham believed before he was cir¬ 
cumcised, that the covenant might not be con¬ 
fined to the Jews, but extend to all mankind. 

So far as the second feature of the New Testa¬ 
ment Church is concerned—the parties —the 
Abrahamic covenant is identical with the Gos¬ 
pel. The New Testament Church extends to 
all who believe. So does the Abrahamic cove¬ 
nant. 

III. Its provisions are the Son and the Spirit. 
That the Abrahamic covenant embraces Christ 
we are fully assured by the most explicit apos¬ 
tolic interpretation of its language. In the 


seventeenth of Genesis, God covenants with 
Abraham and his seed. In the third of XJala- 
tians, Paul says explicitly that the seed of Abra¬ 
ham, in the eye of this covenant, is Christ. If 
Christ is indeed the seed of Abraham, then these 
things clearly follow : The Abrahamic cove¬ 
nant is a standing covenant, not confined to the 
old economy, but extending to all generations ; 
a universal covenant, not limited to the Jews, 
but opening itself to all the human family ; a 
covenant, in its bounty providing the Son and 
the Spirit ; in its authority, requiring faith on 
man’s part ; its reward, in promising salv^ation 
on the part of God ; and in its designation, 
marked by a heaven-appointed seal. Paul as¬ 
sures us, that long before the institution of the 
Mosaic economy the Abrahamic covenant was 
confirmed by God in Christ (Gal. 3 ; 17). If so, 
then, that covenant must have included the 
Saviour from its earliest inception. This glori¬ 
ous truth is sealed by the declared end of 
Christ’s sufferings and work on Calvary. It is 
inspired language that “ Christ hath redeemed 
us from the curse of the law, being made a curse 
for us,” But why? “That the blessing of 
Abraham might come on the Gentiles through 
Jesus Christ.” If the blessing of the Abra¬ 
hamic covenant looks to Christ crucified as a 
channel, — as means to an end,—that covenant 
includes Christ. Now if Christ is the seed of 
the covenant ; if he is a horn of salvation in 
I performance of the covenant ; if he is a helper 
of Israel in remembrance of the covenant ; if 
he is God's confirmation of the covenant ; if he 
is a curse for us to secure the blessings of the 
covenant ; then, of a truth, the Abrahamic 
covenant embraces Christ, and was always a 
nullity without him. 

The Abrahamic covenant provides the Spirit 
also.^ We have the express Scripture testi¬ 
mony on this head. We are told that Christ 
hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, 
being made a curse for us, “ that the blessing 
of Abraham might come on the Gentiles 
through Jesus Christ ; that we might receive 
the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Gal, 
3 :14). Here, in one inspired sentence, the 
blessing vouchsafed to Abraham and his seed 
in the covenant, includes in express terms both 
the Son and the Spirit. Christ works to secure 
the blessing of the covenant, and the Spirit is 
promised as a part of the blessing thus secured. 
Then in this third feature—the provisions in¬ 
volved—the Abrahamic covenant is identical 
with the Gospel. 

IV. All men know that faith is the all-inclu¬ 
sive requirement of the Gospel. But the Abra- 








SECTION 44.—GENESIS 17 : 1-27. 


349 


iiatnic covenant, like the Gospel, works through 
the righteousness of faith. (1.) The promise 
to Abraham was through faith. We know that 
Abraham believed God before he was circum¬ 
cised We know, too, that Abraham’s faith 
was counted to him for righteousness. We 
know by the Old Testament that the seal of the 
covenant was circumcision. And we know by 
the New Testament that the great import of 
circumcision was faith. For we have the tes¬ 
timony of an apostle, that Abraham received the 
sign of circumcision, “ a seal of the righteous¬ 
ness of faith.” (2.) The promise of Abraham’s 
seed required faith. The apostle says, “ the 

promise to Abraham and his seed was not 

♦ 

through the law, but through the righteousness 
of faith” (Horn. 4 ; 13). “ Know ye, therefore, 

that they who are of faith, the same are the 
children of Abraham. So then they who are of 
faith, the same are blessed with faithful Abra¬ 
ham” (Gal. 3 ; 7, 9). Now if Abraham was justi¬ 
fied by the righteousness of faith ; if the prom¬ 
ise to his seed is made only through the right¬ 
eousness of faith ; if it was recorded in the be¬ 
ginning that Abraham obtained his righteous¬ 
ness by faith, precisely that we might believe 
and obtain the same righteousness ; if we who 
believe are the children of Abraham, and any 
other principle of acceptance, as the apostle 
says, would vitiate the promise ; if the seal of 
the covenant is circumcision, and the scriptural 
meaning of circumcision is faith ; and, finally, 
if the provisions of the covenant are, first, 
Christ a curse for us, the great object of faith, 
and, second, the Spirit of Christ, the great 
aijrent of faith,—what can be clearer than that 
in this fourth feature—the requirement of faith 
— the Abrahamic covenant is identical with the 
New Testament Church ? 

V. The great promise by God is redemption. 
Spiritual and saving promises are perpetually 
connected with the Abrahamic covenant as in¬ 
terpreted both by Old and New Testament 
writers. All their language evidently imports 
the salvation of the Gospel. New Testament 
statements, especially, settle this point. The 
duty required by the covenant—faith a right¬ 
eousness—clearly shows that salvation is the 
reward. The provisions secured—the Son and 
the Spirit—clearly show that nothing less than 
salvation can be the offer of the covenant. The 
price of the blessing—Christ a curse for us— 
settles the fact that God’s promise in the Abra- 
haniic covenant is Christian redemption. Now 
if the language of the covenant promises Canaan 
for a possession, and Jehovah for a God ; if the 
prophetic interpretation of the covenant in¬ 


cludes God’s presence with them, and abode in 
them, and blessing upon them, clothing them 
with robes of righteousness and the garments 
of salvation ; and if the New Testament teaches 
that the Abrahamic covenant requires faith, 
promises the Son and the Spirit, and needs the 
atonement to secure the blessing,—then, of a 
truth, the great promise of God in the Abra¬ 
hamic covenant is salvation. Then in this ffih 
feature of the covenant—its reward —the Abra¬ 
hamic institution is identical with the Gospel. 

VI; Its (ippohited seal is an emblematic rite. 
It is not enough to sa}’^ that the Abrahamic cove¬ 
nant, like the New Testament Church, has its 
divinely appointed sign and seal. More than 
this is true. Substantially the sign and the seal 
of the Abrahamic covenant is the sign and the 
seal of the Gospel covenant. This is true in a 
general sense. Each in its general nature is an 
outward sign of an inward grace. ‘ ‘ Baptism is 
not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, 
but the answer of a good conscience toward 
God” (1 Peter 3:21). “Neither is that cir¬ 
cumcision which is outward in the flesh, but 
circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, 
and not in the letter” (Eom. 2 : 29). Each, 
too, in its general office, is the covenant of a 
purity required of man (Gen 17 : 11), and prom¬ 
ised by God (Deut. 30 : 6). But the similitude 
between baptism and circumcision is not con¬ 
fined to their general features ; it is exact in 
every important particular. Four things define 
Christian baptism : 1. By its nature, baptism 
expresses purification from defilement. So does 
circumcision. 2. By scriptural appointment, 
baptism stands for faith a righteousness. So 
does circumcision (Bom. 4 : 11). 3. By baptism 
the subject speaks out his repentance and 
faith, covenanting with God, and God pledges 
purification and pardon, covenanting with the 
subject. Precisely this is the operation in cir¬ 
cumcision (Gen. 17 : 11). . 4. In the very use of 
baptism the subject literally enters into God’s 
family, and is received by him. Exactly so 
w'as it with him who was circumcised of old 
(Phil. 3 : 3). Kespecting this last feature of the 
New Testament Church—the appointed seal, 
an emblematic rite—is not the Abrahamic cove¬ 
nant identical with the New Testament Church? 
The covenant of the Church in our day carries 
a sign and a seal appointed of God, and em¬ 
bodying the substance of the covenant, both on 
God’s part and on man’s. The covenant of the 
Church in Abraham’s day employed a sign and 
a seal equally appointed of God, and descrip¬ 
tive of the respective pledges of the parties. It 
follows that the Abrahamic covenant and the 



350 


A PliOMJmD. INTERCESSION FOR SODOM. 


■urospel economy, or New Testament Church, are 
one and the same institution. 

It will be readily granted, if we separate from 
any given institution a permanent character ; 
or from it its parties, God and man ; or from its 
provisions, the Son and the Spirit ; or from its 
requirements, faith a righteousness ; or from 
its promise, eternal salvation ; or from its con¬ 
summation, a divine seal emblematic of the 
covenant ; we thereby prove that it is not the 
New Testament Church, But if we show an 
institution of which these six things are true : 
—first, it is a divine arrangement as durable as 
the world ; second, its parties are God and 
man ; third, its provisions are the Son and the 
Spirit ; fourth, its requirement is faith a right¬ 
eousness ; fifth, its promise is final salvation ; 
sixth, its consummation is a divine rite embody¬ 
ing the covenant,—is not that institution the 
Gospel economy—the New Testament Church ? 
If any man denies this proposition, what can 


he say ? Certainl}" such an institution fills up 
the definition of the Church j)recise]y. What 
is lacking ? Here is the Founder of the Church ! 
And the permanency of the Church ! And the 
parties of the Church ! And the provisions of 
the Church ! And the requirement of the 
Church ! And the reward of the Church’! And 
the seal of the Church ! And what of the 
Church is not here ? Thus the Abrahamic cove¬ 
nant is the Gospel,—that is, it is a system of 
salvation by Jesus Christ, which of old justified 
Abraham bj'^ faith, and is now justifying the 
heathen on the same principle. In the third 
chapter of Galatians the New Testament name is 
given to the Old Testament covenant. The 
apostle expressly afiirms this covenant with 
Abraham to be “ The Gospel.” God of old made 
a covenant with Abraham. In so doing, the 
apostle says, “ He preached the Gospel unto 
Abraham.” J. G. Styles. 


Section 45. 

A SON PKOMISED. INTERCESSION FOR SODOM. 

Genesis 18 : 1-33. 

1 And the Lord appeared unto him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the 

2 heat of the day ; and he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood over against 
him : and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to 

3 the earth, and said, My lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pi ay 

4 thee, from thy servant: let now a little water be fetched, and w^asli your feet, and rest your- 

5 selves under the tree : and I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your heart ; after 
that ye shall pass on ; forasmuch as ye are come to your servant. And they said, So do, as 

6 thou hast said. And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready 

7 quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes. And Abraham ran unto the 
herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto the servant ; and he hasted to dress 

8 it. And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them ; 

9 and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat. And they said unto him. Where is 

10 Sarah thy wife? And he said. Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto 
thee when the season cometh round ; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah 

11 heard in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, and well 

12 stricken in age ; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. And Sarah 
laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old 

13 also? And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a 

14 surety bear a child, which am old? Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the set time I 

15 will return unto thee, when the season cometh round, and Sarah shall have a son. Then 
Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not ; for she -was afraid. And he said. Nay ; but thou didst 
laugh. 

16 And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom ; and Abraham vrent with 

17 them to bring them on the way. And the Lord said. Shall I hide from Abraham that which I 

18 do ; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations 






SECTIOJY 45.-GENESIS 18 : 1-33. 


351 


19 of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, to the end that he may com¬ 
mand his children and his household alter him, that they may keep the way of the Loan, to 
do justice and judgment ; to the end that the Loan may bring upon Abraham that which he 

20 hath spoken of him. And the Loan said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, 

21 and because their sin is very grievous ; I will go down now, and see whether they have dene 

22 altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me ; and if not, I will know. And 
the uien turned from thence, and w'ent tow^ard Sodom : but Abraham stood yet before the 

23 Loan. And Abraham drew near, and said. Wilt thou consume the righteous wdth the wicked ? 

24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city : wilt thou consume and not spare the 

25 place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, 
to slay the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wdeked ; that be 

2G far from thee ; shall not the Judge of all Mie earth do right? And the Loan said. If I find in 

27 Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sake. And 
Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which 

28 am but dust and ashes : peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous : wilt thou 
destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, I will riot destroy it, if I find there forty 

29 and five. And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty 

30 found there. And he said, I will not do it for the forty’s sake. And he said. Oh let not the 
Lord be angry, and I will speak : peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he 

31 said, I w'ill not do it, if I find thirty there. And he said. Behold now, I have taken upon me 
to speak unto the Lord : peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I 

32 will not destroy it for the tw^ent^-^’s sake. And he said. Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I 
will speak yet but this once ; peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I wdll not 

33 destroy it for the ten’s sake. And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing 
with Abraham : and Abraham returned unto his place. 


The principles of moral goodness were w'ell- 
nigh extinguished in the human heart, and the 
practice of the moral virtues had almost disap¬ 
peared from the earth. And intemperance, 
ferocity, lust, fraud, and violence might have 
brought a second deluge upon the race, had not j 
the truth of God stood pledged against the rep- j 

etitioir of so dire a calamity. E. C. W.- j 

Wicked as all the nations of those lands were, | 
the people of this one tract appear to have sur¬ 
passed the rest in atrocity. “ The Lord said. 
The erj^ of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and 
their sin is very grievous.” The insults to 
Heaven had, as it were, come up with a 
strength, and loudness, and outrage, greater 
than from other parts of the earth. It was time 
for the righteous Governor to manifest himself. 
And as the first circumstance, three persons 
came as on a friendlj’^ visit to Abraham. It is 
impossible not to be struck with the calmness 
and quietness of the proceeding. There were 
no terrible portents—no magnificent phenom¬ 
ena—no thundering menaces—nor formidable 
preparations—nor effulgence of Divine Majesty. 
The patriarch’s hospitality was accepted. The 
first thing unusual was a matter of complacent 
interest,— a renewed assurance of posterity to 
Abraham. But to think what this friendly con¬ 
verse was the introduction to ! J. F. 

B. AihI IIic appeared unl« 

him. When we consider what our Saviour 


saith, “ No man hath seen God at any time ; 
the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom 
of the Father, He hath declared Him we must 
be convinced that it was not God the Father 
who showed Himself in these appearances ; but 
that it was He, the Logos or Word, who ap- 
p>eared to the Patriarchs ; and neither God the 
Father nor His angels. Bp. Wilson. 

2. Tliree men. Such they Avere in out¬ 
ward appearance, but the Apostle (Heb. 13 :1) 
calls them “angels,” whom Abraham enter¬ 
tained unawares, i.e. not knowing them to be 
such. To him they appeared to be three strang¬ 
ers on a journe 5 % and as such he treated them. 
It is generally conceded that two of these were 
created angels. As to the third, it can scarcely 
be doubted that he w^as the same divine i^erson- 
age who, under the name of “Angel,” or 
“ Angel of Jehovah,” so frequently appeared to 
the patriarchs in human form. Certain it is 
that this personage appears in the subsequent 
! part of the narrative (v. 13-22), and yet there 
j is not the least intimation of any other nppear- 
: ance than that of the .three men whom Abraham 
entertained. The inference therefore is fair 
that the Son of God, anticipating his future 
i manifestation in the flesh, constituted one of 

the company. Bush. -In v. 1 it is said, “ The 

Lord appeared unto him in v. 22 it is said, 
“ The wen turned their faces from thence, and 
went toward Sodom ; but Abraham stood yet 











352 


A SON PROMISED. 


before the Lokd in ch. 19 :1 it is said, 
“ There came two to Sodom at even.” It 

appears from the comparison of these passages, 
and indeed from the whole narrative, that of 
the three men who appeared to Abraham, two 
were angels, and one was Jehovah Himself. 
E. H. B. 

3-8. All the marks of obeisance and respect 
are such as are still common in the East. Even 
the deference shown by him in standing by 
while his guests partook of his food, without 
presuming to take part with them, has been 
more than once witnessed by ourselves in east¬ 
ern lands. We have noticed instances in 
which, when the host was a man of rank and 
consequence, he has brought in, with his own 
hands, some principal dish, and remained 
standing, or in attendance, during the whole 
meal, directing the operations of the servants in 
removing and in laying on. Kit. 

Abraham's dwelling was a tent, probably of 
dark-brown camel’s-hair cloth, like the tents of 
his dependants. Only in this was he distin¬ 
guished from them, that a separate tent was 
pitched for the females of his family. His re¬ 
past was spread for him before the tent door, 
beneath the shade of some friendly tree. The 
most usual articles of food were lehen, or sour 
coagulated milk (which is still the chief dish of 
the Syrian Arab), and unleavened cakes baked 
upon the hot hearth. To these might be added 
on festive occasions, or when strangers were to 
be entertained, the roasted flesh of a kid or of 
a calf. Hospitality to the passing traveller 
ranked among the most sacred and imperative of 
all duties, as is usually the case wherever pub¬ 
lic places of rest or entertainment do not exist. 
Dykes. 

The Arab tents are either round, resting in 
the middle on poles, eight or ten feet high ; or 
oblong, resting on seven to nine poles, of which 
three are higher than the others—the middle 
one the highest. The covering is a thick black 
material, made of goat’s or camel’s-hair,—this, 
tightly stretched, will keep out any rain or 
dew. The tents have two or three divisions— 
for the cattle, the men, and the women : the 
outside compartment for the more tender of the 
cattle ; the next for the men ; and the third, 
inner one, Kubba—in Arabic Alkobba (alcove) 
—is for the women. The Emirs have separate 
tents for the cattle and for the women. The 
tents are frequently pitched under large trees 
for the shade. Thus lived Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob, in the land of Canaan, Oerl. 

The strangers were Heaven’s pilgrims, and 
while they tarried Mamre was holy ground. 


And so with Bible truths. Have a heart hospit- 
able to whatever comes from God, and no fear 
but glorious truths will come—truths whose 
arrival will blaze with light from heaven, and 
whose entrance into the homestead of your con¬ 
victions will create a holiday : truths whose 
coming will make your life more happy, and 
your lot illustrious to yourself. The truths of 
God will come, and God himself will come ; and 
if you entertain them, they will not, like Abra¬ 
ham's angels, seek to pass away. The Bible 
abounds in stately and self-commending truths. 
The Sovereignty of God, the Substitution and 
Satisfaction of Immanuel, the Bighteousness of 
Jehovah-Jesus, the Christ-revealing and soul- 
renewing work of the Holy Sj)irit, the Interces¬ 
sion of the Heavenly High Priest, the sj)iritual- 
ity of Christ’s kingdom, the necessity of Holi¬ 
ness, present salvation, the prevalency of Prayer, 
—to many men these truths merely exist as 
dogmas, which they have stowed away in the 
dusty chamber of their formal creed. But happy 
is the man to whom they come in their angelic 
garb, imperial in faith’s purple, and radiant in 
emitted splendor, ” trailing clouds of glory with 
them as they come.” And happy is the man 
who, blessed with such God-like visitors, de¬ 
tains them as perpetual residents ; and bidding 
all his love and faith and veneration wait on 
them and serve them, finds his being exalted 
into the home of high conviction, the palace of 
God’s own truth. In such a man the Word of 
Christ dwells richl 3 \ Hamilton. 

8. Did eat. All this happened as narrated. 
Man eats that he may live. An angel eats to be 

like a man. Gerl. -If the angels took upon 

themselves a human body, they could also eat. 
9-11. The narrative distinctly and decisivelj'’ 
proves that the renewal of the promise was 
meant for Sarah and not for Abraham, The 
first sentence which the strangers utter, is to 
inquire; “Where is Sarah thy wife ?” and im¬ 
mediately afterward the messenger of Jehovah 
adds the prediction, which it was meant Sarah 
should hear, and which she actually heard. 
Then follows the colloquy between the heavenly 
guest and Sarah, in which Abraham takes no 
part. K. 

10. Sarali tliy wife »«1iall liavc a 
son. It is repeated again (v. 14). Thus the 
promises of the Messiah were often repeated in 
the Old Testament, for the strengthening of 
the faith of God’s people. We are slow of heart 
to believe, and therefore have need of line upon 
line to the same purport. This is that word of 
promise which the apostle quotes (Rom. 9 :9), 
as that by the virtue of which Isaac was born. H 




SECTION 45.—GENESIS 18 : 1-83. 


do5 


12. Abraham heard this news from the angel 
and laughed ; Sarah heard it and laughed : they 
did not more agree in their desire than differ in 
their affection ; Abraham laughed for joy ; 
Sarah, for distrust ; Abraham laughed because 
he believed it would be so ; Sarab, because she 
believed it could not be so : the same act varies 
in the manner of doing and the intention of the 
doer. Yet Sarah laughed but within herself and 
is betrayed : how God can find us out in secret 
sins ! How easily did she now think that he, 
which could know of her inward laughter, could 
know of her conception ; and now she that 
laughed and believed not, believeth and fear- 
eth. Bp. 11. 

lij. The chief speaker is de¬ 

noted, first by the mere pronoun, which is often 
used when God is meant, and then by the name 
Jehovah. It appears from the sequel, that 
while the chief of the three (Jehovah himself) 
remained behind in converse with Abraham, 
and then “ went his way” to execute judgment 
upon Sodom, the other two were sent forward 
to rescue Lot. P. S. 

Wliercfore did Sarali laug^li ? The 

prerogative of God extendeth as well to the rea¬ 
son as to the will of man ; so that, as we are to 
obey his law, though we find areluctation in our 
will, so we are to believe his Word, though we 
find a reluctation in our reason. For if we be¬ 
lieve only that which is agreeable to out sense, 
we give consent to the matter, and not to the 
author ; which is no more than we would do 
toward a suspected and discredited witness ; 
but that faith which was accounted to Abraham 
for righteousness was of such a point as whereat 
Sarah laughed, who therein was an image of 
natural reason. Bocon. 

14, 15. It seems to have been a signal mercy 
to her, thus to have had her secret sin detected 
and reproved. From this time we hear no more 
of her unbelief ; on the contrary, the rebuke 
administered to her was effectual for the con¬ 
firming and establishing her faith. In the ac¬ 
count given of the most eminent saints who 
were distinguished for their faith, Sarah herself 
is mentioned ; and her faith is said to have been 
instrumental to the accomplishment of that very 
promise, which in the first instance she had 
disbelieved. And how many have found similar 
reason to bless God for the fidelity of their 
friends, or for the inward rebukes of their own 

consciences ! Bush. -A question had been 

asked that made Sarah serious: “ Is anything 
too hard for Jehovah ?” When Sarah heard that 
question she wished to disown her laughter and 
to fall in the hands of the Lord. J. P. 

23 


At length, in the faith of both his parents, 
there was present the prerequisite condition for 
Isaac’s supernatural conception. His birth was 
announced to take place at the recurrence of the 
same season next year. But before it took 
place, this divine visitation in mercy was to be 
set in contrast with a divine visitation in judg¬ 
ment. The calm of the patriarchal home was 
speedily to be invaded with tidings of horror, 
and the bright hopes which had dawned upoc 
the race of Abraham crossed by a luiid glare, 
when He who had descended in favor upon 
Mamre descended in vengeance upon Sodom. 
Dykes. 

1^5. Rose up. Consider the progress of 
the history from this point. The three men 
rise up and turn their steps toward Sodom. On 
the way thej' stand still ; and He who already 
had spoken as the Lord Jehovah, announces to 
Abraham His purpose to inquire into the cry 
which had come up to Him from Sodom. The 
two angels then turn toward Sodom (19 : 1) ; 
while the third, the Lord, remains and listens 
to Abraham’s entreaty for the city. The two 
angels arrive at Lot’s house, pass the night 
there, and declare that the Lord had sent them 
to destroy the city : in the morning, they lead 
him out. Here the third, the Lord Himself, 
comes to them (19 :17). Lot, who did not yet 
know them, appeals to the whole three for a 
particular mercy (ver. 18), but only one out of 
the three answers him, and speaks now in His 
own name ; and thereupon, as Jehovah, he 
rams down fire and brimstone out of heaven 
from the Lord (Jehovah), ver. 21-25. Gerl. 

17. 1 hide from Ahratiam. All 
the principles of the divine Providence in its re¬ 
lations to the sins of men appear here : his for¬ 
bearance and patience, his constant notice, the 
deciding test, and the strictness and righteous¬ 
ness of the judgment ; and hence Abraham is 
told here, that these same principles might 
operate upon the minds of the people of God in 
all ages. Gasman. 

18, 19. Three points are contained in the 
promises given to Abraham. 1. The land in 
which he himself continues all his life a strang¬ 
er, and where he must even buy a place for his 
grave, is to be given for an eternal possession 
to his descendants. 2. He who remains child¬ 
less till his old age shall have an innumerable 
posterity, which is guaranteed by the changing 
of his name into Abraham [father of a mulli- 
tude] ; and not Ishmael. the son of Hagar, wIjo 
was born after the counsel of man, but Isaac., 

born contrary to the ways of nature, according 

/ 

to God’s counsel, is to be the bearer and inherit 







354 


A SON PROMISED. 


or of tba promise. 3. The seed of Abraham 
shall be made a blessing for all races and all 
nations of the earth. Still the electing grace of 
the covenant God, who calls himself El-SItaddai 
ahe Almiglity God), as a witness of his con¬ 
trolling power in the natural world, is met on 
Abraham s side hy faith, which does not look at 
the course of nature, but holds fast to God’s 
word of promise, and endures victoriously the 
severest test in his willingness to offer the son 
of the promise. In this faith, which is reck¬ 
oned to him for righteousness, Abraham the 
frit-nd of God is the prophet, to whom is granted 
insight in^o the divine counsel (“ Shall I hide 
from Abraham what I am about to do?”) when 
Sodom reels onward to judgment, and who has 
the privilege of free access to God in prayer. 
Nay, he becomes the father of all believers, 
and his name stands at the head of the three 
monotheistic religions of the world (Jewish, 
’Mohammedan, and Christian), even when 
looked at in a purely historical way. But this 
knowledge of the divine way is to be accom¬ 
panied by a walking therein (Gen. 17 :1). 
Moreover, according to verse 19, Jehovah ” ac¬ 
knowledged,” that is, chose, Abraham, “ that he 
blight command his sons after him to keep 
Jehovah’s ways, doing justice and right, that 
Jehovah might bring upon Abraham all that He 

has said of him.” O.-Blessings are secured 

to him only if he and his seed after him walk in 
the ways of Jehovah, in obedience to the cove¬ 
nant. He is therefore to instruct his household 
and his children in these ways, and to see to it 
that they remain faithful to the covenant. If 
they forsake the ways of Jehovah and choose to 
walk in those of the heathen, the same judgment 
which had been executed on the Gentiles would 
also overtake them. Thus the communication 
of Jehovah’s purpose in reference to Sodom is 
at the same time a solemn and telling warning 
addressed to Abraham and to his posterity. K. 

Occasions will arise when parental authority 
must accompany parental prayers and precepts, 
if we would walk in the steps of faithful Abra¬ 
ham. In particular, everything that dishonors 
God, no less than that which is injurious to 
society, must be opposed with determined vigor. 
The economy of the household should be so 
ordered as to carry the conviction to their minds 
that the knowledge, the love, and the service of 
God is the great business of life, to which every¬ 
thing else is to be subservient. Bash. - 

Parental fidelity and authority ; the early cult¬ 
ure and training of his household ; consecra¬ 
tion, the prayer and the faith which are legiti¬ 
mately begotten of this covenant and naturally 


correlated to it ; —these are obviously the fitting 
conditions upon which the fulfilment of this 
covenant on God’s part must depend. But, oh, 
the wealth of blessings garnered up within its 
bosom for those who walk in ihe steps of Abra¬ 
ham with like precious faith and like godly nur¬ 
ture ! How wonderfully does piety become self- 
perpetuating in the family line from generation 
to generation of those who take this covenant 
to their inmost heart and find God in it ever 
faithful and ever true and evermore “ mighty to 

save,” as he hath said ! H. C.-God having 

made the covenant with him and his seed, and 
his household being circumcised, pursuant to 
that, he was to teacli and rule them well. Those 
that expect family-blessings must make con¬ 
science of family-duty. If our children be the 
Lord’s, they must be nursed for him ; if they 
wear his livery, the}" must be trained up in his 
work. Abraham not only took care of his chil¬ 
dren, but of his household. The poorest ser¬ 
vants have precious souls that must be looked 
after. Abraham made it his care and business 
to promote practical religion in his family. H. 

-God’s plan includes Abraham’s fidelity to 

the covenant ; and as it is a household cove¬ 
nant, embracing his seed after him, so it binds 
him to be a faithful father and householder. 
This is the process by which God will accom¬ 
plish his plan of grace, and the means are 
secured as well as the end. Family religion is 
God’s method for propagating his church. Ho 
therefore makes the covenant and its seals of a 
household nature ; and thus the church has 
always been extended by means of a pious pos¬ 
terity. Jacobus. 

It was the simple, massive, serene character 
of Abraham which kept him so steady to his ideas, 
and which gave him his peculiar power to keep 
others steady also. We seem to see one of such 
rectitude and majesty of will that he himself 
moved, and moved all around him, easily, in 
the line which the finger of God had marked. 
Of all models for the prosperous men of this 
century Abraham is the finest, —laying hold on 
life with so powerful a grasp, yet confessing that 
ho was “ a stranger and a pilgrim.” Mercer. 

Under the Patriarchal dispensation each head 
of a single family was at once prince and priest 
of his own people ; offering sacrifices in their 
behalf and leading their simple worship, priv¬ 
ileged to receive personal communications from 
God and to expect special guidance of his prov¬ 
idence and grace. These intimate personal re¬ 
lations w’ith God proved to these early saints a 
means of spiritual training of marvellous power. 
The Patriarchal dispensation was ‘appointed to 









SECTION 45.—GENESIS 18 : 1-83. 


355 


lay deep and broad the foundations of the Church 
for all coming time. The Churcli of God rests 
on two corner-stones : piety in the individual 
man, and family religion by which the piety of 
the fathers is perpetuated in their children. 
The office of (he Patriarchal Dispensation was 
to develop and establish forever these two foun¬ 
dations of the future Church, personal holiness 
and family religion. Of both these principles, 
Abraham was the most iDerfect example under 
this eatly dispensation. ... So under the 
Christian dispensation, the father is prince and 
priest of his household. He must minister at 
the family altar, bearing upon his own soul to 
the mercy-seat the burden of their sins and 
sorrows and needs. He must command his 
children that they keep the way of the Lnrd. 
And with him also if faithful, as with faithful 
Abraham, wdll God enter into an unfailing cove¬ 
nant, which shall bring blessings untold to his 
children of generations yet unborn. E. L. 
Clark. 

As soon as prophecy found a receptacle in the 
chosen race it grew strong, it became an archi¬ 
tect and builder, it raised institutions, it enact¬ 
ed ordinances. In Abraham it founded a family, 
in Moses it framed a law, in David it erected a 
kingdom. The Jewish people from the first 
gave prophecy a fixed home, and the nation be 
came the depository for the sacred gift. The 
Jewish Church maintained and kept up the in¬ 
spired expectation, protecting it, and surround¬ 
ing it with institutions and schools ; so that, 
preserved as a directing influence among them, 
it prepared a practical reception for the Messiah ; 
and founded that body of thought in the nation 
which welcomed him who fulfilled the promise 
when he came, and in that welcome founded the 
Christian Church. Prophecy thus proved itself 
an instrument of real efficiency and power. In 
Abraham himself we see the foundation of that 
strong external structure,—that law, that system, 
and that discipline,—wdiich was to act as the 
depositor^' of the prophetic promise ; we see it 
in tue fact that he founded a family, and bound 
that family by precepts and regulations which 
enabled it to preserve and hand down the true 
faith. Scripture gives him a character some¬ 
what akin to that of an ancient law-giver, repre¬ 
senting him as laying down rules and imparting 
a particular mould and type to his family, pro¬ 
viding for its future instruction and worship, 
and treating it not merely as a family but as an 
instiiution. It hardly appears too bold to say 
that this text (vs. 17-19) is a description of more 
than the head of a family, that it represents the 
founder of a religious community, whose future 


adherence to the true faith ho was anxious to 
secure by proper regulations. Mozley. 

B§, Aiil B>lc§§cd. Even here, 

when God affords the greatest proof of His 
friendship for Abraham, the reason why He so 
distinguishes him is this—because through him 
shall all the people of the eaith be blessed. In 
order to show him how blessed a thing it is to 
serve the true and living God, and to stand in 
the relation of childlike intercourse with Him 
(a blessing which is granted to all those who are 
blessed through Abraham), God makes known 
His purpose to him as to an intimate friend. 
GerL -Hence we find, in subsequent revela¬ 

tions, that Abraham is spoken of as peculiarly 
the “friend of God.’’ So in Jehoshaphat’s 
prayer (2 Chron. 20:17): “Thou gavest this 
land to the seed of Abraham thy friend forever.” 
So by the prophet Isaiah (12 :8) Jehovah de¬ 
clares : “ Thou Israel art my servant, the seed 
of Abraham my friend.'" And the apostle James, 
speaking of the offering of Isaac, remarks : 
“ And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith 
Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto 
him for righteousness ; and he was called the 
friend of God." S. E. 

Abraham speaks to God, and God to Abraham, 
as a man speaks to his friend; and it seems almost 
as if the innocent time were brought back when 
God w'^alked “ in the garden in the cool of the 
day.” It was this peculiar nearness and confi¬ 
dence which gave Abraham the name of “ the 
Friend of God,”—” El Khalil,” the Friend, as 
the common Arab calls him to-day. JHercer. 

-Men have sometimes communed with gods, 

genii, and departed heroes, but not with God, 
the one God of heaven and earth, in a way so 
calm and trusting. The stranger has no other 
friend than He who had brought him into this 
remoteness ; but Him he possesses as the Friend 
of friends. What tender passages are there in 
the intercourse of God with him ; how he com¬ 
forts, directs, cheers him with future hopes ; 
gives him, now, the pledge of a covenant, now, 
the sign of friendship, now, a new name, now, 
symbols to impress his heart, and demands now 
this, now that, return of love to Himself. 
Herder. 

20, 21, Abraham is destined to be a great 
nation and a blessing to all nations ; for / have 
known, i.e., acknowledged him (chosen him in 
anticipative love, as in Amos 3:2; Hos. 
13 : 4), that he may command his whole posterity 
to keep the w'ay of Jehovah, to practise justice 
and righteousness, that all the promises may be 
fulfilled in them. God then disclosed to Abra¬ 
ham what he was about to do to Sodom and 








35G 


INTERCESSION FOR SODOM. 


Gomorrah, because Jehovah had chosen him to 
be tbe father of the people of God, in order that, 
by instructing his descendants in the fear of 
God, he might lead them in the paths of right¬ 
eousness, so that they might become partakers 
of the promised salvation, and not be overtaken 
by judgment. The destruction of Sodom and 
the surrounding cities was to be a permanent 
memorial, to keep the fate of the ungodly con¬ 
stantly before the mind of Israel. To this end 
Jehovah explained to Abraham the cause of their 
destruction in the clearest manner possible, that 
he might not only be convinced of the justice of 
the divine government, but might learn, that, 
when the measure of iniquitj'^ was full, no in¬ 
tercession could avert the judgment,—a lesson 
and a warning to his descendants also. KeV. 

20. Tlic cry of SjkIoiii. The cry of sins 
for punishment. It is applicable to every sin as 
expressive of ihe moral demand' which it makes for 
punishment ; for every sin has a voice of crimi¬ 
nation against the sinner, and its crying inti¬ 
mates the fixed, necessary, and righteous connec¬ 
tion (Gen. 4 ; 10), which is established between 
transgression and punishment. Bush. 

21, Will know. The perfect justice of 

God, the exact weighing of all which men have 
done, is in a most striking manner represented 
in this expression. God places the Sodomites 
on their trial. The trial was not needful for 
His information ; but it is needful that every 
sin shonh] be brought to light, to be either blot¬ 
ted out or punished. Geri. -In this passage 

God speaks after the manner of men ; using 
the language of a good judge, who never passes 
sentence, much less executes it, till he hath ex¬ 
amined the cause. Kidder. -Jehovah could 

not be uncertain whether the cry of Sodom and 
GoinoiraU contained the truth ; but it wns still 
a question whether Sodom, by its conduct 
agfvnst the last deciding visitation of God. 
would show that its corruption placed it beyond 
any help or salvation. It must become evident 
through its last trial, whether it has reached 
the limit of the long-suffering patience of God. 

Lange. - WlietSier tSBey liave «loii© al- 

lOjffClllcr. Ileb., whether they have made com¬ 
pleteness ,—made a finish (of their sins), filled 
the measure. Jacobus. 

2‘5-;i3, Abraham intercedes for Sodom. He 
puts forward the plea of justice to the righteous 
in behalf of the city. He ventures fo repeat 
his intervention six times, every time diminish¬ 
ing the number of the righteous whom he sup¬ 
poses to be in it. The patience of the Lord is no 
less remarkable than the perseverance of Abra¬ 
ham. .In every case he grants his petition. M. 


-Six times he intercedes, with such earnest¬ 
ness and heartfelt yearning, that in his great 
anguish and desire he utters almost foolish 
words. But it is a most precious prayer, if you 
judge of it bj' the attitude of his heart ; for it 
was a very violent emotion and profound im¬ 
portunity. There was more in the holy man's 
heart than that heart could understand and 
feel. I am sure tears ran down his face, and 
his words passed into unspeakable sighs. 
Luther. 

He trembles as he plants each footstep in ad¬ 
vance, yet, love-impelled, he cannot but pro¬ 
ceed. He fears to offend, yet he fears still more 
to let a last chance be lost of averting the awful 
judgment. Earnestly, tremblingly, on and on 
he goes, reducing first by fives and then by tens 
the number, till at last he stops, overwhelmed 
with the impression that the Divine grace has 
triumphed over the human importunity', and 
satisfied that the Judge of all the earth will cer¬ 
tainly do right. Wonderful specimen this of 
an intercession coming from a heart filled fo 
overflow with the desire to see God’s chaiacter 
vindicated and the happiness of his creatures, 
even the worst of them, secured ! Can we 
doubt that it was this singular union of pure 
compassion for human suffering with a supreme 
regard for righteousness, a care for the Divine 
honor rvith resignation to the Divine will, that 
won for it the audience of that ear which heaid 
in it from afar a faint echo of that most won¬ 
derful intercession that ever came from human 
lips—“ Father, forgive them ; for they know 
not what they do’’ ? W. H. 

Kovf fervently does this righteous man pray', 
this friend of God and friend of man, when he 
has once taken on him to speak unto the Lord 
as a man speaketh unto his friend ! Of his 
prayer, a clear knowledge of ihe will and being 
of God is the basis : in his God he lieholds the 
Judge of the whole earth, who cannot possibly 
do aught but justice. Humility' is the key-note 
to this prayer. It evinces unshaken confidence 
in a wisdom, a holiness, a love and power, 
whose ways were different, but y'et infinitely 
higher and better, than the ways and thoughts 
of men. It is characterized by a perseverance 
which from every renewed promise borrows 
higher courage for a new and bolder demand ; 
but at the same time by a thorough’ submissior 
to the will of God, when the utmost limit has 
been reached which the long-suffering One can 
assign to His sentence. No marvel, truly, that 
this prayer, looking at the result, availed much. 
It did not, indeed, save Sodom and Gomorrah 
from destruction ; there W'ere not found therein 












JSECriOJV 4b.~GEXESIS 18 : 1 - 38 . 


357 


even ten righteous men. But not the less it 
guided Lot uiid his household out of Sodom to 
Zoar : for the sake of Abraham the family was 
preserved, of which he had not even mentioned 
the name. And, above all, through this piayer 
Abraham was himself bound in closer union to 
Jehovah : God's good pleasure in His servant 
was heightened ; and after centuries it still 
speaks to us and countless others of our most 
glorious privilege and our most sacred duty. 
Van 0. 

25. not tSae .fud^e of* all the 

earth do ri;:ht ? This very question is it¬ 
self a tribute to the righteousness of God. And 
the course which God took in answering it 
shows that he has ever held it of the first conse¬ 
quence to secure the moral approbation of his 
creatures. In many things he has transcended 
their reason; in nearly all things he has bafiled 
and even Confounded and mocked their specula¬ 
tions ; but in all instances he has been most 
careful not to excite controversy against him¬ 
self in the human conscience. If it could once 
enter the mind of man that God has done wrong, 
that is to say has acted unjustly, man would be 
in a position to vindicate the most strenuous 
rebellion against his government. It is true, 
indeed, that we may come upon many things, 
even in moral government, which we can neither 
understand nor explain ; but if where we can 
enter into God’s purpose, and the method of its 
execution, we are enabled to see that righteous¬ 
ness is the habitation of God’s throne, we are 
entitled to give our conscience rest in cases 

which are to our reason inscrutable. J. P.- 

It is a wonderful confirmation of man’s right to 
reason from the most certain intuitions of his 
owm moral being to the character and ways of 
Him Who made man, that Jehovah neither re¬ 
sented nor disappointed the appeal of His ser¬ 
vant. To each successive question He returned 
a calm assent ; “I will not do it for the sake of 
so many.” As far as the courage or the justice 
of the man made bold to go, God’s higher and 
more merciful justice went along with him. 
Dykes. 

32. I will not deitroy it for teii’.s 
§Rke. A wonderful representation of the ten¬ 
der mercy of the Most High ; who condescended 
to grant a reprieve to the who'e country for the 
sake of a few righteous, could they have been 
found in it. And His mercy was still greater, 
even beyond Abraham’s de-sire ; for He spared 
one of the five cities, for the sake of three or 
four persons : as we read (chap. 19 :20, 21). 
Abraham makes no express mention of Lot in 
any of the foregoing petitions but it is plain 


from chap. 19 : 29 that he was in his thoughts, 
which God knew ; and he is comprehended in 
those words at the 23d verse of this chapter, 
“ Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the 

wicked?” Patrick. -Every corrupt man is 

not only an enemy to himself, but an enemy to 
his family and to his country, by contributing 
to swell the tide of national guilt, which will 
not fail to end in national calamity, whenever 
the measure of the iniquity of the individuals 
that compose the community shall come to the 
full. Hates. 

How cautiously, yet how hopefully, Abraham's 
prayer tnlarged itself f From fifty to forty-five, 
to forty, to thirty, to twenty, to ten ! A whole 
city would have been spared for the sake of ten 
righteous men. Here we see a great principle 
in the government o^ God. Vv^e are sparing 
others, or are being spared for their sakes. J. P. 

33, Abraham left off asking before God left 
off granting ; and though the particular object 
of his petitions was not accorded to him. yet 
the avowed conditions on which it would have 
been granted show that no limits, but such as a 
concern for his own honor induced God to fix, 
can be assigned to the exercise of his grace in 

answer to his people’s prayers. Bush. -God 

granted Abraham’s prayer so far as he ventured 
to extend it. We know not what would have 

s 

been the answer, had he gone further. But we 
have here the highest encouragement for in¬ 
tercessory prayer, — to plead with God for wicked 
men, for communities and nations that are far 
gone in sin. Abraham received no denial. tSo 
far as we can see, it was he who left off, and 
not God. Yet we are to rest humbly and trust¬ 
fully upon God’s good pleasure, after all our 

prayer. Jacobus. -The importunity which 

believers use in their addresses to God, is such, 
that if they were dealing with a man like them¬ 
selves, they could not but fear that he would be 
angry with them. But he with whom we have 
to do is God and not man; and however he may 
seem, is not really angry with the prayers of the 
upright (Ps. 80 :4), for they are his delight (Prov. 
15 : 8), and he is pleased when he is wrestled 
with. 

Abraham returned unto his place, not puffed up 
with the honor done him, nor by these extraor¬ 
dinary interviews taken off from the ordinary 
coarse of duty ; he returned to his place, to ob¬ 
serve what the event would be ; and it proved 
that his prayer was heard, and yet Sodom not 
spared, because there were not ten righteous in 
it. We cannot expect too little from man, nor 
too much from God. H.-“Abraham re¬ 

turned to hvs place,” and it was now the after- 








358 


PA TUI ARC IIA L DI8PENSA TION. 


noon. The people of Sodom little knew what a 
conversation they liad been the subject of. The 
vain and wicked little know, or think, or care, 
what fear the devout and righteous may be en¬ 
tertaining for them, or what inteicessory sup¬ 
plications they may be making - and if they did 
know, many of them would but scorn such 
fears and prayers. There was to be in Sodom 
something that was to be saved in the hour of 
vengeance, to mark in a signal manner the con 
trast ; to show how infallibly the righteous 
Governor distinguishes ; -and what value he 
sets on the fidelity that will not conform to the 
surrounding wickedness. J. F. 


The Patriarchal Dispensation. The Greek 
word Patriarch (the father-ruler) gives a fuller 
etymological expression to the idea which was 
at first essential to the simpler Hebrew word, 
at the time when the father was, by the right of 
nature, the ruler ot the whole community formed 
by his living descendants. In sacred history 
the term is commonly applied to the descend¬ 
ants of Adam, through the line of Abraham, 
down to the time of Moses. The whole plan of 
God’s moral government and revelation of him¬ 
self before the giving of the Mosaic Law consti¬ 
tutes the Patriarchal Dispensation, which Paul 
expressly distinguishes by the phrase “ until 
the law,” and defines as ” from Adam to 
Moses.” Its peculiar characteristics were the 
direct and intimate communion of God with his 
people, and their government by a moral sys¬ 
tem, the great principles of which were well 
understood, though not yet reduced to a code 
of laws. It was an experiment of moral govern¬ 
ment in the simple and beautiful form of family 
harmony. Its ideal is expressed in the words 
—“ I have known Abraham, to the end that he 
may command his children and his household 
after him, that they may keep the way of Je¬ 
hovah, to do justice and judgment ” 

The patriarchal dispensation may be divided 
into three stages. (1.) When our first parents 
had fallen from their primitive state of inno¬ 
cence, thej”^ were placed, by the promise of a de¬ 
liverer, in a condition still to trust in the mercy 
of God, and to choose between a life of humble 
obedience to him, and self-willed opposition 
against him ; and the observance of sacrifices 
of blood seems to have been an outward sign 


distinguishing the followers of these two 
courses. The distinction was seen in the per¬ 
sonal characters of Cain and Abel, and in the 
family characters of the Cainites and the Seth- 
ites ; but before long the latter also were cor¬ 
rupted by their unitm with the former —the sons 
of God intermarrying with the daughters of 
men —and the general result was an almost uni¬ 
versal experiment on God’s forbearance. (2.) 
This state of things was ended by the Deluge, 
after which the experiment of godly obedience 
and patriarchal order was renewed under the 
fresh conditions laid down by the covenant with 
Noah, insuring the divine forbearance till the 
end of time Put w hen the prospect of judg¬ 
ment was thus removed far off, sin assuinednev/ 
courage ; the Babel-builders made the daring 
attempt to render themselves independent of 
Jehovah : nations w'ere founded on those god¬ 
less principles which have ever since prevailed 
in the ‘‘ kingdoms of this world.” This w'as 
the very consummation of rebellion against the 
patriarchal dispensation ; while the authority 
with which it invested the father of the familj' 
was claimed, as it has been to our owm day, for 
the despot and usurper. Idolatry W'as estab¬ 
lished in all these kingdoms ; and the pure 
worship of Jehovah was alone preserved, or per¬ 
haps wm should rather say, retaught to man, in 
connection with the true model of patriarchal 
government, in the one famil}’, which was 
chosen to wander about as nomads, living under 
tents, amid the nations with whom as j’et they 
shared no earthly inheritance. (3 ) It is in 
this third stage that W'e see the general form 
and spirit of the patriarchal life. Of the social 
life of the Antediluvian Patriarchs, and even of 
the Postdiluvian Patriarchs before Abraham, 
we know next to nothing ; but wdien we turn to 
the pictures of Abraham dwelling in tents with 
Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same 
promises ; of the other branch of the family at 
Haran ; of the conflicts between Sarah and 
Hagar on behalf of Ishmael and Isaac, and be¬ 
tween Esau and Jacob themselves for the right 
of inheritance ; of Isaac and Jacob blessing 
their children before thej" died ; and of the 
varied relations between the sons of Israel and 
their families—in these and many other scenes 
we see the working of the patriarchal system 
with sufficient distinctness to trace its leading 
principles. P. S. 








SECTION 46.—GENESIS 19 : 1-28. 


359 


Section 46. 

SODOM DESTEOYED. LOT SAVED. 

Genesis 19 ; 1-28. 

1 And the two angels came to Sodom at even ; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom ; and Lot 

U saw them, and rose up to meet them , and he bowed himself with his face to the earth ; and 
he said, Behold now, my lords, turn aside, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all 
night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up earl 3 ’^, and go on your wa^'. And they said, 

3 Nay ; but we will abide in the street all night. And he urged them greatly ; and they turned 
in unto him, and entered into his house ; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened 

4 bread, and they did eat. But before they lay down, the men of the cit}^ even the men of 
Sodom, compassed the house round, both young and old, all the .people from every quarter ; 

5 and they called unto Lot, and said unto him. Where are the men which came in to thee this 

6 night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot w'ent out unto them to 

7 the door, and shut the door after him. And he said, I pray j’ou, m 3 " brethren, do not so 

8 wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man ; let me, I pray 
3 'ou, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes : only unto these men 

9 do nothing ; forasmuch as they are come under the shadow of m 3 " roof. And they said. Stand 
back. And the 3 " said. This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge : now 
will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore ujjon the man, even 

10 Lot, and drew near to break the door. But the men put forth their hand, and brought Lot 

11 into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the door 
of the house with blindness, both small and great : so that they wearied themselves to find 

12 the door. And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides ? son in law, and thy sons, 

13 and thy daughters, and whomsoever thou hast in the city ; bring them out of the place : for 
we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the Lord ; and the 

14 Lord hath sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out. and spake unto his sons in law, which 
married his daughters, and said. Up, get you out of this jilace ; for the Lord will destroy the 

15 city. But he seemed unto his sons in law as one that mocked And when the morning arose, 
then the angels hastened Lot, saying. Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters which are 

16 here ; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. But he lingered ; and the men laid 
hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters ; 
the Lord being merciful unto him : and the 3 ' brought him forth, and set him without the city. 

17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said. Escape for thy 
life ; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the Plain ; escape to the mountain, lest 

18 thou be consumed. And Lot said unto them. Oh, not so, my lord : behold now, thy servant 

19 hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed 
unto me in saving my life ; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest evil overtake me, and I 

20 die : behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one : Oh, let me escape 

21 thither, (is it not a little one ?) and my soul shall live. And he said unto him. See, I have 
accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow the city of which thou hast 

22 spoken. Haste thee, escape thither ; for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither. 

23 Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot 

24 came unto Zoar. Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire 

25 from the Lord out of heaven ; and he overthrew those cities, and all the Plain, and all the 

26 inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his w"ife looked back 

27 from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham got up early in the morning 

28 to the place where he had stood before the Lord : and he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, 
and toward all the land of the Plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smok j of the land went up as 
the smoke of a furnace. 


The two strangers who entered the gate of 
Sodom on the evening before its fall had dined 
with Abraham that day upon the heights of 


Mamre. The mission of these celestial visitors 
had for its first object, as we h>ive seen, the an¬ 
nunciation of glad tidings to Abraham’s wife ; 



360 


SODOM DESTROYED. LOT SAVED. 


its second was to visit Sodom with judgment. 
So impartially do Heaven’s messengers execute 

alike its mercy and its severity. Dykes. -The 

gain of this world is but transitory ; faith reaps 
a late but lasting recompense. The Angels of 
God descended to fulfil in one and the same 
mission a double purpose to take from Lot 
his earthly portion, and to prepare for the ac¬ 
complishment ot the everlasting blessings prom¬ 
ised to Abraham ; to destroy Sodom, while 
they foretold the approaching birth of Isaac. 
Ne'oman. 

1. At even, Lot §at in tlie g^atc oT 
ISixIoiii. VVe can imagine the setting sun for 
tlie last time, throwing a mild and softened radi- 
ance on tbe cities and across the plain ; and no 
warning by elemental disorder. Nature keeps 
the secret of her great Governor. If conscience 
will not alarm the sinners, nothing else shall. 
But what was there latent in that soft tranquil¬ 
lity ? There was there the hovering power of 
divine justice -the spirit of retribution, just 
growing to the intensity to reveal itself in re¬ 
sistless flame. J. F. 

Oate. The covered doorways, and the 
piazzas adjoining (such are to be seen in mod¬ 
ern fortified towns), were in ancient times usual 
places of concourse, where the inhabitants met 
for amusement, or to transact public business, 
especially the administration of justice. Gerl. 

-At first the tent of Lot was only pitched 

near the gate of Sodom, and by he aban¬ 
doned tent-'life altogether, and inhaViited a house 
in the city. At last he betrothed his girls to 
native Sodomites, and sat in its gateway as one 
of its conspicuous citizens at a time when the 
cry of its pollutions had gone up to heaven. 
Dykes, 

*2, When our Saviour made as though He 
would have gone further. He effectually ques¬ 
tioned His disciples as to the condition of their 
hearts in relation to the duties of hospitality. 
The angels, in answering that they would abide 
in the street all night, made the same experi¬ 
ment on Lot. This species of simulation in¬ 
volves no falsehood ; its design is not to de¬ 
ceive, but to catechize or instruct. The whole 
action is to be regarded as a sign by which a 
ipiestion is proposed, or the mind excited to 
such a degree of curiosity and attention that 
lessons of truth can be successfully imparted. 
The command to Abraham to sacrifice his son 
involved a series of practical interrogatories to 
which no other form of proposing them could 
have elicited such satisfactory responses. The 
principle holds here which obtains in reference 
to fictions and fables. The action is only the 


dress of the thought, and where the purpose in 
view is honorable and just, no exceptions can 
be taken on the score of veracity to the drapery 
in which it is adorned. Thornwell. 

4 , 5. The utter shamelessness of the inhab¬ 
itants of yodom, as well as their unbridled licen¬ 
tiousness, is briefly but most emphatically ex¬ 
pressed in these verses. The Canaanitish na¬ 
tions in general, and the cities of the plain 
especially, were addicted to those deadly sins 
so strictly forbidden to the Israelites. E. H. B. 

-It was the most unnatural and abominable 

wickedness that they were now set upon, a sin 
that still bears their name, and is called sodomy. 
They were carried headlong by those vile affec¬ 
tions (Rom. 1 :26, 27), which are worse than 
brutish, and the eternal reproach of the human 
nature, and which cannot be thought of with¬ 
out horror, by those that have the least spark of 
virtue, and any remains of natural light and 
conscience. They proclaimed war with virtue, 
and bid open defiance to it. Hence daring sin¬ 
ners are said to declare their sin as Sodom (Is, 
3 :9). H. 

6-8. The good man craves and pleads the 
laws of hospitality ; and when he sees head¬ 
strong purposes of mischief, chooses rather to 
be an ill father than an ill host : his intention 
was good, but his offer was faulty ; if through 
his allowance the Sodomites had defiled his 
daughters, it had been his sin ; if through vio¬ 
lence they had defiled his guests, it had been 
only theirs : there can be no warrant for us to 
sin, lest others should sin : it is for God to 
prevent sins with judgments, it is not for men 
to prevent a greater sin with a less : God meant 
better to Lot, than to suffer his weak offer to be 
accepted. Bp. II. 

6, In defence of the sacred rights of a guest, 
Lot even risked his own life ; the one flash of 
manly spirit which redeems in any measure the 
story of that night. But in his very hospitality 
Lot betrayed how the air of Sodom had blunted 

his sense of personal purity. Dykes. -The 

sacred writer relates the history simply and 
without comment, not holding up Lot as an ex¬ 
ample for imitation, but telling his faults as 
well as his virtues, and leaving us to draw the 
inferences. He brought all his troubles on 
himself by the home he had chosen. He was 
bound to defend his guests at the risk of his 
own life, but not by the sacrifice of his daugh¬ 
ters. E. H. B. 

10, 11. Now Lot’s guests begin to show 
themselves angels, and first delivered Lot in 
Sodom, then from Sodom ; first strike them 
with blindness, whom they will after consume 










SEOTION 46.~-OENE8IS 19 ; 1-28. 


■with fire. How little did the Sodomites think 
that vengeance was so near them ! While they 
went groping in the streets, and carsing those 
whom they could not find, Lot with the angels 
is in secure light, and sees them miserable, and 
foresees them burning. It is the use of God, to 
blind and besot those whom he means to de¬ 
stroy. Bp. IF. 

15. The prophet E sekiel (16 ; 49) enumerates 
these three causes of the sins of Sodom, 
“ pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idle¬ 
ness.” And how they are still the parents of 
vice in prosperous communities we know full 
well. It shows how widespread and inveterate 
the wickedness of the community was, that 
when the fiery deluge came down, not one be¬ 
yond Lot’s family was counted worthy to 
escape. Kerr. 

“ He lingered whether from some 
degree of unbelief ; or from being confused and 
stupefied with amazement and horror. But 
there was calmness and decision there, though 
he had none. The angels laid hold on the 
hands of Lot and his family, “ The Lord being 
merciful unto him,” and led them out of the de¬ 
voted city. All this might well be named visible 
providence. It was the protection of the Al¬ 
mighty, and the guardian care of his angels dis¬ 
played in exercise,—in the visible personal 
agency of these powerful spirits. But, though 
there be now no sirch palp ible manifestations, 
how often may there be in a good man’s life in¬ 
terpositions as critical, if the agency were made 
visible in any one of many conjunctures. And 
then for his soul there is a series of agency of a 
still far nobler kind ! A greater Spirit is em¬ 
ployed there ! J. F. 

17. He §aKl, Escape f3r tliy life. 

Hebrew, for thy soul. Chaldean, “ Pity thine 
own soul, and save thyself.” It would seem 
that a new speaker, even the Angel-Jehovah, 
who had by this time left Abraham and joined 
the two angels at Sodom, utters these words. 
The tenor of the ensuing narrative makes it 
clear that the personage called Jehovah was 
present at the overthrow of Sodom, and that it 
was no other than he who sustains the charac¬ 
ter of chief speaker in the discourses recorded. 

Bash. - One speaks with Lot. They lead him 

out, but He speaks to him. Here has the Lord, 
or Ihe appointed Angel of the Lord, His coequal 
Revealer, again joined the other two. Lot rec¬ 
ognizes Him as the first among them ; since, 
while he directs his words to all three, he 
speaks yet but with One, whom he addresses by 
the name of God, “ Lord and He now de¬ 
clares in His own name what He will do. Gerl. 1 


3G>' 

Escape to tlic iiiouiiitain. Such as 
these are the commands given to those who 
through grace are delivered out of a sinful state 
and condition. Return not to sin and Satan, 
for that is looking back to Sodom. Rest not 
in self and the world, for that is staying in the 
plain. And reach toward Christ and Heaven, 
for that is escaping to the mountain, shoit of 

which we must not take up. H.-In the 

conduct of the angel messengers of mercy and 
of wrath on this occasion, you see symbolized 
the style and manner of the Gospel warning and 
of the Gospel offers wherever the Gospel comes 
in contact with sinful men. It is ever, as here, 
in the tone of hasteful urgency. Up, get you 
out of this place, for the Lord will destroy this 
city ; escape for thy life ; tarry not in all the 
plain.” S. R. 

20. It was Lot’s weakness to think a city of 
his own choosing safer than the mountain of 
God’s appointing. And he argued against him¬ 
self, W'hen he pleaded. Thou hast magnified thy 
mercy in saving my life, and I cannot escape to the 
mouniain ; for could not he that had plucked 
him out of Sodom, when he lingered, carry him 
safe to the mountain, though he began to tire ? 

21. See what favor God showed a true saint, 
though weak. Zoar was spared to gratify him. 
Though his intercession for it was not, as Abra¬ 
ham’s for Sodom, from a principle of generous 
charity, but merely from self-interest, yet God 
granted his request, to show how much the 
prayer of a righteous man avails. Sodom’s ruin 

was suspended, till he was safe. H.-Oh the 

large bounty of God, which reacheth not to us 
only, but to ours ! God saves Lot for Abra¬ 
ham’s sR,ke, and Zoar for Lot’s sake ; if Sodom 
had not been too wicked, it had escaped : were 
it not for God’s dear children, that are inter¬ 
mixed with the world, it could not stand : the 
wicked owe their lives unto those few good, 
whom they hate and persecute. 

2t{, 24. Now at once the sun rises upon 
Zoar, and fire falls down upon Sodom : Abra¬ 
ham stands upon the hill, and sees the cities 
burning ; it is fair weather with God’s children, 
when it is foulest with the wicked. Those, 
which burned with the fire of lust, are now 
consumed with the fire of vengeance : they sin¬ 
ned against nature ; and now against the course 
of nature, fire descends from heaven, and con¬ 
sumes them. Bp. 11 -Long time the hand of 

the Almighty may seem to tremble, as if adverse 
to strike. But He is only waiting for the day — 
that fixed and appointed day—to which, as the 
Apostle Peter says, the ungodly are reserved. 
Once “ the sun is risen upon Zoar,” at the ap- 










362 


SODOM DESTROYED. LOT SAVED. 


pointed day the blow descends with terrible de¬ 
cision. There is no relentiug then with the 
judge of all the earth. If he waits to be gracious 
till it seems as if he knew not how to smite, he 
smites at last as if he knew not how to pity. 
Not, indeed, in sudden anger, but in the calm¬ 
ness of deliberate judgment he awards the pun¬ 
ishment to which the wicked are reserved. Up 
to the very last moment of the day of grace all 
things continue as they are. But the last sun¬ 
rise comes at length Such is the view of the 
justice of God here brought out ; and this pict¬ 
ure is but the type and illustration, says Jesus 
Christ - a rehearsing on a smaller stage of the 
general judgment which shall at last burn uji 
the earth itself and “ melt the elements with 

fervent heat.” S. B.-It is the Son who has 

executed judgment from the beginning : over¬ 
throwing the proud tower of Babel, and con¬ 
founding men’s languages ; punishing the whole 
world by the \iolence of waters ; raining upon 
Sodom and Gomorrah fire and brimstone, the 

Lord from the Lord. TtriulUan. - ^And the 

neighb uing cities, Admah and Zeboim as ap¬ 
pears from Deut. 29 :23. Bp. Patrick. 

The overvohelming destruction produced is set 
forth in language which enumerates the cities 
themselves, their inhabitants, the whole sur¬ 
rounding region, and all the rich verdure with 
which the country had been previously clothed. 
It is said that “ God overthrew those cities, and 
all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, 
and that which grew upon the ground.” The 
extensiveness of the catastrophe is implied in 
what Abraham beheld, when, early the next 
morning, he looked toward Sodom from one of 
the eminences about Hebron. At the distance 
of more than thirty miles from the probable site 
of Sodom, he saw the smoke of the whole coun¬ 
try of the plain going up “as the smoke of a 
furnace.” N. C. B.-For its awful sudden¬ 

ness, for its thoroughness, and for its perpetual 
tokens, this ancient overthrow stands forth in 
history as the appointed type of all divine acts 
of judgment ; and chiefly of that last act to 
which we now look forward, and for which it is 
every man’s wisdom to prepare himself. This 
dreadful office it continued to fill down to the 
close of revelation. For the smoke of Sodom 
flings its shadow even across the predictions of 
our Lord, to heighten the impressiveness of 
that picture which the Judge Himself m His 
mercy sketched beforehand of His day of in¬ 
quisition and of wrath. Dykes. 

All the Plain. The entire plain no 
doubt possessed originall}' the same fertility 
which afterward made the adjacent Jericho one 


of the loveliest and richest spots in Sj’ria. Fed 
by the Jordan and the springs which send down 
streams to it from the sheltering hills, a coi^ious 
supply of water could easily be led by artificial 
conduits to any part of the district ; and the 
almost tropical heat of that deep depression 
must have forced, then as now, a luxuriance 
and ^ariety of vegetation which are to be found 
novvhere else on the same parallel of latitude.* 
Dykes. -Think of a region blooming and smil¬ 

ing in all the liches of nature ; on every hand 
something to raise the contemplative thought 
to the glorious Creator ; something, it might be 
supposed, to refine and harmonize the senti¬ 
ments ; and a copious fertility of supplj', to 
make every tract speak the bounty of Provi¬ 
dence. But amidst all this, ir/t'd toa.v man ? A 
hideous assemblage of beings, “ sensual—devil¬ 
ish,” such as mieht alm(>st be conceived to have 
been thrown up from the infernal realms, to go 
down again in an earthquake and tempest of 

fire ! J. F.-There is not another country on 

the face of the globe where blessing or curse 
might so readily be realized, as a space so nai- 
row does not, in any other part, present so 
numerous sources either of the one or cf the 
ether. The almost Paradisiacal valley of Siddim • 
becomes in one day a pool of destruction, 
whence everything that has life flees ; thus 
showing the solemnity of Divine judgments to 
all succeeding generations. K. 

The people of Sodom had no time for specu¬ 
lations ; there was but just time for terror, and 
conscience, and despair ! Our Lord says, there 
is a still greater guilt and a more awful destruc¬ 
tion, even than theirs ! They Mill see greater 
criminals than themselves at the last da^^ ; and 
from lands where the fire of heaven did not 
fall ! The man that lives and dies rejecting him 
had better have been exposed to the rain of 
fire and brimstone, and gone dotvn in. the hor¬ 
rid gulf of the Vale of Siddim ! J. F.- 

Love has a side of wrath and is a consuming 
flame by its very nature when turned against 
that which resists it and is alien to it. Every 
force in the universe and everything great and 
conserving in the nature and the soul of man 
becomes such a fire when threatened by that 
which is opposed to it. The greatest men have 
been those who have shown this most—Crom¬ 
well, Luther, Pascal, John, Paul, and, more ter. 
ribly and mightily than all, in Christ himself. 
With what withering denunciations he con¬ 
demned whatever was false and ugly in charac¬ 
ter ! What a curse was that pronounced upon 
the offending cities of Bethsaida and Chorazin, 
and the worldly and conceited Pharisees ! Was 










SECTION 46.~OENESI8 19 : 1-28. 


3G3 


the heart of Christ less full of tenderness and 
truth because it was as a flame of lire when he 
confronted ihe unbelief and pride and worldly 
ambition of those who would resist and destroy 
his good works ? And so it is that God over 
all, who is represented to us in Christ, and in 
nature and the highest soul of man, is a con¬ 
suming fire. Blot that out? You may tear it 
out from your Bible, but you cannot tear it out 
from the universe ! R. S. S. 

wife l4»oke<l back, aiad B)c- 
cailic a pillai* oal*. From love to her 
former abode, and from unbelief she would not 
abstain from disobedience to God’s commands. 
She remained standing. The sulphur blast 
overtook her, and like all the country round she 
was enveloped in an encrustation of salt. Geti. 

-Small precepts from God are of importance ; 

obedience is as well trieil, and disobedience as 
well punished, in little, as in much : his wife 
doth but turn back her head, whether in curi¬ 
osity’, or unbelief, or love and compassion of 
the place ; she is turned into a monument of 
disobedience : what doth it avail her not to be 
turned into ashes in Sodom, when she is turned 
into a pillar of salt in the plain ! He, that 
saved a whole city, cannot save his own wife. 

Bp. II. -Behold the goodness and severity of 

God ; toward Lot that went forward, goodness ; 
toward his wife that looked back, severity. 
Though she was nearly related to a righteous 
mau, though better than her neighbors, ami 
though a monument of distingui>hing mercy m 
her deliverance out of Sodom, yet God did not 
connive at her disobedience ; for great priv¬ 
ileges will not secure us from the wrath of God, 
if we do not carefully and faithfully improve 
them. Her looking back bespoke an inclination 
to back ; and therefore our Saviour uses it 
as a warning against apostasy from our Chris¬ 
tian profession. We have all renounced the 
world and the flesh, and have set our faces 
heavenward ; we are in the jilain, upon our 
probation ; and it is at our peril, if we return 
iuto the interests we profess to have abandoned. 
Drawing back is to perdition, and looking back 
is toward it. Let us therefore fear. H. 

This is the strangest and saddest of all the 
delusions and inconsistencies of ia’len human¬ 
ity, this believing the word of God’s messengers 
and yet dallying with the message ! It is not 
so wonderful that the men of Sodom refuse to 
listen ; it is but in harmony with their stolid 
unbelief. It is not so wonderful that Lot’s 
sons-in-law refuse to listen, for they are con¬ 
firmed infidels. But it i< passing wonderful 
that Lot’s wife—warned, and believing the [ 


warning, alarmed, moved to escape, yea, brought 
by the hand of God himself to the very verge of 
safety—should linger, disobey, look back and 
perish ! And just so still, the strangest of all 
the inconsistencies of sinners, is that of hiui 
“ who, ofien reproved, hardeneth his neck and 
shall be utterly destroyed, and that without 
remedy.” iS. R-[’here is no time for loiter¬ 

ing Sodom was intended to show that ; where 
one faithless soul, by loitering, was lost. Ltt 
no man therefore deceive himself with any vain 
expectation, that though he is not such as he 
could wish at present, he shall be so at some 
future time : that if he is not prejeared to meet 
his God now, he shall be so before he dies. 
This IS the delusion under which so many per¬ 
ish. The broad way is crowded with people, 
who intended to grow better, but never did. 
When once they fix this habit of loitering, as 
they live, they die. Jones of N. 

The right if destruction may be fairly inqtrired 
into by human reason, and ought to be well 
studied as a tact that has been repeatedly real¬ 
ized in human histor 3 \ Throughout the Bible, 
God has reserved to himself the right to take 
back whatever hehas given, because all his gifts 
have been offered upon conditions about which 
there can be no mistake. He takes back the 
life of the body ; he takes away the power of 
reason ; he reclaims our physical strength ; by 
many a severity he asserts that the earth is his 
own and the fulness thereof ; .yet we are to sup¬ 
pose that he cannot put an end to our exist¬ 
ence ; it has grieved him, mocked him, defied 
him, abandoned his sanctuary, violated his 
laws, slain his Son, quenched his Spirit, given 
the lie to his promises and heaped up the meas¬ 
ure of its iniquity in his very face, but he can¬ 
not i)ut an end to it ! Not such is the doctrine 
of the Word of God. There the Lord is King ; 
his power is infinite ; ho only has the right to 
live ; he only does live, and if we live it is be¬ 
cause we abide in him, “ as a branch abideth 
in the vine.” The sovereignty of God is as ab¬ 
solute at the end as at the beginning ; “ he can 
create, and he can destroy and we live by 
his will alone. Furthermore, we can see the in¬ 
finite reasonableness and justice of this sover¬ 
eignty ; it subdues all things under the Lord’s 
feet, and gives him an undivided throne. . . . 
We hold life as God’s gift upon certain condi¬ 
tions ; we can choose good or we can choose 
evil ; God loves us, cares for us, has given his 
Son to save us, and is watching us every mo¬ 
ment ; he wishes all men to be saved ; he prom¬ 
ises pardon to the penitent, and foretells the 
death of the impenitent sinner ; by these prin- 







364 


SODOM DESriWYED. LOT SAVED. 


ciples be will judge us, and by these will the 
wicked go away into everlasting punishment, 
and the righteous into life eternal. The human 
conscience must answer, This is right ! 8uch a 
judgment gives us a sense of rest. With such a 
judgment to come, the presumption is that the 
Providence which leads up to it is as equitable 
and as sublime as itself. Witness, too, that as 
God is to judge us, he also himself appeals to 
our judgment ! He asks us to consider his 
ways, and challenges us to tell what iniquity we 
have found in him. Hence in many parts of 
the Bible, notably in the Psalms, we have judg¬ 
ments pronounced by man upon the Lord, as if 
the Lord had placed himself at our bar and 
asked us to acquit or condemn his providence. 
He proceeds upon reasons. His principles are 
ascertainable, and such as can be judged. 
Wonderful is this, that God should allow us to 
judge his way ! He does not silence the Psalm¬ 
ist, nor does he reprove the acclaiming angels ; 
he will be judged by all who are honest in soul. 
And beautiful, too, is this, that notwithstand¬ 
ing the severity and awfulness of his judgments, 
the Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies 
are over all his works ! J. P. 

Men needed to have it made visible—writ 
large in indelible and decipherable characters, 
even on the earth’s surface—that there is a 
moral Governor Who takes cognizance of evil, 
to "Whose ear the cry for vengeance goes up 
when deeds are done that outrage humanity, 
and within Whose hand lies every agency which 
can either make or blast the fortunes of a com¬ 
monwealth. Other branches of the human 
family were hurrying along the same path. It 
was mercy to erect, right in the centre of the 
populous lands, on the very road by which men 
passed from north to south and east to west, a 
monument of Heaven’s justice. It was specially 
merciful to the other Canaanitish tribes to have 
such a spectacle laid at their own door. Dykes. 

The doom of Sodom was not to be regarded as 
an isolated judgment ; but the scene of desola¬ 
tion, which was forever to occupy the site of 
the cities of the plain, would also forever ex¬ 
hibit to Israel the consequences of sin, and be 
to them a type of future judgment. It is in 
this light that the Scriptures both of the Old 
and the New Testament present to us the de¬ 
struction of Sodom and Gomorrah. A. E.- 

In some twenty passages scattered over Script¬ 
ure from the Pentateuch to the Apocalypse, 
this is referred to by name as the most conspicu¬ 
ous instance of divine vengeance upon sin. 
Sodom is employed as a type of Babylon's fall 
by two of the greatest prophets. It is conjoined 


I with TjTe and Sidon in the solemn warnings of 
our Lord Himself. And in the Bevelation it 
stands side by side with Egypt as a type of ex¬ 
ceptional impiety. Dykes. 

The case became fur all future time a stand¬ 
ard illustration of God’s most sudden, fearful 
and utter destruction of the wicked. (See Heut. 
29 :23 and Isa. 13 :19 and Jer. 20 :16 and 
50 : 40 and Amos 4 ; 11 and 2 Pet. 2 : 6 and 
Jude 7.) It classes itself naturally with the 
deluge of Noah’s time and with the fall of Pha¬ 
raoh’s host in the Red Sea, and the swallowing 
up of Korah and his company in the wilderness 
—all combining to show that God never lacks 
the means or the power to begin his threatened 
retribution upon the wicked here in time when¬ 
ever he deems it wise for the moral ends of 
M'arning. lu view of this appalling scene, how 
terribly significant become the words of Jude — 
‘‘ Set forth for an example, suffering the ven¬ 
geance of eternal fire !’ ’ How easily and yet how 
fearfully can the Almighty execute the judg¬ 
ments written against guilty sinners who scorn 
his words of warning and dare his vengeance ! 
H. C. 

Even if the positive and irrefragable proofs 
of the truths of religion could be subverted, an 
unquenchable instinct of the soul remains to 
retain hold of the notion of a moral system, and 
of law and justice. This sense of the fitness of 
Retribution flashes upon us in some form every 
hour. We cannot read a jiage of historj", we 
cannot listen to the news of the day, we cannot 
walk the streets, without forcibly admitting the 
idea that there must be a vindication of right. 
If at any time the films of false philosophy have 
deceived us into the opinion that vice and vir¬ 
tue are one and the same—this sophistry is in¬ 
stantly and irrecoverably scattered by our first 
brunt with some real affair of common life that 
appeals to the ordinary sentiments of humanity : 
—the illusion fades—truth and nature stand 
out and speak aloud, and we dare not refuse to 
hear them. But if there is to be retribution at 
all, if any crime or cruelty, the most atrocious 
which history records or which history has for¬ 
gotten, is to be brought to account in an after¬ 
life, and is to receive its due award of chastise¬ 
ment ;—if tbe authority of God, as Governor of 
men, is to be in any manner asserted and main¬ 
tained, then is it possible to believe that such 
retribution shall be otherwise than absolutely 
IMPARTIAL ? and when we say impartial, we must 
mean that it shall be in the strictest sense uni¬ 
versal. It must bear alike, and equall}', upon 
every responsible agent, and must come close 
home to the entire merit and demerit of each. 





SECTION 46.—GENESIS 19 : 1-2S. 


365 


There Is in fact no justice that is not universal 
justice. Justice altogether is nullified and dis¬ 
graced by even a single and the smallest in¬ 
stance of oblivion, or inequality, or perversion 
of facts. I. T. 

The Dead Sf-a. 

The Dead Sea, to use its modern and more 
familiar name, is usually called in the Bible the 
“ Salt Sea,” but is also styled the ” Sea of the 
Plain,” or the Ar’thah ^ the ‘‘East Sea.’* To 
the writers of the Talmud it was known as Ihe 
“ Sea of Sodom” and the “ Sea of Salt to 
Josephus as the “ Asphaltic’’ and “ Sodomitic” 
Lake ; and it is now called by the Bedouin 
“ Bahr Lut,” the Sea of liOt. The title “ Dead 
Sea” probablj’’ originated in the very general 
belief, that the waters of the lake covered the 
doomed Cities of the Plain, and were of such a 
deadly character that no bird could fly over 
them ; and that the shores were desolate and 
barren. Recent investigation has completely 
disposed of these erroneous impressions. 

The Dead Sea occupies the deepest portion of 
the great depression of the Jordan valley ; it is 
oblong in form, the longest dimension being 
almost due north and south ; and its width is 
nearly uniform, except near the southern end, 
where a long low peninsula, the Lisan, stretches 
out for some distance from the eastern shore, 
and divides its waters into two unequal por¬ 
tions. The lake has a length of forty-six miles, 
and an average width of ten miles ; on either 
side the mountain-ranges run parallel to each 
other, and on the east they rise abruptly from 
the water’s edge, leaving no margin, except at 
those i3oints where small deltas have been 
formed at the mouths of the larger ravines that 
discharge their waters into the lake. The north¬ 
ern end, bordered by the plain of Jericho, is 
somewhat rounded, and at the southern end the 
shore is for some two or three miles perfectly 
flat and but slightly raised above the surface of 
the water ; beyond this it is shut in by the salt 
mountain of Jebel Usdum and the rising ground 
that separates the waters of the lake from those 
of the Red Sea. The extraordinary depression 
of the surface of the lake, 1292 feet below the 
level of the Mediterranean, together with the 
absence of any outlet for its waters, render it 
the most remarkable body of water in the world ; 
and its great depth, 1308 feet at the deepest 
point, is equally worthy of notice. The total 
depression of the bed of the lake is thus 2600 
feet, almost the same as the elevation of the 
Mount of Olives above the Mediterranean. The 
water of the Dead Sea is clear and bright, but. 


owing to the large quantities of various salts 
held in solution, it is intensely salt, and has a 
nauseous, bitter taste. The specific gravity, 
1228, distilled water being 1000, and the Medi¬ 
terranean 1025, is greater than that of any 
known water, and to this may be attributed the 
extreme buoyancy noticed by so many travellers. 
VVhen the surrounding mountains are lighted ujj 
by the bright rays of the sun, there is, perhaps, 
no place in the world that can equal this region 
for brilliancy and richness of coloring ; and 
the vivid tints in Mr. Holman Hunt’s picture of 
the “ Scajjegoat ” are no exaggeration of those 
frequently witnessed on the shores of the Dead 
Sea. No one who has stood on the Mount of 
Olives and seen the mountains of Moab glowing 
under the rays of the setting sun, can ever for¬ 
get the wondrous beauty of the scene, with the 
bright blue water lying in the depths below, and 
the burnished mountains rising beyond like 
the bbrder of some enchanted fairyland. Strik¬ 
ing atmospheric effects are occasionally pro¬ 
duced by the enormous evaporation Irby and 
Mangles noticed it “ rising in broad, transpar¬ 
ent columns of vapor, not unlike water-spouts 
in appearance, but very much longer.” The 
geolog}'’ of the basin of the Dead Sea was care¬ 
fully examined by M. Louis Lartet, the distin¬ 
guished geologist who accompanied the expedi¬ 
tion of the Due de Luynes, and the conclusion 
he arrived at was that the lake ” had never been 
in communication with the neighboring oceans, 
although its waters formerly stood at a much 
higher level than they now do.” The fact that 
a hill.of cretaceous formation, 781 feet above the 
sea, separates the waters of the Dead Sea from 
those of the Gulf of Akabah, and that the cre¬ 
taceous strata are covered with their own dCjris 
alone, and show no trace of any water-course 
running in a southerly direction, effectually dis¬ 
proves the theory of an ancient prolongation of 
the Jordan to the Red Sea ; and that of an an¬ 
cient marine communication with the surround¬ 
ing oceans is equally disproved by “ the absence 
of any marine organizations in the most ancient 
strata of the basin, the fluviatile character of 
the post-eocene deposits of the Arabah, the ex¬ 
isting traces of the direction of the streams tow¬ 
ard the Dead Sea, and the non-existence of any 
material elevation of the ground in the middle 
of the Arabah since the formation of the present 
valleys.” M. Lartet thinks that the position of 
the cretaceous and eocene beds on both sides 
of the Jordan valley, and the striking rectilineal 
character of the valley itself, seems “ to favor 
the idea of the existence of a vast line of frac¬ 
ture through the middle of ihe country and 




3GG 


SITE OF THE FOUR CITIES. 


that “ the eastern side of the highlands of Judah 
must have undergone a considerable downward 
movement all along the line of dislocation, and 
thus originated the depressed trench which sep¬ 
arates Palestine proper from the highlands on 
the other side of Jordan.” The basin of the 
Dead Sea has thus been formed without any 
influence from, or communication with, the 
ocean ; whence it follows that the lake which 
occupies the bottom of the basin has never been 
anything but a reservoir for the rainfall, the 
saltness of which originally proceeded from the 
constitution of the environs of the lake, and 
has greatly increased under the influence of in¬ 
cessant evaporation. M. Lartet found the an¬ 
cient deposits of the Dead Sea extending up the 
JorJan valley as far north as Wady Zerka, where 
they were at least 300 feet above the present 
surface of the lake, so that the water must at 
one time have stood at that level, filling up a 
large portion of the valley, and have then de¬ 
posited the marls which are so licli in salt and 
gypsum beds. At a later date volcanic eruptions 
have taken place to the north east and east of 
the Dea l Sea, and the last phenomena which 
afl'ected its basin were the hot and mineral 
springs and bituminous eruptions which often 
accompany and follow volcanic action. M/j. 
W’dsQyi. 

[For map, etc., see New Testament, vol. 1, 
p. 057.] 

There is no evidence, but the contrar}", that 
there has been any change in the general form 
and appearance of the Lake since the creation 
of man. It has no outlet whatever, being, in 
fact, the deepest depression known on the sur-. 
face of the earth. It receives at its northern 
end the constant flow of the River Jordan, on 
its eastern side the Callirhoe and the Arnon, now 
the Zerka Main and tfie Mojib,’ besides some 
smaller streams. At its south end, the Fikreh, 
Jeib, Ivuseib, Ghurundel, and other streams 
draining the Arabah, empty themselves into it ; 
and on the west, the little stream of Engedi and 
several others add to its waters. Yet this enor¬ 
mous inflow is fully counterbalanced by the con¬ 
tinual evaporation from its surface. There are 
also many springs on its shores and within its 
shallower waters, some hot, some salt, some sul¬ 
phurous, and others fresh, which contribute to 
its bulk. Though no life, animal or vegetable, 
can possibly continue in the Lake, there is — 
wherever, as on the whole south-east shore and 
in various spots on the west side, fresh water 
flows into the Lake—a positive exuberance of 
life to the water’s edge. This is especially the 
case in the “ Safieh,” the southern plains of 


Mixih at the south-east, and at Engedi on the 
opposite shore. From the earliest times to the 
present these spots have been carefully culti¬ 
vated. Engedi was contemporary with the 
Cities of the Plain. When we see the surpris¬ 
ing fertilitv and delicious climate of these buried 
nooks, we can well understand the attractive¬ 
ness of these cities and their lands to Lot. 

Of ihe Site cf the Four Cities, 

Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, de¬ 
stroyed by fire and brimstone from the Lord, it 
is scarcely necessary to say that n'o trace re¬ 
mains. Scripture does not state that they were 
engulfed in the Sea, but that they were de¬ 
stroyed, and “ the whole land thereof is brim¬ 
stone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, 
nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein” 
(Deut. 29:23). A description which would 
equally apply to the desolate 2 ^ 1 ain at the south 
end and to the barren, sulphur-spread tract be¬ 
tween Jericho and the north end. It has been 
questioned at which end these, almost the old¬ 
est cities in the records of human history, stood. 
Tradition places them at the south. There is, 
however, reason for sujDposing them to have 
been at the north end. When they are first 
mentioned (Gen. 10 :19) they are sjjoken of as 
cities of the Canaanites cn their border. They 
are next named in Gen. 13, in the account of 
the separation of Abraham and Lot. Abraham 
and Lot stood together between Bethel and 
Hai, when “ Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld 
all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered 
everywhere, before the Lord destroyed Sodom 
arid Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, 
like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto 
Zuar” (Gen. 13 :10). From the hills where they 
stood, it is iuqoossible to gain a glimpse of the 
south end of the Dead Sea, while the jDlain of 
Jericho is spread almost at the beholder’s feet. 
Again, after the destruction of the cities we are 
told that Abraham, then encamped at Mamre, 
“ looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah and tow¬ 
ard all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, 
lo, the smoke of the country went up as the 
smoke of a furnace” (Gen. 19 :28). The accu¬ 
racy of the exj^ression is to be noted. Not he 
saw, but he looked toward the Cities of the Plain. 
From the hill above Mamre the ])lain itself can¬ 
not be seen, but the dei)ression between the 
nearer hills and the distant tops of Gilead is 
j^hiinlj’- to be perceived, which is not the case 
with the depression of the southern end of the 
Dead Sea. Thus Abraham could at once have 
identified the locality whence the smoke arose. 
Once more, in the view which was granted to 









SECTIOy 46.—GENESIS 19 : 1-28. 


3G7 


Moses from the top of Pisgali, he beheld “ the 
south aud the plain of the valley of Jericho, 
the city of palm-trees, unto Zoar.” Now from 
the summit of Nebo it is utterly impossible to 
behold tbe south-east of the Dead Sea, the situ 
ation of the modern Dra’a, which is said, by a 
tradition not earlier than the times of Josephus 
and Jerome to be Zoar ^ but if we place Zoar in 
the parallel of Engedi, on the eas', side of the 
Dead Sea — we see the limit of Moses’ view, in 
accordance with the Sacred Eecord. From the 
top of Nebo, the view of the plain of the Jordan 
runs on uninterruptedly till it is cut off by the 
headland of Ras Feshkhah, the Arabic equiva¬ 
lent of Pisgali, and exactly in front of it, Ziara, 
projecting in front of Nebo. I believe the ex¬ 
act site of Zoar is to be found just below Nebo, 
in a line between it and Feshkhah, and on 
a knoll slightly rising above the jilain of Shittim. 
H. B. T. 

As it is hardly possible for any one to read 
the account in Gen. 13 :10 without feeling that 
Abraham and Lot were actually looking down 
on Sodom and Gomorrah when “ Lot lifted up 
his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that 
it was well watered everywhere, before the Lord 
destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah,” it follows 
that those cities must have been situated on 
some part of the plain norih of the Dead Sea, 
and visible from the heights east of Bethel. In 
support of this view we may draw attention to 
the mention, in verse 10, of “ the plain of Jor¬ 
dan,” which could not have extended below the 
point at which the river entered the Dead Sea, 
and the direct testimony,, in verse 11, that Lot 
journeyed east, a course which would have led 
him far away from the southern end of the Dead 
Sea. Wil'On. 

On the rebellion of the Cities of the Plain, we 
are told (Gen. 14) that the Assyrians smote the 
Horites in Mount Seir unto El Paran, and re¬ 
turned and smote the country of the Amalekites 
and also the Amorites that dwelt in Hazezon- 
Tamar or Engedi. After this the King of Sodom 
and his Cvinfederates met the invaders in the 
Vale of SbUlim, and, on their defeat, Abraham 
pursued the victors on their march home by 
Damascus, and overtook them in Laish, or Dan, 
under Mount Hermon. Had Sodom and the 
other cities been situated at the south end of 
the Sea, it was certainly not after smiting the 
Amalekites and the Amorites at Engedi that they 
would have met the invader, but long before he 
reached Hazezon-Tamar. But if Sodom and the 
confederate cities were in the plain of Jordan, 
there is a topographical sequence in the whole 
story : while Abraham and his allies hurriedly 


pursue the plunderers up the Ghor, or Jordan 
Valle}', without delay, till they overtake them 
at the source of the Jordan. [As a tiual point] 
there is a wide i^lain, a dead level, extending 
some eight or ten miles south of the lake, called 
by the Arabs “ El Ghor,” which is conjectured 
to have been the site of the Cities of the Plain. 
But this plain is covered by a layer of sand, 
gypsum, and salt, and yields no e\idence of 
having ever been cultivated in historical times. 
H. B. T. 

The region at the southern end of the Dead 
Sea is a salt marsh and desert, with only a nar¬ 
row belt of inhabitable land skirting its eastern 
border at the foot of the mountains. On the 
other hand, at the north end of the Dead Sea, 
there is a large and fertile plain which has been 
occupied by flourishing cities ever since the 
days of Moses and Joshua^ at least. In speak¬ 
ing of the tell-systera of the Jordan valley, I have 
shown that the ancient inhabitants built their 
cities upon natural or artificial mounds, and not 
down upon the flat land of the plain itself ; and 
1 have shown that such tells, covered with ruins, 
exist at the north end of the Dead Sea, while 
there are none at the southern end. As we can 
identify some of these tells with places which 
existed in Josephus’s time, and still further back 
with cities which existed in the time of Joshua, 
it is not unreasonable to suppose that these 
same tells were occupied by cities in the time 
of Lot and Chedorlaomer. With regard to the 
account of the view of the Jordan valley which 
Lot had, or of that which Moses had, in both of 
which Zoar is mentioned, any justifiable rules 
of interpretation compel us to look for the site 
of Zoar at the north end of the Dead Sea. Only 
five sites are required ; namely, Sodom, Gomor¬ 
rah, Admah, Zeboim and Zoar. And on the 
plain of Shittim we have exactly five sites. 
Merrill. 

[For the traditional view, that the cities stood 
at the south end of the Lake, see Wolcott, Bib. 
Sac., vol. 25.] 

Agencies employed in Destruction. There is a 
very general belief that the cities were sub¬ 
merged, and that they now lie beneath the waters 
of the Dead Sea, but there is absolutely no 
ground for this supposition. Recent research 
has shown that in historic times there has been 
no great change in the Jordan valley, and that 
the waters of the Dead Sea formerly covered a 
much larger area than they do at present ; and 
though the exact nature of the catastrophe 
which overwhelmed the cities will perhaps never 
be known, we are expressly told in the Bible 
that their destruction was effected not by water. 






368 


BIRTH OF MOAB AXD AMMON. 


bat by lire and brimstone rained on them from 
Leaven (Geii. 19 :24 ; Dent. 29 ; 23 ; 2 Pet. 
2:6; Jade 7). Wdson. 

There is no mention of cany earthquake, 
which, if it occurred, must in the judgment of 
the narrator have been altogether a subordinate 
feature. Nor is an earthquake necessarily im¬ 
plied in the expression “ overthrown," used in 
Deut. 29. Still, more or less tremor of the 
ground very probably occurred, and might have 
impressed itself on traditions of the event, es 
pecially as the district is subject to earthquakes, 
though it is not mentioned in theological narra¬ 
tive. The description is that of a bitumen or 
petroleum eruption, similar to those which on 
a small sciile have been so destructive in the re¬ 
gions of Canada and the United States of Ameri¬ 
ca. They arise from the existence of reservoirs 
of compressed inflammable gas along with 
petroleum and water, existing at considerable 
depths below the surface. In the valley of the 
Euphrates, according to Layard, the Arabs can 
produce miniature eruptions of this kind, by 
breaking with stones the crust of hardened 
asphalt that has formed on the surface of the 
bitumen springs, and igniting the vapors and 
liquid petroleum. Now the valley of the Dead 
Sea is an oil district,’’ and from the incidental 
mention of its slime jiits, or literally asphalt 
pits, in Genesis 14, was apparently more pro¬ 
ductive in mineral pitch in ancient times. It is 
known that petroleum exudes from the rocks 
both on the sides and in the bottom of the Dead 
Sea, and, being hardened by evaporation and 
oxygelation, forms the asphaltum referred to by 
so many travellers. The source of the bitumi¬ 
nous matter is in the great beds of bituminous 
limestone of Upper Cretaceous age which appear 
at Neby Mousa, on the Jericho road and at many 
other places in the vicinity of the sea, and no 


doubt underlie its bed and the lower part of the 
Jordan plain. From these beds bituminous 
and gaseous matter must have been at all times 
exuding. Further, the Jordan Valley and the 
Dead Sea basis are on the line ol a great fault or 
fracture traversing these beds, and affording 
means of escape to their products, especially 
when the district is shaken by earthquakes. 
We have thus only to suppose that at the time 
in question reservoirs of condensed gas and 
petroleum existed under the plain of Siddim, 
and that these were suddenly discharged, either 
by their own accumulated pressure, or by an 
earthquake shock fracturing the overlying beds, 
when the phenomena described by the writer in 
Genesis would occur, and after the eru23tion the 
site would be covered with a saline and sul- 
jihurous deposit, while many of the sources of 
petroleum previously existing might be perma¬ 
nently dried up. In connection with this there 
might be subsidence of the ground over the now 
exhausted reservoirs, and this might give rise 
to the idea of the submergence of the cities. It 
is to be observed, however, that the jjarenthetic 
statement in Genesis 14, “ which is the Salt 
Sea,’’ does not certainly mean under the sea, 
and that it relates not to the cities themselves 
but to the plain where the battle recorded in 
the chapter was fought at a time i^revious to the 
eruption. . . . Sodom and its companion cities 
were no doubt so situated as to be specially 
subject to one particular kind of overthrow. 
But it may be safely said that there is no city in 
the world which is not equally, though perhajis 
by other agencies, within the reach of Divine 
power exercised through the energies of nature, 
should it be found to be destitute of “ ten right¬ 
eous men.’’ So that the conclusion still holds — 
" except ye repient ye shall all likewise perish.’' 
Bavo-iOH. 


Section 47. 

BIRTH OF MOAB AND AMMON. 

Genesis 19 : 29-38. 

29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the Plain, that God remembered 
Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the 
which Lot dwelt. 

30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him ; 

31 for he feared to dwell in Zoar : and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. And the 
lirstborn said unto the younger. Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come 

32 in unto us after the manner of all the earth : come, let us make our father drink wine, and we 






SECTION 47.—GENESIS 19 : 29 8S. 


309 


33 will lie with him, that we preserve seed of our father. And they made their father 
drink wine that nignt : and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father ; and he knew not 
3-i: when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the first 
born said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father let us make him drink 
wine this night also ; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our 
35 father. And they made their father drink wine that night also • and the younger arose, and 
3G lay with him ; and he knew not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the 

37 daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the firstborn bare a son, and calleil his 

38 name Moab the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day. And the younger, she 
also bare a son, and called his name Ben-ammi the same is the father of the children of 
Ammon unto this day. 


Lot escaped the dreadful crisis of judgment 
with the loss of all his wealth. Abraham’s tent 
is still surrounded with comfort and plent 3 \ 
Lot barely escaped destruction “ so as by fire,” 
wdth the stain of the wickedness of Sodom upon 
the remnant of his household, to become the 
dishonored father of a dishonored race. Abra¬ 
ham, the friend of God, receives at the age of a 
hundred years the fulfilment of the promise 
that he shall be the father of a chosen people, 
and of the Messiah in whom all the nations of 
the earth shall be blessed. Such is the con¬ 
trast between the faithful pilgrim who held fast 
bj* faith .to the promise of a better country’’, and 
the unfaithful pilgrim who eagerlj’ turned awaj^ 
in his progress after the things of the world, 
and ceased to set his affections on things above. 
And such is the moral of the inspired drama. 
Lot passes away from the scenes of the his¬ 
tory, and his descendants are heard of thereafter 
only as the enemies of Jehovah and his cove¬ 
nant peoyiie ; while Abraham proceeds onward 
through new scenes of trial and of triumph to 
fill the entire field of the history of redemption. 
And it soon appeared that the account of the 
dread judgment upon the cities of the plain is 
but an incidental episode in the history of 
Abraham. S. R. 

29, 3©. Lot does not long remain in Zoar. 
The judgment epcecuted upon Sodom had filled 
his soul with such awe that he now sought 
refuge in the wilderness. A cave in the moun¬ 
tains of what afterward became the land of Moab 

served him for a dwelling-place, K.-It was 

wrong at first not to betake himself to the 
mountain ; it was wrong, afterward, to go to it 
when God had given him the assurance that 
Zoar should be spared for his sake. Both cases 
argue a strange want of faith in the truth and 
providence ot God. Had he still dwelt at Zoar 
the shameful transaction afterward recorded 
had, in all probability, not taken place. A. C. 

J52. When God delivers us from destruction 
he doth not secure us from all afllictions : Lot 
2i 


hath lost his wife, his allies, his substance, and 
now betakes himself to an uncomfortable solita¬ 
riness. A^et though he fled from company he 
could not fly from sin : he who could not be 
tainted with uncleanness in Sodom is overtaken 
with drunkenness and incest in a cave ; rather 
than Satan shall not want baits his own daugh¬ 
ters will prove Sodomites ; those which should 
comfort, betrayed him. How little are some 
hearts moved with judgments ! The ashes of 
Sodom and the pillar of salt were not yet out of 
their eye, when they dare think of Ijdng with 
their own father. Thej' knew that while Lot 
was sober he could not be unchaste. Drunken¬ 
ness is the way to all bestial affections and acts : 
wine knows no difference either of persons or 
sins. Bp. II. 

36, The sacred writer, in furnishing us with 
particular relations contained in this book, 
always kept in mind the promise of the Messiah, 
and w'as desirous of showing that the expecta¬ 
tion of this great object of the Jewish hopes was 
predominant in all times, and influenced the 
opinions and manners of every generation. 
The recollection of this will furnish the reason 
of many particulars mentioned in the book, 
which might otherwise appear extraordinary and 
exceptionable. It will, perhaps, serve to ex- 
l^lain the conduct of Lot’s daughters ; the vio¬ 
lent desire of Sarah for a son ; the solicitude of 
Isaac to remove the barrenness of Rebekah ; and 
the contention between the wives of Jacob. In 
conformity with this design also, Moses relates 
the jealousies between Ishmael and Isaac ; and 
between Esau and Jacob ; and many other 
minute and singular particulars, which an his¬ 
torian of his dignity would not have conde¬ 
scended to describe, but with a view to illustrate 
the general persuasion of and gradual prepara¬ 
tion for the coming of the Messiah. Gray. 

37. Hi§ iiaiHC Moafe. This name is 

generally interpreted of the father. - 38. 

IScri-aiii§Bii, the son of my people. Both names 
justify the view that it was merely \o preserve 
the family that the daughters of Lot made use of 






370 


BIRTH OF MOAB AND AMMON. 


the above expedient. The generation which 
})roceeded from this incestuous connection was 
certainly a had one. The Moabites soon fell 
from the faith of God, and became idolaters, the 
people of Gkernosh, and of Baal-peor (Num. 21 : 
29 , 25 : 1-3), and were enemies to the children 
of Abraham. And the Ammonites, w^ho dwelt 
near to the Moabites, united with them in idola¬ 
try, and were also enemies to Israel. As both 
peoples made afterward a considerable figure 
in the Sacred History, the impartial inspired 
writer takes care to introduce an account of 

their origin. A. C.-These national stocks, 

thus morally tainted in their origin, were also 
morally perverse in their subsequent history. 
From a regard to their propinquity to them in 
blood and race, the children of Israel were 
obliged to spare them, and were not permitted 
either to conquer them or to force a passage 
through their country. They were never, how¬ 
ever, incorporated with the people of God. 
They inhabited the mountains to the east of the 
Dead Sea,—the Ammonites further to the north 
than Moab,—and, consequently, were in an after 
age conterminous neighbors to the Israelites in 
the land of Canaan. It must not be forgotten 
that Kuth, who has a place in the genealogy of 
the Saviour, was a Moabitess. C. G. B. 

For his drunkenness on two successive even¬ 
ings, at least. Lot was responsible, if not for the 
incest to which it led. And the fact gives a 
painful insight into his moral state, even after 
experience which might have sobered any man. 
The conduct of his children out of Sodom is of 
a piece with what we know of their upbringing 
in Sodom, It is fair, indeed, to remember, that 
in that age, as the case of Abraham himself 
shows, the law of incest was not yet firmly de- 
fined ; and the exceptional circumstances of 
their situation must count for something. Still, 
the circumstance that they despaired of winning 
their father’s consent when he was sober, is 
enough to show that they themselves felt their 
purpose to be, in spite of all excuses, an ex¬ 
tremely doubtful one. Israel’s descent from the 
child of sacred promise and of obedient faith is 
made the more bright by contrast with the dis¬ 
mal origin of Israel’s kindred, the sons of Moab 
and of Ben-Ammi. Dykes. 

And then we hear of him no more. He is left 
by the sacred narrative, saved indeed from the 
conflagration of Sodom, but an outcast, wid¬ 
owed, homeless, hopeless, without children or 
grandchildren, save the authors and the heirs 

of his shame. E, H. B.-It would seem as 

though this case were specially recorded as a 
caution against that uncharitableness of spirit 


that sometimes v/e find limiting our intercession 
for all the children of God. As we look at such 
and such an one that professes Jehuvah—so 
worldly, so narrow, so selfish, so weak-headed 
as to be blown about by every popular breeze ; 
so weak-hearted that our charity can hardly 
inclose him within the pale of the covenant at 
all —then we are to remember Abraham’s heroic 
intercession and this interposition of the Divine 
mercy, showing that, after all. Lot is one of 
Jehovah’s people, therefore shall he not perish 
with the wicked. This biography of Lot, brief 
and fragmentary as it is, is well worthy of our 
study, not only because it is a biography which 
the Spirit of God has thought it worth while to 
record for our instruction, but because of its 
intense significance as a warning to worldly- 
minded Christians. S. K. 

Lot's disregard of spiritual privileges brought 
upon him a hitter entail of sin and shame. There 
can be little doubt that Lot’s own religious 
character suffered from the long sojourn in 
Sodom. A man cannot voluntarily expose him¬ 
self to the worst of influences, from the mere 
love of gain, wnthout his religious sensibilities 
being deadened ; and this only can account for 
the grievous termination to the history of Lot, 
which is among the most melancholy records in 
the Word of God. It is one of those cases 
which we must contemplate because it is there, 
—very terrible, and very necessary to be 
thought of ; but we would wish to look at it as 
Abraham did at the ruin of Sodom, standing in 
the place where we have met God, and looking 
at it “ a great way off.’' There is a general con¬ 
sistency in the lives of men ; and such a deplo¬ 
rable spiritual catastrophe could not w^ell have 
happened to one who strove to maintain warm 
religious feeling, and to keep himself unspotted 
from the world. To Lot’s family the disregard 
of all religious associations was even worse. 
His wife caught the infection of the place, and 
became in love, deep and unholy, v/ith its fash¬ 
ions. It may have been her influence which 
prevented Lot from leaving sooner, and, with 
all the urgency of doom behind, he could not 
carry her with him. The family of Lot mingled 
with the men of Sodom, and learned their ways. 
When the poor father, alarmed for his children’s 
safety, implored his sons-in-law^Up, get you 
out of this place, for the Lord will de.stroy this 
city,” “ he seemed as one that mocked.” We 
can perceive, in this closing scene, how much 
Lot must have had to bear from those who 
were most nearly related to him. We know 
what sins followed the fall of Sodom, and what 
a salvation Lot still needed from the fearful pit 





SECTION 47.—GENESIS 19 : 29-38. 


371 


and from the miry clay into which he was led. 
Of the remainder of his life we know nothing. 
Ker. -The edge of the moral which his ex¬ 

ample points lies in this, that to the last he con¬ 
tinued to be a servant of Jehovah. He was not 
seduced by evil surroundings either into idol¬ 
atry or into profligacy. The filthy deeds of his 
neighbors “vexed his righteous soul." He 
must even have exasperated them by occasional, 
perhaps by habitual, remonstrances ; else they 
could scarcely have cast it up to him at the last, 
that having come in as a foreigner, he had set 
himself up to be their judge. In spite of his 
faults, an apostle could still call him a “ just ” 
man ; the “ godly" one whom the Lord “ knew 
how to deliver.” His very deliverance from a 
ruin so sweeping proved the exceptional pure¬ 
ness of his life. It is precisely this which makes 
his case so instructive. What warning can be 
more appalling against every unhallowed associ¬ 
ation which pious people can contract with tin- 
godly comrades? What example could better 
illustrate the dangers which beset the path of 
those who “ will be rich" ? Literall^^ he was 
“saved as by fire “ a firebrand plucked out of 
the burning” (Amos 4 :11). Dykes. 

Revolting Records of the Old Testament. 

Old Testament history was written both to 
offer examples for imitation, and warnings 
against conduct to be avoided ; thus affording 
lessons in the plan and method of God’s moral 
discipline of man, “ profitable’ —not only as 
models—but even more “ for reproof, for cor¬ 
rection, for instruction in righteousness." 

Some reasons for the perpetuation, in the Book of 
God, for all time, and in all languages, and for all 
races (f men, of the revolting records contained in 
Old Testament history. 

1. To show the frigJdful capabilities of the hu- 
m m soul in the direction of moral evH. The bibli¬ 
cal record as it stands, alone of all writings, 
presents without gloss, concealment or exagger¬ 
ation, the complete and eternal truth concerning 
moral character. There is a popular idea about 
the patriarchs and the noted men of Old Testa¬ 
ment history, which has no ground in the Bible 
itself, viz., that they were very holy men, pat¬ 
terns of all excellence ; as examples?, only sec¬ 
ond to the one great example of Christ himself. 
This idea is incorrect and harmful. Some of 
them the Bible does not represent as example^ 
of any virtue at all. This is true of nearly all 
the twelve patriarchs. Men have canonized 
them : the Bible does not. But why should the 
divine record preserve and perpetuate these 
facts? Just for this reason, viz., that men 


everywhere and to the end of time may learn 
the gangrenous power of evil, and not shrink 
from the surgery of the Almighty but most 
merciful Father, when used for its removal 
from the soul, or from the human race. Let us 
suppose that all sucli records had been omitted 
from the bildicjil history. Men would say of 
the record, “These are unnatural characters. 
Human character now is formed under different 
conditions. Those men were without many of 
the temptations to which we are subject.” Men 
sometimes sink in discouragement when they 
hold before them the absolutely perfect example 
of Jesus only. Thej' aspire toward that exal¬ 
tation of character, but it is high and far away, 
till they read the record of the imperfect'men 
who, notwithstanding, were saints of Godin the 
ancient time. 

Or suppose it were left for the human imag¬ 
ination to portray the moral character of men, 

{ and the moral conflicts of human life. Even 
with the light which the Bible sheds on the 
problem of moral evil, uninspired men have, 
with very few exceptions, drawn only carica¬ 
tures of men, either for good or evil ; and where 
the portrayal of moral character has verisimili¬ 
tude, as in the writings of Shakespeare, the 
truthful sketching has resulted from the infil¬ 
tration into literature of biblical ideas. Other¬ 
wise the patteins both of virtue and'of vice are 
unnatural and false. Take uninspired histo¬ 
rians. With very few exceptions the total moral 
impression of the characters and acts delineated 
is warped to actual .falsity. What colossal prej¬ 
udices ; what distorted models ; what bitter 
partisanship ; what vivid cursing of the bad ; 
what blind laudation of the good ; what partial 
reading of motives is displayed on the historic 
page. But biblical history is written on a v'holly 
different plan. Here character appears as it is. 
Balaam is painted no worse than he was. David 
is exhibited no better than he was. The low 
faults and follies of Samson are neither con¬ 
cealed nor extenuated. We are not told that 
wdiile the races of Canaan were vile heathen, the 
children of Israel were very excellent people. 
Facts are told, and truth concerning character 
is the impression made. No reader can fail to 
see that races of men, that individual men, 
have appointed to them in this world a moral 
conflict with a gigantic presence and power of 
evil, which in its myriad forms is well-nigh 
omnipresent, and that victory is purchased only 
at the price of sleepless vigilance, of resisting 
unto blood, of enduring hardness as good sol¬ 
diers, and that till life shall end. It is one of 
the'fundamental conditions of any true moral 










372 


REVOLTING RECORDS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 


uplifting of the human race, be it by human or 
by divine power, that men should know—what 
they <lislike t > know and what they very much 
desire to forget —that all sin, every form of evil, 
has a terrible power of reproduction and ex¬ 
pansion. This is the first great, omnipresent 
fact that confronts us, in all thorough study of 
human experience or of human history. The 
I)ermanent and repulsive bottom truth of moral 
character as experienced in human life, as seen 
in human history, demands the records of the 
Old Testament history, as they staud. 

2, To shovo that the drvelopmenl of moral beings, 
or ff a race of moral beings, in good is a long proc¬ 
ess, even for Omnipotence and infinite Love. 

Infinite Power cannot shorten the process 
through which men must sweat and watch and 
fight for those moral ends which are the high¬ 
est, for that life which is nearest the Son of 
God. Moral character is not a product resulting 
from the factors of infinite Power and finite 
being, but a product resulting from the factors 
of divine infiaence, instruction and discipline on 
the one hand, and the free play and exercise of 
finite mind and will, struggling,—almost blindly 
at the first, — toward light and liberty, on the 
other. The process is long ; the progress slow ; 
the halts are many ; the wanderings are fre¬ 
quent ; seeming and perhaps real retrogression 
are not wanting ; but the goal is reached. 
“ The mills of the gods grind slowly,” and for¬ 
ever, but they do grind th-ir grist of moral grain; 
and the value and eternal duration of the j^rod- 
uct infinitely overbalance all the expenditure of 
time and precious resources in the long jrrocess. 

3. The revolting narratives of Old Testament 
history give a most impressive lesson in the divine 
p dknce. The lesson in patience is one of the 
latest learned, also one of the most essential to 
j*erfect character. Old Testament history shows 
not only how wonderfully iratient God has ever 
been with men in their moral training, but also, 
speaking after a human fashion yet without 
irreverence, that human sin has been a hard 
trial even for the infinite divine patience. The 
man whom God created in his own image, for 
freedom, holiness and light, enslaved himself to 
sin and turned away into darkness, at the very 
dawn of his life on the earth. The sin and 
wickedness of men grew and spread, in inten- 
.sity and in the scope of its dominion, even 
faster than the rapid multiplication of mankind 
on the earth. Yet God bore with the men of 
the antediluvian world for a period equal to that 
from the days when the old Eoman empire was 
in its glory to this day. Even after the an¬ 
nouncement of the decision to destroy the guilty 


human race—and who can measure the degree 
of revulsion from the sin of men felt by infinite 
holiness ?—the Lord waits a hundred and twenty 
years before bringing over the inhabited world 
the destroying flood ! And when we follow the 
record of Old Testament history down through 
its earlier and its later stages, we ask, but we 
cannot answer, the question. How could infinite 
knowledge and holiness so bear with persistence 
in rebellion and in guilt ? 

We recoil from many things in the records of 
the Jewish people. What should we say, what 
should we feel and think, if the actual life, the 
unwritten history of races and tribes of men, 
much more morally corrupt than the Jews, were 
spread out before our own eyes as they ever are 
before the eye of the Omniscient? And yet for 
four thousand years the divine compassion 
waited, before sending the Saviour to become 
one of the human race, that He might redeem 
and save men. Is this indifference ? Is it mys- 
ter}' ? No ! it is patience. And through all 
these thousands of years the divine patience 
has kept even pace with the divine love and 
wisdom, in working out the moral elevation of 
men. And now, in these latest generations, 
with all races of men so closely related and con¬ 
nected together as modern science and art have 
caused them to be—rather as God’s blessed jDur- 
poses of mercy have caused them to be —is it 
enthusiasm, is it not rather a sober tracing of 
the indications which the Almighty finger 
points out, when we expect the near future to re¬ 
veal to our eyes a much more rapid realization 
of what divine Love has been so long patiently 
working out for the salvation of men ? The 
restored human character is to be moulded on 
that of God, And what one attribute of God is 
offered for human imitation more than his pa¬ 
tience ? The Apostle Jamc's fitly sets it as the 
very crown of character. “ Perfect in patience 
is altogether perfect.” And certainly patience 
coupled with knowledge ; patience which has 
its root in love and charity ; patience which 
grows strong with exercise, both to bear and to 
do ; patience 'W'hich makes the soul more truly 
humble the longer it lives, and more intensely 
active also ; patience which steadil}^ but surely 
eliminates out of the character and the life all 
low aims and loves —all self-seeking, and leads 
other men to God while aspiring toward him,— 
this flower and mellow fruit of character is like 
the character of God. The element of the divine 
patience woven into the moral growth and up 
ward progress of mankind is one of the most 
potential elements. And there is no record ac¬ 
cessible to us which reveals in such clear light 







SECTION 48.~GENE8IS 20 : 1-18. 


373 


the patience of God as the record of Old Testa¬ 
ment history : and it is just the most revolting 
portions of this historic record which most 
impressively show and illustrate God’s patience 
in working out the slow process of man’s moral 
elevation. 

There are doubtless other reasons, easy to be 
discovered, for the perpetuation in the Book of 
God, of records revolting to a refined sense, 
and the occasion of stumbling to some ; and 
there may be reasons in the divine mind, which 
we, who see all things that concern moral gov¬ 
ernment and discipline “ as through a glass 
tiarkly,” and as yet know but “ in part,” still 
fail to discover. But are not the reasons we 
have presented amply sufficient for a justifica¬ 
tion of the ways of God ? Are they not suffi¬ 
cient to secure that respectful and well-timed 
attention to these sad records, that the records 
themselves, taken with their setting in the his¬ 
tory of which they form apart, justly challenge ? 


It is not necessary that every portion of the 
Bible should be treated as “ devotional reading” 
ly men in every age ; indeed we should be far 
from commending the wisdom of those among 
us who read, “ in course,” the entire Old T «- 
tament history, around their home firesides. 
There is a place for all these historical portions 
of the Bible, but that is not the place. But a 
man who is familiar with the social and moral 
condition of certain races of men to clay, might 
profitably turn to portions of Old Testament 
history which would furnish poor moral nutri¬ 
ment to ‘ ‘ babes” within the circle of refined 
Christian homes in our own land, but which, 
read and explained ” with great plainness of 
speech” to some full-grown Africans, might be 
as sincere milk” as those men are yet able to 
digest; quite on the level of their intelligence, 
sadly suited to the low plane of their experience. 
Herrick. 


Section 48. 

ABRAHAM AND ABIMELECH. GERAR, BEERSHEBA. 

Genesis 20 : 1-18. 

1 And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the land of the South, and dwelt between 

2 Kadesh and Shur ; and he sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife. She is 

3 my sister ; and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech 
in a dream of the night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, because of the 

4 woman which thou hast taken ; for she is a man’s wife. Now Abimelech had not come near 

5 her: and he said. Lord, wilt thou slay even a righteous nation? Said he not himself unto 
me, She is my sister ? and she, even she herself said. He is my brother: in the integrity of 

6 my heart and the innocency of my bands have I done this. And God said unto him in the 
dream. Yea, I know that in the integrity of thy heart thou hast done this, and I also withheld 

7 thee from sinning against me : therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. Now therefore re¬ 
store the man’s wife ; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live : 
and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine. 

8 And Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things 

9 in their ears ; and the men were sore afraid. Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto 
him, What hast thou done unto us V and wherein have I sinned against thee, that thou hast 
brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin ? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not 

10 to be done. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this 

11 thing ? And Abraham said. Because I thought. Surely the fear of God is not in this place ; and 

12 they will slay me for my wife’s sake. And moreover she is indeed my sister, the daughter of 

13 my father, but not the daughter of my mother ; and she became my wife : and it came to 
pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her. This is thy 
kindness which thou shalt shew unto me ; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, 

14 He is my brother. And Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and meuservants and womenser- 

15 vants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife. And Abimelech said, 





374 


ABRAUAM AND ABIMELECH. GERAR, BEER8IIEBA. 


16 Behold, my land is before thee : dwell where it pleaseth thee. And unto Sarah he said, Bo^ 
hold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver : behold, it is for thee a covaring of 

17 the eyes to all that are with thee ; and in respect of all thou art righted. And Abraham 
prayed unto God : and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants ; and they 

18 bare children. For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, 


because of Sarah Abraham’s wife. 

Nothing is more worthy of admiration than 
the fidelity of the Scripture history. There is 
not a saint, however eminent, but his faults are 
reported as faithfully as hi.s virtues ; and from 
the testimony given we are constrained to ac¬ 
knowledge that the best of men, when they come 
into temptation, are weak and fallible as others 

if they be not succored from above. Bush. - 

The falsehood of Abraham, the guilt and vio¬ 
lence of David, were very different in their effect 
on character in an age when truth and purity 
and gentleness were scarcely recognized, from 
what they would be now. Then Abraham and 
David had not so sinned against their con¬ 
sciences as a man would sin now in doing the 
same acts, becaiise their consciences were less 

enlightened. F. W. B.-1 am called on not 

to walk in all the footsteps of father Abraham, 
but only in the footsteps of his faith. In this 
chapter he evinces a want of faith when, in¬ 
stead of trusting to God for his safety, he 
trusted to a device of his own. The God who 
delivered him in spite of this his perversity 
would surely have delivered him had he com¬ 
mitted himself in all fearlessness and truth to 
His holy keeping. In the history of Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob, more especially in that of 
Jacob, we observe the intromission of human 
deceit with the jjroceedings and purposes of 
the divine administration. Nevertheless the 
counsel of the Lord shall stand, unaffected alike 
by the opposition of enemies and the wayward¬ 
ness or misconduct of friends. T. C. 

, If we suppose that the Divine commendation 
of certain Old Testament personages indicates 
the Divine approval of the particular conduct 
of those personages, our moral standards are 
hopelessly confused. If, on the other hand, we 
recognize the truth, that God judges men by 
their inner spirit toward himself even though 
thej' may be at fault in their mode of exhibiting 
that spirit, we are at no loss to see how a man’s 
spirit may be ajDproved of God, while his con¬ 
duct in many things is rightly disapproved of 
men. Abraham shows his faith in God by leav¬ 
ing his land and his people at the call of God ; 
and he proves his fidelity toward God by never 
swerving from the worship of Jehovah, even 
while surrounded by idolaters. In view of this 
proof of his faith, Abraham is commended of 


r 

God as one of his children at heart, notwith¬ 
standing his polygamy and his untruthfulness 
—in accordance with the practice of his day, 
Esau despises spiritual privileges in contrast 
with indulgence of his appetite. Jacob gives 
the first place to blessings in the line of God’s 
promises. God commends Jacob in and for 
this choice ; but he does not thereby show his 
approval of Jacob’s deceit and falsehood in 
his outreaching to secure the promised* bless¬ 
ings. So all the way through the inspired record. 
S. S. T. 

1. Sojourned in Gcrar, No reason is 
assigned by the sacred historian for so sudden 
a removal. What is certain i.s, that he did soon 
after the overthrow of Sodom break up the set¬ 
tlement near Hebron which for fifteen years had 
been his home. He moved farther to the south 
west and nearer to the desert. After halting at 
various points in the “ Negeb” or South-land of 
Canaan, he finally attempted a more permanent 
encampment close to the headquarters of a 
stranger tribe. Gerar was the capital of a Philis¬ 
tine people allied to the Egyptians, whose five 
subdivisions at a later period occupied the 
Shephelah, or strip of level land along the 
southern coasts, whence they waged with Israel 
an incessant border warfare. To that coast- 
strip they lent their own name of Philistia or 
Palestine, which in much later times came to be 
inaccurately extended to the wiioleland. Bykf's. 

Gerar was not far from Gaza and Beer.^heba. 
Its site has probably been identified by Bow- 
lands with the traces of an ancient citj’^ now 
called Ehirbet-el-Oerar, near a deep Wady called 
Jurf-el-Gerar, about three hours to the south- 

south-east of Gaza. E. H. B.-Here he and 

his descendants dwelt for a long, time at Beer- 
SHEBA, at the south-western extremity of the 
maritime plain, upon the borders of the desert. 
This was Abraham’s/our//i resting-place in the 
Holy Land. It continued till the latest times 
to be the southern boundary of the Holy Land, 
so that from Dan to Beersheba became the es¬ 
tablished formula to indicate the wiiole country. 
In this district the Philistines had already be¬ 
gun to form settlements, and a warlike king of 
this race, wdiose hereditary name was Abimelech 
{Father-King), reigned in the valley of Gerar. 
P. S,-Beersheba lies some twelve hours’ 













SECTION 48.-GENESIS 20 : I-IS. 


375 


march to the south west of Hebron. Though 
at that time included within the range of pas¬ 
turage claimed by the Philistine llock-masters, it 
ultimately fell to the dominion of Israel, and 
in fact constituted their frontier station on the 
extreme south. The district was admirably 
adapted for gra^ng. Jnst where Abraham’s 
well was dug, the fertile land begins to shade 
off by insensible degrees into a sterile and un¬ 
friendly desert. Before it to the south stretches 
the most extensive plain in Palestine ; while on 
either hand as well as northward are smooth 
and rolling hills, free from either rock or forest. 
Dykes. 

Beersheha is on many accounts the most inter¬ 
esting locality in the South country. Its posi¬ 
tion admits of no doubt—the well-known Bir- 
es-Seba. Long lines of foundations mark the 
ancient city, or rather village, for it seems to 
have always been what Jerome describes it in 
the fourth century—a very large un walled place, 
with a garrison. The ruins are about half a 
mile in extent, but scattered. H. B. T. 

Approaching Palestine from the southern des¬ 
ert, we came upon an open undulating coun¬ 
try ; green grass was seen along the lesser 
water-courses, and almost green sward ; while 
the gentle hills, covered in ordinary seasons 
with grass and rich pastures, were now burnt 
over with drought. On the northern side of 
the bed of a torrent, close upon the bank, are 
two deep wells, still called Bir-es-Seba,—the 
ancient Beersheba. These wells, which are cir¬ 
cular, and stoned up with solid masonry, are 
some distance apart ; one 12^^ feet in diameter, 
and 44^ deep, to the surface of the water ; the 
other 5 feet wide, and 42 deep. The water in 
both is i^ure and sweet, and in great abundance. 
Here, then, is the place where the patriarchs, 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, often dwelt. Bob- 
inson. 

One feature marks Beersheba as still the 
boundary between the desert and the uplands. 
This is the cultivation of large portions of un¬ 
fenced lands for corn by the Arabs. The 7 wells 
vary from five to thirteen feet in diameter. 
The water stood at 38 feet from the surface in 
the one at which we were camped. Above the 
rock (34 feet down) it was built with finely 
squared large stones, hard as marble ; and the 
ropes of water-drawers for 4000 years have worn 
the edges of the hard limestone with no less 
than 143 fiutings, the shallowest of them four 
inches deep. The ancient marble troughs were 
arranged at convenient distances round the 
mouth in an irregular circle, i^ll day long, our 
men or the Bedouin herdsmen and their wives 


were drawing water in skins, and filling these 
troughs for the horses, camels, cattle and sheep, 
recalling many a scene in the lives of the patri¬ 
archs, of Rebecca and of Zipi:)orah. We are by 
the very well Abraham digged. Hence he jour, 
neyed with Isaac to Mount Moriah. Hence 
Jacob started on his lonely travel to Padan 
Aram. Here he sacrificed to the Lord before 
setting out to Join his son Joseph in Egyi)t. 
Here Samuel made his sons judges. Here Elijah 
i:)arted with his faithful servant before wander¬ 
ing into the wilderness. Over those wide roll¬ 
ing hills, covered with verdure and carpeted 
with spring flowers, the Patriarchs used to gaze 
on their thoirsands of flocks and herds. H. B. T. 

iJ. AbiiiicBceBi. The official title borne by 
their successive chieftains was Abi-melek. Like 
the Padi-shah of the Persians, the name signi¬ 
fies “ My father the king,”—fit title for a pas¬ 
toral sheik, who wielded over his clansmen a 
kindl}^ although irresponsible authority. Dykes. 
- Father king, the common title of the Philis¬ 
tine kings, as Pharaoh was of the Egyptians. 
In Abimelech we see a totally different charac¬ 
ter from that of Pharaoh ; the character, name¬ 
ly, of a heathen imbued with a moral conscious¬ 
ness of right and open to receive a divine reve¬ 
lation, of which there is no trace in the accoiint 
of the king of Egypt. It is not to be wmndered 
at that the same danger should twdce have oc¬ 
curred to Sarah, if we remember that the cus¬ 
toms of the heathen nations, among which he 
was sojourning, were such as to induce Abra¬ 
ham to use the artifice of calling his wife his 
sister. E. H. B. 

In what had God failed him that he should 
begin now to doubt of his faithfulness or 
power ? Could the Philistines touch a hair of 
his head wdthout the divine permission ? Be¬ 
sides it ought to have occurred to him that he 
had once before been guilty of the same dissim¬ 
ulation, and had been rejDroved for it. Had the 
Philistines come suddenly upon him, and threat¬ 
ened to put him to death for his wife’s sake we 
should the less have wondered that they were 
prevailed upon to conceal their relation to each 
other. But he had done the same thing many 
years before and had thereby ensnared Pharaoh 
king of Egypt, ncr w'as he then delivered with¬ 
out a divine interposition, and a just rebuke 
from the injured monarch. Surely he ought to 
have profited by past experience. Bush. 

See the parallel account (ch. 12). Sarah wa.s 
now about ninety years of age, and her beauty 
inu.st have been considerably impaired since the 
time she was taken in a similar manner by 
Pharaoh, king ef Egypt ; but she was probably 






376 


ABRAHAM AND ABIMELECIL GERAR, BEERSHEBA. 


now chosen by Abimelech, on the account of 
forming an alliance with Abraham, who was very 
rich. This circumstance was sufficient to cause 
his friendship to be courted ; and what more 
effectual means could Abimelech use in refer¬ 
ence to this than the taking Sarah to be his 
concubine, or second wife, which in those times 
had no kind of disgrace attached to it? A. C. 

4. Wilt tlioiB sl£iy a ri|^liteoiis 
llcitian ? These words appear to contain a 
reference to the recent awful event of Sodom’s 
overthrow, which must have greatly impressed 

the surrounding countrJ^ Bush. - A righteous 

nation, i.e. a nation guiltless as regards this act 
of their king ; but it may be, that the people of 
Gerar were really exempt from the worst vices 
of Canaan, and living in a state of comparative 

piety and simplicit 3 ^ E. H. B.-The Ian- 

guage evidently carries with it the implication, 
which is abundantly warranted elsewhere in the 
Scripture, that from the close connection exist¬ 
ing between them, the sins of rulers were often 

visited upon their people. Bush. -See what 

confidence a man may have toward God, when 
bis heart condemns him not. If our consciences 
witness to our integrity, and that, however we 
may have been cheated into a snare, we have 
not knowingly and wittingly sinned against 
God, it will be our rejoicing in the day of evil. 
He pleads with God as Abraham had done (ch. 
18 : 23), Wdt thou slay a righteous nation, a nation 
which in this matter was innocent? 

6, God alio ws his plea, and admits that what 
he did he did in the integrity of his heart, Yea, 
I know it. Further, he lets him know that he 
was kept from, proceeding in the sin, merely by 
the good hand of God upon him. I withheld thee 
from .sinning against me. There is a great deal 
of sin devised and designed, that is never ex¬ 
ecuted. As bad as things are in the world, they 
are not so bad as the Devil and wicked men 
would have them. It is God that restrains men 
from doing the ill thej" would do ; it is not from 
him that there is sin, but it is from him that 
there is not more sin, either by his influence 
upon men’s minds, checking their inclination 
to sin, or by his providence, taking away the 
opportunity to sin. H. 

Against me. The truth emphasized here 
needs to be indelibly graven upon our deepest 
and most controlling convictions : That every 
wroi\^ or evil done against men is primarily and 
essentially .sin against Ood. So David affirms in 
confessing to Jehovah his supreme crime against 
Uriah, “ Against thee, thee only, have I sinned.” 
B. 

7. God had raised His servant to be a 


“ prophet.” AVith liim God held such intimate 
intercourse as was not granted to other men, 
even in an age when Heaven lay more open to 
the eye of earth than it does now. This consti¬ 
tuted him a mediator through whom the divine 
will and favor could reach his contemporaries. 
Quite recently it had emboldened him to stand 
as intercessor between the sinful towns and the 
justice of Heaven. Even Abimelech was to be 
indebted for the pardon of his unwitting fault 
to the prayers of the very man who had misled 
him into it. “ He is a prophet,” said the Voice 
in his dream, y and he shall pray for thee, and 
thou shalt live.’ ’ Dykes. 

This is the first time we meet with the word 
prophet^ and Abraham is the first that is hon¬ 
ored with this name. It signifies one admitted 
to a nearer intercourse with God ; so as to be 
allowed to consult Him, and to declare His mind 
and will to others ; and also to prevail with 
Him by prayer to confer blessings upon them. 
Patrick. -Abraham is said to be ix. prophet, oc¬ 

cupying a place of especial favor, so that his 
intercession would avail with God. And no 
less remarkable are those that follow’, in which 
the heathen king reproves the prophet, the 
Friend of God, by an appeal to those first prin- 
ciirles of moral right which bind prophets and 
heathens alike : “ thou hast done deeds with 
me that ought not to be done.” Abimelech 
shines throughout this narrative. His public 
announcement of the facts to his servants is the 
act of an injured man conscious of his owm rec¬ 
titude and desirous thoroughly to clear himself. 

Alf. -This king of the Philistines knows the 

true God, as Melchizedek also did ; in dreams 
he even receives communications from him ; 
recognizes in Abraham a “ prophet,” or inter¬ 
preter of the divine will—one gifted with the 
higher vision, and permitted to hold familiar 
intercourse with the Lord ; and obeys with 
alacrity the intimations of God. He displays in 
this transaction a highly honorable character ; 
while Abraham, to his humiliation, is con¬ 
strained to listen to his just reproaches. C. G. B. 

9, 10 . The serious reproof which Abimelech 
gave to Abraham. His reasoning w’ith Abraham 
was strong, and yet very mild. Nothing could 
be said better ; he does not reproach him, but 
he fairly represents the injury Abraham had 
done him. 12 . He excused it from the guilt of 
a downright lie, by making it out, that, in a 
sense, she was his sister. But they to whom he 
said, She is my sister, understood that she was 
so his sister as not to be capable of being his 
wife ; so that it was an equivocation with an in¬ 
tent to deceive. H. 








SECTION 48.—GENESIS 20 : 1-18. 


377 


Some tell us, the God of the Old Testament 
takes the lie of Abraham under His sj^ecial pro¬ 
tection, for Abraham comes out of these two sit¬ 
uations honored and enriched. But in both cases 
the sacred historian evidently takes the part of 
the two heathen kings against Abraham ; for he 
transmits to us at full length the energetic re¬ 
proaches which both the monarchs address 
him : “What is this that thou hast done unto 
me ? why didst thou not tell me that she was 
thy wife ?“ And Abraham answers not a w’ord, 
which signifies that he recognizes his guilt. 
“ What hast thou done unto us? Thou hast 
done deeds unto me that ought not to be done,” 
said the king of the Philistines. And Abraham 
does not seek to justify himself ; he only en¬ 
deavors to palliate his fault by explaining to 
Abimelech that his statement was not so com- 
plete a falsehood as at first sight it seemed. 
The biblical hero, the father of Israel, is, there¬ 
fore, rebuked on both occa.sions by the two 
heathen princes, and this in two reproofs which 
have been preserved b.y the sacred writer. That 
is how Abraham comes out of these adventures 
justified ! As to the gifts presented to Abraham 
by the two kings, they too had their sin to atone 
for in this transaction. If it be not permitted 
to take from a man his wife, it is equally’ for¬ 
bidden to take his sister. If for this act of vio¬ 
lence they impose upon themselves a reparation 
toward Abraham, it is mere justice. The only 
one who comes out of this narrative glorified is 
God, w'ho interferes to save His elect from the 
false position in which he has placed himself 
by his own fault, and who preserves from crime 
the two comparatively innocent heathen kings. 
Godet. 

16. A tliou§aiicl piece§ of silver. 

This is explained subsequently, when Abraham 
buys the field and cave of Machpelah for four 
hundred shekels of silver, which, it is added, 
“he weighed to Ephron, current monej’’ with 
the merchant.” These transactions bring out 
three points ; that in ancient times silver ap¬ 
pears to have been the money metal, gold being 
reserved more for ornament ; that for a long 
period still money was not coined and stamped, 
but weighed—the Lydians being among the first 
to use coin, and that perhaps a thousand years 
afterw’ard ; that even then the merchant, the 
travelling tradesman was at his business of ex¬ 
change. S. C. B. 

17. So Ahraliam prayed unto Ood. 

Abraham by his prevarication had brought dis¬ 
tress on Abimelech and all his household. Being 
now humbled by the rebuke he had received, he 
prayed to God for the removal of the judgments 


which he had been instrumental in procuring. 
By this means, as far as in him lay, he counter¬ 
acted and reversed the mischief that he had 
done. It is but seldom that we can cancel in 
any degree the evil we have committed ; but 
the course adopted by Abraham is open to us 
all. We may pray for those whom we have in¬ 
jured. We may beg of God to obliterate from 
their minds any bad impressions which either 
by word or deed we may have made on them. 

Bush. -Comparing merely ih.e nuiaval position 

of Abraham in this transaction with that of 
Abimelech, the Patriarch would have appeared 
under great disadvantage, and therefore God 
points out that by grace and calling he occupied 
another and a much higher place, from which 
he was not removed even when, through the 
weakness of his nature, he lost so much of his 
personal dignity. Yet while Abimelech stands 
so much higher than the Patriarch in point of 
natural dignity and moral strength, the latter 
has to intercede for him, that the sin, of which 
without knowing its full extent he had become 
guilty, might be forgiven, and that the plague, 
with which he and his household had been 
afflicted, might be removed. K. 

If the Divine purpose is to be turned aside by 
the fault or blemish found in individual charac¬ 
ter, the Divine government of man is at an end, 
and human progress is an impossibility. Take 
the full stretch of time required by the Al¬ 
mighty in working out his purposes, and then 
it will be seen that under all appearances there 
was something which made every man chosen 
to leadership in the holy kingdom the bfst man 
that could have been chosen for the purpose. 
You say that Abimelech was better than Abra¬ 
ham ; but you know nothing about Abimelech 
but what is stated in this chapter. You have 
seen Abimelech at his best and you have seen 
Abraham at his worst, and then you have rushed 
to a conclusion ! This is not the right way to 
read history ; certainly not the right way to 
read the Bible. We are not to set act against 
act, but life against life. Take life for life, 
spirit for spirit, character for character, through 
and through, and no man who is without Christ 
can compare for true and lasting dignity of soul 
with the least in the kingdom of heaven. This 
principle may help us to come to larger and 
juster judgments of human character and human 
history. When I think of the meanness of 
Adam, the drunkenness of Noah, the selfishness 
of Lot, the cowardice of Abraham, the cunning 
of Jacob, the sensuality of David, and the in¬ 
constancy of Peter, my first wonder is that 
such men should have a name in the Divine his- 





378 


BIRTH OF ISAAC. 


tory at all. But therein I show my folly and 
my impiety, by my setting up my morality 
against the righteousness of God. It is easy for 
me to compare the insipid respectability of 
some of my own acquaintance with the painful 
characteristics just named, and to depose the 
great historical characters in favor of my unim¬ 
peachable friends. But where would my friends 
have been in the same circumstances ? 

This, then, is the point at which I find rest 
M'hen I am disturbed by the evident and painful 
immorality of illustrious Bible characters, viz., 
numan nature has never been perfect in all its 
qualities, energies, and services ; the perfec¬ 
tion of human nature can be wrought out only 
by long-continued and severe probation ; in 
choosing instruments for the representation of 
his will and the execution of his purposes, God 
has always chosen men who were best fitted on 
the whole for such ministry, though in some 
particulars they have pitiably failed. Consider, 
too, knowing human nature as we do, how ben¬ 


eficial a thing it was to the great men them¬ 
selves to be shown now and again that they 
were imperfect, and that they were only great 
and strong as they were good—as they were 
true to God. We are called to holiness, to 
honor, to purity, to nobleness ; to all that is 
beautiful and resplendent in character. To 
this end Christ died ; to this end the Holy {Spirit 
works ; to this end our whole being should 
move in one strenuous and hopeful effort. And 
yst in thought, or word, or deed ; by fear, or 
unbelief, or selfishness ; by suspicion, envy, 
jealousy, or uncharitableness, we may slip and 
even fall many times by the way. But if the 
root of the matter be in us ; if, under all our 
faults and sins we have that true faith which is 
the gift of God, and that deep love which lives 
through our inconstancy amounting some¬ 
times to treason, and if we press and strive tow¬ 
ard better things, we shall find in the last result 
that God’s grace is greater than our sin, and that 
we shall be saved if only “ so as by fire.” J. P. 


Section 49. 

BIRTH OF ISAAC. ISHMAEL CAST OUT. COVENANT WITH ABIMELECH. 

Genesis 21 :1-34. 

1 And the Lokd visited Sarah as he had said, and the Loed did unto Sarah as he had spoken. 

2 And Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God 

3 had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom 

4 Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days 

5 old, as God had commanded him. And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac 

6 was born unto him. And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh ; every one that heareth 

7 will laugh with me. And she said. Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should 
give children suck ? for I have borne him a son in his old age. 

8 And the child grew, and was weaned : and Abraham made a great feast on the day that 

9 Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had borne unto 

10 Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her 

11 son ; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the 

12 thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight on account of his son. And God said unto .Abra¬ 
ham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman ; 
in all that Sarah saith unto thee, hearken unto her voice ; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. 

13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. And 

14 Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water, and gave it unto 
Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away : and she departed, and 

15 wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. And the water in the bottle was spent, and she 

16 cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she went, and sat her down over against him a 
good way off, as it were a bow-shot: for she said. Let me not look upon the death of the child. 

17 And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept. And God heard the voice of 
the lad ; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, 'What aileth 

18 thee, Hagar? fear not ; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift uii 







SECTION 49.—GENESIS 21 : 1-34. 


379 


19 the lad, and hold him ^n thine hand ; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened 
her eyes, and she saw a well of water ; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and 

20 gave the lad diink, And God was with the lad, and he grew ; and he dwelt in the wilderness, 

21 and became an archer. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran : and his mother took him 
a wife out of the land of Egypt. 

22 And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phicol the captain of his host spake 

23 unto Abraham, sajdng, God is with thee in all that thou doest: now therefore swear unto me 
here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor wdth my son’s son : 
but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the 

24 land wherein thou hast sojourned. And Abraham said, I will sw'ear. And Abraham reproved 

25 Abimelech because of the well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken aAvay. 

26 And Abimelech said, I know' not who hath done this thing ; neither didst thou tell me, 

27 neither yet heard I of it, but to-day. And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto 

28 Abimelech ; and they two made a covenant. And Abraham set seven ew e lambs of the flock 

29 by themselves. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ew'e lambs which 

30 thou hast set by themselves? And he said, These seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, 

31 that it may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well. Wherefore he called that 

32 place Beer-sheba ; because there they sw'are both of them. So they made a covenant at Beer- 
sheba : and Abimelech rose up, and Phicol the captain of his host, and they returned into the 

33 land of the Philistines. And Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and called there 

34 on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God. And Abraham sojourned in the land of the 
Philistines many days. 


Isaac, the son of promise, he who was begot¬ 
ten through the Spirit,— i.e., by the power of the 
word of God and of faith—is now born. Ish- 
mael, the son born after the flesh, in a natural 
way, grew up with him. but as a scoffer at God’s 
word. In order that Abraham’s natural affec¬ 
tion might not be a hindrance to the fulfilment 
of His own purposes, God does not allow him 
“ that w'as born after the flesh,” from a bond- 
woman, to be “ heir together wdth the son of 
the free-w'oman. ” In all this the great truth is 
taught us, which runs through the whole of 
Scripture, that the claims of the flesh are of no 
worth in God’s sight, but that all is of His free 
grace alone. This history, therefore, is a type 
of higher spiritual relations (Gal. 4 :22). But 
at the same time Ishmael is an example how 
God extends His guidance and blessing to those 
whom yet He does not receive into covenant. 
He vouchsafes a portion even of the spiritual 
blessing of Abraham to Ishmael’s posterity. 
Gerl. 

1,2. In the book of Genesis, covering more 
than two thousand years at the lowest computa¬ 
tion, there is not a single miracle wrought by 
human agency. Even Abraham works no mir¬ 
acle. How different from the old mythologies. 
Even when God himself is represented as doing 
things out of the general course of nature, it is 
only at long intervals and very rarely, as in the 
translation of Enoch, the judgment of the flood, 
the confusion of tongues, the birth of Isaac. 
Remember that these events were centuries 
apart from each other. Even if there had been 


a miracle for every century, which there is not, 
you could scarcely say that they were “ very 
plentiful.” If you look at the history perspec- 
tivel.y, you will learn first, that all through 
Bible times miracles were not the rule but the 
exception ; and more particularly that the mir¬ 
acles cluster around particular epochs when 
there was special need for such signs of divine 
presence and power, as at the time of the Ex¬ 
odus after the long dark interval of Egyptian 
bondage ; at the time of Israel’s declension, 
when the prophets Elisha and Elijah were called 
in a special way to witness for the Lord ; and 
above all, in the founding of the Church, after 
the long and silent interval from the Restora¬ 
tion to the Advent. Does not this way of look¬ 
ing at the sacred history put the Bible miracles 
in a very different and altogether reasonable 
light ? Gibson. 

3. I§aac. From the Hebrew word meaning 
to laugh. 9. ITlockiiig^. ” Mocking laugh¬ 
ter.” As Abraham had laughed for joy concern¬ 
ing Isaac, and Sarah had laughed incredulously, 
so now Ishmael laughed in derision, and prob¬ 
ably in a persecuting spirit (see Gal. 4 : 29). 

12. Ill l§aac §liall lliy seed bo 
called. Here is the distinct limitation of 
the great promises of God to the descendants of 
Abraham in the line of Isaac. God’s promises 
gradually developed themselves in fulness, and 
yet were gradually restricted in extent : to Adam 
first ; then to Noah ; to Abraham ; then to one 
race or seed of Abraham, viz. Isaac ; to one of 
Isaac’s children, viz Jacob ; to one of the twelve 





380 


BIRTH OF ISAAC. ISIIMAEi. CAST OUT. 


patriarchs, viz. Judah ; then to his descendant 
David ; and lastl}' to the great Son of David, tiie 
true promised Seed ; l>ut as all centred in Him, 
so too from Him they have spread out to all re¬ 
deemed by Him. though more esioecially taking 
effect in those who are “the children of God 
faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3 : 26), E. H. 13. 

- la Isaac, shall .seed he called to thee. This is 

explained by the Apostle (Horn. 9 : 7, 8), 

“ Neither because they “are the seed of Abraham 
are they all children, but in Isaac shall th}” seed j 
be called ; that is, they which are the children j 
of the flesh, these are not the children of God : 
but the children of the promise, these are 
counted for the seed.” It is, therefore, a limita- ! 
lion of Abraham’s seed, emphatically so called, j 
to the line of I.saac and his descendants, to the j 
exclusion of Ishmael. The Scriptures affirm, i 
in reference to this very history, that “as then 
he that was born after the flesh persecuted him ! 
that was born after the Spirit, even so it is | 
now.” The same things are grounds of offence | 
to the carnal man in this daj", as were in the ! 
days of Ishmael ; and this our Lord has ex¬ 
pressly confirmed by saying, “ because ye are 
not of the world, but I have chosen you out of 
the world, therefore the world hatethyou. ” It 
appears, moreover, from the Apostle’s interpre¬ 
tation that we must be children of promise in 
order to belong to the church of Christ. The 
mere circumstance of having descended from 
Christian parents, or having received the seal of 
the Christian covenant, or making a profession 
of the Christian faith, will not constitute us 
Christians, nor give us a title to share in the 
heavenly inheritance. “ The son of the bond- 
woman shall not be heir with the son of the free- 
woman which is in effect a sentence of ex¬ 
pulsion passed not only on the unbelieving 
Jewish church, but on the whole collective body 
of natural and unconverted men, while it is an 
exclusive grant of heaven and happiness to the 
children of promise. Others may enjoy church 
privileges and make religious professions, but 
they only who in this world rested on the prom¬ 
ises as their one ground of hope and joy, shall 
experience their accomplishment in the world 
to come. Bush. 

12, 1S6, Cast out this bondwoman is quoted 
(Gal. 4 :30) as if it had been spoken by a spirit 
of prophecy ; and it is the sentence passed on 
all hypocrites and carnal people, though they 
have a place and name in the visible church ; 
all that ate born after the flesh and not born 
again, that rest in the law and reject the Gos¬ 
pel-promise, shall certainly be cast out. It is 
made to point particularly at the rejection of 


;■ the unbelieving Jews, who, though they were 
the seed of Abraham, yet because they submit¬ 
ted not to the Gospel-covenant, were un¬ 
churched and disfranchised : and that which, 
above aujdhing, provoked God to cast them off, 
was, their mocking and persecuiing of the Gos- 
nel-ehurch, God’s Isaac, in its infancy. . . . 
God shows Abraham, I. That the casting out of 
Ishmael was necessary to the establishment of 
Isaac in the rights and privileges of the cove¬ 
nant. In Isaac shad thy seed be called: both 
Christ and the church must descend from Abra¬ 
ham through the loins of Isaac ; this is the en¬ 
tail of the promise upon Isaac, and is quoted by 
the apostle to show that not all who came from 
Abraham’s loins were the heirs of Abraham’s 
covenant. 2. That the casting out of Ishmael 
should not be his ruin. He shall be a nation, be¬ 
cause he is thy seed. We are not sure that it was 
his eternal ruin ; it is presumption to say that 
all those who are left out of the ( xternal dis¬ 
pensation of God’s covenant are therefore ex¬ 
cluded from all his mercies: those may be 
saved who are not thus honored. H. 

Paul would have each of us apply, allegori¬ 
cally, the words. Cast out the bondwoman and 
her son, that is, cast out the legal mode of earn¬ 
ing a standing in God’s house, and with this 
legal mode cast out all the self-seeking, the ser¬ 
vile fear of God, the self-righteousness, and the 
hard-heartedness it engenders. Cast out wholly 
from jmurself the spirit of the slave, and cherish 
the spirit of the son and heir. Nothing but 
being a child of God, being born of the Spirit, 
can give the feeling of intimacy, confidence, 
unity of interest, which constitutes true re¬ 
ligion All we do as slaves goes for nothing ; 
that is to say, all we do, not because we see the 
good of it, but because we are commanded. 
Dods. 

The expulsion of Ishmael was necessary, not 
only from his unfitness, and in order to keep 
the heir of the promise iinmixed with others, 
but also for the sake of Abraham himself, whose 
faith must be trained to renounce, in obedience 
to the Divine call, everything,—even his nat¬ 
ural paternal affection. And in His tender 
mere}' God once more made the trial easier, by 
bestowing the special promise that Ishmael 
should become “ a nation.’’ Therefore, al- 
' though Hagar and her son were literallj’- cast 
forth, with only the barest necessaries for the 
journey—water and bread,—this was intended 
chiefly in trial of Abraham’s faith, and their 
poverty was only temporary. For, soon after¬ 
ward we read in Scripture, that, before his 
death, Abraham had enriched his sons (by 







SECTION 49.—GENESIS 21 : 1-34. 


381 


Hagar and Keturah) with “ gifts and at his 
burying Ishmael appears, as an acknowledged 
son, by the side of Isaac, to perform the last 
rites of love to their father. A. E. 

14. The position of the words shows beyond 
controversy that the writer only meant that the 
bread and the water were put on her shoulder, 

and not the child. K.-The leathern bottle, 

as may be seen to this day in the East, and in¬ 
deed in the South of Europe, is made of the 
whole skin of an animal (in this case of couise 
of a small one, such as a goat or kid), the fore 
leg serving as the tap, and the neck as the 

mouth of the bottle. A’f. - The chikl. The 

sacred writer has been charged with an anach¬ 
ronism here, both from his use of the word 
“ child,” when Ishmael must have been from 
fifteen to seventeen years old. The word for 
“child” (yeled), hoAvever, is used for boys of 
adolescent age, as in Gen. 42 :22, of Joseph, 
when he was seventeen. 15, The growing lad 
would easily be exhausted with the heat and 
wandering ; while the hardy habits of the Egyp¬ 
tian handmaid would enable her to endure much 
greater fatigue. She had hitherto led the boy 
by the hand, now she left him fainting and pros¬ 
trate under the shelter of a tree. E. H. B. 

16. Wept. What a proof of the Divine ten¬ 
derness is there in the human heart itself, which 
is the organ and receptacle of so many sympa¬ 
thies ! When we consider how exquisite are 
those conditions bj’’ which it is even made capa¬ 
ble of so much suffering—the capabilities of a 
child’s heart, of a mother’s heart—what must 
be the nature of him wdio fashioned its depths 
and strung its chords? Dawson. -17. Je¬ 

hovah is represented as himself having emo¬ 
tions of pity for the mother and her reckless 
boy as he hears her plaintive cry of nature as a 
mother, and as compassionately lending her aid. 
How beautiful the words, ” God heard the voice 
of ihe lad, and the angel of God called to Hagar, 
What aileth thee, Hagar? Fear not, for God 
hath heard the voice of ihe lad where he is." So 
Jesus himself was affected by the natural sor¬ 
row of the poor widow at Nain. The cry of na¬ 
ture can enter into the ears of the Son of God : 
and it will enter into the ears of his true dis¬ 
ciples. There is no gospel spirit in that sort of 
Christian sternness that hardens its heart and 
arrests the flow, of its natural sensibility toward 
human misery and wretchedness, because for¬ 
sooth that misery comes from the wickedness 
and recklessness of those who suffer it. That 
is a mistaken sort of sternness, in a world full 
of sin and therefore full of suffering, that with¬ 
holds the aid of sympathy and compassion from 


them as very sinful men, women and children. 
If we desire to have the word of God reach them 
and move them, we must learn to say to the 
wretched, “ What aileth thee, Hagar ? fear not ; 
there may be help for thee and hope for thee 
yet.” S.'b. 

Aiig'el of God. Maleach Elohim, elsewhere 
Maleach Jehovah. Supposed but v/rongly to be 
a creature angel (Augustine, Origen, Jerome, 
Hofmann, Baumgarten, Tholuck, Delitzsch, 
Kurtz), for the reasons chiefly (1) that the term 
angel commonly designates a class of spiritual 
beings (ch. 19 : 1 ; 32 ; 1 ; Job 4 : 18 ; Ps. 
91 :11 ; Matt. 13 :41 ; John 20 :12, el passim) ; 
(2) that the a}ye?u)c Kvp'wv of the New Testament 
(Matt. 1 : 20 ; Luke 2:9; Acts 12 : 7) is always 
a created angel ; (3) that the meaning of the 
term one sent, from to depute (Ge- 

senius), one through whom work is executed 
from to work (Keil), implies a certain de¬ 
gree of subordination, which is afterward more 
distinctly recognized (1 Chron 21 : 27 ; Zech. 
1 :12) ; (4) that the distinction between the un¬ 
revealed and the revealed God was not then de¬ 
veloped as in later times, and particularly since 
the advent of Christ —to every one of which ar¬ 
guments, however, it is comparatively easy to 
reply (cf. Keil and Lange in loco). With more 
force of reason believed to have been the Divine 
Being himself, who already as Jehovah had ap¬ 
peared to Abram (the Fathers, the Beformers, 
Hengstenberg, Keil, Lange, Havernick, Nitzsch, 
Ebrard, Steir, Kalisch, Ainsworth, Bush, Words¬ 
worth, Candlish), since—1. The Maleach Jehovah 
explicitly identifies himself 'with Jehovah (ver. 
10) and Elohim (ch. 22 :12). 2. Those to whom 

he makes his presence known recognize him as 
Divine (ch. 16 : 13 ; 18 : 23-33 ; 28 :16-22 ; 

Exod. 3:6; Judges 6 :15, 20-23 ; 13 : 22). 3. 

The Biblical writers constantly speak of him as 
Divine, calling him Jehovah without the least 
reserve (ch. 16 : 13 ; 18 :1 ; 22 : 16 ; Exod. 

3:2; Judges 6 : 12). 4. The doctrine here im¬ 

plied of a plurality of persons in the Godhead 
is in complete accordance with earlier fore¬ 
shadowings (ch. 1 : 26 ; 11:7) and later revela¬ 
tions of the same truth. 5. The organic unity of 
Scripture would be broken if it could be proved 
that the central point in the Old Testament reve¬ 
lation was a creature angel, 'W'hile that of the New 
is the incarnation of the God-Man. T. W. 

1§. I will insikc laiiii si ;:resit aisition. 
Very properly denominated Lshmaelltes and lla- 
garenes by others, they affectedly called them¬ 
selves Saracens; thus rejecting their descent 
from the concubine and challenging it from the 
wife of Abraham ; till at last they became 






382 


COVENANT BETWEEN ABRAUAM AND ABIMELECH. 


noticed nnder that appellation by Dioscorides, 
by Ptolemy, and the Jerusalem Targiim itself. 

Whitaker. - 20. Became ail arelier. A 

skilful hunter and warrior also, with bow and 
arrow. The Saracens, who were of the pos¬ 
terity of Ishmael, never set their hands to the 
plough, but got their living for the most part by 
their bow : supporting themselves on wild flesh 
and venison and such wild fowl as the wilder¬ 
ness afforded, with herbs and milk. Patrick. 

-21. Ill 4fiic wilderness of IParaii. 

Probably the great desert, now called the desert 
El-Tih, i.e. “ the wanderings,” extending from 
the Wady-el-Arabah on the east, to the gulf of 
Suez on the west, and from the Sinaitic range 
on the south to the borders of Palestine on the 
north. E. H. B. 

It only needs a glance beneath the surface to 
see that the future course of these twh great 
branches of the Abrahamic blood was destined 
to be so divergent, that their currents could no 
longer mingle with advantage to either. So far 
as Ishmael was concerned, the archer and hunts¬ 
man whose home was to be the desert, with his 
bow for his best inheritance, it was well that he 
should be early trained to the hardships of a 
nomadic chieftain. For his own comfort, he 
could not be too soon compelled to forego all 
idle dreams of one day succeeding to his father’s 
estate. Too soon he could not be withdrawn 
from the presence of a brother whose priority 
would only inflame his envy. It was the kind¬ 
est thing for the youth to send him away from 
his father’s tents. Let it be remembered that 
he was not sent away from his father’s God. 
The mercies of God are not limited to the area 
of His covenant. This most touching incident 
of the angel’s reappearance to Hagar when she 
despaired of her boy’s life in the thirsty wastes 
of Et-Tih, to the south of Beersheba, taught this 
precious truth, that God in heaven does care for 
those outside the circle of exceptional privilege, 
and reserves a blessing also for such as are not 
of the “ seed ” whom He has “blessed.” It 
was in Isaac that the line of sacred descent was 
to flow. To his race were to belong “ the adop¬ 
tion and the glory,” the “ law” and the “ prom¬ 
ises.” Of them was to come the Christ. The 
highest religious advantages and the hope of the 
human family required to be narrowed to a 
single stem only, out of the various nationali¬ 
ties which call Abraham their progenitor. "Yet 
God heard the cry of the lad, where he lay 
under a desert bush, to remind the world that 
the selections of His grace never mean any lim¬ 
itation of His love, and never spring from a 
partial or hard-hearted favoritism. Providence, 


indeed, moved in the line of Sarah’s counsel, 
rather than of Abraham’s ; but it is the spirit 
of Abraham, and not that of Sarah, which best 
interprets for us the heart of God. 

For Isaac’s sake, on the other hand, it was 
scarcely less advisable to “ cast out ” the bond¬ 
maid’s son. His yielding disposition was ill- 
fitted to withstand the influence or endure the 
hostility of his older and more impetuous 
brother. Besides, the people of the covenant 
needed to be from the outset a separated peo¬ 
ple, kept clear of Gentile alliances. Ishmael’s 
mother was a pagan slave : out of her Egyptian 
home ho married a pagan wife. From all such 
close contact with heathendom it was requisite 
to guard the selected family through which a 
purer faith was to be transmitted. Perhaps we 
may add a further consideration. No single 
home can long hold wjth saietj’’ the child of na¬ 
ture and the child of grace. This early family 
history was meant to be full of significance for 
the Church of God. And it had to be made 
clear that in God’s spiritual family circle, or 
within their eternal home, no place can be 
found for such as are His only after the flesh, ' 
bearing on their body, indeed, the seal of His 
covenant, yet not born again of His Holy Spirit. 
Paul’s use of this ancient household is admitted 
by himself to be an allegorical use of it (Gal. 

4 ; 21). By his supernatural conception and 
birth from parents who only received power to 
give him being at all through their faith in the 
promise of God, Isaac was of all men most fit 
to symbolize that spiritual seed who are born of 
God, and who display, in virtue of their heav¬ 
enly birth, a faith like Abraham’s. With such 
an origin his personal character corresponded. 
He not merely inherited his father’s blood ; he 
shared his fathers piety. In him, therefore, 
was appropriately prefigured all the moral family 
of God, who in every age have walked in the 
steps of Abraham, and who are summed up in 
Isaac’s antitype—Jesus Christ. No less con¬ 
spicuously did the wayw'ard boy, who owed his 
birth to Sarah’s w’ilful scheme and Abraham’s 
w'eakness and Hagar's servitude, typify, both 
by outward position and spiritual character, all 
such as stand nominally inside the household 
of faith, yet have not been born of the Spirit 
into the free trust and love of sons, but serve 
God only under a bondman’s constraint or 
with a bondman’s fear. Dykes. 

Covenant between Abraham and Abimelech (vs. 

22-32). 

23. Swear unto me by €moc1. From 
this circumstance we may see the original pur- 








SECTION 49.—GENESIS 21 : 1-84. 


383 


pose, design, and spirit of an oath, viz. Let God 
prosper or curse me in all that 1 do, as I prove 
true orfa'se to my engayements / This is still the 
spirit of all oaths, where God is called to wit¬ 
ness. A. C. 

In order to show that what he cov¬ 
eted was not simply personal friendship, but a 
public tribal alliauce such as might outlast their 
individual lives and secure enduring peace be¬ 
twixt their tribesmen, the prince brought with 
him his chief officer or second in command. 
This official was distinguished by a title, Plii- 
chol, which, like his master’s, tells of their 
Semitic speech. [Its recurrenco in Isaac’s days 
(Gen. 26 : 26) seems to show that, like Pharaoh, 
Abimelech, and others, Phichol was purely an 
official title w^orn by successive holders of the 
dignity. It iheans “the mouth of all”—that 
is, the vizier or minister, who alone has imme¬ 
diate access to the sovereign, and through whom, 
therefore, the case of all suitors must pass ] 
The primitive ceremony of treaty-making com¬ 
prised an exchange of valuable presents, as well 
as a mutual oath of fidelity to the terms of con¬ 
tract. While these preliminaries to the final 
ratification of the alliance were going forward, 
Abraham was observed to set apart seven ewe 
lambs from the flocks which constituted his 
present. On his side he had a grievance to com¬ 
plain of, against the recurrence of which he de¬ 
sired to secure himself by a separate and precise 
understanding. This grievance concerned the 
well which with immense labor his servants had 
dug. On the free use of that water supply de¬ 
pended the value of the grazing-grounds around. 
To Abraham’s occupation of the district it was 
simply essential ; yet he had to complain that 
it had been “ violently taken away’’ by the 
Philistine herdsmen. Abimelech protested his 
ignorance of the injury ; and his acceptance of 
the separated ewe lambs was a symbolical ac¬ 
knowledgment of Abraham’s exclusive right to 
the possession of the well. On this understand¬ 
ing the league of amity was sworn, to be re¬ 
newed a generation later between their succes¬ 
sors. The centre of the pastoral life, then as 
now, was the well-mouth. Around its mouth 
stood a series of stone troughs for the watering 
of his cattle. Toward it, in the cool of the 
evening, trooped the young women with their 
pitchers. The permanent encampment required 
to be set up in convenient proximity to it. 
From it, at the dry season, no flock dared wan¬ 
der far away. Beside it every traveller halted 
his camels. The poetry of life, its pastimes and 
its business, all clustered round the well. 

31. Beersheba means the “ well of seven,” 


or "of the oath two significations which in 
Hebrew are very closely related. To swear, in 
primitive Hebrew usage, meant literally to bind 
one’s self, as Abraham did on this occasion, by 
seven things, seven being from the very origin 
of history the divine or perfect number. When 
this interesting site was rediscovered by Dr. 
Bobinson in the year 1838, the name was found 
adhering to it nearly unchanged in form—Bir- 
es-seba. Two grand wells of ancient masonry, 
the larger of which measures twelve feet and a 
half across, remain to tell of the shepherd chiefs 
whose flocks browsed on the surrounding hills 
in the gray morning of time. To this day are 
still set round about them stone troughs for the 
watering of cattle. Worn deep into their stone 
margins are the marks of ropes. Few monu¬ 
ments so venerable as these remain to transport 
the traveller back to patriarchal scenes. Even 
should the existing masonry which protects 
them prove to be of more recent date, there is 
no reason to doubt that the wells themselves 
are the very same as were dug by Abraham and 
his son. On the slope above lie scattered the 
remains of a town which subsequently grew up. 
Dykes. 

33. Beersheba may have been as destitute of 
trees then as to-day ; for there Abram planted a 
grove or a tree,—an act which as clearly distin¬ 
guishes him from the Arab Sheik, as did the 
wells which h* and Abimelech dug at Beersheba. 
S. C. B. 

34, The years which immediately followed 
these transactions were probably among the 
happiest in Abraham’s life. Secure in the 
friendship of his neighbors, with his rights to 
water and pasture guaranteed by treaty, the 
shepherd chieftain dwelt at peace beside his 
flocks. The region around Beersheba is one of 
quiet beauty, and may have recalled to his re¬ 
membrance the plains of his former Mesopota¬ 
mian home more vividly than either Ai or 
Mamre. His wealth was ample. Above all, his 
home had now been blessed with the crown of 
his earthly hopes. The visible prospect which 
opened before the old man’s eyes was at least 
one of a long and happy posterity. Into distant 
ages, pregnant with the blessings of Jehovah’s 
covenant, he could now look forward ; and the 
prospect appears to have suggested to his mind 
a new name for God. Beneath his young tama¬ 
risk-tree by the well of the oath, Abraham pro¬ 
claimed Jehovah to be El-’01am, the Everlast¬ 
ing One, the God of an endless hidden future. 
Dykes. 


The church was organized in Abraham, its 







384 


THE SACRIFICE OF ISAao. 


ordinances confined to his famil}^ and he was 
the appointed head of an organization in which 
all the families of the earth were to be blessed. 
The work and the responsibility of the Church 
under the Patriarchs and during their era was 
to cherish and nurture the little germ of a 
mighty tree. There was no king, and the Patri¬ 
arch must be the ruler ; no priest, and he must 
be priest to instruct and offer sacrifices and 
prayer ; no church edifice, and he must erect an 
altar under the open heavens, wherever he was ; 
no city of habitation, and he must wander in 
tents,—the heir of the wmrld, and yet have no 
“ inheritance, no, not so much as to set his foot 
on.” He must live and die in the tent. How 


careful must he be to keep the germ alive, —to 
prevent the heathen from treading it under¬ 
foot ! There was no Bible in the world, and he 
must go directly to God himself to know his 
will. He had no staff on which to lean !nit that 
of faith, and no hope of the increase of the 
church but m a distant future. The wealth of 
the patriarchs was in their cattle ; their man¬ 
sions were tents made of skins ; their food, the 
plainest. They wandered for water, and were 
often driven to distress by famine. They had 
no responsibility but to keep the organization 
alive. That was all that they could do. It was 
the planting time, and the time for the little 
germ to take root. Todd, 


# 


Section 50. 

THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC. 

Genesis 22 ; 1-19. 

1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did prove Abraham, and said unto him, 

2 Abraham ; and he said, Here am I. And he said. Take now thy son, thine only son, whom 
thou lovest, even Isaac, and get thee into the land of Moriah ; and offer him there for a burnt 

3 offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose early in the 
morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son ; 
and he clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which 

4 God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the jilace afar off. 

6 And Abraham said unto his young men. Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go 

6 yonder ; and we will worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the 
burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son ; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife ; 

7 and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, 
My father : and he said. Here am I, mj’^ son. And he said. Behold, the fire and the wood : 

8 but where is the lamb for a burnt offering ? And Abraham said, God will provide himself 

9 the lamb for a burnt offering, my son ; so they went both of them together. And they came 
to the place which God had told him of ; and Abraham built the altar there, and laid the 

10‘wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. And 

11 Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the 
Loan called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham : and he said. Here am I. 

12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad. neither do thou anything unto him : for now 
I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son. thine only son, from 

13 me, And Abraham lifted up his ej'es, and looked, and behold, behind him. a ram caught in 
the thicket by his horns : and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him np for a 

14 burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah- 

15 jireh : as it is said to this day. In the mount of the Lord it shall be provided. And the angel 

16 of the Lord called unto Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said. By mj’^self have I 
sworn, saith the Lord, because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine 

17 only son : that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as 
the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore ; and thy seed shall pos- 





SECTION 50.~GENESIS 22 : 1-19. 


385 


18 sess the gate of his enemies ; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed ; 

19 because thou hast obeyed my voice. So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they 
rose up and went together to Beer-sheba ; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba. 


The plan of the sacred narrative passes over 
every detail that does not bear upon the history 
of the covenant itself, and carries us on to a 
period when Isaac had reached the age of intel¬ 
ligence. A tradition preserved by Josephus 
makes Isaac twenty-live years old at the time of 
the crowning trial of Abraham’s faith ; and we 
certainly gather from the Scripture narrative 
that he was an intelligent and willing party to 
the sacrifice of his life at the command of God. 

P. S.-The whole history of Abram may be 

arranged into four stages, each commencing 
with a personal revelation of Jehovah. The 
firfil, when the patriarch was called to his work 
and mission ; the second, when he received the 
promise of an heir, and the covenant was made 
with him ; the ihird, when that covenant was 
established in the change of his name from 
Abram to Abraham, and in circumcision as the 
sign and seal of the covenant ; the fourlk, when 
his faith was tried, proved, and perfected in the 
offering up of Isaac. These are the high points 
in Abram’s history, which the patriarch succes¬ 
sively climbed, and to which all the other events 
of his life may be regarded as the ascent. A. E. 

“ Highest blessings,” says Ewald, “ bring 
highest trials.” After many years of unbroken 
rest and satisfied desire, there burst on Abra¬ 
ham, like a bolt out of the clear sk}^ the su¬ 
preme crisis of his discipline. Yet for such a 
crisis the whole of his career had been one long 
preparation. Men do not grow to be heroes in 
self-denial without practice. The abandonment 
of his original home in Ur had initiated for this 
man a series of sacrifices. On that there fol¬ 
lowed first the forsaking of his kindred- in 
Haran ; then separation from Lot at Ai, and 
homeless wanderings in Canaan. Next came 
the hopes he built on Ishmael, his first-born, 
only to see them crossed with disappointment. 
Already he had virtually sacrificed one son of 
his heart—the lad who went forth into the wil¬ 
derness like a scapegoat, to return no more. 
What has he left now but another son, younger 
and still dearer, in whom are gathered up and 
incarnated, as it were, the most sacred memories 
of the past, and his most radiant hopes for the 
future? This treasure only he has received 
from God which he has never been asked to give 
up for God. Can faith—can self-surrender be 
entire, till it has accomplished its perfect work? 

Dykes. -Looking at the whole chapter as we 

should at any merely human composition, we 
25 


must admit that for profound pathos, for tragic 
force of description, it has never been surpassed. 
Each time that we hear it, says Augustine truly, ^ 
it thrills us afresh. Compare it even with that 
exquisitely touching passage in the Agamemnon 
of d^schylus, which describes in words of such 
wonderful beauty the anguish of the father con¬ 
strained to sacrifice his child, and it will not 
suffer by the comparison. Peroione. 

Our Lord stated to tbe Jews : “ Your father 
Abraham rejoiced to see my day : and he saw 
it, and was glad.” There is in Christ’s state, 
ment reference to some definite occurrence in 
Abraham’s historv'. This w'as unquestionably 
the transaction of Moriah. In the interposition 
which stayed his hand when about to slay his 
son Isaac and in the substitute found, the patri¬ 
arch saw his own prophecy receive its fulfil¬ 
ment in a way which gave pre-intimation of 
the appearance of Jehovah himself. Nor should 
it be overlooked, that in the promise renewed 
to Abraham on this occasion the spiritual ele¬ 
ment was more distinctly brought out than at 
anj’’ time since his call, and in the very words 
then employed. D. M. 

The moment man went wrong and went down 
under the temptation of his self-will and the 
sorcery of his senses, the love of God in Christ 
began to move for his restoration. The ages of 
sacred history were but the steady steps in the 
mighty march of that Christly Providence. 
The books of the Bible are the record of the 
process, growing clearer and brighter as it works 
out to its perfect consummation. The Lord, 
becoming man, born of a woman, dwelt among 
us, and we beheld His glory ; even we, men, 
with these eyes that passion had clouded, we 
” beheld His glory full of grace and truth.” 
Holy living, miracles of mercy, wonderful teach¬ 
ing, words such as man never spake, heavenly 
disinterestedness, not having where to lay his 
head, Satan visibly conquered —all these ac¬ 
complished no redemption. The race was too 
far gone, the sin was too deep-struck for that. 
All they did was to gather to the Son of Man a 
little band of interested, believing, timid dis¬ 
ciples, ready to flee from him as soon as the 
cross came in sight. At last, when the world's 
“ hour” is full come, the two great further acts 
are done. First, the Sacrifice, then, the vic¬ 
tory. Both have been foretold in that living 
figure, or that acted prophecy, far back in the 
very morning of man’s history. Abraham 







38G 


THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC. 


binds his onlj' son on the altar. Here is the 
typical sacrifice. The son’s life is given back, 
and he is loosed from the altar. Here is the 
typical resurrection. So the Epistle to the He¬ 
brews opens that mystical transaction : “ Abra¬ 
ham offered np Isaac, his only-begotten son, ac¬ 
counting that God was able to raise him up, 
even from the dead, from whence also he re¬ 
ceived him in a figure.” First, the cross ; then, 
the breaking of the sepulchre. ” For if we 
have been planted in the likeness of his death, 
we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrec¬ 
tion.” First, a full, perfect, sufficient propiti¬ 
ation, by such suffering as only a divine human¬ 
ity, having God entered into it, could suffer ; 
then, the raising up and enfranchisement of the 
rescued soul in the resurrection. First, par¬ 
don, then life eternal ; but both by the same 
inward-working power, received through faith ; 
not merely by outward and past events in his¬ 
tory, but by these transferred through this ap¬ 
propriating energy of faith into the heart—the 
law of the Spir'd of Life in Christ Jesus making 
Tis free from the law of sin and death. F. D. H. 

3, The words after these things,” refer us 
to all that had been passing before. Abraham, 
after long wanderings and many trials, is pre¬ 
sented to us in the last chapter as eminently 
comforted and in a condition of peaceful pros¬ 
perity. The promised, longed-for son has been 
given to him ; his other son Ishmael, though 
no longer in his household, is growing up and 
prospering, Abraham is in treaty and at peace 
with his neighbors the Philistines, he sojourns 
for many days at Beersheba and its neighbor¬ 
hood, with abundance of cattle, in a place well 
watered and fertile. Thus it appears to have 
been with him till now, when his son, his only 
son Isaac, whom he loved, is growing up to 
early manhood, his chief comfort and stay and 
hope in this world. But times of prosperity 
are often times when trial is needed for us, and 
so we find it here. E. H. B. 

Prove. The A. V. reads God did tempt Abra¬ 
ham. Hebrew, nissah, tried, proved. This literal 
rendering of the term, given in the old Geneva 
version, “ God did prove Abraham,” goes at 
once to correct the erroneous impression that 
might possibly be received from our English 
word “ tempt,” which usually has the sense of 
exciting to sin. But in this sense we are ex¬ 
pressly assured (James 1 : 13) that “ God is not 
tempted of evil, neither tempteth he any man 
he neither deceives any man’s judgment nor 
perverts his will, nor seduces his affections, 
nor does anything else that can subject him to 
the blame of men’s sins. Temptation in this 


bad sense always proceeds from the malice of 
Satan working on the corruptions of our own 
hearts. God may, however, cousistently with 
all his perfections, by his providence, bring his 
creatures into circumstances of special probation, 
not for the purpose of giving him information, 
but in order to manifest to themselves and to 
others the prevailing dispositions of their hearts. 
In this sense of trying, pmtting t > the proof, bring¬ 
ing to the test, the original term in many other 
instances is used in reference to the Most High, 
and always in such a way as to leave his attri¬ 
butes unimpeached. Deut. 13 : 3, “ For the 
Lord your God (nissah) proveth you, to know 
(i.e. to make known) whether ye love the Lord 
your God with all your heart and all your soul.” 

Bush. -The Arabic version rendeis it very 

correctly, “ God did prove Abraham.” Words 
having the sense of “ try” may generally be 
used either in a good or a bad sense. This par¬ 
ticular word has generally a good sense, except 
where men are said to try or tempt God, e.g^ 
(Ex. 17 : 2 ; Nu. 14 : 22 ; He. 6 : 16). The 
whole history of Abraham is a history of his 
moral and spiritual education bj^ the teaching 
of God himself. He was to be the head of the 
chosen seed, the father of the faithful, himself 
the type of justifying faith. Here then, after 
long schooling and training, in which already 
there had been manj^ trials, one great test of his 
now matured and strengthened faith is ordained 

by God. E. H. B.-The same word occurs in 

1 Kings 10 :1, where it is said the Queen of 
Sheba came to ” prove’ ’ Solomon. So also in 
Deut. 4 :34 ; where the word is represented by 
“ assayed,” and likewise “ temptation.” The 
same word occurs in several other passages also, 
in which God is represented, either in fact or 
in explicit terms, as tempting, i.e., trying or 
proving His servants. Loraine. 

If we believe at all in God’s oversight of our 
life—in other words, in His guiding and “ lead¬ 
ing” hand—we must feel that there are times 
and, as it were, places of ‘‘exploration” to 
which we do come under His direction ; cir¬ 
cumstances of trial, opportunities, in other 
words, of choosing between good and evil, which 
we cannot avoid, which confront us without our 
seeking. Vaughan. -According to the sim¬ 

plest notion of temptation, as merely equivalent 
to trial, God does so tempt man as to put before 
him special circumstances which may try or 
prove him, and so bring out that good or evil 
within him which, though knowm to God, is 
perhaps unknown to the man himself, and still 
more to his fellow-men. In this way God was 
said to tempt Abraham, where the true nature 






SECTION 50.—GENESIS 22 : 1-19. 


387 


of the temptation if? well expressed in one of 
the old Greek versions, that of Symrnachns, 
who paraphrases it“G)d glorified Abraham,” 
i.e., gave him a special opportunity of showing 
his entire trust in God, and thus of obtaining 
the glorious title of the “ father of the faithful” 
to all times In this sense then, first, God is 
said totemiitmen when He specially tries them, 
in order either to bring out the good which is 
in them, or else give them and others by their 
example, a warning of the evil which links un¬ 
suspected within their hearts, this l)emg wholly 

for man’s good. Karslake. - -What God often 

does, what He did in the case of Abraham, of 
Job, and especially of our Lord himself, is to 
expose a man in a very critical and precarious 
position, to bring him in the course of his life 
into circumstances where sin is very easy, holi. 
ness very difficult. We read that it was “ of 
the Spirit” that “Jesus was led up into the 
wnlderness to be tempted of the devil a very 
instructive intimation, giving us in one view all 
the parties concerned. The human nature, with 
its liability to temptation, its capability to suf¬ 
fer apd to enjoy ; the Divine nature, ordering 
the circumstances which may permit the temp¬ 
tation to take place ; and the diabolical nature, 
the tempter. Tods. 

This was not the first time that God tried Abra¬ 
ham. He had tried him all his life. But here 
it is said, in marked phrase, that God did try 
Abraham because it is the crucial instance of 
his life, the hardest trial, perhaps, of all his¬ 
tory. Temptation, trial, is the very workshop of 
God. On that anvil all his saints have been 
hammered ; in that fire they have all been puri¬ 
fied. But here the hammer smites most heavily, 
here the flame of the fire has been most search¬ 
ing. . . . This command was fitted to jrurify 
Abraham’s faith. God had been training him 
from the first to live only by his promise. At 
length, when Isaac was born, he welcomed him 
as the child of promise. But years pass on. 
The child had grown up before him and twined 
himself about his heart, till at last he has al¬ 
most forgotten the promise in the child of 
promise. “ Isaac,” it has been strikingly said, 
“ the precious late-won gift, is still for Abraham 
too exclusively a merely natural blessing, a child 
like other children though born of the true 
mother, Abraham’s son only because he has been 
born to him and brought up in his house. 
Pang.s, the pangs of a soul w^restling in faith, 
he has not felt for him since his birth, and yet 
that is the only spiritual, and therefore the only 
really abiding, blessing wffiich we are able to 
make our own through the fightings and wrest¬ 


lings of the believing heart. Therefore, now’ 
that in Isaac the supreme blessing has been 
won, there must also take place the supreme 
trial of Abraham’s faiih and obedience.” 
{E add.) Ferovone. 

•2. And lie said. The command pro¬ 
ceeded immediately from God Himself ; but 
how, and in what manner, it was conveyed t) 
Abraham, we are nowhere told. But Abraham 
had sufficient proof (whatever that proof was) 
that the several revelations, respecting both 
God’s former promises and the present severe 
command, did really proceed from God. Bp. 

Conybtare. -Each designation mounts upwanl 

in climax after the other : thy son, thine only 
one,—whom thou lovest, Isaac, the personal 
designation coming last, and clenching as it 
were the identification of the very heir of the 
promise himself. There was in the command 
no softening, but rather all aggravation, of the 

trial. Alf. -In more ways than one Isaac 

might be called his “ only son.” He w\as the 
only son by his wife Sarah : he vvas the only 
son of promise, and to whom the promises were 
given and assured : by the expulsion of Hagar 
and Ishmael he was the only son left to his 
father’s house. The words, emphatic as they 
are, “ Thy son, thine only son, whom thou lov¬ 
est,” are all calculated to impress and enhance 
the sacrifice which Abraham is called on to 
make. E. H. B. 

The w^ords in which God’s command was 
couched w'ere those of accumulated keenness. 
God said. Take now thy son, long expected and 
w\aited for, thine heir, full of promise and so 
dear to thee ! To subdue the father in the 
heart, that a Roman has done, and calmly signeil 
his son’s death-warrant ; but to subdue it not 
with Roman hardness, but with deep trust in 
God and faith in his providence, saying. It is 
not hate, but love, that requires this,—this was 
the nobleness, this the fierce difficulty, of Abra¬ 
ham’s sacrifice, lioberison. -It is character¬ 

istic of the severe and noble reserve of Script¬ 
ure, that it lays no stress upon this side of the 
trial. Save for certain endearing expressions 
piled up by the divine voice wdien it required 
the. sacrifice, there is nothing in the narrative 
to hint how much obedience must have cost the 
father. What is brought into relief is rather 
the test which was applied to Abraham’s confi¬ 
dence in the promises of God’s covenant. To 
slay Isaac, the unripe, the childless—was it not 
to slay the future of the covenant and the bless¬ 
ing for mankind ’? Dykes. 

Abraham had not only to contend with natural 
affection, but with reason; not on]j with reason. 








388 


THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC. 


but wiikfaHh ! He was, in offering up Isaac, to 
destroy all his hopes. And all this was to be 
done by himself ; with his own hand he was at 
one stroke to cut off all his comforts. The ex¬ 
ecution of such a sentence was as harsh and 
bitter to flesh and blood, as to be his own ex¬ 
ecutioner. Mitnion. -It was, therefore, a trial 

in the strongest sense, a trial of Abraham’s 
faith, whether it was capable of such implicit 
confidence in God, such profound regard to His 
will, and such self-denial in His service, as at 
the divine bidding to give up the best and dear¬ 
est—what in the circumstances must even have 
been dearer to him than his own life. Not that 
God really intended the surrender of Isaac to 
death, but only the proof of such a surrender 
in the heart of His servant ; and such a proof 
could only have been found in an unconditional 
command to sacrifice, and an unresisting com 
pliance with the command up to the final step 
in the process. This, however, was not all. In 
the command to iierform such a sacrifice, there 
was a tempting as well as a trying of Abraham ; 
since the thing required at his hands seemed to 
be an enacting of the most revolting rite of 
heathenism ; and at the same time to war with 
the oracle already given concerning Isaac, “ In 
Isaac shall thy seed be called.” According to 
this word, God’s puriiose to bless was destined 
to have its accomplishment especially and pecu¬ 
liarly through Isaac ; so that to slay such a son 
appeared like slaying the very word of God, and 
extinguishing the hope of the world. And yet, 
in heart and purpose at least, it must be done. 
It was no freak of arbitrary power to command 
the sacrifice. It had for its object the outward 
and palpable exhibition of the great truth, that 
God’s method of working in the covenant of 
grace must have its counterpart in man’s. The 
one must be the reflex of the other. God, in 
blessing Abraham, triumphs over nature ; and 
Abraham triumphs after the same manner in 
proportion as he is blessed. He receives a 
special gift from the grace of God, and he freely 
surrenders it again to Him who gave it. He is 
jire-eminently honored by God’s word of prom¬ 
ise, and he is ready in turn to hazard all for its 
honor. And Isaac,'the child of promise—the 
type in his outward history of all who should 
be proper subjects or channels of blessing—also 
must concur in the act r on the altar he must 
sanctify himself to God, as a sign to all who 
would possess the higher life of grace, how it 
implies and carries along with it a devout sur¬ 
render of the natural life to the service and 
glory of Him who has redeemed it. P. F. 
moriall. The view almost universally ac¬ 


cepted is that the Mount Moriah of the Chron¬ 
icles is identical with the mountain in the land 
of Moriah in this chapter, and that tbe spot on 
which Jehovah appeared to David, and on which 
the Temple was built, is the very spot of the 
sacrifice of Isaac. Knobel observes (1) that this 
greatest of all religious acts points to a more 
important sanctuary than Shechem; (2) that 
the name “ mountain of Jehovah” denotes every¬ 
where else either Jerusalem or Sinai, the latter 
being here of course out of the question ; and 
(3) that the journey from Beersheba by way of 
Hebron and Jerusalem to Shechem, according 
to Kobinson’s “Itinerary,” occupies about 
thirty-five hours, wdiich wmnld make tbe dis¬ 
tance too great for Abraham and Isaac to traverse 
in three daj^s on foot Feroicne. -No suffi¬ 

cient reason has been alleged against this identi¬ 
fication except that in v. 4 it is said that “Abra¬ 
ham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar 
off,” whereas Mount Zion is said not to be con¬ 
spicuous from a great distance. Thence Bleek, 
Do Wette, Tuch, Stanley, and Grove, have re¬ 
ferred to Moreh (Gen. 12 : G), and attempted to 
identify the site of the sacrifice wuth C tbe 
natural altar on tbe summit of Mount Gerizim,” 
wdiich the Samaritans assert to be the scene of 
the sacrifice. Beally, however, tbe w'ords in v. 
4 mean nothing more than this, that Abraham 
saw’ the spot to which he had been directed at 
some little distance off. E. H. B. 

Travelling at tbe ordinary rate of the country, 
Jerusalem would just be reached on the third 
da}' (as required by this narrative) from Beer- 
sbeba ; to reach Nablous (Moreh) in the same 
time is imposs hie, at the pace of fellabin with 

their asses. H. B. T.-As tbe name itself 

(land of Moriah), so tbe distance mentioned 
leads ns to suppose that it w’as in tbe neighbor¬ 
hood of Jerusalem. From Bir es-Seba Robinson 
took tw'enty hours and tw’enty-five minutes to 
Jerusalem, travelling by the straight way and 
with camels—a distance, therefore, which Abra¬ 
ham could easily have made in three days. 
Robinson took fourteen hours and thirty minutes 
to travel with mules by the straight road from 
Jerusalem to Sychem (Nabulus), so that tbe en¬ 
tire distance from Beersheba amounted to thirtv- 

- t> 

five hours, which Abraham could not have made 
in three days. But even the name points to the 
neighborhood of Jerusalem. The designation 
Moriah, applied in verse 2 to tbe whole divstrict, 
was at a later jieriod confined to that particular 
mountain where this remarkable event had taken 
place. There afterward the temple was built. K. 

Offer him for a huriit-oiferiiig^. The 
sacrifice of a child by its parent in honor of the 










389 


SECTION 50.—GENESIS 22 : 1-19. 


Deity was by no means foreign either to the re- ' 
ligious conceptions amid which Abraham was 
living, or to the worship which probably pre- j 
vailed around him. Few readers have sufficient- i 
iy realized how ancient or widespread among 
primitive religions was a custom which has come 
t) be associated only with the lowest type of 
barbarism. Even the milder faiths of early 
Greece sprang out of, or were grafted on, the 
same original idolatry of the generative and pro- 
diutive forces in nature which found favor 
aniving older races in Babylon, Phoenicia, and 
Canaan. Wherever the influence of that dark 
religion stretched, it bore of necessity two 
ghastly fruits—cruelty and lust ; the orgies of 
the grove and the sacrifice of human blood. As 
Abraham had always lived among neighbors 
whose religion was saturated with those feelings 
and beliefs out of which the practice of sacrific¬ 
ing childien originated, and whose actual wor¬ 
ship demanded at its highest moments such an 
expression, it is quite conceivable how the com¬ 
mand to slay his son failed to strike him as, on 
the face of it, irreconcilable with true religion. 
And no such prohibition of human sacrifice as 
was subsequently given to Moses had been given 
to Abraham. Further, the stage of religious 
teaching at which mankind then stood, and the 
religious atmosphere in which men moved, 
makes it intelligible how Abraham could accept 
such a voice from Heaven in the simplicit}’^ of 
a faith which did not stumble, where the saints 
of any later time would certainly have stumbled. 
Dykes. 

3, We must not detract from the trial by im¬ 
porting into the circumstances our knowledge 
<»f the issue. Abraham had absolutely no as- | 
surance and no knowledge beyond that of his j 
present duty. All he had to lay hold upon was | 
the previous promise, and the character and 
faithfulness of the covenant God, who now bade 
him offer this sacrifice. Sharp as the contest 
must have been, it was brief. It lasted just one 
night; and next morning, without having taken 
“ counsel with flesh and blood,” Abraham, with 
his son Isaac and two servants, were on their 

way to “ the land of Moriah.” A. E.-As 

Abraham is the pattern or believing, so he is of j 
obeying. He received the promises, as a figure i 
of our faith ; he offered iqi his son. as a figure of ^ 
our obedience. He obeyed readily and wWingly. ! 
“ Abraham rose early in the morning.” He j 
obeyed, also, resolutely. He conceals it from his 
wife, frohi his servants, na}’, from Isaac him- j 
self, that so he might not be diverted from his 
purpose. M'lnlon. 

Few passages in literature carry a deeper 


pathos than the words which tell how, in the 
fresh dawn, the aged lord of that camp crept 
away on f )ot out of the midst of his retainers’ 
tents. Not to a single soul did the old man dare 
to confide his purpose. The entreaties of a 
mother less resolute than himself might have 
overborne his firmness. The quieter anguish of 
a young and gentle heart, shrinking from too 
early death, might have proved more than he 
could endure. Two slow days of walking along 
rugged paths, and two still slower nights spent 
in sleepless thought, must have brought such 
tortures of delay as principle alone, and not im¬ 
pulse, could sustain. Dykes. -Never any gold 

was tried in so hot a fire. Who but Abraham 
would not have expostulated with God ? But 
God knew that he spake to an Abraham, and 
Abraham knew that he had to do with a God : 
faith taught him not to argue, but obeJ^ In a 
holy wilfulness he either forgets nature, or de¬ 
spises hei ; he is sure that what God commands, 
is good ; th it what he promises, is infallible ; and 
therefore is careless of the means, and trusts to 
the end. In matters of God, whosoever consults 
with flesh and blood shall never offer up his 
Isaac to God : there needs no counsellor when 
we know God is the commander : here is neither 
grudging, nor deliberating, nor delaying : his 
faith would not suffer him so much as to be 
sorry for that he must do. Sarah herself may 
not know of God’s charge and her husband’s 
purpose, lest her affection should have overcome 
her faith. Bp. 11. 

4. On the third dtiy. From Beersheba 
to the Salem of Melchizedek, near which this 
hill is supposed to have been, is about forty-five 
miles. If they proceeded fifteen miles on the 
first broken daj', twenty on the second, and ten 
on the third, thej’^ would come within sight of 
the place early on the third day. M. 

5. 1 and tiie lad Avill —and come 
av^ain. How could Abraham ccn-.istently with 
truth say this, when he knew he was going to 
make his son a burnt-offering ? The Apostle 
answers for him ; By faiih Ahrnham, when he was 
tried, offered np Isaac—necounting that God was 
ab^e to raise lUmup evenfrouithe dead, from whence 
a’s'i he received him in a figure. He knew that his 
liirth was a kind of life from the dead —that the 
promise of God was most positive. In Isaac 
shad thy seed be called, —that this promise could 
not fail—that it was his duty to obey the com¬ 
mand of his Maker ; and that it was as easy for 
God to restore him to life after he had been a 
burnt-offering, as it was for him to give him 
life in the beginning. Therefore he went fully 
purposed to offer his son, and yet confidently 










390 


THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC. 


expecting to have him restored to life again. 
We will (JO yonder, and toor.s/i'p, perform a solemn 
act of devotion which God requires, and come 
ajaix. to yon. A. C. 

Abraham’s faith had stood all former tests. 
It had been strong eiiougU to break the ties that 
bound him to country, home, and kindred It 
had i^aiieutl}'’endured the man}^ and long delays 
in the fulfilling of the promises. It had risen 
above all the obstacles, i)hysical and moral, that 
stood in the way of their accomplishment. It 
had accepted Isaac, and given up Ishmael. 
Would it stand the last demand, to give up to 
God the best loved thing on earth ; to do what 
appeared not onlj^ alien to God’s own character, 
but contrary to hfs own word and promise ? For 
herein lay the peculiarity and severity of the 
trial as a test of faith. The command and the 
promise were in conflict. If he obeyed the 
command he frustrated the promise ; if he kept 
by the promise he must break the command. 
But one way of reconciling them could be even 
fancied, and, dim though it was, the quick eye 
of faith discerned it. “ He accounted that God 
was able to raise up Isaac from the dead.” 
W. H. 

Observe that the apostle magnifies the great¬ 
ness of the trial on the one hand, and of the 
heroic faith of Abraham on the other. He speaks 
of him as actually having offered up Isaac ; for 
he had gone through all the agony of heart just 
as completely as though he had slain his son. 
Moreover, he brings into view the fact that it 
was a case not only to try the heart, but to 
astound and bewilder the reason. For “ he that 
had received the promises,” promises that 
seemed all bound up in the life of Isaac, and in 
his life all the promises depended ; and yet, in 
spite both of the revolt of his heart and the dic¬ 
tates of reason to the contrary, he was ready at 
the command of God to offer him up. Thus 
the apostle, instead of any attempt to mitigate 
and explain away the old record, aims to bring 
out the views of it which to reason magnify the 
difficulties. The strength and beauty of his 
faith i.s in this, that somehow God will provide 
for all these difficulties, though he sees not 
how. Somehow God will work out all the con¬ 
tradictions. It is faith strengthened by experi¬ 
ence. God has given Isaac after all my doubts 
and sinful efforts to aid God in working out his 
plans. God has given him in the first place as 
if by miracle ; and why may I not by miracle 
receive him from the dead ? Of course again he 
will in some way bring out the plans of his 
grace. This is obviously the aspect in which 
this story of Abraham’s offering Isaac presented 


itself to the mind of the inspired apostle. And 
for this reason he twice cites Abraham—first as 
illustrating the faith that is unto salvation—as 
in leaving all to follow Jehovah. Then the sec¬ 
ond as an illustration of the heroism of a faith 
that has strengthened by experience of the faith¬ 
fulness of Jeliovah. S. K. 

7, 8. Listen to the brief dialogue : —” My 
father, behold the fire and the wood ; hut where 
is the lamb for the burut-f ffering ?” “My 
son, God will provide Himself the lamb for the 
burnt-offering.” The heart’s deej^est grief was 
never more eloquently portrayed. No sobs, no 
tears, no words telling of the struggle within. 
The anguish lies too deep for utterance. The 
sculptor, when he would express a grief that he 
could not express, bowed and veiled the face 
of the mourner ; and the veiling of the agony 
here is, in fact, its most pathetic expression. 

Perowne. -The repetition of “ his father, my 

father, my son” ; the artlessness of Isaac’s ques¬ 
tion,—the high resignation of Abraham’s an¬ 
swer, and then the result, repeated from before, 
and (notwithstanding,—still) they went both of 
them together, the father in his noble resolve, 
the son in his trusting simplicity, these mark the 
sacred narrative as standing in the very first 
place for truth and for power. This whole inci¬ 
dent is to the Christian mind full of type and 
suggesj.ion of the most sacred kind. Alf. 

9. BouikI l§asic lii»i son, aii4t laid 
liini on llie altar. The love of God the 
Father cannot be better expressed than by this 
instance. Abraham readily gives his only, his 
beloved son, to be sacrificed : so God gave His 

only Son. Bp. Wilson. -O holy emulation of 

faith ! O blessed agreement of thesacrificer and 
oblation ! Abraham is asreadj^ to take, as Isaac 
to give ; he binds those dear hands, which are 
more straitly buund with the cords of duty and 
resolution : he lays his sacrifice upon the wood, 
which now beforehand burnt inwardly with the 

heavenly fire of zeal and devotion. Bp. II. - 

“ AV>raham offered Isaac,” says the Apostle 
James. He purposul it ; and if God had not in¬ 
terfered to prevent it, he would actually have 
done it. God counts that to be done which is 
about to be done ; and takes notice of what is 
in the heart, though it be not brought into prac¬ 
tice and actual accomplishment. Hence we 
learn that purpo.ses of ohnlience, if, like Abra¬ 
ham’s, serious and resolved, are accepted for obedi¬ 
ence. M'inton. 

Abraham’s ambiguous reply that “ God would 
provide,” though it spoke an unconscious proph¬ 
ecy, betrays no anticipation of any escape from 
the awful task wfiiicli oppressed him. What it 







SECTION 50.~GENE8IS 22 : 1-19. 


391 


does reveal is, how hard he found it to be to 
break the dreadful secret. By what means at 
last he contrived to break it, or how Isaac re¬ 
ceived the heavy tidings ; with what surprising 
sweetness and courage he also bowed to the 
supreme will, and with a child’s love laid his 
life upon the altar of a parent’s duty —all this is 
left for each one of us to picture for himself. 

Dykes. -What passed then between father and 

son, as Abraham told him of the Divine com¬ 
mand, and inculcated the great duty of submis- 
sion, remains untold. But there was no attempt 
at escape —no remonstrance, no resistance. He 
gave himself willingly to be bound and to be 
laid upon the altar. That moment, when his 
father grasped the knife and the flash of its cold 
glittering blade fell upon his eye, could he ever 
forget ; or could there ever pass from his mem- 
or}-- the sudden sound of the arresting voice, the 
sight of the lamb caught in the thicket, followed 
up by the oath and blessing pronounced upon 
Abraham and his seed ? If ever any one in early 
life had the benefit and blessedness of self-sac¬ 
rifice and entire submission to the will of God 
imprinted sensibly upon the heart, it was Isaac 
in that hour. His heroic act, second only to 
that of his father, showed how fully he had 
imbibed his father’s spirit—the one near the 
close of his career, the other at its beginning— 
revealing how ready they both were to give all 
up to God. No higher evidence of the simplic¬ 
ity and strength of Isaac’s faith in God could 
have been given. W. H.-For when he re¬ 

sisted not his father, and allowed himself to be 
bound and laid on the altar, he entered into the 
spirit of Abraham, he took upon himself his 
faith, and thus showed himself truly the heir to 
the promises. Nor can we forget how this sur¬ 
render of the firstborn was the first of that 
dedication of all the firstborn unto God, which 
afterward the law demanded, and which meant 
that in the firstborn we should consecrate all 
and everything unto the Lord. A. E. 

His sacrifice on Moriah was the requisite con¬ 
dition of his succession to Abraham’s place ; it 
was the only suitable celebration of his majority. 
Abraham himself had been able to enter into 
covenant with God only by sacrifice ; and sacri¬ 
fice not of a dead and external kind, but vivified 
by an actual surrender of himself to God, and 
by a true perception of God’s holiness and re¬ 
quirements. A true resignation of self, in what¬ 
ever outward form this resignation may appear, 
is required that we may become one with God 
in His holy purposes and in His eternal blesse d¬ 
ness. There could be no doubt that Abraham 
had found a true heir, when Isaac laid himself 


on the altar and steadied his heart to receive the 
knife. Dearer to God, and of' immeasurably 
greater value than any service, was this surren¬ 
der of himself into the hand of his Father and 
his God. In this was promise of all service and 
all loving fellowshij^. Di<ds. 

9, 10. The erection of a rude stone altar ; 
the arrangement upon it of the fagots ; the 
binding of Isaac ; the solemn act which laid bis 
helpless figure for an offering to Heaven upon 
the rude sticks ; nay, even that final gesture of 
the officiating priest which raised his sacrificial 
knife to strike,—^everything is pictured to the 
eye, in order that the heart of the reader may well 
understand and ponder how unreserved was the 
surrender which this father had made of this 
son to die, how complete was the triumph of 
his faith ! In that triumph Abraham’s religious 
experience attained its summit. What other 
men have done through fear of the Almighty, he 
did for love. God is to this man a friend to be 
trusted, even though He slay ; to be loved better 
than an only son ; to be obeyed where reason 
refuses its light to justify the command, and 
nature wdth all her voices can only exclaim 
against it. It is the perfection of a man’s 
friendship with God to be thus loyal. It puts 
the all-perfect Lord, Whose name is Love, in 
His just place. It pays Him such honor as is 
His due. Dykes. 

The self-sacrifice in the act is obvious from 
the history. The Patriarch had through life felt 
himself the minister and instrument of a great 
Divine design with respect to mankind. He had 
lived with a gigantic prospect before him, with 
an immense expanding blessing wLich was one 
day to include all nations and be the restoration 
of the world. This vast plan, his part in which 
had been the work of his life and had filled his 
mind with immeasurable hopes, as it had been 
sown in his son, would perish with his son. 
Then all was over and his life had come to noth¬ 
ing. More, the child himself upon whom such 
a promise hung, such boundless hope and vast 
calculation, w'ho W'as loved all the more wdth a 
father’s love because he wns the harbinger of 
the prophet’s greatness and the symbol of life’s 
purpose answered, he w'as to be surrendered 
too. But in the mind of the Patriarch rose 
boundless hope also upon an Almighty Being. 
It is hope cherished wdiile all is dark around us 
that exhibits the principle in its greatness and 
in its true energy ; hope resting upon that ulti¬ 
mate Power at the very root of things which can 
reverse every catastrophe and rectify all mis¬ 
takes. To hold on to this root is hope with¬ 
drawn into its last fastness ; v\iihout aid from 





392 


THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC. 


any sight, grasping with an iron force the rock \ 
itself, the foaiftiation of Sovereign Will upon 
which the universe stands, and saying to itself, 

“ The whole may shake, if this foundation re- 
maineth sure.” This was the infinite hope of 
Abraham. Doubtless while he lifted up the 
knife to slay his son, the sun was turned to 
darkness to him, the stars left their places, and 
heaven and earth vanished from his sight ; to 
the eye of sense all was gone that life had built 
up, and the promise had come actually to an end 
forevermore. But to the friend of God all was 
still as certain as ever, all absolutely sure and 
fixed ; the end, the promise, nay even the son 
of promise, even he in the fire of the burnt- 
offering was not gone, because that was near 
and close at hand which could restore ; the great 
Power which could reverse everything. A voice 
within said. All this can be undone and pass 
away like a dream of the night ; and the heir 
was safe in the strong hope of him who “ ac¬ 
counted that God was able to raise him up even 
from the dead.” Mozley. 

Thus the sublimest heights of holiness were 
reached, simply because faith had struck its 
roots so deeply within, and had so closely 
united the soul of the patriarch to the will and 
perfections of Jehovah. This high surrender of 
the human to the divine, and holy self-conse¬ 
cration to the will and service of God, was be¬ 
yond all doubt, like the other things recorded 
in Abraham’s life, of the nature ot a revelation. 
It was not'intended to terminate in the patri¬ 
arch and his son, but in them, as the sacred 
roots of the covenant people, to show in out¬ 
ward and corporeal representation what in spirit 
ought to be perpetually repeating itself in their 
individual and collective history. It pro¬ 
claimed to them through all their generations, 
that the covenant required of its members lives 
of unshrinking and devoted application to the 
service of God —yielding to no weak misgivings 
or corrupt solicitations of the flesh—staggering 
at no difficulties presented by the world ; and 
also that it rendered such a course possible by 
the ground and scope it afforded for the exer¬ 
cise of faith in the sustaining grace and might 
of Jehovah. P. F. 

11. TIi<^ Alltel of tlic Lord called 
liain. A moment more, and the victim 
would have been smitten ; but in that moment 
the awful mandate is countermanded. A voice 
too familiar to Abraham not to be at once recog¬ 
nized as that of God himself addresses him out 
of heaven. Though termed an Angel, yet it is 
evident from the manner in which he here 
speaks of himself, and from what is said (v. 12, 


\ IG), that he was not a created being, but was no 
other than the divine personage so often intro¬ 
duced into the sacred narrative under the title 
of the Angel Jehovah, the Angel of the Cove¬ 
nant. Bash. 

Lay tliinc hand upon llie lad. 

The voice of God was never so welcome, never 
so sweet, never so seasonable as now : it was 
the trial, that God intended, not the fact ; Isaac 
is sacrificed, and is yet alive : and now both of 
them are more happy in that they would have 
done, than they could have been distressed if 
they had done it. God’s ohaiges are ofttimes 
harsh in the beginnings and proceeding, but in 
the conclusion always comfortable : true spirit¬ 
ual comforts are commonly late and sudden : 
God defers on purpose that our trials may be 
perfect, our deliverance welcome, our recom¬ 
pense glorious ; Isaac had never been so pre¬ 
cious to his father, if he had not been recovered 
from death ; if hq had not been as miraculously 
restored as given : Abraham had never been so 
blessed in his seed, if he had not neglected Isaac 
for God. The only way to find comfort in any 
earthly thing, is to surrender it, in a faithful 
carelessness, into the hands of God. Bp. II. 

-God did try Abraham ; there is the key to 

the command. The object was to test obedience 
to the uttermost. He demanded this the very 
hardest conceivable proof of obedience because 
He would teach his servant, and, through him, 
teach the world at large, the moral majesty, the 
all-conquering might of faith. But God did 
not intend that Isaac should be jiut to death. 
At the decisive moment by a voice from heaven 
He interferes to prevent the sacrifice. He for¬ 
bids the deed of murder Ptroucyie. -The 

obedience of Abraham was pleasing in the sight 
of God, and therefore the command was given. 
The actual death of Isaac would not have been 
pleasing to Him, and therefore the act was 
stopped. Human sacrifice finds no real sanction 
here. Jellelt. 

For once a command was issued, which, while 
it perfectly tested in the first instance the will¬ 
ingness and thoroughness of Abraham’s loyalty 
without doing outrage to his previous knowl¬ 
edge of God, served also in the end to teach, in 
a far more memorable and impressive fashion 
than any verbal lesson could have done, that 
the true God is one Who hae no pleasure in 
such unnatural offerings. The issue of the 
transaction ought to have been the banishment 
of cruelty forever from the worship of Jehovah. 
These words : “ Lay not thine hand upon the 
lad, neither do thou anything unto him,” con¬ 
tained a virtual condemnation, not merely of 





SECTION 50.—GENESIS 22 : I 19. 


393 


human sacrifice, but also of every analogous 

barbarity in the mode of worship. Dykes. - 

The sacrifice, the resignation of the will, in the 
father and the son, was accepted ; the literal 
sacrifice of the act was repelled. On the one 
hand, the great principle was proclaimed, that 
mercy is better than sacrifice,—that the sacrifice 
of self is the highest and holiest offering that 
God can receive. On the other hand, the in¬ 
human superstitions, toward which the ancient 
ceremonial of sacrifice was perpetually tending, 
were condemned. A. P. S.-By the substi¬ 

tution of Abraham’s ram “ in the stead of his 
son,” a fresh sanction was put upon the prime¬ 
val practice of animal sacrifice, in order to ex¬ 
press the redemption of a forfeited life, or the 
dedication of a grateful heart. Dykes. 

IVow 1 know that thou feare§t 
Oocl. God tried Abraham, not that He might 
learn what He knew already, but that He might 
show to others, with how great justice He loved 

the patriarch. Theodorei. -It is common for 

men to say that they know that which they have 
found out by special trial, which they have 
learned as the result of experiment ; and the 
Most High is here pleased to adopt the same 
language. Thus Ps. 139 : 23, it is said, “ Search 
me, O God, and know my heart though the 
psalmist had just before said (v. 2), “ Thou 
understandest my thoughts afar off.” For him¬ 
self he needed not the patriarch’s obedience to 
discover to him the state of his mind ; but for 
our sakes he made the exhibition of Abraham’s 
obedience a ground for acknowledging the ex¬ 
istence of the inward principle from which it 
sprang. It is by a holy and obedient deference 
to the divine authority that faith and fear are 
made manifest. As a sinner, Abraham was 
justified by faith only ; but as a professing be¬ 
liever, he was justified by the works which his 
faith produced. This view w'ill reconcile the 
apparent discrepancy of Paul and James in re¬ 
gard to Abraham’s 3 ustification. They both 
allege his case as an example of what they are 
teaching, but the one respects him as ungodly, 
the other as godly. In the first instance he is 
]ustified by faith exclusive of works ; in the 
last by faith, as producing works, and thereby 
proving him the friend of God. Bush. 

God delights to call forth his champions to 
meet with great temptations, to make them 
bea»* crosses of more than ordinary weight ; as 
commanders in war put men of most valor and 
skill upon the hardest services. God sets some 
strong trial upon a strong Christian, made strong 
by his own grace ; and by his victory makes it 
appear to the world that though there is a great 


deal of the counterfeit coin of profession in re¬ 
ligion yet some there are that have the power, 
the reality of it, and that it is not an invention, 
but there is truth in it, that the invincible 
grace, the very Spirit of God, dwells in the 
hearts of true believers. Leighton. 

13. Took the ram and otfered him 
fi>r a huriit-oiferiiig;. The offering of 
Isaac was neither piacular nor propitiatory ; 
Abraham had committed no guilt, and appre¬ 
hended no danger ; the immolation of his only 
son seemed forever to deprive him of that bless¬ 
ing which was nearest to his heart, the parent¬ 
age of a numerous and powerful tribe. It was 
a simple act of unhesitating obedience to the 
divine command ; the last proof of perfect re¬ 
liance on the certain accomplishment of the 
divine promises. Milrnan. -The human sacri¬ 

fices of the ancient world were in atonement for 
public crimes, and were offered up in great 
national emergencies. They were at any rate 
propitiatory, and supposed bloodshed, or sacri¬ 
lege, or some heinous crime, as the occasion of 
them. But here is no crime mentioned for 
which propitiation is wanted. The trial upon 
which the life of the Patriarch turns is clear 
and conspicuous ; it demands a sacrifice which 
is not propitiatory, but which is simply a trial 
of faith. Yet it was designed that it should at 
the same time be a type and figure of the great 
Propitiation. In the sacrifice of Abraham and 
in the sacrifice on the Cross the difference of 
scope and design*in regard to atonement leaves 
still a common external ground of surrender ; 
and the outward action or representation con¬ 
tained in the former, of a father offering up his 
only son upon the altar of wood, fulfils all the 

outward requirements of a type. Mozley. -Of 

all the Prophetic Types, this one, in the com¬ 
manded sacrifice of Isaac, appears to be among 
the most significant. It stands at the head of 
the dispensation of llevealed Religion, as re¬ 
duced into covenant with the people of God in 
the person of their Founder and Progenitor. 
Being thus displayed in the history of the 
Father of the Faithful, it seems to be wrought into 
the foundations of Faith. In the surrender to 
sacrifice of a beloved son the Patriarchal Church 
begins with an adumbration of the Christian re¬ 
ality. Davison. 

The fathers recognize the double type in this 
whole history. The father with full deliberate 
purpose offering up his dearly beloved, only- 
begotten son, the son willingly obedient unto 
death, the wood for the sacrifice carried by the 
victim up the hill, the sacrifice fulfilled in pur. 
pose though not in act, and then the father re- 







394 


THE SACRIFICE OF ISAxiC. 


ceiving his son in a figure from the dead after 
three days of death in the father’s j^urpose and 
belief ; all this is as much an actual prophecy 
of the sacrifice and resurrection of the Son of 
God as was possible without a true slaying of 
Isaac, for which was substituted the slaying of 
the ram. That which Isaac’s sacrifice wanted 
to make it perfect as a type was actual death 
and the notion of substitution. These therefore 
were supplied by the death of the ram, and his 
substitution for a human life. Not only was 
Isaac thus made the most memorable type of 
the Redeemer of the world (Isaac, who other¬ 
wise seems less noticeable than either Abraham 
or Jacob), but also that Abraham had the sin¬ 
gular honor of representing the highest, holiest 
God and Father, who “ spared not His own Son. 
but freely gave Him up for us all.” E. H. B. 

We leap, as by a natural instinct, from the 
sacrifice in the land of Moriah to the sacrifice 
of Calvary. There are many differences ; there 
is a danger of exaggerating the resemblance, or 
of confounding in either case what is subordi¬ 
nate with what is essential. But the general 
feeling of Christendom has in this respect not 
gone far astra 3 ^ Each event, if we look at it 
well and understand it rightly, will serve to ex¬ 
plain the other. Human sacrifice, as we have 
seen, which was in outward form nearest to the 
offering of Isaac, was in fact and in spirit most 
entirely condemned and repudiated by it. The 
union of parental love with the total denial of 
self, is held up in both cases as the highest 
model of human, and therefore as the shadow of 
divine love ; “ sacrifice” is rejected, but “ to do 
thy will, 0 God,” is accepted. In the moral 
significance of this history the Jew and the 
Christian are agreed. Even to this present day 
the Jew, though he has rejected the true pro¬ 
pitiation, sees in the binding of Isaac on the 
altar a meritorious deed, which still pleads on 
behalf of Israel with God. And while the Chris¬ 
tian Church prays to God for pardon and bless¬ 
ing for the merits and death of Jesus Christ, 
the Jewish synagogue beseeches Him to have 
compassion upon it for the sake of the binding 
of Isaac. Viewed in this light as a part of the 
divine teaching of the world, we find in this his¬ 
tory the wisdom of God. We find an answer to 
that first and deepest of questions which the 
human heart can ask, “ Wherewith shall I come 
before the Lord ?” We do not find it indeed in 
doctrine, or even in words at all. But we do 
find it in fact. We find it just in that mode of 
revelation which was best suited to the wants 
and capacities of those to whom it was ad¬ 
dressed. Precisely as we ourselves first teach 


children by pictures, whose meaning, however, 
they cannot themselves fully understand, so 
God taught the childhood of the world. Not 
till the great act had itself been accomplished 
on Calvary could all its interpretation be given. 
First came the picture ; then, so to speak, the 
comment on the picture in the mouth of proph¬ 
ets and holy men of old ; then the great fact it¬ 
self was exhibited ; and then from the hallowed 
lips of the Apostles of the Lord came the elo¬ 
quent interpretation of the fact. It is one truth 
throughout. Christ Jesus came to do the Fa¬ 
ther’s will, and to give his life a ransom for 
manj^ ; by his obedience we are made righteous, 
He hath redeemed us by his blood—what are 
words like these but the filling in, so to speak, 
of the fainter lines of that ancient picture ? 
Ftrotcne. 

At this point the wonderful story begins to 
burn inwardly with the tire of prophecy. It 
grows prophetic of the transcendent sacrifice 
on the cross because at its very core it was an 
inspiration of the same self-subduing love 
which inspired and glorified the offering of 
Golgotha, With perfect justice, therefore, has 
the Christian Church delighted since the begin¬ 
ning of her history to place the sacrifice of Isaac 
over against the mysterious and adorable sacri¬ 
fice of her Lord, as its most splendid Old Testa¬ 
ment prefiguration. What a man was found to 
do for God his Friend, no less, but more, God 
did to reconcile the world again unto himself. 
The will was not taken, as in Isaac’s case, for 
the deed. No ram disj^laced the Son of God. 
Rather that substitution on Moriah of a sym¬ 
bolical animal in the room of human life, while 
it taught that no man could redeem himself or 
propitiate Heaven in heathen fashion by “giv¬ 
ing the fruit of his body for the sin of his soui,” 
did also contain an obscure hint that after all 
human life must bleed for human guilt. The 
representative blood of sheep or oxen could not 
be forever accepted instead of that better sacri¬ 
fice for which it was substituted. Only by a 
willing and personal surrender of human life 
could man’s covenant of peace with Heaven be 
finally sealed. That truth underlay the arrested 
sacrifice on Mount Moriah. When Jehovah set 
aside the offered Isaac, and with him set aside 
as unacceptable or inadequate the best and 
costliest expiation man could bring, did he not 
in some dim way pledge himself to lay upon 
the altar of his covenant a better and more pre¬ 
vailing Victim, — a Son of Man who should be 
also the Son of God ? Is it possible that a vague 
anticipation of this future Victim, this better 
Isaac, one day to take Isaac’s place as God’s 








SECTIOjS' 50.—genesis 22 : 1-19. 


395 


provided Lamb, may have visited the seer at 
that exalted moDient when on the mount Je- 
hovaJi stood revealed as the “ Provider ’ ? 
Then, when the shadows of death had by Heav¬ 
en’s interposition been turned into a joy like 
the joy of resurrection, might Abraham see afar 
off the day of God’s Messiah and be glad ! 
Dt^lces. 

14 . When Isaac had asked-, “ where is the 
Lamb?” Abraham answered, Eiohim jireh, 
“God will see,” or “ provide a lamb for him 
self.” Now he perceives that he had uttered an 
unconscious prophecy, and that the God (Eio¬ 
him) in whom he trusted had shown Himself 
indeed Jj^hovah, the Eternal Truth and the 
covenanted Saviour of his servants, aud so he 
names the place Jehovah -jireh, E. H. B. 

This was the obedience of faith ! The won¬ 
derful illustration stands out before all the ages 
with God’s seal of approbation broadly stamped 
upon it. When the trial had fully reached its 
culminating point and no room remained for 
doubt that Abraham would obey God at every 
cost, fearless of consequences, or rather com¬ 
mitting all consequences to Ids God, then God’s 
angel interposed ! A ram was provided for the 
sacrifice and the son of promise went back to a 
more happy home with a more happy father, 
doubly blessed in the renewed ajDprobatioii of 
his covenant-keeping God. No wonder that 
God proceeded then to make that covenant 
stronger and broader and richer than ever be¬ 
fore ! No wonder Abraham stamjied into the 
very name of this ever-mernorable locality one 
of the grand moial lessons of the scene—“ Je¬ 
hovah Jireh” —7a the mount of the Lord, himsef 
will ftrocide ! When you come to the mount of 
last and utmost emergency, the Lord will have 
salvation ready ! His angel will appear ; the 
ram of sacrifice will be there ; and Isaac may 

go in peace ! H. C.-Let it be recorded for 

generations to come, 1. That the Lord will see,' 
he wdll always have his eye upon his people in 
their straits and distresses, that he may come 
in with seasonable succor in the critical junct¬ 
ure, 2. That he will be seen in the greatest per¬ 
plexities of his people ; he will not only mard- 
fest but 'DKUjidfij liis wisdom, power, and good¬ 
ness in their deliverance ; wdiere God sees and 
provides, he should be s^eu and ]>rais€d. H. 

If w'e follow the Lord’s bidding, he will see to 
it that we shall not be ashamed or confounded. 
If w^e come into great need by following his 
command, he will see to it that the loss shall be 
recompensed. If our difliculties multiply and 
increase so that our way seems completely 
blocked up, Jehovah will see to it that the road 


shall be cleared. The Lord will see us through 
in the way of holiness if we are only willing to 
be thorough in it, and dare to follow whereso¬ 
ever he leads the way. We need not wonder 
that Abraham should utter this truth, and at¬ 
tach it to the spot which was to be forever 
famous : for his whole heart was saturated with 
it, and had been sustained by it. His trials 
had taught him more of God,—had given him a 
new name tor his God ; and this he would not 
have forgotten, but he would keep it before 
the minds of ihe generations following by nam¬ 
ing the place Jehovah-jireh. True faith not only 
speaks the language of prophecy, but, when she 
sees her prophe(y JntJilled, fiith is always delighted 
to raise memorials to the God of trudi. The stones 
which were set up of old were not to the mem¬ 
ory of dead men, but they were memorials of 
the deeds of the living God : they abundiintly 
uttered the memory of God’s great goodness. 
Abraham on this occasion did not choo.se a name 
which recorded what he had done, but a name 
which spake of what Jehovah had done. Fall 
back on this eternal veritj^ that if God has pro¬ 
vided his own Well-beloved oori to meet the 
most awful of all necessities, then he will pro¬ 
vide for us in everything else. In the mount it 
shall be seen, in the place of the trial, in the 
heat of the furnace, in the last extremity Je¬ 
hovah will be seen, for he will see to it, and it 
shall become a proverb with you,—“In the 
mount Jehovah shall be seen.” That is to say, 
when you cannot see, the Lord will see you and 
see to your need ; for his eyes are upon the 
righteous, and his ears are open to their cry. 
You will not need to explain to God your diffi¬ 
culties and the intricacies of your position, he 
will see it all. And then his provision shall be 
seen. Spurgeon. 

15 , 16 . It was when the quality of Abra¬ 
ham’s faith had been verified by so unparalleled 
a strain that he was enriched by an appropriate 
reward. For reward is ever the divine answer 
to such virtue in man as can abide the tests of 
God. Once again, and for the last time, with 
accents of even higher solemnity than on any 
previous occasion, there came to Abraham, after 
this trial was past, the voice, now grown fa¬ 
miliar, of his august Friend. It came to reiter¬ 
ate, in terms of unusual fulness, all the prom¬ 
ises of His great covenant. It did something 
more. “ Often before had God promised,” 
says Augustine, “ but never sv/orn.” Now, for 
the first time, the divine Covenanter stooped to 
sustain human infirmity by the human expedi¬ 
ent of “ an oath for confirmation.” “Whiling 
more abundantly to show to this heir of prom- 




396 


THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC. 


ise the immutability of His counsel, God con- 
lirmed it by an oath.” True to the rulinji; prin¬ 
ciple of condescension, this self-manifestation 
of the Deity assamed a form characteristically 
human. Men are accustomed to attest their 
word by an appeal to Him who is the greatest ; 
he, because He could swear by no greater, sware 
by Himself The pledge that His word is true 
is His own existence. It was in recognition of 
the evidence which had just been afforded of 
His servant’s stanch Inyaltj’^ to the covenant, 
that the Eternal was pleased in this unexampled 
manner to reduplicate securities for His own 
faithfulness. Previous to this oath, Abraham 
had the word of God, and no more, on which to 
build his confidence. He trusted the All-truth¬ 
ful and Almighty to keep faith with His friend 
in His own way. For that very reason did a 
generous promiser vouchsafe to the man some¬ 
thing more than a naked word. “ To him that 
hath shall be given.” ” Because thou hast done 
this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine 
only one, from Me, therefore by Myself have I 
sworn that in blessing I will bless thee.” 
Thenceforth, as the New Testament explains, 
the believer possessed, not one, but “ two im¬ 
mutable things” on which to rest. Through 
Abraham’s obedience have we all obtained this 
“ strong consolation.” Dykes, 

In his intercourse with the patriarchs God 
never sware by himself but in this one case. 
The uniqueness and importance of the oath ap¬ 
pears from its being quoted afterward upon im¬ 
portant occasions by Abraham himself, by 
Joseph, by Moses, by Zacharias, by Stephen, 
and by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, 
and frequently referred to by God himself. Its 
utterance was the last that fell from the lips of 
God upon the ear of Abraham. He lived for 
fifty years and more thereafter in peaceful, un¬ 
disturbed repose. W. H. 

God is pleased to make mention of Abraham’s 
obedience as the consideration of the covenant ; 
and he speaks of it with an encomium. Because 
thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy 
son, thine only son; he lays a strong emphasis 
upon that, and (v. 18) praises it as an act of 
obedience ; in it thou hast obeyed my voice, and 
to obey is better than sacrifice. H. 

B7, In this and several other passages, the 
gate is emblematic of authority and dominion ; 
as in Europe the delivery of the keys of a town 
is a formal act of submission to a conquering or 
superior power. We speak of the Turkish 
power as “the Porte,’’“the Sublime Porte,” 
“ the Ottoman Porte,” from the principal gate 
or ” porte” of the Turkish Sultan’s palace at 


Constantinople. The mention of the gate in¬ 
volves the idea of the palace, and of the power 
which resides there. Piet. Bibl*‘. 

B7, i§. The same promise (chap. 12:3; 
18 :18), now repeated for the third time. Hav¬ 
ing been on the two first occasions spontane¬ 
ously vouchsafed as a free gift, it is here the re¬ 
ward for Abraham’s victorious faith and obedi¬ 
ence. This being also the last of the revelations 
of God to Abraham of which Scripture makes 
mention, was designed as a strong consolation 
to him during the remainder of his earthly pil¬ 
grimage. Isaac, whom he had at fiist received 
from the grace of God in the natural way, he 
had now in a higher and spiritual way obtained 
afresh as a special child of grace and of prom¬ 
ise, in recompense of his obedience. By works 
had his faith been made perfect (James 2 :22). 
Abraham began with faith, and the longer his 
life flowed on in the exercise of it the more 
solid were the evidences which he was enabled 
to give of his faith, until that greatest act of it 
which he achieved upon Mount Moriah. Every 
new trial of faith successfull}’^ endured raises it 
to a higher degree of strength ; and the fndts 
that it bears serve again for its liourishment. 
This affords the true reconciliation of the ap¬ 
parently contradictory statements of Paul and 
James, when the one says fRom. 4 : 22), Abra¬ 
ham was justified by faith, and the other (James 
2 : 21), Abraham was justified by works. C. G. B. 

The blessings are too great, too broad, too far- 
reaching to admit any supposable interpreta¬ 
tion short of the Messiah and the gospel age. 
In Christ and in him only can this prediction 
be fulfilled. And to crown all, our Lord him¬ 
self testifies : “ Your father Abraham rejoiced 
to see my day; and he saw it and was glid" 
(Jno. 8 : 56). Not me, my person ; but “ my 
day" —the gospel age ; the great events of it ; 
the wonderful results of my coming—which is 
no doubt the exact truth. It was what was to 
be achieved by Christ in the way of blessings 
upon all the nations that Abraham prophetically 
saw. Paul adds his testimony that these words 
refer to 'Christ (Gal. 3:8): “ The Scripture, 
foreseeing that God would justify the nations 
[‘ heathen ’] through faith, preached before the 
gospel to Abraham, saying. ‘ In thee shall all 
nations be blessed.’” “Preached before” is 
simply predicted, revealed by prophecy, with 
the accessory idea that the thing revealed was 
the gospel, the news of salvation. To show that 
in his view the burden and fulness of this 
prophecy are Christ and nothing less or other 
than Christ, he says in this connection (v. 16) : 
‘‘Now'to Abraham and to his seed w'ere the 



SECTION 50.—GENESIS 22 : 1-19. 


397 


promises made. He saith not —And to seeds as 
of manybut as of one—And to thy setd, which 
is Christ.” H. C. 

19. So Abraliaiii returned. With 
what different; feelings did Abraham now de¬ 
scend from Jehoi^ah jiieh ! His Isaac lives, aud 
vet his sacrifice is offered. He came to yield 
his dearest earthly delight at the call of God, 
and he goes away, not only accompanied by his 
son, whom he had virtually resigned, but en¬ 
riched with new blessings and fresh promises ! 
So true is it that God is ever better to his peo¬ 
ple than their fears, yea, than their hopes. No 
sacrifice was ever yet sincerely made for him 
but it finally redounded a hundred fold to the 
gain and the consolation of the offerer. Bush. 

This most exilted appearance of God to Abra¬ 
ham is the last recorded in the narrative. God 
spake and confirmed His last word, after Abra¬ 
ham had endured his last trial. He who pos¬ 
sessed such faith can life-long w'alk in it, with¬ 
out any more seeing or hearing aught unusual. 

Van 0. -Manifestly the trial and its issue 

marked the highest stage in all the leadings, 
trials, or triumphs in the life of .Abraham, and 
the fullest manifestation of his faith. The re¬ 
mainder of his life passes quietly and undis¬ 
turbed. till in a good old age he is gathered to 
his fathers. K. 

Suggestive Lessons. 

All the world’s faith is not historic. To-day 
has its chronicles of trust and patience, and 
hope, quite as instructive and thrilling as those 
which are recorded in the Bible. It is too early 
to read them through, or to comprehend all 
their sad, yet glorious meaning ; but every syl¬ 
lable is accepted and honored of God. J. P. 

If men must have a reconciliation for all con¬ 
flicting truths before they will believe any ; if 
they must see how the promises of God are to 
be fulfilled before they will obey His com¬ 
mands ; if duty is to hang suspended upon the 
satisfying of the understanding instead of the 
submission of the will, —then the greater num¬ 
ber of us will find both the road of faith and 
the road of dut}*^ blocked at the outset. To us 
no more than to Abraham has the Most High 
vouchsafed such an explanation of His counsels 
as would make it possible to walk by intellect¬ 
ual sight, or dispense us from the task of walk¬ 
ing by trust. Dykes. 

The supreme lesson of this history is that 
Almighty God, in the just exercise of his sover¬ 
eign and paternal authority, demands the com¬ 
plete subjugation of our will to his own. This 
is a hard lesson for man to learn. Man loves | 


his own will. He clings to it long. It is just 
here that the great battle must be fought. We 
are not called upon to give up one pursuit out 
of many ; one wish out of many ; we are dis¬ 
tinctly called upon to sink our will in God’s ; 
t) sum up every jirayer with “Nevertheless, 
not my will, but thine be done.” If God strip 
your vines, and take away the one ewe lamb ; 
if he bark your fig tree, and cause the herd to 
die in the field —you are to say—“ The Lonl 
gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be 
the name of the Lord.” And never can we say 
this with the heart’s full consent until we are 
ci’ucified with Christ. We must say our great¬ 
est lesson after him. He speaks first, we speak 
second. He is the Master, we are the scholars. 
Lord, if thou wilt break the last link, break it ; 
“though thou slay me, I will trust in thee.” 

J. P. 

God’s stern providence must step in to test 
the latent capabilities of the soul. No scrutiny t 
of our own, however honest, will ascertain what 
is really in us. When he takes in hand to try 
us, because He loves us, it is that He may dis¬ 
cover, not to Himself Who sees all hearts, but 
to us and to our brethren, that which His grace 
has planted deep within. Moreover, He designs 
by lending to our unfledged virtue scope, and a 
call to exercise itself, to train its strength of 
wing for bolder flights to follow. With safety, 
then, may it always be presumed, not only that 
the wise Lord Who guides earthly discipline 
tries men’s virtue for their own profit, but also 
that He graduates such trials to the strength of 
virtue which is to be found in each. It con¬ 
cerns His faithfulness to “ tempt,” indeed, in 
this beneficent sense of the word, yet at the 
same time to provide that no servant of His be 
tempted “ above that he is able.” With a task 
so delicate, who could trust any hand less firm 
or skilful or tender than His own ’? It is the 
highest proof we possess of the exceptional 
nobleness which lived in Abraham,that on no 
other man of whom we read —save One—was 
ever imposed a test of trustful obedience so 
severe to abide, so far above the average power 
of human nature, so almost godlike in its de¬ 
mand, as this last and worst trial of Isaac’s sac¬ 
rifice. It was designed to reveal to posterity 
the fitness of this man for the unparalleled 
honor to which God had summoned him,—the 
honor of entering first into friendly alliance 
with Heaven of receiving in the name of the 
universal Church of all faithful souls Heaven’s 
promise of eternal blessing, and of becoming to 
after ages the exemplar of that trust in God to 
which it has pleased Him to attach His favor 





398 


SUCCESSIVE ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE COVENANT. 


and forgiveness. The issue of that probation 
was to justify the confidence reposed in Abra¬ 
ham by Abraham’s almighty Friend. Dykes. 

The patriarchal dispensation assumes a defi¬ 
nite form in the Abrahamic covenant. God ap¬ 
peared to Abraham, and established the Church 
in his family. The covenant was substantially 
that Jehovah would be a God to Abraham and 
to his seed ; that in his seed all nations should 
be blessed : that circumcision should be the 
sign of the covenant, and that this sign should 
be administered to the child on the eighth da}' 
after his birth. This covenant became the basis 
of the Mosaic dispensation. The Church in the 
house of Abraham became a nation under Moses, 
but the nation was a hierarchy, a Church-State, 
in which God became at once civil and ecclesi¬ 
astical ruler. In the fulness of time the Jew¬ 
ish dispensation gives place to the Christian ; 
but the Church is still the same, that is, the 
Abrahamic Church. Paul argues this point 
elaborately in the eleventh chapter of Homans, 
where he represents the Church under tne figure 
of an olive-tree, from which the Jews have been 
broken off, and on to which the Gentile Chris¬ 
tians have been grafted. The root and the 
trunk are still the same ; the identity of the 
tree, that is, of the Church, is completely pre¬ 
served. But the Apostle in the third chapter of 
Galatians goes still further. He takes partic¬ 
ular care to demonstrate that the repeal of the 
Mosaic law does not touch the c<^venant with 
Abraham ; that remains in all its original force. 
He says, “ Now to Abraham and his seed were 
the promises made. He saith not. And to seeds, 
as of many ; but as of one. And to thy seed, 
which is Christ, And this I sa}', that the cove¬ 
nant, that was confirmed before of God in 
Christ, the law, which was four hundred and 
thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it 
should make the promise of none effect.” Here, 
then, is an express declaration by the Apostle, 
not only that the Abrahamic Church still re¬ 
mains, but that the Abrahamic covenant has 
not been repealed, and C'lnnot he repealed, and 
that this covenant was to find its highest, its 
prophetic fulfilment in Christ. Nadal. 

Successive Announcements of the Coven.int. 

1. In’the outset of Abraham's history is that 
eventful call which brought him out from “Ur 
of the Chaldees,” the narrative of which stands 
(Gen. 12 : 1-3), In the promise made to him 
then the leading points were—“ I will make thy 
name great “I will make of thee a great na¬ 
tion “ thou shalt be a blessing and in thee 


shall all the families of the earth be blessed 
I will stand by thee to bless all who bless thee 
and to curse whosoever may curse thee. This 
must have raised in Abram’s mind large expect¬ 
ations and assured him that Jehovah was in¬ 
deed his own God. 

2. Immediately after Abram’s arrival in 
Canaan (Gen. 12 : 7) the Lord appeared to him 
specially to identify that as the land which he 
had promised (Gen. 12 ; 1) to show him and to 
give to his posterity. There, as afterward in 
each new home, Abram built an altar and in de¬ 
vout worship called on the name of the Lord 
who had thus appeared to him. 

3. Next, after his magnanimous bearing tow¬ 
ard Lot (13 :7-9, 14-18) in which he seemed 
ready to waive all claim to any territory Lot 
might choose to occupy, the Lord bade him 
lift up his eyes toward every point of the com¬ 
pass, and reiterated his grant of the whole— 
“ All the land which thou seest to thee will I 
give it and to thy seed forever. ” Also, that his 
seed should be as the dust of the earth. 

4. A yet richer scene of divine manifestation 
followed Abram’s rescue of Lot from the plun¬ 
dering horde of the great Eastern kings (Gen. 
15). The first words were significant and pre¬ 
cious : “ Fear not, Abram ; I am thy shield and 
thine exceeding grest reward.” Those warlike 
kings might return any day with more military 
force than his household could muster. It was 
therefore at once timely and kind in the Lord 
to meet him at this point with this comforting 
assurance : ‘‘ Fear not ; I am thy shield I 
stand between thee and those vengeful foes. 
Moreover Abram had nobly refused to appro¬ 
priate to his personal use even a shoe-latchet of 
ihe booty brought back from his routed ene¬ 
mies, M'hereupon the Lord said, ” I will be- 
thine exceeding great reward.” On this reap¬ 
pearance the Lord promised him a son more dis¬ 
tinctly than before, and posterity as the stars in 
number. Here it is said definitely—” Abraham 
believed God and God counted it to him for 
righteousness.” His faith pleased God, and 
because of it, God accepted him and he stood as 
one who is ” all right before God.” Kemarkably 
the Lord at this time identified himself to Abra¬ 
ham as the same God who had appeared to him 
in his fatherland and called him forth into 
Canaan and said, This is the very land I then 
promised to give thee ; to which Abraham re¬ 
plied (v, 8), ” Whereby shall I know that I shall 
inherit it?” At once the Lord proceeded to 
ratify his covenant in the usual Oriental man¬ 
ner. .A heifer, a she-goat and a ram—one from 
each species commonly used in sacrifice—are 





SEOTIOJSl 5L—GENESIS 23 : 1-20. 


399 


brought forward ; pack is cut into two parts ; | 
the parts are laid asunder ; a lurtle-ilove and 
a young pigeon, also used for saciitice in cer- j 
tain couungencies, were added but not cut in 
two. Then M'hen night came on, a deep sleep 
fell upon Abraham, aud the Lord ga\6 him in 
vision certain prophetic views of his postent}' ; 
and ratified the covenant by passing (in the 
symbol of fire and smoke) between the severed 
parts of the sacrificial animals. 

b. At the next eventful appearance (Gen. 17) 
Abraham had been waiting in faith for the son 
of promise a ijuarter of a centur}", and was per¬ 
haps tempted to think the fulfilment fast be¬ 
coming impossible. Pertinently therefore the 
first words of the Lord were—“ I am the Al¬ 
mighty God! Walk before me and be thou per¬ 
fect fear nothing ; my covenant stands fast. 

1 will multiply thee exceedingly ! Abraham fell 
on his face and God talked with him, reiterat¬ 
ing his promise of posterity, giving unwonted 
prominence to the family feature of his cove¬ 
nant—“ a God to thee and to thy seed after 
thee” — and instituting the rite of circumcision. 

6. The sixth and last recorded appearance fol¬ 
lowed the triumph of Abraham’s faith in the 
sacrifice of his only son. In this the Lord re¬ 
affirmed the great eleuients of his promise—pos- 
teritj'^ as the stars of heaven ; triumphant over 
their enemies ; a blessing to all the nations of 
the earth. Thus at successive and somewhat 
remote intervals and mostly on special occasions 


the Lord manifested himself to his servant to 
confirm his faith, to enlarge the range of prom¬ 
ise and to signify his pleasure in the obedient 
trustful life ot his friend. 

One other special feature in the great cove¬ 
nant with Abraham should be noticed. In 
many respects this covenant made Abraham aud 
his posterity a peculiar people, diserimiuating 
broadly between them and every other natiou, 
and accumulating the blessings of God upon 
them in no stinted measure. But the Lord put 
into this covenant one counteracting element 
of great power; He orduintd thf^m to be a blessing 
to <dl the 7udii>ns <>f the earth. Into this great sys¬ 
tem which made them his peculiar people, 
openly tmd clearly he pirt the germinal idea of 
a salvation to be provided for the wide world. 
This covenant people M^ere to be the almoners 
of all these blessings to the otherwise benighted 
and perishing nations. At the very least here 
was opened a thoroughlj^ rich field tor prayer, 
the broadest scope for real sympathy with the 
benevolence of the Great Father of all the na¬ 
tions and a powerful antidote against the nar¬ 
row exclusiveness which might otherwise have 
shrunk and shrivelled their piety and narrowed 
their aspirations to themselves aud their land. 
How often in the heart of the good men of 
later times—the men like Moses, Samuel, David. 
Isaiah, —must the kindling thought have been 
sprung by this great germinal promise—IF/tot 
shall these things be ? H. C. 


Section 51. 

DEATH AND BURIAL OF SARAH. 

Genesis 23 :1-20. 

1 And the life of Sarah vras an hundred and seven and twenty years : these were the years of 

2 the life of Sarah. And Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (the same is Hebron), in the land of 

3 Canaan : and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her. And Abraham rose 

4 up from before his dead, and spake unto the children of Heth, saying, I am a stranger and a 
sojourner with you ; give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead 

6 out of my sight. And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him. Hear us, 

6 my lord : thou art a mighty prince among us : in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead ; 

7 none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead. And 
Abraham rose up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of H« th, 

8 And he communed with them, saying. If it be your mind that I should burj’ my dead out of 

9 my sight, hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may give me the 
cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field ; for the full price let him 




400 


DEATH AND BURIAL OF SARAH. 


10 gi ve it to me in the midst of you for a possession of a buryingplace. Now Ephron was sitting 
in the midst of the children of Heth : and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audi- 

11 ence of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying Nay, my 
lord, hear me : the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee ; in the 

12 presence of the sons of my people give I it thee : bury thj’ dead. And Abraham bowed him- 

13 self down before the people of the laud. And he spak^ unto Ephron in the audience of the 
people of the land, saying. But if thou wilt, I pray thee, hear me : I will give the price of the 

14 field ; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there. And Ephron answered Abraham, saving 

15 unto him. My lord, hearken unto me : a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, 

16 what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead. And Abiaham hearkened unto 
Ephron ; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of 

17 the children of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current 7tioney with the merchant. So 
the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which w'as before Mamre, the field, and the 
cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the border 

18 thereof round about, were made sure \into Abiaham for a possession in the presence of the 

It) children of Heth, before all that w^ent in at the gate of his city. And after this, Abraham 

buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mature (the same is Hebron), 

20 in the land of Canaan. And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abra¬ 
ham for a possession of a buryingplace by the children of Heth. 


The following table exhibits the leading inci¬ 
dents in the life of Abraham, and his age at the 
time when that is either sj^ecified in the record 


or can be fixed :— 

Age. Incident. Record. 

70 (?) Call from God at Ur. 

75. Call repeated at Haraii.12 :1-4. 

Migration to Canaan.12 :4, 5. 

HaltatSichem—Third Divine 

manifestation at Bethel.... 12 : 6, 7. 

Journey to Egypt.12 :10-20. 

Keturn to Bethel—Separation 

from Lot. 13:1-13. 

Fourth Divine manifestation. 13 : 14-17. 

80 (?) Settlement at Mamre (He¬ 
bron).13 ; 18. 

Rout of the invaders.14 :1-16. 

Interview' with Melchizedek . 14 :17-24. 

Fifth Divine manifestation— 

Covenant of faith.15 ; 

85. Flight of Hagar.16 :1-14. 

86. Birth of Ishniael .16 :15,16. 

99. Sixth Divine manifestation— 

Covenant of circumcision.. 17 : 

Seventh Divine manifestation 
—The three angels.18 ; 1-14. 

Sodom and Gomorrah—Abra¬ 
ham’s intercession.18 :16-33. 

Destruction of the Cities of 
the Plain.19 : 

Sojourn at Gerar.20 : 

100. Birth of Isaac.21 :1-5. 

Casting out of Ishmael— 

Eighth Divine manifesta¬ 
tion.21 ; 8-21. 

The compact wuth Abimelech 
—Beersheba. 21 : 22-34. 


Age, Twideni. Record. 

125 (?) The great temptation —Mount 

Moriah.22 :1-14. 

Ninth Divine manifestation— 

The oath and the bless¬ 
ing .22 : 15-18. 

137. Death and burial of Sarah... 23 : 1, 2. 

The cave of Machpelah. 23 : 3-20. 

140. Mission for Rebekah—Mar¬ 
riage of Isaac.24 : 

Marriage with Keturah—its 
issue...25 : 1-4. 

175. Death and burial of Abra¬ 
ham . .25 : 7-9. 

W. II. 


23, This chapter is interesting as containing 
the first record of mourning for the dead, of 
burial, of property in land, of purchase of land, 
of silver as a medium of purchase, and of a 
standard of weight. Mourning for the dead 
w'as, no doubt, natural on the first death. Burial 
was a matter of necessity, in order, as Abraham 
says, to remove the body out of sight. Property 
in land w'as introduced where tribes became set¬ 
tled, formed towns, and began to practise till¬ 
age. Barter was the early mode of accommodat¬ 
ing each party with the articles he needed or 
valued. This led gradually to the use of the 
precious metals as a “ current ” medium of ex- 
change—first by w'eight, and then by coins of a 
fixed W'eight and known stamp. M. 

The next event recorded in Abraham’s life is 
the death of Sarah, at the age of 127, at Hebron ; 
so that Abraham must have returned from Beer¬ 
sheba to his old home. P. S.-We are in¬ 

formed in Num. 13 :22, that Hebron w as built 
seven years before Zoan, or Tanis, the ancient 


































SECTION 51.—GENESIS 23 : 1-20. 


401 


capital of Lower Egypt. At the conquest of 
Palestine Hebron was taken by Caleb, whose 
possession it became, being in the allotment of 
the tribe of Judah, It w'as afterward assigned 
to the Levites, and became a city of refuge. 
David kept his court there in the first seven 
years of his reign, before Jerusalem was taken. 
During the Babylonish captivity, the Edomites 
appropriated Hebron when they invaded the 
south of Judah, and it became the capital of a 
district which continued to be called Idumsea 
long after the territory of the Edomites had 
been incorporated wdth Judea. It is situated 
about 27 miles south of Jerusalem, eastward of 
a chain of hills which intersects the country 
from north to south. It stands on the sloi^e of 
an eminence, at the summit of which are some 
misshapen ruins of an ancient castle. Bush. 
-Although the valleys opening on the north¬ 
west of the town might not altogether inappro¬ 
priately be termed plains, the whole region is 
greatly elevated, and Hebron itself, two thou¬ 
sand eight hundred feet above the Mediterra¬ 
nean, or four thousand one hundred above the 
Dead Sea, is the highest town in Palestine. 
Those who approach it from the southern des¬ 
erts encounter more or less of fatiguing ascent 
for fifty miles, while those who come from Jeru 
Salem find that they are making their way 
slowly upward over innumerable ridges and val¬ 
leys to a height of six hundred feet above the 
sacred cit 3 \ Once in Scripture its elevated posi¬ 
tion is referred to—in the expression, “ Kirjath 
Arba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of 
Judah” (Josh. 20 : 7). Sometimes the patriarch 
sojourned in the country’’ to the south and south¬ 
west of Hebron, bordering the Philistines’ land, 
especially in the neighborhood of Beersheba, 25 
miles distant ; yet Hebron ever had for him a 
superior attraction. Here he was living when 
his wife Sarah died, and here he purchased the 
onlj" ground he seems ever to have owned—the 
burial field of Machpelah—where, in time, his 
sons Isaac and Ishmael met to lay his body be¬ 
side that of his wife, and where, in turn, Isaac 
and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah, found their last 
earthly resting-place. N. C. B. [See p. 312.] 

1. And Sarah wa§ an liundred and 
seven and twenty years old. Sarah is 
the only woman in the sacred writings, whose 
a(je, death, and burial, are distinctly noted. And 
she has been deemed worth)’’ of higher honor ; 
for Paul (Gal, 4 : 22, 23) makes her a type of 
the church of Christ; and her faith in the accom¬ 
plishment of God’s promise that she should 
have a son, when all natural probabilities were 
against it, is particularly celebrated in the 
20 


Epistle to the Hebrews (chap, 11 : 11). Sarah 
was about ninety-one years old when Isaac was 
born, and she lived thirty-six j’ears after and 
saw him grown up to man’s estate With Sarah 
the promise of the incarnation of Christ com¬ 
menced, though a comparatively obscure proph¬ 
ecy of it had been delivered to Eve, and with 
Mary it terminated, having had its exact com¬ 
pletion. Thus God put more honor upon those 
two women than upon all the daughters of Eve 
besides. A. C. 

There were many excellencies in the charac 
ter of this remarkable woman. As a wife, she 
was loving, faithful, and deferential, a tj^pe of 
conjugal reverence (1 Pet. 3 : G) - characteristics 
mentioned frequently with special approval in 
the Word of God ; as a mother, most tender and 
thoughtful in respect to all things pertaining to 
the real interest of her only child. Though not 
an “ ideal type of excellence,” her excellencies 
outshone her defects, and she stands before ufi 
as “ truly feminine” in both the one and the 
other. Hughes. 

Sarah dies when Isaac is thirtv' seven. We 
know something about what she w’as as a wife to 
Abraham, but little of what she was as a mother 
to Isaac, and about as little of what he was as a 
son to her. In the passage which records her 
death and burial he is never mentioned. His 
figure is lost in the shadow of that stately form 
of Abraham, bowed down with sorrow, doing 
the last honors to the dead. That Isaac fully 
shared his father’s grief—that the tie between 
mother and son was tender and strong—is clear 
from the fact that it took three j’ears and Re¬ 
bekah besides to comfort him after his mother’s 
death. W. H. 

2, Abraham mourned for Sarah. Consecra¬ 
tion to God’s purposes does not eradicate our 
deep human love ; rather it heightens, refines, 
sanctifies it ! Every father is more a father in 
proportion as he loves and serves the great 
Father in heaven. We should be on our guard 
against any system of religion or philosophy 
that seeks to cool the fervor of natural and law¬ 
ful love. It may be very majestic not to shed 
tears ; but it is most inhuman, most ungodl)’. 
Christianity educates our humaniiy, not deadens 
it ; and when we are in tears it helps us to see 
through them nearly into heaven. J. P. 

The friendship of the Eternal One was a poor 
boon, comparative!)’’, unless it survived this 
life. The blessing promised in that solemn 
covenant was surely too vast to be exhausted 
here. Nay, the man who had sacrificed homo 
and friends for God might deem himself of all 
men most miserable,” if no “ abiding city” was 






402 


DEATH AND BURIAL OF SARAH. 


to reward his hopes hereafter. His conscious¬ 
ness that the Everlasting Undying One was be¬ 
come his Shield and exceeding great Reward, 
could not fail to wrap within it a trust in im- 
mortality, undeveloped, it may be, and dim, yet 
real and not to be shaken. Of such a man it 
was more literally true than even of others that 
he “ died in faith.” The promises he had 
“ embraced” were promises he had “ not re¬ 
ceived.” He saw them only afar off. Through 
death he had to go to meet them. Perhaps at 
no hour of his life were such questionings of a 
life beyond, or a keen sense of the transitori¬ 
ness of his sojourn here, more likely to be forced 
upon the mind of Abraham than when he sat a 
broken-hearted widower beside his dead. 
Dykes. 

4, The tenderness of grief, the sacredness of 
death, the dignity of faith, the courtesy of sjuu- 
pathy, the nicety of honor, theliberalitj'^of love, 
the consecration of faith and hope,—these all 
are pictured here with a simplicity like Homer’s, 
but which surpasses any poetry in speaking di¬ 
rectly to the heart. It is the universal elegy of 
human grief, “ Give me a possession, a secure 
and sacred spot, where I may bury my dead.” 

J. P. T.-The patriarch’s resolution to acquire 

by purchase, and not otherwise, an hereditary 
place of sepulture, with the importance evi¬ 
dently attached to its acquisition, can only be 
understood in the light of his peculiar relations 
to the land of Canaan. Heir as he was by di¬ 
vine promise of the whole land, recognized by 
its citizens as a “ prince of God,” this man had 
lived in it for over sixty years without owning 
one yard of soil. He had acquired no fixed 
■property. Home he had none but a shifting 
’tent. But must this apply to him dead as well 
as living ? Sarah’s decease raised this question, 
and the devout instinct of her husband felt its 
way to the true answer. An exile through life, 
he will claim the land as his own in death ; his 
•own, not to enjoy it for himself, but to hold it 
in pledge for his seed, to whom it has been guar- 

• nnteed of God. Men’s graves are the heritage 

• of their posterity. Dykes. 

3-18. Abraham wished to make his posses- 
'sion of this cave of Machpelah secure to his pos¬ 
terity. The only way in which he can do this is 
‘by a public act and deed in the presence of many 
witnesses. It was the custom of the times, as 

• it is the custom of Easterns still, to employ 
mediators in every transaction of this kind. 

W. H.-Then ensues the conference in the 

gate,—the Oriental place of assembly, where the 
negotiators and the witnesses of the transaction, 

ias at the ipresent day, are .gathered from the 


many comers and goers through “ tho gate of 
the city.” The Hittite inhabitants offer him 
the most sacred of their sepulchres for the cher¬ 
ished remains. The Patriarch maintains his 
determination to remain aloof from the Canaan- 
ite population, at the same time that he pre¬ 
serves every form of courtesy and friendliness, 
in accordance with the magnificent toleration 
and inborn gentleness which pervade his char¬ 
acter. A. P. S.-EjDhron offers the field as a 

free gift—too generous an offer, whose accept¬ 
ance might in the end be more costly, and 
would be less secure.. Firm to his purpose, yet 
never failing in his courtesy, Abraham first 
bows again to the assembled citizens, and then 
turning to Ephron, insists on purchasing. In 
true Oriental fashion the son of Zohar says : 
” The land is worth four hundred shekels ; what 
is that betwixt me and thee ?’ ’—above, perhaps, 
the real value, but Abraham has gained his 
point. The price is specified. He has come 
prepared ; the silver is weighed out on the spot, 
current money with the merchant.” The 
purchase is completed and ratified by a descrip¬ 
tion of the property, such as you might find in 
any deed of conveyance still. “ And the field of 
Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was 
before Mamre, and the cave that was therein, 
and all the trees that were in the field, that were 
in all the borders round about, were made 
sure.” In manner so picturesque was the first 
commercial transaction that we have any rec¬ 
ord of, carried out ; and so was purchased the 
oldest family burying-ground that anj' land can 
show ; its history in patriarchal times, its story 
down to our own days, rendering it the most 
interesting tomb in all the earth. W. H. 

10. Of all lliat went in at llie gate 
of liis eity. That is, of all the citizens or in¬ 
habitants. Kidder. -The gates of cities in 

these d£iys, and many ages after, were the places 
of judicature and common resort. Here the 
governors and elders of the city met to hear com¬ 
plaints, administer justice, make conveyances of 
titles and estates, and, in short, to transact all 
the affairs of the place. Hence that passage in 
the Psalmist, ” They shall not be ashamed when 
they speak with their enemies in the gate 
that is, when they are accused by them before 
the court of magistrates. It is probable that 
the room or hall where these magistrates sat was 
over the gate, because Boaz is said to “ go up 
to the gate and the reason of having it built 
there seems to have been for the convenience of 
the inhabitants ; who, being all husbandmen, 
and forced to pass and repass every morning 
and evening as they went and came from their 







8EGTI0X 51.—GENESIS 23 ; 1-20. 


403 


labor, might be more easily called as they went 
by, whenever they were wanted to appear in 
any business. So that from the whole it ap¬ 
pears, that Abraham could not have made his 
purchase from Ephron, without his having re¬ 
course to the city gates. Stackhouse. -All 

affairs of moment among the Algerines are laid 
before the De}", or the principal officers, who sit 
constantly’’ in the gate of the palace for that 
purpose. Thus we read of the “ elders in the 
gate” (De. 22 ; 15) and of “ him that reproveth 
and rebuketh in the gate” (Is. 29 ; 21). The 
Ottoman Court likewise seems to be called the 
Forte, from the distribution of Justice and the 
dispatch of public business carried on in the 
gates of it. Br. Skaio. 

15, 16. The business-like method of Abra¬ 
ham in his traffic conforms to the careful reck¬ 
onings so abundant in Egypt, and to the exist¬ 
ence of a hundred Chaldean tablets filled with 
business contracts, before and after the time 

of Abraham. S. C. B.-Abraham pays the 

money : he pays it readily, without hesitation ; 
pays it in full, without diminution ; and pays it 
by weight, current money with the merchant, 
without deceit. See how anciently money was 
used for the help of commerce ; and see how 
honestly money should be paid where it is due. 
Though all the land of Canaan was Abraham’s 
by promise, yet the time of his possessing being 
not come, what he had now occasion for, he 
bought and paid for. H. 

17-20. The one spot of earth which Abra¬ 
ham could call his own, the pledge which he left 
of the perpetuity of his interest in “ the land 
wherein he was a stranger,” was the sepulchre 
which he bought with four hundred shekels of 
silver from Ephron the Hittite. It was a rock 
with a double cave (“ Machpelah”), standing 
amid a grove of olives or ilexes, on the slope 
of the table-land where the first encampment 
had been made. Bound this venerable cave the 
reverence of successive ages and religions has 
now raised a series of edifices which, while they 
preserve its identity, conceal it entirely from 
view. But there it still remains. Within the 
Mussulman mosque, within the Christian 
church, within the massive stone enclosure 
built by the Kings of Judah, is, beyond any rea¬ 
sonable question, the last resting-place of Abra¬ 
ham and Sarah, of Isaac and Kebekah ; “ and 
there Jacob buried Leah and thither, with 
all the pomp of funeral state, his own embalmed 
body was brought from the palaces of Egypt. 
Of all the great Patriarchal family, Rachel alone 
is absent. A. P. S. 

No ancient site in Palestine is more satisfac¬ 


torily identified than this by historic landmarks 
and credible uninterrupted traditions. Jews, 
Christians, and Moslems, alike venerate the 
place ; but with extremest jealousy the Moslem 
possessors guard the entrance, even of the outer 
enclosure, against the foot of any except the 
true believer. By means of skilful diplomacy, 
entrance was a few years since obtained for the 
Prince of Wales, on his tour through Palestine, 
with a few attendants ; yet these were not per¬ 
mitted to descend to the cave below the mosque 
—the real burial-place—but were obliged to 
content themselves with a sight of the cenotajahs 
of the patriarchs, which are placed on the main 

floor of the mosque. N. C. B.-The wall 

which encloses the Hamm {ox sacred [irecinct in 
which the sepulchres themselves are reported, 
and probably with truth, still to lie) is a monu¬ 
ment certainly equal, and probably superior in 
age to anjdhing remaining in Palestine. It is 
a quadrangular building of about 200 feet in 
length by 115 feet in width, its dark gray walls 
rising fifty or sixty in height, without window 
or opening of any description, except two small 
entrances at the S. E. and S. W. corners. It is 
surrounded by a colonnade of forty-eight square 
pilasters. It stands nearly on the crest of the 
hill which forms the eastern side of the valley 
on the slopes and bottom of which the town is 
strewn. Die. B. 

Abraham designed to perpetuate among his pos¬ 
terity the expectation of the promised land. It was 
the most likely means of keeping alive in every 
succeeding generation the hope of ultimately 
possessing the whole land. Accordingly we find 
it did produce this very effect ; for as Abraham 
and Sarah were buried in that cave, so were 
Isaac and Bebekah, and Jacob and Leah, not¬ 
withstanding Jacob died in Egypt. And Joseph 
also, though buried in Egypt, gave command¬ 
ment that when the Israelites should depart out 
of the land of Egypt to possess the land of 
Canaan, they should carry up his bones with 
them, and bury them in the sepulchre of his 
progenitors. Bush. 

It is this consideration which ever after made 
that venerable cave at Machpelah precious and 
even sacred in the eyes of later generations of 
Jews. By means of it, Israel virtually retained 
a lawful hold upon the land of promise through¬ 
out those six centuries which were still to roll 
away before Joshua led the tribes into posses¬ 
sion. The pompous funeral procession which 
bore the embalmed remains of Jacob back from 
Egypt, that they might be laid beside his father 
and his grandfather, testified to the depth of 
this feeling on the part of his exiled children. 






404 


UEBEKAirS PARENTAGE. 


Like the instructions which Joseph left concern¬ 
ing his bones, it showed that the sons of Abra¬ 
ham clung to a grave in Canaan as a pledge that 
the land itself was to be one day their own. 
Machpelah has thus become a signal figure of 
the claim which the spiritual Church of God 
asserts upon the earth we dwell in. One day 
the globe itself, purified from evil, is destined 
to become the enduring inheritance and home 
of all the saints. For the present, however, 
Christ’s people hold it only as Israel in its exile 


held Canaan, by their graves. One empty grave 
near Jerusalem, with countless more, which in 
their turn are likewise to be emptied, — these 
are the sole possessions in virtue of which just 
men departed can still call the earth their own. 
These are the pledges of its future possession. 
Their hope rests, like Abraham’s, on God’s 
word alone. Its fulfilment lies as far o£E, per¬ 
chance, as his. It is not less invisible, save to 
far-sighted faith. Dykes. 


Section 62. 

REBEKAH’S PARENTAGE. SOUGHT AND BROUGHT TO ISAAC. 

Genesis 22 : 20-24 ; 24 :1-67. 

22 : 20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Mil- 

21 cah, she also hath borne children unto thy brother Nahor ; Uz his firstborn, and Buz his 

22 brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram ; and Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jid- 

23 laph, and Bethuel. And Bethuel begat Rebekah : these eight did Milcah bear to Nahor, 

24 Abraham’s brother. And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she also bare Tebah, 
and Gaham, and Tahash, and Maacah. 

24 : 1 And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age : and the Lord had blessed Abraham 

2 in all things And Abraham said unto his servant, the elder of his house, that ruled 

3 over all that he had. Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh : and I will make thee 
swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take 

4 a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell ; but thou 

6 shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac. And 

the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto 
this land : must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou earnest ? 

6 And Abraham said unto him. Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. 

7 The Lord, the God of heaven, that took me from my father’s house, and from the land of 
my nativity, and that spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying. Unto thy seed wull 
I give this land ; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife for my 

8 son from thence. And if the woman be not willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear 

9 from this my oath ; only thou shalt not bring my son thither again. And the servant put 
his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning this matter. 

10 And the servant took ten camels, of the camels of his master, and departed ; having all 
goodly things of his master’s in his hand : and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto 

11 the city of Nahor. And he made the camels to kneel down without the city by the well 

12 of water at the time of evening, the time that women go out to draw water. And he 
said, O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, send me, I pray thee, good speed this day, 

13 and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand by the fountain of water ; 

14 and the daughters of the men of the city come out to dra^v water ; and let it come to pass, 
that the damsel to whom I shall say. Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink ; 
and she shall say. Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also ; let the same be she that 
thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac ; and thereby shall I know that thou hast 

15 shewed kindness unto my master. And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, 
that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of 

16 Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. And the damsel was 
very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her : and she went down to 

17 the fountain, and filled her pitcher, and came up. And the servant ran to meet her, and 





SECTION 52.-GENE8IS 22 : 20-24; 24 : 1-67. 


405 


18 said, Give me to drink, I pray tbee, a little water of thy pitcher. And she said, Drink, 
my lord : and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. 

19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw for thy camels also, until 

20 they have done drinking. And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and 

21 ran again unto the well to draw, and drew for all his camels. And the man looked sted- 
fastly on her ; holding his peace, to know whether the Lord had made his journe}'^ pros- 

22 perous or not. And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took 
a golden ring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight 

23 of gold ; and said, Whose daughter art thou ? tell me, I pray thee. Is there room in thy 

24 father’s house for us to lodge in ? And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel 

25 the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor. She said moreover unto him. We have 

26 both straw and pro.vender enough, and room to lodge in. And the man bowed his head, 

27 and worshipped the Lord. And he said. Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master 
Abraham, who hath not forsaken his mercy and his truth toward my master : as for me, 

28 the Lord hath led me in the way to the house of my master’s brethren. And the damsel 

29 ran, and told her mother’s house according to these words. And Eebekah had a brother, 

30 and his name was Laban : and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the fountain. And it 
came to pass, when he saw the ring, and the bracelets upon his sister’s hands, and when 
he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, sayiug, Thus spake the man unto me ; that he 

31 came unto the man ; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the fountain. And he said. 
Come in, thou blessed of the Lord ; wherefore standest thou without ? for I have pre- 

32 pared the house, and room for the camels. And the man came into the house, and he 
ungirded the camels ; and he gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash 

33 his feet and the men’s feet that were with him. And there was set meat before him to 

34 eat; but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said. Speak on. 

35 And he said, I am Abraham’s servant. And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly ; 
and he is become great ; and he hath given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, 

36 and menservants and maidservants, and camels and asses. And Sarah my master’s wife 
bare a son to my master when she was old ; and unto him hath he given all that he hath. 

37 And my master made me swear, saying. Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the 

38 daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell : but thou shalt go unto my father’s 

39 house, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son. And I said unto my master, Per- 

40 adventure the woman will not follow me. And he said unto me. The Lord, before whom 
I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way ; and thou shalt take a wife 

41 for my son of my kindred, and of my father’s house ; then shalt thou be clear from my 
oath,when thou comest to my kindred ; and if they give her not to thee, thou shalt be 

42 clear from my oath. And I came this day unto the fountain, and said, O Lord, the 

43 God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go : behold, I stand 
by the fountain of water ; and let it come to pass, that the maiden which cometh forth to 
draw, to whom I shall say. Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink ; 

44 and she shall say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels : let the 

45 same be the woman whom the Lord hath appointed for my master’s son. And before I 
had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her 
shoulder ; and she went down unto the fountain, and drew : and I said unto her. Let me 

46 drink, I pray thee. And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, 
and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also : so I drank, and she made the 

47 camels drink also. And I asked her, and said. Whose daughter art thou ? And she said. 
The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bare unto him : and I put the ring 

48 upon her nose, and the bracelets upon her hands. And I bowed my head, and worship¬ 
ped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, which had led me 

49 in the right way to take my master’s brother’s daughter for his son. And now if ye 
will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me : and if not, tell me • that I maj’ turn 

50 to the right hand, or to the left. Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said. The thing 

51 proceedeth from the Lord : we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is 
before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master’s son’s wife, as the Lord hath 

52 spoken. And it came to pass, that, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he 

53 bowed himself down to the earth unto the Lord. And the servant brought forth jewels 
of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah ; he gave also to hex 


40G 


REBEKAIl SOUGHT AND BROUGHT TO ISAAC. 


54 brother and to her mother precious things. And they did eat and drink, he and the men 
that were with him, and tarried all night ; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, 

55 Send me away unto my master. And her brother and her mother said. Let the damsel 
50 abide with us a few days, at the least ten ; after that she shall go. And he said unto 

them, Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath j)rospered my way ; send me away that I may 

57 go to my master. And they said. Wo will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth. 

58 And they called Kebekah, and sfdd unto her. Wilt thou go with this man ? And she 

59 said, I will go. And they sent away Eebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham’s 

60 servant, and his men. And they blessed Eebekah, and said unto her, Our sister, be thou 
ihe mother oi thousands of ten thousands, and let tby seed possess the gate of those which 

61 hate them. And Eebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode ui^on the camels, and 

62 followed the man : and the servant took Eebekah, and went .his way. And Isaac came 

63 from the way of Beer-lahai-roi ; for he dwelt in the land of the South. And Isaac went 
out to meditate in the field at the eventide : and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, be- 

64 hold, there were camels coming. And Eebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw 

65 Isaac, she lighted off the camel. And she said unto the servant. What man is this that 
walketh in the field to meet us ? And the servant said. It is my master : and she took her 

66 veil, and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 

67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Eebekah, and she became 
his wife ; and he loved her : and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. 


It is characteristic of the Bible, that while it 
never loses sight of its one great interest, which 
is the development of revealed religion, as little 
does it divorce religion from the ordinary events 
of human history. Wherever God has entered 
into friendly contact with mankind, whether 
under the old covenant or the new, there He 
has hallowed with His touch everything human. 
Nothing that affects the life of man lies outside. 
As the sacred record stretches itself along the 
course of what we call secular history, it counts 
nothing in it to be common or unclean. Births, 
weddings and funerals in the family ; jjolitics, 
legislation, wars, in the state ; the origin, mi¬ 
gration, or decline of races—all are absorbed 
into a narrative which has for its aim the spirit¬ 
ual education of the race. How a grave was 
bought for dead Sarah is told as minutely as 
how Abraham sacrificed his son. The courtship 
of Isaac’s wife fills a greater number of verses 
than the ratification of Jehovah’s covenant. 

Dykes. -A whole chapter—one of the longest 

chapters too in the Pentateuch—is devoted 
entirely to a minute detail of all the circum¬ 
stances of Isaac’s marriage, while two great rev¬ 
olutions of the world—the rise and the over¬ 
throw of secular kingdoms—are passed by in 
silence. But it is important to illustrate the 
operations of God’s grace, to show the workings 
out of His Providence in the most ordinary 
affairs of human life, and above all to exhibit 
the minute care with which provision is made 
for accomplishing in due time the great scheme 
of redemption. And therefore it is that we 
have this detailed account. S. E. 

The narrative of the bridal embassy and its 


results offers to the eye one of the minutest, 
liveliest, most varied jjictures of Oriental man 
ners and customs in that primitive patriarchal 
time. The large outfit for the journey—ten 
camels, and “ all the best belonging to his mas¬ 
ter in his hand the evening meeting by the 
well-side outside the city ; the coming forth of 
Eebekah, pitcher on shoulder ; her emptying 
the water into the trough to give the camels to 
drink ; the costly nose-ring and bracelets given ; 
the reception by Laban ; the ungirding of the 
camels, and the bringing them into the house ; 
the water for Eliezer’s feet-washing, and the 
“ men’s feet that were with him the jewels 
and raiment for the bride ; the rich presents 
for her relatives ; the meeting with Isaac on 
return ; the lighting off the camel ; the putting 
on the veil—so unchangeable are Eastern man¬ 
ners, that there is not a single one of all these 
incidents to which an exact parallel has not 
been produced in the customs of the Bedouin 
of our own day. But there is one feature—the 
most marked of all in the narrative—to which 
no such parallel can' be produced—the common 
faith of master and servant in the overruling 

providence of God. W. H.-Full of such 

touches of nature as speak to men’s hearts in 
every age, this narrative breathes none the less 
the peculiar innocence and simple grace of 
primitive and pastoral life. For the first time 
since the sinless loves of Eden were blasted, it 
shows us wedlock receiving a fresh consecration, 
from His hand Who had once more become the 
Friend of man. Within the shelter of God’s 
covenant love grows pure again, and puts on a 
symbolic, almost sacramental character. The 





SECTION 52.—GENESIS 22 : 20-24 ; 24 : 1-67. 


407 


wooing of Rebekah and her betrothal to Isaac 
are the earliest in a happy series of Bible pas¬ 
sages devoted to the elevation of the marriage 
bond ; a series which includes the romantic 
service of Jacob, the espousals of Ruth, the 
fidelity of the tempted Bride in the Canticles, 
and the wedding feast at Cana. Dykes. 

The choice of a wife for Isaac was no casual 
incident ; it was not something standing apart 
from the main line of his history, and some¬ 
thing therefore which might be left to Isaac’s 
unassisted thought and arrangement ; it stood 
as a part of a promise ; it was a clause in a 
solemn covenant ; it was as sacred as prayer, 
and as joyous as a morning psalm. Why 
should we diminish our own sense of God’s care 
in our life, by always regarding the patriarchal 
history as something never to be repeated, with¬ 
out counterpart in our life ? God is our Father ; 
our life is precious in his eyes ; our family and 
everything about us is dear to him. J. P. 

22 : 20. It was tolcl Abraliaiii. The 
chief intention of this genealogy seems to be, to 
give us an account of the family of Rebekah, 
whom Isaac married : it connects with the be¬ 
ginning of ch. 24. And it was in consequence 
of the information here given to Abraham, that 
he thought of seeking a wife for his son from 
this family. Huz, or Uz, here mentioned, is 
supposed to have given its name to Job’s countrj" 
(see Job 1 :1), and from Buz it is thought came 
Elihu, the Buzite. Locke. 

22 : 20-24. This family notice is inserted 
as a piece of contemporaneous history, to ex¬ 
plain and prepare the way for the marriage of 
Isaac. Milkah, she also, in allusion to Sarah, 
who has borne Isaac. So far as we know, they 
may have been sisters, but they were at all 
events sisters-in-law. The only new persons 
belonging to our history are Bethuel and Re¬ 
bekah. Uz, Aram, and Kesed are interesting, 
as they show that we are in the region of the 
Shemites, among whom these are ancestral 
names (Gen. 10 ; 23 ; 11 :28). Buz may have 
been the ancestor of Elihu (Job 32 : 2). Maakah 
may have given rise to the tribes and land 
of Maakah (Deut. 3 : 14 ; 2 Sam. 10 : 6). The 
other names do not again occur. And his con¬ 
cubine. A concubine was a secondary wife, 
whose position was not considered disreputable 
in the East. Nahor, like Ishmael, had twelve 
sons, —eight by his wife, and four by his con¬ 
cubine. M. 

21: 2, il. The cider of liis house. 

That is, his chief servant, the head of his house¬ 
hold, who had the direction of all his affairs, 
as stated in the following clause, “ who ruled 


over all that he had.” Compare, in ch. 50 : 7, 
“ the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his 
house that is, the high officers of Lis house¬ 
hold who were at the head of its several depart¬ 
ments. Men of mature age and experience 
v/ere required in these offices, and hence they 
are called elders; and this became a title of 
official rank and dignity. It is commonly sup¬ 
posed, though without any special ground for 
the opinion, that this confidential servant was 
the Eliezer spoken of in ch. 15 :2. Put thy 
hand under my thigh; as a pledge of fidelity to 
the required promise. Among many ancient 
nations a peculiar sacredness was attached to 
this act, and to a promise confirmed by it. To 
this formal pledge was sometimes added an 
oath, as in this case and in the one recorded in 
ch. 47:29-31. T. J. C. 

2-9. Already Isaac was verging on the age of 
forty ; yet he does not appear of his own accord 
to have contemplated marriage or taken any 
steps toward it. For Isaac’s own sake, it was 
time to rouse him from his grief by a fresh in¬ 
terest, and fill up the blank over which he was 
disposed to brood. The arrangements which 
Abraham made with this view were determined 
by two ruling considerations, which may be 
traced through his whole conduct. On the one 
hand, there was his settled decision not to 
mingle the pure blood of his chosen and cove¬ 
nanted family with any of the heathen races 
around. The posture of religious separation 
which God had assigned to him made this noth¬ 
ing less than a sacred duty. On the other hand, 
Abraham was not less resolute to hinder at every 
cost his son’s return from Canaan to the settle¬ 
ments of his kindred beyond the Euphrates. 
The same divine command which had made 
himself an exile, he conceived to bind his off¬ 
spring. This Canaan had been promised to his 
seed for their inheritance ; and in Canaan, 

therefore, his seed should stay. Dykes. -In 

sending this wise and faithful servant to seek 
and to choose a wife for Isaac and in his strong 
injunction not to permit Isaac to go even among 
his own kindred, Abraham evinced a clear in¬ 
sight of Isaac’s natural weakness. Isaac w^as 
poorly fitted to cope with Laban, as Jacob after¬ 
ward did. B. 

In this transaction Abraham exhibits points 
of character worthy of imitation by his faithful 
children in every age. Fir.st—his unworldli¬ 
ness ; for there is no taint of merely worldly 
policy in his arrangements, though obviously 
he had the strongest temptations. From what 
we have seen of the respect in which he whs 
held, he could doubtless have formed the most 




408 


REBEKAH SOUGHT AND BROUGHT TO ISAAC. 


distinguished connection for his son. He was 
“ a mighty prince.” Second—his firm reliance 
in Divine Providence when confessedly in a 
dilemma. He does not see how his end is to be 
accomplished. But a covenant God, he feels 
assured, “ will send his angel before his ser¬ 
vant.” O that there were more of this simple 
and explicit trust in Providence, and less of 
undertaking by fathers and mothers to work for 
Providence, in this delicate and important mat¬ 
ter of the settlement of children. S. R. 

7. He sliall scud fills aiige! before 
tliee. Here is the expression of a firm, un¬ 
shaken confidence in the prosperous issue of 
the expedition. He had been prompted by the 
most sincere regard to the will of God in hav¬ 
ing it undertaken, and he could not but infer 
from all that had been before done for him, and 
said to him, that He would put the seal of his 
approbation upon the step projDosed. Bush. 

-Abraham was persuaded God would send 

His angel to bring the affair to a happy issue. 
And when we seem drifting toward some great 
upturning of our life, or when things seem to 
come all of a sudden and in crowds upon us, so 
that we cannot judge what we should do, it is 
an animating thought that another eye than 
ours is penetrating the darkness, finding for us 
a way through all entanglement and making 
ci'ooked things straight for us. Dods. 

10. Took ten camels- liaviiig all 

goodly tiling's. The preparation for the 
journey is very stately. But it is an embassy 
from a prince. And doubtless the wealth that 
he carried with him was intended to satisfy 
tJie bride’s family that she would be well pro¬ 
vided for. While we rely on Providence, we are 
still to use all ordinary means, instead of ex¬ 
pecting God to work miracles for us. S. R.- 

To expect the accomplishment of any good end, 
without a proper use of the means, is the most 
reprehensible enthusiasm ; and to suppose that 
any good can be done or procured without the 
blessing of God, merely because proper means 
are used, is not less reprehensible. A. C. 

To ]?le$opotamia. Lit. “ Aram of the 
two rivers,” or “ Aram-Naharaim.” Aram- 
Naharaim was the whole region afterward called 
Mesopotamia, lying between the two rivers : 
Padan-Aram being a limited portion of this coun¬ 
try of flat character in the neighborhood of Haran. 
The city of Nahor, l.e Haran or Charran. E. H. B. 

11 . Witliout iBic city by llie well 
of water at tlie time of eveiiiiig^^ the 
time tliat women go out to draw 
water. A modern guide-book could hardly 
furnish a truer picture of what occurs at the 


close of every daj^ in the vicinity of eastern 
villages, than this description written so many 
thousand years ago. The wells exist almost 
universally just out of the town ; those who 
draw water are women ; they carry their j3itch- 
! ers upon their heads or shoulders ; and often 
i have to go down a flight of steps in order to 
reach tlie water. How vividly depicted in my 
i mind are the scenes embodying these traits of 
I oriental life, which I associate with A'ebna, 
j Ramlah, Beitio, Nazareth, Kana, and many 
other places still ! Ilackell. 

I At every step on the way to Harran, which 
now lies as it did of old at about six hours’ 
march from Ooifa, the hills on the right hand 
and on the left of the plain recede further and 
further, until you find yourself fairly launched 
on the desert ocean ; a boundless jfiain, strewed 
at times with patches of the brightest flowers, 
at other times wdth rich and green pastures, 
covered with flocks of sheep and goats feeding 
together ; here and there a few camels, and the 
son or daughter of their owner tending them. 
The ruins of the castle surmounting a mound 
makes Harran a landmark plainly visible from 
every part of the plain. That same daj-^ I 
walked at even to the well 1 had passed in the 
afternoon, coming from Oorfa ; the W'ell of this, 
the city of Nahor, ” at the time of the evening— 
the time wLen women go out to draw water.’’ 

; There was a group of them filling, no longer 
their pitchers, since the steps down which Re- 
bekah went to fetch the water are now blocked 
up, but filling their waterskins, by drawing 
water at the well’s mouth. Everything around 
tliat well bears signs of age and of the wear of 
time ; for as it is the only well of drinkable 
water there, it is much resorted to. Other wells 
are only for watering the flocks. There we find 
the troughs of various height, for camels, for 
sheep and for goats, for kids and for lambs ; 
there the women wear nose-rings, and bracelets 
on their arms, some of gold or of silver, and 
others of brass, or even of glass. One of these 
was seen in the distance bringing to water her 
flock of fine patriarchal sheep ; ere she reached 
the well, shepherds had filled the troughs with 
water for her sheep. She was the Sheik’s 
daughter, the ” beautiful and well-favored ” 
Sadheefeh. As the shadows of the grass and of 
the low shrubs around the well lengthened and 
grew dim, and the sun sank below the horizon, 
the women left in small groups ; the shepherds 
followed them, and I was left alone in this vast 
solitude. Malan, 

Another half century, or it may be far less 
time, will in all likelihood witness extensive 










SECTION 52.—GENESIS 22 : 20-24; 24 : 1-67. 


400 


changes in Bible lands. But nothing can now 
deprive us of that ample fund of Bible illustra¬ 
tion which has been gathered up almost within 
living memory. Dykes. 

He iiuicic the camels to kneel. A 
mode of expression taken from actual life. The 
action is literally kneeling ; and this the camel is 
taught to do from his youth. The place is said 
to have been by a well of water, and this well 
was outside the city. In the East, where wells 
are scarce and water indispensable, the exist¬ 
ence of a well or fountain determines the site 
of the village. The people build near it, but 
prefer to have it outside the “ city,” to avoid 
the noise, dust, and confusion always occurring 
at it, and esj^ecially if the place is on the jiublic 
highway. It is around the fountain that the 
thirsty traveller and the wearied caravan as¬ 
semble ; and if you have become separated from 
your own company before arriving at a town, 
you need only inquire for the fountain, and 
there you will find them. It was perfectly nat¬ 
ural, therefore, for Eliezer to halt at the well. 
The time was evening ; but it is further stated 
that it was when the women go forth to draw 
water. True to life again. About great cities 
men often carry w'ater, but in the country 
women only go to the well or the fountain ; and 
often have I seen long files of them going and 
returning with their pitchers, “ at the time 
when women go out to draw water.” This 
Biblical narrative is so natural to one familiar 
with the East, so beautiful also, and life-like, 
that the entire scene seems to be an affair in 
which he has himself been but recently an 
actor. W. M. Thompson. 

The well or cistern is for the females what 
the gate is for the men : here they indulge in 
friendly conversation and exchange their news ; 
here they are for a short interval released from 
much of their oriental restraint : and since 
shepherds also repair hither to v/ater their flocks 
and herds, it serves in many cases as a conven¬ 
ient place for meetings and appointments, and 
may in others be the scene of strife, where old 
feuds and enmities are brought to an issue. 
Cisterns were generally closed by a large heavy 
stone, which w^as removed by the united 
strength of the shepherds, while excavated wells 
were made more easily accessible, by steps lead¬ 
ing down to them. The place w'here the follow¬ 
ing event happened seems to have belonged to 
the latter description. Kalisch. 

12-14. Abraham’s devout heart had confi¬ 
dence enough in Jehovah to feel sure that an 
event so unlikely would in God’s own way bo 
brought to pass, since he was convinced that 


the covenant and purposes of Jehovah required 
it. The strong faith of the master impressed 
itself also upon his faithful slave. Devotion to 
his master’s interests, joined to a simple and 
childlike piety, formed the characteristic of this 
man, to whom was intrusted the delicate and 
responsible task of negotiating a marriage alli¬ 
ance for the heir. Dykes. -He speaks all 

along under a full persuasion that the provi¬ 
dence of God extended to the minutest events, 
and that there was no presumption in appealing 
to him on the present occasion. His w’ords are 
full of confidence that God would direct him in 
the matter. He addresses him as Jehovah the 
covenant God of Abraham, who had given him 
exceeding great and precious promises. Bush. 

-As Abraham’s servant has God’s glory only 

in view in the errand on which he is going, he 
may well expect the divine direction. See with 
what simplicity and confidence he pra 3 ^s to 
God ! He even prescribes the way in which 
the divine choice and approbation shall be made 
known : and God honors the purity of his mo¬ 
tives, and his simjile faith, by giving him pre¬ 
cisely the answer he wished. How honorable 
in the sight of God is simplicity of heart! It 
has nothing to fear and all good to hope for : 
whereas a spirit warped by self-interest and 
worldly views, is always uncertain and agitated; 
as it is ever seeking that from its oiC7i counsels 
and schemes which should be sought in God 
alone. In every place the upright man meets 
with his God, his heart acknowledges his Maker, 
and his Maker acknowledges him : for such an 
one, the whole economy of providence and 
grace is ever at work. A. C. 

We can but admire the mingled shrewdness 
and strong common-sense of Eliezer, and at the 
same time the strong and confiding trust in 
Providence which he exhibits. Evidently the 
faithful Abraham’s example had not been lost 
upon him, and this elder of Abraham’s house 
was a man of faith also. The token which 
Eliezer asks of God is not merely an arbitrary 
token ; nor merely the demand of a sign from 
God. He adopts a token which at the same 
time shall prove the kindly nature of the woman 
whom he sought for his master, as well as to 
secure for himself the guidance of God. This 
does not at all detract from the simplicity of his 
trust in God. There is nothing incompatible 
between the exercise of a sound discretion and 
a childlike trust in Providence. He could not 
have hit upon a better method—one by which 
he could judge who of all the damsels was most 
desirable as a wife for his master. Eliezer fur¬ 
nishes here a beautiful illustration of the prin- 









410 


REBEKAII SOUGHT AND BROUGHT TO ISAAC. 


ciple, you must do the best you can and then 
look to God. You ask not a sign as a right. 
He did not ; but merely entreated that God 
would grant him such a token as might direct 

him safely. S. K.-He felt it was for God 

rather than for him to choose a wife for Isaac, 
So he made an arrangement by which the inter¬ 
position of God was provided for. He meant to 
make his own selection, guided necessarily by 
the comparative attractiveness of the women 
who came for water, possibly also by some 
family likeness to Sarah or Isaac he might ex¬ 
pect to see in any women of Bethuel’s house ; 
but knowing the deceitfulness of appearances, 
he asked God to confirm and determine his 
own choice by moving the girl he should address 
to give him a certain answer. Having arranged 
this, “Behold! Rebekah came out with her 
pitcher upon tier shoulder, and the damsel was 
very fair to look upon.” In the Bible the 
beaut}’’ of women is frankly spoken of as an in¬ 
fluence in human affairs. The beauty of Re¬ 
bekah at once disposed Eiiezer to address her, 
and his first impression in her favor was con¬ 
firmed by the obliging, cheerful alacrity with 
which she did very much more than she was 
asked, and, indeed, took upon herself, through 
her kindness of disposition, a task of some 
trouble and fatigue. It is important to observe 
then in wbat sense and to what extent this ca¬ 
pable servant asked a sign. He did not ask for a 
bare, intrinsically insignificant sign. The sign 
he chose wa» significant, because dependent on 
the character of the girl herself ; a sign which 
must reveal her good-heartedness and readiness 
to oblige and courteous activity in the enter¬ 
tainment of strangers—in fact, the outstanding 
Eastern virtue. He would make no approach 
to any one whose appearance repelled him ; and 
when satisfied in this particular, he would test 
her disposition. And of course it was these 
qualities of Rebekah W’hich afterward caused 
Isaac to feel that this was the wife God had de¬ 
signed for him. Dads. 

A wife is to be found for the heir of promise. 
This was a special concern of God, and so the 
single-hearted follower of Abraham makes it. 
He takes upon himself the choice of a maiden 
among those that come to draw, to whom he 
will make the request of a particular act of kind¬ 
ness to a stranger, and he prays God that the 
intended bride may be known by a ready com¬ 
pliance with his request. The three qualifica- 
tions, then, in the mind of the venerable domes¬ 
tic for a bride for his master’s son, are a pleas¬ 
ing exterior, a kindly disposition, and the ap¬ 
proval of God. M. 


15« It came to pass h>fore he had done speaking. 
In the subsequent recitiil (v. 45), Eiiezer says, 

” Before I had done speaking in mine heart," 
from which it appears that this was a mtnial in¬ 
stead of a verhal prayer ; and in reference to the 
speedy answer with which it met, we may cite 
the very apposite remark of Bochart, that “ so 
forward is God to bestow his benefits upon us, 
that they do not so much follou) our prayers, as 
prevent and go 5^/ore them.” Is. 65 :24, “And 
it shall come to jiass, that before they call, I 
w'ill answer ; and while they are yet speaking, I 
will hear.’" Bush. 

£5-21. The answ’er is immediate and direct. 
He had not yet done speaking, w’hen the answer 
came. A damsel very fair to look upon, satisfy¬ 
ing the taste of the old man, appears. He there¬ 
upon prefers his request, W’ith which she 
promiitly complies. The old man w'aits in 
wonder and silence to see if the Lord’s approval 
will follow. M. 

It w’as Rebekah w’hose ripe beauty in its early 
springtime caught first the stranger’s eye, as 
she approached with the free step of a chief’s 
daughter, bearing her jiiteher gracefully poised, 
after the Syrian fashion, on her shoulder. It 
was Rebekah whose impulsive and decisive 
temper, more generous in her youth than when 
after years had developed its vein of craftiness, 
moved her to fulfil the appointed sign. With 
sprightly pleasure, making her fair face glow 
in the evening light, she hastened to empty her 
pitcher into the stone trough or gutter for the 
cattle which stood by the mouth of the well, 
then ran down the steps for more—glad to find 
in kindly activity something to vary the mo¬ 
notony of her wonted evening task. The charac¬ 
ter of this beautiful w'onian, w’ho was about to 
enter the chosen circle and carry her contribu¬ 
tion to the future race of Israel, was not of the 
same high type as Abraham, or even as Sarah. 
Much of Sarah’s proud spirit w’as hers, indeed, 
with a similar tendency to give w’ay to passing 
impulses. She was a woman of paitialities, of 
likes and dislikes, to which she knew how to 
give energetic play. She shared the quick wit 
and fertility of resource which characterized 
both her brother Laban and her niece Rachel ; 
but she gave no indication of that deeper sense 
of spiritual truth which had been the distinc¬ 
tion of the Abrahamic branch of the family. 
Over the far less decided nature of her future 
husband she was destined to exert an influence 
only too great. Her character she transmitted 
in equal proportions to her twin sons. Esau 
shared his mother’s restless energy and decision. 
Her favorite Jacob inherited her love of schem- 





SECTION 52.—GENESIS 22 : 20-24; 24 : 1-67. 


411 


ing. Such was the woman on whom the stew¬ 
ard gazed with surprise, while she steadily went 
on with her self-imposed labor, till all his ten 
camels had slaked their thirst. The token he 
asked had been so singularly fulfilled, that he 
unpacked his presents before it occurred to 
him to inquire whether the maiden came of the 
desired lineage. When he knew that, he hesi¬ 
tated no longer, but decked Rebecca with rich 
trinkets, dear in all ages to Eastern maidens. 
It was her turn now to be astonished ; espe¬ 
cially when she gathered whose servant he was, 
and from his fervent thanksgiving, perhajis, 
divined with a woman’s quickness what his 
errand might prove to be. With characteristic 
impetuosity, she ran with the news to her 
mother. All that followed was natural enough. 
Dykes. 

21. Tiie man looked §tedfa§tly on 

her. The concurrence of providences and 
their minute circumstances, for the furtherance 
of our success in any business, ought to be 
particularly observed with w'onder and thank¬ 
fulness, to the glory of God. We have been 
wanting to ourselves, both in duty and in com¬ 
fort, by neglecting to observe Providence. H. 

26. When the answers of Rebekah showed 
him that Jehovah had actually led him straight 
“ to the house of his master’s brethren,” the 
man, fairly overcome by his feelings, “ bowed 
down his head, and worshipped Jehovah.” 

A, E.- 27. Blc§!^cci be the Lord Ciod 

of my master Abrabam. He had prayed 
for good speed (v. 12), and now that he had sped 
well he gives thanks. What we win by prayer 
we must wear with praise ; for mercies, in an¬ 
swer to prayer, lay us under particular obliga¬ 
tions. H.-It would be difficult to point out 

a more striking instance of one who “ acknowl¬ 
edged God in all his ways.” He neither takes 
any step without prayer, nor receives any favor 
without praise. Bush. 

33. The servant of Abraham is quite like his 
master in his dignified bearing and earnestness 
of purpose. Before accepting hospitality at the 
hands of Bethuel and Laban, he will have an an¬ 
swer to the commission on which he has been 
sent, nor can persuasions or entreaty prevail on 
him to prolong his stay, even over the following 

day. A. E.-We ought never to let a good 

resolution go to sleep ; nor postpone till to¬ 
morrow what we can do to-day. Good in re¬ 
spect of earthly things, such decision is all im¬ 
portant in matters that concern either our own 
or others’ souls. Let men make Eliezer their 
pattern. He stands by Laban’s table loaded 
with tempting viands, as firm in purpose and 


prompt in action as if the success of his mission 
was suspended on his own indomitable energy ; 
while, as if nothing whatever depended on him¬ 
self, but all on God, he raises his eyes to 
heaven, crying, “ Oh, Lord God of my master 
Abraham, give me good speed this day !” And 
God did it. He touched the maiden’s heart ; 
to her brother s question, ” Wilt thou go with 
this man?” this her frank and ready answer, 
“ I will go.” The steward’s prayer was an¬ 
swered ; and so also will be ours, whatever we 
seek, be it mercy to pardon, or grace to help, if 
we seek under the pressure of these weighty 
words, ” Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do 
it with thy might ; for there is no work, nor 
knowledge, nor wisdom, nor device, in the 
grave, whither thou goest.” Guthrie. 

50. Laban and Betlint'l. These seem 
both to be brothers, of whom Laban w-as the eld¬ 
est and chief ; for the opinion of Josephus ap¬ 
pears to be correct, that Bethuel the father had 
been some time dead (see v. 28). A. C. 

53. The gifts to Rebekah were her dower ; 
those to her kindred were a sort of purchase- 
money, according to the marriage customs of 
the times. Her brother Laban, both here and 
in later transactions with Jacob, evidently had 
an eye to his own advantage. In fixing the time 
of parting, there is a quite natural contrast of 
brotherly interest and girlish eagerness. The 
confidence of Rebekah appears beautiful in its 
simplicity : but it was warranted by all that she 
had heard of her unknown suitor ; and custom 
led her to acquiesce in the judgment and desire 
of her natural protectors. Her retinue of 
maidens were the guard of her modesty upon 
the way, and the promise of society in her 
future home. J. P. T. 

58. 1 will go. Her motives were, no 
doubt, mixed. The worldly position offered to 
her was good, and there was an attractive spice 
of romance about the whole affair which would 
have its charm. She may also be credited with 
some apprehension of the great future of Isaac’s 
family. In after life she certainly showed a 
very keen sense of the value of the blessings 
peculiar to that household. And, probably 
above all, she had an irresistible feeling that 
this was her destiny. She saw the hand of God 
in her selection, and with a more or less con¬ 
scious faith in God she passed to her new life. 
Dods. 

59. And tier iiiir§e. The name of this 
nurse was Deborah. We hear no more of her 
till we are told of her death. She appears to 
have survived her mistress, and to have died in 
the family of Jacob, much lamented. Bush. 







412 


REBEKAU SOUGHT xiND BROUGHT TO ISxixiC. 


-As Rebekah had her nurse to accompany 

her, so, at this day, the Aya (the nurse) who has 
from infancy brulight uji the bride, goes with 
her to the new scene. She is her adviser, her 
assistant, and friend ; and to her will she tell 
all her hopes and all her fears, Roberts. 

01. When his servant marched forth to bring 
home Isaac’s bride, a stately caravan of ten 
laden camels, with their drivers, bespoke the 
dignity of the shepherd-king The camels went 
forth burdened with c istly bridal gifts. They 
came home again laden with more costly spoil 
—for they bore back the bride and her attend¬ 
ant maidens. Dykes. 

6*2. He dwelt In tiie Band of the 

Soiitli. Probably at Beersheba, Abraham's 
later dwelling-places had been Hebron and 
Beersheba. After the sacrifice of Isaac, we 
find him dwelling at Beersheba (22 :19), until 
we hear of the death of Sarah at Hebron. Very 
probably Abraham returned after this to Beer¬ 
sheba. And so Isaac, whether living with his 
father, or pitching his tent and feeding his 
flocks near him, is here represented as dwelling 
in the South country. In ch. 25 :11 we find 
that, after Abraham’s death, Isaac took up his 
residence at Lahairoi [in the region of Beer¬ 
sheba], to which we find that he had been on 
a visit, when Rebekah arrived, where perhaps 
he had already been pasturing his flocks and 
herds. E. H. B. 

In this passage Isaac is introduced for 
the first time, so as to make the reader in part 
acquainted with him. There is a most observ¬ 
able dramatic variety between him and Abra¬ 
ham—the father evidently a larger man in 
every respect, and of higher grade, so as to 
qualify him for the more arduous fortunes 
which he was called to encounter. Yet to Isaac 
belonged the mild majesty of private life, and 
we figure his to be more a life of peaceful and 
domestic piety. It was probably in the spirit 
of religion that he went out to meditate at the 
eventide—a fine picture this for the imagina¬ 
tion to dwell upon—a good and holy man of old 
walking forth among the beauties of nature, 
and engaged in the contemplation of Nature’s 

God. T. C.-Twilight, “ nature’s vesper- 

bell,” or the light shaded at evening by the 
hills of Palestine, seems to have called Isaac 
to a familiar occupation. This long-continued 
mourning for his mother, and his lonely medi¬ 
tation in the fields, are both in harmony with 
what we know of his character, and of his ex¬ 
perience on Mount Moriah. Retiring and con¬ 
templative, willing to conciliate by concession 
rather than to assert and maintain his rights 


against opposition, glad to yield his own affairs 
to the strong guidance of some other hand, ten¬ 
der and deep in his affections, to him this lonely 
meditation seems singularly appropriate. Dods. 

64-67. Whether veiled before or not, she 
now covered herself—her whole person—with 
the ample enveloping veil with which brides 
are still conducted to the bridegroom. Rosen- 
muller, in illustration of this passage, quotes 
an ancient father (Tertullian), who, with an ex¬ 
press reference to the same text, observes, as a 
custom still existing in his time, that the 
heathen brides were also conducted to their 
husbands covered with a veil. It is still all but 
universal in the East, and it wull be observed 
that it is used not only by the females whose 
faces are always concealed, both before and after 
marriage, but by those who display part or the 
whole of their faces on all ordinary occasions. 
It is, in fact, the indispensable costume for the 

occasion. Pictorial Bible. -Eastern etiquette 

required that Rebekah should dismount from 
her camel to meet one of the other sex. Still 
more was it becoming to veil herself in the 
presence of her destined bridegroom. In such 
a casual, informal fashion did these two meet, 
whom by His wise and singular providence God 
was bringing together. Nevertheless, they 
were made for one another ; and the first frank 
welcome with which cousin greeted cousin, 
ripened into a closer and dearer love, that was 
to fill all their long and placid lives. Dykes. 
— Isaac hails at once Rebekah as his wife. 
“ Very fair,” of bright and keen intelligence, 
alert, and energetic, she was the very kind of 
bride he needed ; and the simple expression 
that ” he loved her, and was comforted after 
his mother’s death,” tells what an affectionate 
husband she found in him. W. H. 

We have here a description of the primeval 
marriage. It is a simple taking of a woman for 
a wife before all witnesses, and with suitable 
feelings and expression of reverence toward 
God, and of desire for his blessing. It is a 
pure and holy relation, reaching back into the 
realms of innocence, and fit to be the emblem 
of the humble, confiding, affectionate union 

between the Lord and his people. M.-What 

an insight into the primitive age ! but what a 
cradle also for the earliest religious history ! It 
is like one of those ancient Patriarchal wells so 
often mentioned in the history. Its waters are 
still fresh and clear in its'deep recess. It has 
outlasted all other changes. It ministers in¬ 
deed only to human affections and feelings, but 
it is precisely to those feelings which are as 
lasting as the human heart itself, and which 








SECTION 53.—GENESIS 25 : 1-34. 


413 


therefore give and receive from the record which 
so responds to them, a testimony which will 
never pass away. A. P. S. 

In the suitableness of Rebekah to a man of 
Isaac’s nature, you see the suitableness of all 
such gifts of God as are really waited for at His 
hand. God may keep you longer waiting than 
the world does, but He gives you never the 
wrong thing. Isaac had no idea of Rebekah’s 
character ; he could only yield himself to God’s 
knowledge of what he needed ; and so there 
came to him, from a country he had never seen, 
a helpmeet singularly adapted to bis own char¬ 
acter. One cannot read of her lively, bustling, 
almost forward, but obliging and generous con¬ 
duct at the well, nor of her prompt, impulsive 
departure to an unknown land, without seeing, 
as no doubt Eliezer very quickly saw, that this 
was exactly the woman for Isaac. In this 
eager, ardent, active, enterprising spirit, bis 
own retiring and contemplative, if not sombre 
disposition found its appropriate relief and 
stimulus. I) xls. 

His father’s goodness he retained, though not 
his greatness. Slow and infirm in action, shun¬ 
ning strife with his whole heart, he appeared to 
best advantage when called to suffer wrong. It 
is significant of the same disposition, that his 
spiritual life .should have reposed on religious 
awe. The God of Abraham was also known as 
“ the Fear of Isaac.” At the same time there 
was in him, as often in such men, a clinging to 
stronger natures, especially of the other sex ; 
with much tenderness, therefore, and inward¬ 
ness in the domestic affections, as well as a vein 
of quiet sentiment, such as one hardly expects 


to find in the earlier or ruder ages of society. 
For this reason, probably, Isaac strikes us as a 
more modern men than any other of the Hebrew 
fathers. His physique can scarcely have been 
robust, although be lingered to a greater age 
than either his father or his son. Fifty years 
before bis death, he is represented as already a 
blind, bedridden invalid, in daily apprehension 
of his end. And though he lived to see his 
sons old men, and his grandson Joseph sold 
into Egypt, yet during the whole of that last 
half century of his life, he disappears entirely 
from the family annals. Dykes. 


God would have irs recognize in our lives 
what He shows us in this chapter, that He has 
made provision for our wants, and that if we 
wait upon Him He will bring us into the enjoy¬ 
ment of all we really need. So that if we are to 
make any advance in appropriating to ourselves 
God’s salvation, it can only be by submitting 
ourselves implicitly to His providence, and tak¬ 
ing care that in the commonest and most secu¬ 
lar actions of our lives we are having respect 
to His will with us, and that in those actions in 
which our own feelings and desires seem suffi¬ 
cient to guide us, we are having regard to His 
controlling wisdom and goodnfss We are to 
find room for God everywhere in our lives, not 
feeling embarrassed by the thought of Hig 
claims even in our least constrained hours, but 
subordinating to His highest and holiest ends 
everything that our life contains, and acknowl¬ 
edging as His gift what may seem to be our owm 
most proper conquest or earning. Dols. 


Section 53. 

KETURAH’S SONS. BIRTH OF ESAU AND JACOB. BIRTHRIGHT DESPISED. DEATH 
OF ABRAHAM. ISHMAEL’S DEATH. CHARACTER OF ABRAHAM. 

Genesis 25 ; 1-34, 

1 And Abraham took another wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bare him Zimran, 

2 and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And Jokshan begat Sheba, 

3 and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim. And the 

4 sons of Midian ; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. AJl these w'ere 

5 the children of Keturah. And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. But unto the sons 

6 of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts ; and he sent them away from 
Isaac his son, while he j^et lived, eastward, unto the east country. 

19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’.s son : Abraham begat Isaac : and Isaac 

20 was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Paddan- 







414 


KETURAH AND HER SONS. 


21 aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian, to be his wife. And Isaac intreated the Lord for his 
wife, because she was barren : and the Lord was intreated of him, and Uebekah his wife con- 

22 ceived. And the children struggled together within her ; and she said, If it be so, wherefore 

23 do 1 live ? And she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said unto her, Two nations 
are in thy womb,—And two peoples shall be separated even from thy bowels :—And the one 

24 people shall be stronger than the other people ;—And the elder shall serve the younger.—And 

25 when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. And the 

26 first came forth red, all over like an hairy garment ; and they called his name Esau. And 
after that came forth his brother, and his hand had hold on Esau’s heel ; and his name was 

27 called Jacob ; and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them. And the boys grew : 
and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field ; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in 

28 tents. Now Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison ; and liebekah loved Jacob. 

29 And Jacob sod pottage : and Esau came in from the field, and he was faint; and Esau said to 

30 Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red poUage; for I am faint ; therefore was his 

31 name called Edom. And Jacob said. Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, 

32 I am at the point to die : and what profit shall the birthright do to me? And Jacob said, 

33 Swear to me this day ; and he sware unto him ; and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. And 

34 Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils ; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and 
went his way ; so Esau despised his birthright. 

7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived, an hundred threescore 

8 and fifteen years. ^And Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, 

9 and full of years ; and was gathered to his people. And Isaac and Ishruael his sons buried 
him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is 

10 before Mamre ; the field which Abraham purchased of the children of Heth ; there was Abra- 

11 ham buried, and Sarah his wife. And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God 
blessed Isaac his son ; and Isaac dwelt by Beer-lahai-roi. 

12 Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s 

13 handmaid, bare unto Abraham : and these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their 

14 names, according to their generations : the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth ; and Kedar, and 

15 Adbeel, and Mibsam, and Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa Hadad, and Tema, Jetur, Na- 

16 phish, and Kedemah : these are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their vil- 

17 lages, and by their encampments ; twelve princes according to their nations. And these are 
the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years : and he gave up the 

18 ghost and died ; and was gathered unto his people. And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur 
that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria : he abode in the presence of all his brethren. 


Keturah and her Sons (vs. 1-6). 

1-6, We read that Abraham “ took another 
wife,” Keturah, and that she bore him six sons, 
but we are not sure of the time when this oc¬ 
curred. At any rate, the history of these sons 
is in nowise mixed up with that of the prom¬ 
ised seed. A. E.-According to the laws of 

Hebrew composition, this event may have taken 
place before that recorded in the close of the 
previous chapter. Of this law we have several 
examples in this very chapter. And there is 
nothing contrary to the customs of that period 
in adding wife to wife. We cannot say that 
Abraham was hindered from taking Keturah in 
the lifetime of Sarah by any moral feeling which 
would not also have hindered him from taking 
Hagar. It has been also noticed that Keturah 
i.s called a concubine (1 Chron. 1 :32), which is 
thought to imply that the proper wife was still 
living. M. 


This whole passage is probably placed out of 
its chronological order so as not to break in 
upon the main narrative before. And the very 
statement that Abraham settled the sons of his 
secondary wives by deed of gift during his life 
indicates that this marriage had occurred long 
before. It may seem strange that Abraham, the 
father of the faithful, should thus be found set¬ 
ting aside the original law of marriage—the 
union of twain—and only between twain—as one 
flesh, established at creation, re-established by 
the example of Noah and his sons, and after¬ 
ward so expressly declared to be the law of Gorl 
by our Saviour and his apostles. We niTist bejjr 
in mind, however, that we are unable now to 
fully comprehend the reasons for these excep¬ 
tionable cases in the patriarchal age. S. B. 

The origin or nationality of Keturah is un- 
known. Unlike his former marriages, this con¬ 
nection lay entirely outside the history of reve¬ 
lation, and for that reason is dismissed with the 




SECTION 68.-OENESIS 25 : 1-84. 


4J5 


briefest possible notice. In all likelihood she 
was slave-born, in which case she would become 
a wife of the second rank, like Hagar. A mar¬ 
riage of this class constituted a perfectly legal 
aud valid iinion. It formed a permanent con¬ 
jugal relationship, to the duties of which both 
parties were bound to be faithful, and which 
could only bo dissolved by divorce or death. 
The i^rincipal points in which it differed from 
marriage of the first degree were two : it con¬ 
ferred upon the wife a lower social status, and 
the issue of it, though legitimate, possessed no 
legal claim upon the inheritance. The only 
mode, therefore, in which provision could be 
made for the children of secondary marriages, 
was for the parent to endow them during his 
own lifetime with a portion of his property. 
This is accordingly what Abraham did with his 
second family. Since he survived Sarah his 
wife no fewer than forty years, there was time 
enough for the six boys of Keturah to grow up 
to manhood, and receive before his death flocks 
and herds sufficient to set them up on their own 
account. In order to avoid all risk of future 
unpleasantness, and to leave the original settle¬ 
ment in Isaac's unencumbered occupation, 
Abraham prudently sent these young sons into 
unoccupied territory to the eastward of his own 
pasture-lands. There they became the founders 
of Arab tribes, which in subsequent ages ex¬ 
tended from the Elanitic gulf of the Ked Sea 
through Arabia Felix into the plateau which 
stretches on the further side of Moab. Thus, 
through the numerous offshoots of the Keturah 
line, as well as through Hagar’s son, there was 
abundantly fulfilled that portion of the covenant 
promise which predicted for the patriarch a 
multitudinous and enduring posterity ; “ Thy 
name shall be Abraham : for a father of many 
nations have I made thee.” Dykes. 

The marriage of Abraham to Keturah probably 
took place in the lifetime of Sarah ; and of this 
union were born six sons —Zimram, Jokshan, 
Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah—all of 
whom probably became heads of separate tribes. 
Of these tribes, excepting the Midianites, we 
hardly know anything. The whole of them 
seem to have been portioned by Abraham, and 
sent forth in the lifetime of their father to seek 
their fortunes in “ the east country”—a phrase 
variously understood as signifying the Arabian 
desert east of Palestine, or the whole territory 
of Arabia. But in regard to the Midianites our 
information is comparatively complete. The 
Midianites occupied a prominent position in 
the history of Moses, who, when he fled from 
Egypt, took up his residence in their territories 


and married the daughter of one of their chiefs ; 
in the history of the conquest of the trans Jor- 
danic provinces (Num. 22 :4 ; 25 :17 ; 31 :2) ; 
and in the history of the Judges, but especially 
of Gideon (Jud. 6, 7, 8), by whom their power, 
as one of the most active and bitter of the early 
enemies of Israel, was finally broken. Israel, it 
may be noted, suffered not more from their 
open acts of hostility than from their too suc¬ 
cessful attempts (Numb. 25 :18) to lead them 
astray from the injunctions of the law of Moses, 
in which direction it is supposed their influence 
was the more powerful and effectual in conse¬ 
quence of the blood relationship between the 
two peoples, through their common descent 

from Abraham. Lee. -Allusion is probably 

made to these descendants of Abraham under 
the title of ” children of the East ” (Judg. 6:3); 
and also Job 1 :3, where Job himself, who may 
have descended from this stock, is called “ the 
greatest of the people of the East.” Bush. 

Birth and Boyhood of Esau and Jacob (vs. 

19-28). 

If), 20. Abraham seems to have spent the 
latter years of his life in peaceful retirement, 
having settled along the southern borders of 
Palestine. There, by the well Lahairoi, we 
also find Isaac. This quiet, solitary district, far 
from the busy haunts of the Canaanites, is 
adapted to his retiring disposition. As formerlj’’ 
Abraham, so is Isaac now called upon to hope 
and to wait. For twenty years his wife is barren, 
and during this lengthened period he has suffi¬ 
cient occasion to exercise his faith in the prom¬ 
ise. K. 

If). The well-known formula, “ These are the 
generations,” introduces a new portion of the 
history, which now resumes the main line of 
the patriarchal descent. The repetition of the 
fact of Isaac’s birth is- in the manner of these 
resumptions. Of a like kind is the recapitula¬ 
tion in ver. 20 of Isaac’s marriage. It would 
seem as if these portions were intended to be 
used separatelj’’, and each to carry completeness 
in itself. Kalisch remarks, “ These reiterations, 
natural in themselves, far from causing diffi¬ 
culty, are in harmony not only with the style of 
the Bible, but of ancient historiography in gen¬ 
eral, and are in this instance not without a posi¬ 
tive gain, for they add the valuable chronologi¬ 
cal fact, that Isaac was 40 years old when he 
married Rebekah, a statement of decided im¬ 
portance for the exact understanding of several 
circumstances connected with Isaac’s hisbtry.” 

The ninth document here begins with the 




410 


BIRTH AND BOYHOOD OF ESAU AND JACOB. 


usual phrase, and continues to the end of the 
thirty-fifth chapter. It contains the history of 
the generations of Isaac ; that is, of his son 
Jacob. Isaac himself makes little figure in the 
sacred history. Born when his mother was 
ninety, and his father a hundred years of age, 
he is of a sedate, contemplative, and yielding 
disposition. Consenting to be laid on the altar 
as a sacrifice to God, he had the stamp of sub¬ 
mission early and deeply impressed on his soul. 
His life corresponds with these antecedents. 
Hence, in the spiritual aspect of his character 
he was the man of patience, of acquiescence, of 
susceptibility, of obedience. His qualities were 
those of the son, as Abraham’s were those of 
the father. He carried out, but did not initiate ; 
he followed, but did not lead ; he continued, 
but did not commence. Accordingly, the docile 
and patient side of the saintly character is pre¬ 
sented to our view, M. 

Though he had been now united to Kebekah 
for twenty years, yet the child of promise con¬ 
tinues to be denied. In this manner God had 
before tried his father Abraham ; and if he be 
heir to his blessings, he must expect to inherit 
a portion of his trials. Yet we do not find that 
in this emergency he had recourse like Abra¬ 
ham in similar circumstances, to any crooked 
policy, to any doubtful expedient. He looks 
for relief to that source only where he was ac¬ 
customed to seek and to find the cure or the 
solace of all his ills, “ He entreated the Lord 
for his wife ’ or rather as the Hebrew exjjresses 
it, hpfore his wife: i.e. in her presence ; united 

with her in joint supplication. Bush. -For 

twenty years the union of Isaac and Bebekah 
had remained unblessed with children, to indi¬ 
cate that here also the heir to the promises 
must be a gift from God granted to expectant 
faith. At last Jehovah listened to Isaac’s “ en¬ 
treaty,” “for his wife;” or rather, literally, 
“ over against his wife,” for, as Luther strik¬ 
ingly remarks : “ When I pray for any one, I 
place him right in view of my heart, and neither 
see nor think of anything else, but look at him 
alone with my soul and this is true of all in¬ 
tercessory prayer. A. £. 

The prayer with which Isaac “ intreated ” 
the Lord for his wife was a prayer of deeper in¬ 
tensity than he could have uttered had he merely 
remembered the story that had been told him of 
his own birth. God must be recognized again 
and again and throughout as the Giver of life to 
the promised line. We are all apt to suppose 
that when once we have got a thing in train and 
working we can get on without God. How often 
do v/e pray for the bestowal of a blessing, and 


forget to jjray for its continuance ? How often 
do we count it enough that God has conferred 
some gift, and, not inviting Him to continue 
His agency, but trusting to ourselves, we mar 
His gift in the use ? On His own means you 
must reinvite His blessing, for wdthout the 
continuance of His aid you will make nothing 
of the most beautiful and appropriate helps He 
has given you. Dods. 

23, It has been much discussed where or to 
whom Kebekah could go to inquire of Jehovah. 
In our ignorance of so much which regards 
patriarchal religion, it is out of the question to 
speak dogmatically. But with a prophet like 
Abraham still at the head of her family, there 
seems little need to imagine other channels of 
intercourse with the Deity. Dykes. 

23. Two nations are in tliy womb. 
We have ample proof that these prophecies were 
not meant so much of single 'persons, as of whole 
nations descended from them ; for what W'as 
predicted concerning Esau and Jacob was not 
verified in themselves, but in their posterity. The 
Edomites were the offspring of Esau, as the 
Israelites were of Jacob. And who but the author 
and giver of life could foresee that two children 
in the womb would multiply into two nations ? 
Jacob had twelve sons, and their descendants were 
fill united and incorporated into one nation ; 
and what an overruling providence was it that 
two nations should arise from the two sons only 
of Isaac? And that they should be two such 
different nations. The Edomiles and Israelites 
have been from the beginning two such different 
people in their manners, customs and religion, as 
to be at perpetual variance among themselves. 
The children struggled together in the womb, which 
was an omen of their future disagreement : and 
when they grew up to manhood, they manifested 
very different inclinations. Esau was a cun¬ 
ning hunter, and delighted in the sports of the 
field : Jacob was a plain man dtcel'hig in tents — 
minding his sheep and his cattle (ver, 27). The 
religion of the Jews is well known ; but what¬ 
ever the Edomites were at first, in process of 
time they became idolaters. When Amaziah 
king of Judah overthrew them, he brought their 
gods and set them up to be his gods. The 
king of Edom having refused a passage to the 
Israelites through his territories on their return 
from Egypt, the history of the Edomites after¬ 
ward is little more than the history of their 
M^ars with the Jews. 

The one people i^halS be siroiiger 
Ilian fitc other people. For sometime 
the family of Esau was the more powerful of 
the two ; there having been duhs and lings in 





SECTION 53.—GENESIS 23 : 1-34. 


417 


Edom, before there was any king in Israel (Gen. 
36 :31), but David and his captains made an 
entire conquest of the Edomiles, slew several 
thousands of them (1 Kings 11 ; 16 ; 1 Chron. 
18 :12), and compelled the rest to become tribu¬ 
taries, and planted garrisons among Ihem to se¬ 
cure their obedience (2 Sam. 8 : 14). In this 
state of strvilude, they continued about one hun¬ 
dred and fifty j^ears, without a king of their 
own ; being governed by deputitrs or viceroys 
appointed by the kings of Judah, but in the 
days of Jehoram they levclted, recovered their 
liberties and set up a king of their own (1 Kings 
22 : 47). Afterward Amaziali king of Judah 
gave them a total overthrow in the valley of salt 
(2 Kings 14 :7). And Azariali took Elalk a 
commodious harbor on the Ked Sea from them 
(2 Kings 14 :22). Judas Maccabeus also at¬ 
tacked and defeated them with the loss of more 
than tijoenfy Ikons itul at two different times, and 
took their chief city ILhron {1 Maec. 5:2; 2 
Macc. 10). At last, Hyrcanus his nephew took 
other cities from them, and reduced them to the 
necessity of leaving their country or embracing 
the Jewish religion : on which they submitted 
to be circumcised and became proselytes to the 
Jewish religion, and were ever after incorpo¬ 
rated into the Jewish church and nation. Bp. 
Newton. 

Esau sells his Bikthright (vs. 29-34). 

29, 30, At Beersheba Jacob was cooking 
for himself a very savory mess of red lentils. 
Just as it is ready, Esau returns from a long day’s 
unsuccessful hunting, faint with fatigue, fam¬ 
ishing with hunger. We are told of the Arab 
by those who know him w'ell that his hunger is 
madness. This madness is now upon E:-au. 
As he looks at the pottage and scents its excit¬ 
ing fragrance, he exclaims, “ Feed me, I pray 
thee, with that red—that red He knows not 

what to call it. His wily brother, perceiving 
how passionately impatient he is, at once seizes 
the opportunity, and guarding the food so cov¬ 
eted, says to him, “ Sell me this day thy birth¬ 
right.” He knew that this birthright belonged 
to his brother as the firstborn. Besides a 
double portion of the household estate, and 
headship over the family and tribe, in the case 
of Abraham and his descendants this birthright 
carried with it the entail of the higher spiritual 
blessings of the covenant. W. H. 

39. Which signifies red. Whence 

the city which he built and the country which 
his posterity inhabited were called bj’^ the same 
name ; and by the Greeks, Idumcea: bordering 
27 


toward the south on Judea, Arabia, and Eg^ jit. 
Bp. Patrick. 

39. Biie tiiis day fBiy 

The birthright, or right of piimogeniture, had 
many privileges annexed to it. The firstborn 
was consecrated to the Lord (Exod 22 :29) ; 
had a double portion of the estutt; allotted him 
(Deut. 21 : 17) ; had a dignity and authority 
over his brethren (Gen. 49 :3; ; succeeded in 
the government of the family or kingdom (2 
Chron. 21 :3) ; and, as some with good leason 
imagine, succeeded to the priesthood or chief 
government in matters ecclesiastical. He had a 
right to challenge the particular blessing of his' 
dying parent ; he had the covenant which God 
made with Abraham, ihat from his loins Christ 
should come, consigned to him : and what is 
more, these prerogatives were not confined to 
his person only but descended to his latest pos¬ 
terity, in case they comported themselves so as 
to deserve them. Stackhouse. 

3x^. Esau came from the hunting-field worn 
and hungry ; the only means of procuring the 
tempting mess of his brother’s pottage was the 
sacrifice of his father's blessing, which in those 
ages carried with it a substantial advantage ; 
but that birthright could be enjoyed only after 
years —the pottage was present, near and certain ; 
therefore he sacrificed a future and higher bless¬ 
ing for a present and lower pleasure. For this 
reason Esau is the Bible type of worldliness : 
he is called in Scripture a profane, that is, not 
a distinctly vicious, but a secular or worldly 
person - an overgrown child ; impetuous, incon¬ 
sistent, not without gleams of generosity and 
kindliness, but ever accustomed to immediate 
gratification. In this w'orldliness, moreover, is 
to be remarked the gamester’s desperate play. 
There is a gambling spirit in huiiian nature.' 
Esau distinctly expresses this : “ Behold I am 
at the point to die, and what shall my birth¬ 
right profit me ?” lie might never live to enjoy 
his birthright ; but the pottage was before him, 

jiresent, certain, (here. F. W. K.-Just thi* 

trait, the exaggeration of the value of a low and 
present impulse and the belittling of the high 
and distant, marks the most fatal defect of hu¬ 
man nature. Every sinful, mean, and base act 
ever committed comes of just this, that the 
present appetite or wish seems a gi eat matter. 
We are ready to die without it, while God and 
holiness, honor, the future, which are the birth¬ 
right of every man as son of God, seem an un¬ 
interesting or distant good. Mercer. -The 

man who has fallen under the power of appetite 
must have his appetite satisfied. No consider¬ 
ation of consequences can be listened to or 






US 


ESAU SELLS IlIS BIRTURIGIir. 


thought of ; the man is helpless in the hands of 
his appetite—it rules and drives him on, and 
he IS utterly without self control ; nothing but 
physical compulsion can restrain him, Dods. 

35. Swear to me lliis day. Moses, 
who records this conduct of Jacob, does not 
commend him for it. God, indeed, before he 
was born designed and promised this privilege 
to him : but then he should have waited till the 
I^ivine Wisdom had found out the means of ex 
eputing his promise in his own way, as David 
did till God gave him possession of Saul’s king¬ 
dom ; and not have anticipated God, and 
snatched it by an irregular act of his own. In 
the whole affair Jacob acted with a subtilty not 
at all becoming an honest man. He knew that 
delays Avere dangerous and that his brother’s 
consideration might possibly spoil his bargain ; 
and therefore he required haste both in the sale 
and in his oath ; and thereby incurred another 
sin by hurrying his brother into an oath by pre¬ 
cipitation, which neither he should have taken 
nor Jacob have advised him to take, without 
mature advice and deliberation. Esau, for this 
mess of pottage, yielding to the temptation of 
the moment, renounced, both for himself and 
his descendants, all the privileges of primogeni- 
fure, and the covenant which God made with 
Abraham, that from him the Messiah should de¬ 
scend. Slacichouse. -There was never any 

meat, except the forbidden fruit, so dear bought 
as this broth of Jacob ; in both the receiver and 
the eater is accursed : every true son of Israel 
will be content to purchase spiritual favors with 
earthly ; and that man hath in him too much 
of the blood of Esau, who will not rather die 
than forego his birthright. Bp. II. 

The character of Jacob is easily understood. 
It has frequently been remarked of him that he 
is thoroughly a Jew, that in him you find the 
good and bad features of the Jewish character 
veiy prominent and conspicuous. lie has that 
mingling of craft and endurance which has 
enabled his descendants to use for their own 
ends those who have wronged and persecuted 
them. Yet, while one recoils from this crafti¬ 
ness and management, one cannot but admire 
the quiet force of character, the indomitable 
tenacity, and, above all, the capacity for warm 
affection and lasting attachments, that he 
showed throughout. Dods. 

Jacob’s value of the birthright marked him as 
fit for it. This did not justify his fraud and in¬ 
justice in reaching the good ; but, in some de¬ 
gree at least, the light which led astray was light 
from heaven. And it was an age when there 
were but low ideas of justice in the earth, and 


when the chosen family, though somewhat en¬ 
lightened, yet shared in the general morals of 
the time. That you must always keej) in view, 
and not transfer to that rude period the Chris¬ 
tian feelings and ideas of to-day. Mtrcer. 

This unbrotherly, ungenerous, ignoble at¬ 
tempt to filch the birthright out of Esau's hands, 
is the one solitary incident recorded in the first 
seventy-seven years of Jacob’s life. He got no 
benefit by it. It did not alter his position for 
the better in the least. It was not upon Esau’s 
having voluntarily bartered away the birthright 
that his deprival of it by Isaac rested ; nor did 
Jacob himself ever venture to make that barter 
the basis of his claim. The fifty years or more 
that intervened between this and the next re¬ 
corded incident in Jacob’s history, do not seem 
to have much changed his character. W. H. 

We may supplj' in the background, from the 
intimation of his mother’s favoritism, that the 
promises attaching to the birthright, unheeded 
by the free-rover Esau, were thoroughly under 
stood and valued by liebekah and her son. That 
such a consideration has two sides to it, one 
looking toward good, the other toward evil, is 
an inconsistency found in history because it is 
found in man. Alf. 

There is in Esau’s conduct and after-experi¬ 
ence so much to stir serious thought, that one 
always feels as if much more ought to be made 
of it. It reflects so many features of our own 
conduct, and so clearly shows us what we are 
from daj^ to day liable to, that we would wish 
to take it with us through life as a peri^etual 
admonition. Who does not know of those mo¬ 
ments of weakness, when we are fagged with 
work, and with our physical energy our moral 
tone has become relaxed ? Who does not know 
how, in hours of reaction from keen and excit¬ 
ing engagements, sensual appetite asserts itself, 
and with what petulance we inwardly cry. We 
shall die if we do not get this or that jjaltry 
gratification ? We are, for the most part, incon¬ 
stant as Esau, full of good resolves to-day, and 
to-morrow throwing them to the winds -to-day 
proud of the arduousness of our calling, and 
girding ourselves to self-control and self-denial, 
to-morrow sinking back to softness and self-in¬ 
dulgence. Not once, as Esau, but again and 
again we barter peace of conscience and fellow¬ 
ship with God and the hope of holiness, for 
what is, in simple fact, no more than a bowl of 
jDottage. Even after recognizing our weakness 
and the lowness of our tastes, and after repent¬ 
ing with self-loathing and misery, some slight 
pleasure is enough to upset our steadfast mind, 
and make us as plastic as clay in the hand of 







SECTION 53.~GENESIS 25 : 1-34. 


419 


circumstances. It is with positive dismay one 
considers tlie weakness and blindness of our 
hour.s of appetite and passion ; how one goes i 
then like an ox to the slaughter, all unconscious 
of the pitfalls that betray and destroy men, and I 
how at any moment we ourselves may trulj’^ sell 
our birthright. Dods. 

Death and Buri.\l of Abraham (vs. 7-12). 

Dates and ages are carefully noted by the true 
student, who derives from them much interest- 
ing information. See how this a 2 :»plies here. 
Abraham survived Sarah thirty-eight years. 
Isaac was thirty-seven years old when his mother 
died ; and as he was forty years old when he 
married Rebekah, we learn that the camp of 
Abraham remained for three years without a 
mistress. Again, Isaac was sixty years of age 
before his sons Esau and Jacob were born. 
Thus, for more than twenty years, the heir of 
the promises remained childless ; and Abraham, 
but for his faith, must have been sorely tried by 
this second long protraction of the hope he 
most cherished. This is among the trials of his 
faith not recorded, and only discoverable by the 
comparison of dates. Again, by looking at his 
age when he died, and comparing it with the 
age of Isaac when his sons entered the world, 
we see that Abraham not only waited twenty 
years before his grandsons were born, but 
actually lived to see them fifteen years old ; so 
that Jacob and Esau might have had much 
intercourse with their venerable grandfather. 
Whether the elder of the two profited much by 
this advantage does not appear ; but it is prob^ 
able that Jacob owed much of his strong faith 
in the Lord’s providence to the example and 
instructions of the patriarch. Kit. 

7, TSiete are the of the years. 

There is a fitness in this mode of expression, 
which is not sufficiently regarded. Good men 
do not live by centuries, though many such have 
lived several hundred years ; nor do they count 
their lives even by years, but by days, living as 
if they were the creatures only of a day, having 
no more time that they can with any propriety 
call their own ; and living that day in reference 
to elernity. A. C. 

§. Ahraliam g^ave up the ghost and ; 
died. The English word “ghost” is supposed 
to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon “ gast,” an 
inmate, inhabitant, guest, and also spirit; but in 
popular use it is now restricted to the latter 
meaning. But the primitive idea seems to be 
that of dismissing the soid or spirit as the guest of 
(he body. It is almost always rendered in our 
translation by‘* e:z^ire,” but the present veriiion. 


“giving up the ghost,” i e. yielding up the 

spirit, is liable to no serious objection.-la 

agODd old age. Hebrew, in a good hoary 
age; the idea of grey-headed age being prominent 
I in the original term. This was according to 
promise. Upward of four-score .^ears before 
this, the Lord addressed Abraham in vision 
(Gen. 15 : 15), saying, “ Thou shalt go to thy 
fathers in peace ; thou shalt be buried in a good 
otd age.” In everything, even in death, the 
promises were fulfilled to Abraham. Thus died 
this venerable patriarch, the father of the faith¬ 
ful, after having sojourned as a stranger and a 
pilgrim in the land of promise one hundred 
years. From a comparison of dates, it appears 
that he survived Shem twenty-five years ; his 
father Terah, one hundred years ; and his wife 
Sarah, thirty-eight years ; that he lived after 
Isaac’s marriage, thirty-five years.* It was a 
life checkered with uncommon trials, and 
marked with blessings no less extraordinary ; a 
life distinguished by the most signal virtuefs, 
yet not exempted from frailties and infirmities. 
His chiefest haiipiness consisted not in his 
being favored with a remarkable degree of 
worldly prosperity, and an unusual term of 
years to enjoy it, but in the high distinction of 
being called “ the friend of God,” and made 
the depositary of a promise in which the whole 
world was to be blessed. Bash. 

Abraham’s case shows that God may have ful¬ 
filled a promise when he has apparently broken 
it ; and that God’s promises are not to be meas¬ 
ured by the narrowness and poverty of the let¬ 
ter. God promised Abraham and his seed a 
place or land called Canaan, and yet Abraham 
and his seed never held the land ; Abraham 
“ sojourned in the laiid of promise as in a 
strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with 
Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the 
same promise he had “ none inheritance in 
it, no, not so much as to set his foot on ; yet 
God promised that he would give it to him for a 
possession, and to his seed after him, when as 
yet he had no child ’’ (Acts 7 : 5). Now, this 
brings us, so to speak, into close quarters with 
God’s providence, and Abraham’s character be¬ 
comes a medium through which we learn divine 
: lessons. Abraham suffered for us. It is beauti¬ 
ful beyond expression to see how the true idea 
dawned upon the mind of the man of faith, 
that is to say, how he got from the letter to the 
spirit, and saw God’s meaning at last. Wheh 
he came out of the land of the Chaldeans he 
had a very small notion of his future ; but as 
he went on and on, from Charran, building his 
altar and pitching his tent, his eyes pierced 








420 


DEATH AND BURIAL OF ABRAHAM. 


beyond the little land of Canaan, and “ he 
looked for a city which hath foTindations, whose 
builder and maker is God,” J, P. 

It is pleasant to remember that Esau and 
Jacob were brought up on the knees of their 
venerable giandfather. From his own lips 
might the second heir of promise learn as a boy 
the marvellous story, with all the glorious hopes 
which were to descend to him along with the 
birthright. The twins were growing lads of 
fifteen, old enough to indicate already what 
strong contrasts marked their disposition, w'hen 
at last the weary hero of faith was called to his 
rest. Grandly sets the sun of such a life. An 
old age spent in domestic privacj’’ with the 
young hopes of his line about his feet ; old age 
dwelling still with growing thankfulness upon 
the splendid revelations which had glorified its 
manhood and telling with unabated ardor the 
ever memorable tale,—surely this was a fitting 
and a beautiful close to the toils and trials of 
the noblest lifetime men had yet seen. With 
his character grown ripe, and his work done, 
with his name tilling the lands, his family 
spreading on every side, and the sacred line of 
the covenant budding into another generation, 
nothing seemed awuntingto fill up his cup, who 
to the end of time was destined to wear the 
name that is of all earth’s names the purest : 
The Friend of God, Well maj^ the page which 
, records his end say, with touching and simple 
words, that he died in his hoary age, full and 
satisfied with life ! Dykes. 

Wu§ ^atliercd lo liis people. This 
cannot mean that he was buried where his 
fathers had been buried, for he had been a hun¬ 
dred years a pilgrim in the land of Israel, far 
froIn^ the home of his ancestors, and he was 
buried in the cave of Machpelah, The place 
therefore seems to indicate the belief of the 
patriarchal ages in a place of departed spirits, 
to which the souls of the dead were gathered. 
Thus Jacob expected to “ go dovm into the 
grave (to Sheol) unto his son,” though he did 
not believe his son to have been buried, but to 
have been devoured by wild beasts, E. H, B, 

-To be gathered is not to cease to exist, but 

to continue existing in another sphere. His 
peoples, the departed famflies, from whom he 
is descended, are still in being in another not 
less real world. This, and the like expression 
in the passage quoted, give the first fact in the 
history of the soul after death, as the burial is 
the first step in that of the body, M. 

Were we to leave out of view the spiritual 
and eternal blessings conferred upon AViraham, 
how humble would be the conclusion of so 


grand a career. Vision upon vision, covenant 
upon covenant, promise upon promise, con¬ 
ducting only to a little cave in Hebron ! But 
from the divine declaration uttered three hun¬ 
dred and thirty years after this event, “ I am 
the God of Abraham,” it appears that his rela¬ 
tion to God was as entire at that time, as at any 
former period in his whole life. “ God is not 
the God of the dead, but of the living and 
the faithful of all past ages live wdth God, and 
their dust is precious in his eyes, in whatever 
cavern of the earth or recess of the ocean it may 
be deposited. Bush. 

The doctrine of Immortality runs through 
the Bible, It is latent in the history of the 
creation and of the fall of man. It is involved 
in the statement that man was created origi¬ 
nally in the image of God, The penalty which 
was the consequence of the fall—“ Thou shalt 
surely die”—implies that the being to whom it 
was addressed had been before, in body as in 
soul, immortal. When it is said of Enoch that 
” God took him,” this cannot mean that Enoch 
ceased to exist, any more than the same ex¬ 
pression can have such a meaning when it is 
afterward used with reference to Elijah, The 
desire for nothing less than a heavenly country 
is the true key-note to the lives of the patriarchs. 
Immortality is the charm of the first great prom¬ 
ise to Abraham ; immortality is the idea which 
underlies Jacob’s description of this life as a 
pilgrimage. The patriarchs sjieak and act as 
men who sit loosely to all that makes this life 
dear ; and as each is gathered io his people, it 
might seem that the dogma of immortality is 
traced upon their sepulchres, H, P, L. 

9, When Abraham died Ishmael was a man 
of nearly ninety and had long been a great 
desert chief. He reappears for a moment, and 
only once, at the patriarch’s burial, at which 
Isaac and he met once more. It must have 
been a striking scene when the two brothers, 
so long separated, united to pay the last honors 
to one dear to both, and showed in their doing 
so their high sense of his worth, Isaac, with 
his hundreds of household slaves ; Ishmael, 
with his troops of wild retainers and half-sav¬ 
age allies, gathered before the cave of Machpe¬ 
lah, in the midst of the men of Heth, to pay 
the last duties to (he Father of the Faithful, 
would make a notable subject for an artist, 
Geikie. -These are beautiful words as show¬ 

ing one side of Abraham’s character ; “ And 
his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the 
cave of Machpelah,” Those names are not 
united in any other transaction, Abraham 
never ceased to care for Ishmael, the son of the 





SECTION 53.—GENESIS 25 : 1-24. 


421 


bondwoman, the wanderer ; and Ishmael 
showed how he valued his father’s care by thus 
uniting with Isaac in the last act of tilial love. 

J. P. 

10. Tlierc was Al>raliaiii buried. 

At Hebron our thoughts are of him who at the 
call of God came forth from his own country 
and home, not knowing whither he went ; of 
him who received in implicit confidence the 
assurance of a countless progeny, when as yet 
he had no child ; of him who hesitated not to 
lay on the altar of sacrifice the son of his old 
age, the very child of promise ; of him, the 
friend of God, who solemnly covenanted with 
God in behalf of his posterity, trusting the 
beneficent promise that in his seed all the fam¬ 
ilies of the earth should be blessed ; of him 
who, looking down the long vista of the future, 
rejoiced supremely in seeing the daj^ of Christ ; 
of him who was contented to possess but a 
burying.place in the land which had been 
promised him and to live an exile upon earth, 
in prosiiect of “ a better country even a heav¬ 
enly.” No wonder that the Hebrew hope of 
heaven was that of resting in Abraham’s bosom. 
And who that takes in the full story of Abra¬ 
ham's life of loyal devotion to Jehovah, his 
Supreme Friend and Portion, but joyfully ac¬ 
cepts the assurance of the Saviour in behalf of 
the spiritual descendants of Abraham, and prays 
that it may’’ be made to include himself : “ And 
many shall come from the east and the west, 
and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and 
Jacob in the kingdom of heaven ” N. C. B. 

Ishmael’s Descendants. His Death and Bukiad. 

12, Thefie are ihe generations of Ishmael. The 
object of the inspired writer seems to be, to 
show how the promises of God were fulfilled to 
both the branches of Abraham’s family Isaao 
God blessed according ':o the promise. He had 
also promised to multiply Ishmael j and an ac¬ 
count of his generations is introduced, to show 
how exactly the promise had also been fulfilled 
to him. 14. These three names have passed 
into a proverb among the Hebrews, because of 
their signification. Mislniid signifies hearing ; 
dumah, silence ; and mns^a, patience. Hence, 
“ Hear much, say little, and bear much.” A. C. 

17. This account of Ishmael’s death, as well 
as that of Abraham’s above, is inserted by an¬ 
ticipation, in order that the subsequent history 
of Isaac might not be interrupted. In point of 
fact, though the circumstance of his death is 
stated before the birth of Jacob and Esau, y’et 
it did not happen till some years afterward. 
Abraham lived till they were fifteen years old, 


and Ishmael till they w'ere sixty-three His 
death occurred 48 years after the death of Abra¬ 
ham, and when Isaac was 123. Bash. 

1§. Tlicy dwelt from Havilali iiiitd 
The descendants of Ishmael possessed 
all that country’’ which extends from east (o 
west, from IlavUah on the Euphrates, near its 
junction with the Tigris, to the desert of Shttr, 
eastward of Egypt ; and which extends along 
the Isthmus of Suez which separates the Red 
Sea from the Mediterraiiean. A. C.-His de¬ 

scendants adopted that wandering or nomadic 
life which shepherds and hunters require to 
follow in a region where but little food is pro¬ 
duced either for man or beast. They' appear to 
have been joined by the sons of Keturah, one 
of whom was Midian, the ancestor of the Midi- 
anites. While most of them followed the wild, 
roaming life, still familiar to the Arabs of the 
desert, others engaged in mercantile pursuits ; 
and it is a proof that the Ishmaelites and Mid- 
iauites had virtually become one people, that 
those merchants to whom Joseph w’as afterward 
sold are called, in ditferent verses, by each of 
these names. W. G. B. 

Character of Abraham—Summary Points. 

Abraham’s obedience to the call of God and 
faith in his promises stand supereiuinent. 
Without dispat iiaj with his Maker or doaht<n(j iii 
his heart, he credited everything that God had 
spoken : hence he always w dk‘-d in a plain way. 
The authority of God was always sufficient for 
Abiaham ; he did not seek to find reasons for 
atiy line of conduct which he knew' God had 
prescribed : it w’as his duty to obey ; the suc¬ 
cess and the event he left with God. His obedi¬ 
ence was as prompt as it w’as complete. As soon 
as ho hears the voice of God, he girds himself 
to his work ! To what a state of moral excel¬ 
lence the grace of God can exalt a character, 
when there is simple implicit faith and prompt 
obedience ! Abraham walked befrre God, and 
Abraham was perfect. As a son, as a husband, 
as a father, as a neighbor, as a sovereign, and 
above all as a man of God, he stands unrivalled ; 
so that under the most exalted and perfect of 
all dispensations, the gospel of Jesus Christ, he 
is proposed and recommended as the model and 
pattern of faith, obedience, and perseverance. 
A. C.-In these days, in the bosom of Chris¬ 

tian civilization, obedience to God and confi. 
dence in God are the first precepts, the first 
virtues of Christianity. They were also tho 
virtues of Abraham, and the precepts inculcated 
by Abraham’s history in the Bible. And the 
God of Abraham, the God of the Bible, is the 






423 


CHARACTER OF ABRAHAM. 


same who is the object of adoration to the 
Christian of the present day. Thousands of 
years have changed nothing as to the biblical 
notion of God in the human soul, nor as to the 
essential laws regulating the relation of man 
\yith God. Guizot. 

Abraham is the Emir of a pastoral tribe, mi¬ 
grating from place to place, his stations maiked 
with geographical accuracy, and with a pictu¬ 
resque simplicity of local description ; here he 
pitches his tent by some old and celebrated 
tree, there on the brink of a well-known foun¬ 
tain. He is in no respect superior to his age or 
country, excepting in the sublime purity of his 
religion. He is neither demi-god nor mighty 
conqueror, nor even sage, nor inventor of use¬ 
ful arts. His distinction is the worship of One 
Great God, and the intercourse which he is per¬ 
mitted to hold with this mysterious Being. 
This is the great patrimonial glory which he 
bequeathed to his descendants ; their title to 
be considered the chosen people of the Al¬ 
mighty, was their inalienable hereditary pos¬ 
session. This is the key to their whole history, 
the basis of their political institutions, the vital 
principle of their national character. Milnian. 

The character of Abraham is one of the finest 
and noblest in all history, sacred or profane. 
He seems to have had a remarkably full ac¬ 
quaintance with the perfections of God ; to 
have often surveyed them with love and admi¬ 
ration ; and to have been profoundly impressed 
by them in his own conduct and feelings. Bev- 
erence, confidence, love and submission toward 
the Most High, appear through all his life, in 
colossal proportions. Along with this there 
was evidently in his character great shrewdness 
and common-sense : he had large knowledge of 
the world, and much skill in the orderl}’’ man¬ 
agement of its business ; great self-possession, 
good temper, meekness, and patience ; Avarm 
domestic affections, and an expansive, genial 
heart, that looked much to the welfare of others, 
and was ever ready, for their sakes, to sacrifice 
his own. There never was a more striking com¬ 
bination of great power and great gentleness 
than in Abraham. His generosity and nobility 
of disposition gave an elevation to his character 
which has never been surpassed in any mere 
man. Of his personal appearance we know’ 
nothing ; but we can readily fancy it marked 
by an imposing massiveness and symmetry", 
corresponding to the remarkable structure of 
his mind. There could not have been a man | 
more fitted to fulfil the duties and sustain the 
honors that devolved on the Father of a nation 
and* the Patriarch of a Church. W. G. B. 


In how many varied and striking airtitudes, 
each worthy of the artist’s pencil, does Abra¬ 
ham present himself in the course of his event¬ 
ful life - leading out the migration from Haran 
—crossing the Euphrates — pitching his tent at 
Sichem—kneeling before the altar at Bethel — 
standing silent before Pharaoh—heading the 
midnight assault—jjrostrate before God, moan¬ 
ing out his praj’er for Ishmael—waiting on his 
three mysterious guests, at the tent-door, under 
the oak of Mamre—putting at early morn the 
bottle of water on Hagar’s shoulder —bowdng to 
the Hittites in the gate—bending with knife in 
hand over Isaac ! Looking at him among all 
the greatest characters of Old Testament his¬ 
tory, does he not appear, wurlking among his 
shadowy peers, the very stateliest in form, the 
most finished in proportion, the most benignant 
in aspect, the most graceful in movement, of 
them all ? About his piety there is something 
singularly attractive— so simple, so domestic— 
the age, the country, the tent-life throwing over 
it the light as of an early Eastern morning, the 
freshness as of a breeze from the wilderness. 
Holding his own peculiar faith with a grasp of 
unrelaxing firmness, there is not a tinge in him 
of narrowness, moroseness, or fanaticism ; all 
is broad, open, and humane. By prospects of 
a name so great, a seed so numerous, an influ¬ 
ence so wide upon this earth, pride might have 
been inflated, desires confined, and hopes con¬ 
centrated on earthly blessings. But the great¬ 
est triumph of his faith (greater even than the 
one on Mount Moriah) was this—that he so¬ 
journed in the land of promise as in a strange 
country—confessed and felt continually that he 
was a stranger and pilgrim on the earth -lived 
and died desiring another country, even an 
heavenly. Thus it is that he hath obtained so 
good a report ; and that so wide over the earth, 
and down through all its generations, he has 
been, and shall be called, “ The father of the 
faithful,” “ The friend of God.” W. H. 

What fed the faith wherein his great strength 
lay? Challenging comparison with any, and 
excelling all, in that grace, we may justly apply 
to him the glowing terms and bold figures of 
the prophet— “ He was a cedar in Lebanon, with 
high stature and fair branches, and shad own ng 
shroud—the cedars of God could not hide him 
—the fir-trees were not like his boughs, and the 
chestnut-trees were not like his branches, nor 
w^as any tree in the garden of God like unto 
him for beauty—his root,” he adds, explaining 
how this cedar towered above the loftiest trees, 
giant monarch of the forest, “ his root was by 
the great waters.” And what that root found 







SECTION 53.—GENESIS 25 : 1-84. 


423 


in streams which, fed by the snows and seam¬ 
ing the sides of Lebanon, hottest summers 
never dried and coldest winters never froze, the 
unequalled faith of Abraham found in close and 
constant communion with God. Like Enoch 
he walked with God. Each important transac¬ 
tion of life was entered on in a pious spirit, and 
hallowed by religious exercises. His tent was a 
moving temple. His household was a pilgrim 
church Wherever he rested, whether by the 
venerable oak of Mamre, or on the olive slopes 
of Hebron, or on the lofty, forest-crowned ridge 
of Bethel, an altar rose ; and his prayers went 
up with its smoke to heaven. Such daily, in¬ 
timate, and loving communion did this grand 
saint maintain with heaven, that God calls him 
•‘his friend and honoring his faith with a 
higher than any earthly title, the Church has 
crowned him “ Father of the Faithful.” He 
lived on terms of fellowship with God such as 
had not been seen since the days of Eden. 
Voices addressed him from the skies ; angels 
paid visits to his tent ; and visions of celestial j 
glory hallowed his lowly couch and mingled j 
with his nightly dreams. He was a man of 
prayer, and therefore he was a man of power. 
Setting us an example that we should follow 
his steps, — thus, to revert to language borrowed 
from the stateliest of Lebanon’s cedar, thus 
was he “ fair in his greatness and in the length 
of hrs branches, for his root was by the great 
waters.” Yet the patriarch had his failings—as 
who has not? —and they are written to warn j 
“ him who thinketh he standeth, to take heed j 
lest he fall.” Guthrie. 

No man ever won for himself an equally hon¬ 
orable place among men by qualities so imitable 
and within the reach of all. Wherever his foot 
trod or his fame spread, the homage of number¬ 
less generations has elevated the Hebrew exile 
of Ur almost into a'divinitj'. And this unex 
ampled honor has been won in a way equally 
without example, through the elevation of his 
religious character. Not as a leader of emigra¬ 
tion ; not as a prosperous emir ; not as a cap¬ 
tain of fighting men ; not even as an ancestor 
of nations ; neither as a witness to new truths ; 
nor as the confessor of an ancient faith. All 
these capacities he sustained, yet it was through 
none of these that he achieved his far-spread 
and lasting reputation. It was simply the purity 
and nobility of his personal piety which made 
him what he is. The simple, unworldly eleva¬ 
tion on which through a long life he walked 
with God ; the entire self-abnegation with j 
which he surrendered everything at the divine 
call ; the childlike confidence with which he 


received the words of his celestial Friend ; ‘ 
alcove all, the absolute trust he was enabled to' 
repose in the character and promise of Jehovah, 
under temptations to distrust the most fierce' 
and frequent, —these things it was which made- 
Abraham great. ‘ 

What lay, therefore, at the base of this man’s 
strength and majesty of character was the virtue 
of devout faith. He struck the roots of his 
being deeper than other men into the unseen 
and the abiding. He realized the person of,- 
God as one Who is real, near, accessible, friend-;, 
ly, and trustworthy. In a word, “ he believed 
God.” It was this which made him strong. If 
he was a hero, it was simply because he trusted... 
This calm reliance on one Who is lifted far, 
above the vicissitudes and the fears of timev- 
lent to the whole character of Abraham a cir¬ 
cumspection, a sense of safety and of power, a 
large and poised repose, which are most im¬ 
pressive. Next to his trust in God, his most 
eminent characteristic was perhaps his kindlj’ 
and generous sympathy with men. That ho was 
hospitable came as a matter of course. But how 
unselfish was lie, to Lot, for example, or to the 
king of Sodom! How nobly his open-handed¬ 
ness contrasts with the craft and meanness so 
often found in his kindred and descendants ! 
Save in the single matter of his wife’s safety, he 
ever discovered a straightforwardness in speech 
and deed such as Orientals have rarely attained. 
From discord he shrank with almost as much 
sensitiveness as his son Isaac ; yet, when occa¬ 
sion required, how gallant he could show him¬ 
self ! how prompt to move, how strong to strike ! 
At the same time, every excellence of character 
which his history enables us to ti’ace will be 
found to have its real root and secret of power 
in the religious trust which held him to his 
God. It was the force and clearness with which 
he grasped the promises of Jehovah’s covenant 
and found in God Himself and in God’s friend¬ 
ship the strength, the reward, and the inher¬ 
itance of his life, which made him of earthly 
goods so prodigal, so tolerant of present trial, 
and to other men so princely and so generous. 
l)yk(s. 

Abraham is our father, too, if we believe, for 
he is “ the father of the faithful.” If we blame 
him for aught of shortcoming or misdeed, we 
blame ourselves, for we are more to be re¬ 
proached than he. Abraham lived in the twi¬ 
light, we live in the full noon ; Abraham stood 
alone, we are members of the general assembly 
and Church of the firstborn, with throngs of 
friends around us, and blessed memories and 








124 


ISAAC AND ABIMELEGII 


inspirations. Let us cultivate the pilgrim 
spirit. Let us “ declare plainly that we seek a 
country.” Here we have no continuing city, 
but we seek one to come. Bind the sandals, 
grasp the staff, tarry briefly everywhere, and 
though faint, be evermore pursuing, content 
with nothing less than heaven. J. P. 

“ So then they which be of faith are blessed 
with faithful Abraham.” Much as has been 
added or altered since his early day, the road 
to peace with God and heavenly blessings is the 
same he trod. Fulfilled at last in the Seed of 
promise, which is Christ, and sealed anew with 
His costly blood, the covenant of friendship 
stands to this hour where it stood when first 
Jehovah contracted with His servant under the 
oak-grove of Mamre. The virtues which made 


Abraham great are virtues we all may follow. 
Surrender of everything to obey the voice of 
duty ; trust, simple but solid, in the mere word 
of the Almighty’s grace ; loyal adhesion against 
all appearances, both to what God promises 
and to what He commands ; with a steadfast, 
quiet strength to wait and hope for His salva¬ 
tion : what but these are the conditions under 
which any of us in gospel times, as in patri¬ 
archal, can reach the high title which Abraham 
wore, or the still higher title to which Jesus has 
advanced His disciples? He was God’s friend. 
Henceforth the Son of God has called us not 
friends only, but brethren ; his Father’s chil¬ 
dren ; sons of God, and joint heirs with Christ. 
Dykes, 


Section 54. 

ISAAC AND ABIMELECH. ESAU’S HITTITE WIVES. 

Genesis 26 :1-35. 

1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abra- 

2 ham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. And the Lord 
appeared unto him, and said. Go not down into Egypt ; dwell in the land which I shall tell 

3 thee of : sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee ; for unto thee, and 
unto thy seed, I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I sware unto 

4 Abraham thy father ; and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and will give unto 

6 thy seed all these lands ; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed ; because 

that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and 

6 my laws. And Isaac dwelt in Gerar : and the men of the place asked him of his wife ; and 

7 he said. She is my sister ; for he feared to sny, My wife ; lest, said he, the men of the place 

8 should kill me for Bebekah ; because she was fair to look upon. And it came to pass, when 
he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window,' 

9 and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Bebekah his wife. And Abimelech called 
Isaac, and said. Behold, of a surety she is thy wife ; and how saidst thou. She is my sister’? 

10 And Isaac said unto him. Because I said. Lest I die for her. And Abimelech said. What is 
this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and 

11 thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us. And Abimelech charged all the people, say- 

12 ing, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. And Isaac sowed in 

13 that land, and found in the same year an hundredfold ; and the Lord blessed him. And the 

14 man w^axed great, and grew more and more until he became very great : and he had posses¬ 
sions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great household : and the Philistines envied 

15 him. Now all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the daj^s cf Abraham his 

16 father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth. And Abimelech said 

17 unto Isaac, Go from us ; for thou art much mightier than w^e. And Isaac departed thence, 

18 and encamped in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. And Isaac digged again the w^ells of 
w'ater, w'hich they had digged in the days of Abraham his father ; for the Philistines had stop¬ 
ped them after the death of Abraham ; and he called their names after the names by w’hich 

19 his father had called them. And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well 







SECTION 54.—GENESIS 26 : 1-35. 


425 


20 of springing water. And the lierdmen of Gerar strove with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, The 
water is ours : and he called the name of the well Esek ; because they contended with him. 

21 And they digged another well, and they strove for that also ; and he called the name of it 

22 Sitnah. And he removed from thence, and digged another well ; and for that the}' strove 
not ; and he called the name of it liehoboth ; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room 

23 for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba. 

24 And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy 
father : fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant 

25 Abraham s sake. And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and 

26 pitched his tent there : and there Isaac's servants digged a well. Then Abimelech went to 

27 him trom Gerar, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol the captain of his host, And Isaac said 
unto them. Wherefore are ye come unto me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from 

28 you? And they said. We saw plainly that the Lord was with thee : and we said. Let there 
now be an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee ; 

29 that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee 
nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace : thou art now the blessed of the Lord. 

30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. And they rose up bftinies in the 

31 morning, and sware one to another : and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him 

32 in peace. And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him con- 

33 cerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water. And he 
it called Shibah : therefore the name of the city is Beer sheba unto this day. 

34 And when Esau was forty years old he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, 

35 and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite : and they were a grief of mind unto Isaac and 
to llebekah. 


The story of Isaac is brief ; his life unevent¬ 
ful, perhaps we might say monotonous. The 
chapter shows that the Lord appeared to him 
on two distinct occasions ; at Gerar (2-5), re¬ 
newing the covenant previously made with 
Abraham, with a very full restatement of all its 
salient points ; also at Beersheba (23-25) where 
we are told ‘ he builded an altar and called 
on the name of the Lord,” in the steps of his 

godly father. H. C.-Isaac was 75 at the 

time of his father’s death, and 137 at the time 
of Jacob's flight to Haran. All that we know 
about him during the sixty-two intervening 
years is told us in this single chapter. Within 
its short compass is related everything in his 
recorded history which has an independent and 
distinctive character of its own, and is not 
wholly secondary and subordinate to some event 
in Abraham’s life on the one hand, or to Jacob’s 
on the other. In the absence of all note of 
time, it is impossible to say when in the course 
of the sixty-two years the events narrated in 
this chapter occurred. W. H. 

It is the main purpose of this chapter to 
sketch the character of Isaac, and to exhibit the 
peculiar guidance of this patriarch as occasioned 
by his moral and spiritual wants. Elasticity of 
endurance, which does not resist evil nor con¬ 
tend against it, but by patience and yielding 
overcomes it, constitutes ihe fundamental type of 
the character of Isaac, and in this lies his real 
claim to greatness. It does not take from this 


greatness that in Isaac it is not free from weak¬ 
ness and instability. 

1-12. A famine more grievous than that in 
the time of Abraham had visited the land of 
Promise. Following the example of his father, 
Isaac journeyed southward to Gerar, intending 
thence to pass into Egypt, which was considered 
the granary of the ancient world. But Jehovah 
appears unto him (for the first time). He pro¬ 
hibits him from leaving the land of his pilgrim¬ 
age, and formally and solemnly transfers to him 
the blessing and promise given to Abraham, in 
all its threefold bearings (the outward increase 
of his descendants, the possession of the land, 
and the salvation of all nations through him). 
Isaac therefore remains in Gerar. The contin¬ 
uance of the famine induces Isaac to attempt 
combining tillage with his former occupation of 
rearing cattle. He is blessed with an hundred¬ 
fold harvest, and he learns that even in a year 
of scarcity and famine, he need not have recourse 
to Egypt. K. 

1 , The present famine is distinguished from 
that which occurred in the time of Abraham 
(12 :10). The interval between them is at least 
a hundred years. The author of this, the ninth 
document, is acquainted with the seventh docu¬ 
ment ; and the famine to u’bich he refers is 
among the earliest events recorded in it. There 
is no reason to doubt, then, that he has the 
whole history of Abraham before his mind. 
Unto Abiinciccli unto Gerar. The' 





426 


18AA0' AND ABIMELECIL 


Abimelech witliwliom Abraham had intercourse 
about eighty years before may have been the 
father of the present sovereign. Both Abimelech 
and Phicliol seem to have been official names. M. 

2. Abialiain might go safely to Egypt—Isaac 
might not : in firmness and decision of charac¬ 
ter there was a wide difference between the two 
men. A. C. 

I will l>c wilBi iBace. Chaldean, 
“ My Word shall be an help unto thee.” To 
satisfy Isaac that he should never want a guide 
or a provider, the Lord renews to him the prom¬ 
ises that had been made to his father Abraham.' 

Bush. - Tiic oafSi wliieSi a §\varc uiil<» 

Abraliaiii iBiy father. The Bible, from 
beginning to end, is the development of this 
grand idea of blessing from God to sinful man 
through redemj)tion. It lies here in the begin¬ 
ning of history, in the promise to Abraham and 
Isaac, the key to the entire Bible and to all 
God’s action in man’s redemption ; the key-note 
of that divine harmony of many parts which 
sweeps through all human history. This alone 
lifts the Old Testament above all heathen liter¬ 
ature, and stamps it as divine, 8. Harris. 

6-11, Isaac had now laid aside all thoughts 
of going into Egyi^t, and in obedience to the 
heavenly vision sets up his staff in Gerar, the 
country in which he was born, yet there he en¬ 
ters into the same temptation that his father 
had been once and again surprised and over¬ 
come by, namely, to deny his wife and to give 
out that she was his sister. It is an unaccount¬ 
able thing that both these great and good men 
should be guilty of so strange apiece of dissim¬ 
ulation, by which they so much exposed both 
their own and their wives’ reputation. We see 
that very good men have sometimes been guilty 
of very great faults and follies. Let those 
therefore that stand, take heed lest they fall, 
and those that are fallen not despair of being 
helped up again. We see that there is an apt¬ 
ness in us to imitate even the weaknesses and 
infirmities of those we have a value for ; we 
have need therefore to keep our foot, lest while 
we aim to tread in the steps of good men, we 

sometimes tread in their 6y-steps. H.-The 

fall of them that have gone before us, are so 
many rocks on which others have split ; and 
the recording of them is like placing buoys over 
them, for the security of future mariners. 

Fuller. -But the incident teaches another and 

quite as important a lesson, viz. that in swerv¬ 
ing at all from the strict path of duty, we may 
be furnishing a precedent to others of whom we 
little dream. No man knows, in doing wrong, 
what use will be made of his example. Bush. 


The most celebrated saints of God are not 
secure from sinning : and from their faults 
there is no arguing to the prejudice of the Book, 
in which, as we find them recorded as matter of 
history, so we find them condemned as matter 
of mornlity. God has informed us of what 
passed, but not authorized it ; and set the tx- 
ampie before us, not for a pattern, but for a 
warning. AiajusUue. -Forgetting all the dif¬ 

ferences of time and place, we persist in giving 
these ancient Bible characters a modern con¬ 
science, with all Christian lights and virtues, 
and reading in their minds that which belongs 
to ours. This is unjust to these spiritual fore¬ 
fathers of the race, whose elevation we can 
never appreciate but by knowing their limita¬ 
tions and ignorance. Mercer. 

52. He ” sowed in that land, and received 
in the same year a hundredfold.” In those 
eastern lands “ the rates of increase vary from 
thirty to a hundred. A hundredfold was rare, 
and only in spots of extraordinary fertility.” 
The town of Gerar, in the vicinity of which this 
first attempt at agriculture w^as made, laj" on 
the southern edge of the great plain wdiich 
stretched up northward till it joined that of 
Sharon. Of this plain, Mr. Grove tells us that 
” its fertility is marvellous ; for the prodigious 
crops which it raises are produced, and prob¬ 
ably have been produced almost year by year for 
the last forty centuries, with no manure beyond 
that naturally supplied by the washing down of 
the hill-torrents, without irrigation, without 
succession of crops, and with only the rudest 
methods of husbandry.” The largeness of the 
return in the case of the first year’s crop at 
Gerar may have been exceptional, but it was in 
harmony with the enlargement, in other direc¬ 
tions, of Isaac’s j^ossessions, a memorable in¬ 
stance of the meek inheriting the earth. W. H. 

US. Tlic iiiaiB tvaxed jfreat. There is 
a strange and observable occurrence of the sawe 
term in the original : And the man teas great. 
and he went, going on, and was great, uniil that 
he was exceeding great. How simple is this lan¬ 
guage, and yet how forcible! A. C.-E4. 

Flacks and herds and a^reat honsc- 
liohl. He who blessed him in the increase of 
his fields, blessed him also in the increase of his 
fiocks; and as he had extensive possessions, so 
he must have many hands to manage such con¬ 
cerns ; therefore it is added, he had gnat store 
of servants. 

15. All the wells the Philistines 
had stopped. In such countries a good 
well was a great acquisition ; and hence in pred¬ 
atory wars it was usual for either party to fill 







SECTION 54.—GENESIS 26 : 1-35. 


427 


the welhs with earth or sand. The filling np the 
wells in this case was a most unprincipled trans¬ 
action ; as they had pledged themselves to Abra 
ham by a solemn oath, not to injure each other 

in this or any other respect. A. C.-A more 

effectual mode of expressing envy or enmity 
could not well have been devised, as it was in 
effect to destroy the flocks and herds which 

could not subsist without water. Bush. -The 

well is the spring of life. It is the place of re¬ 
port for the shepherds and herdsmen— here we 
may witness acts of courtesy or of stratagem- 
nets of religion -acts of civil compact —acts 
commemorative of things past—here the journey 
ends—hither the fugitive and the outcast repair 
—here the weary pilgrim rests himself—the 
lack of it is the curse of a kingdom. It enters 
as an element into the language of Holy Writ, 
and the simile, the illustration, the metaphor, 
are still telling forth the great Eastern apo¬ 
thegm, that of “ all things WATER is the first.” 
Of such value was the well —so fruitful a source 
of contention in those parched and thirsty lands 
was the possession of a well! Blunl. 

t23. Isaac took the right course: he said, 
“ Pass on and find another well.” His men 
“ digged another well,” and the men of Gerar 
“ strove for that also : and he called the name 
of it Silnah" — Haired. Let us beware of hatred ; 
it takes the angel out of you ; distorts the coun¬ 
tenance, tal^s out of the voice its frank trust¬ 
fulness and sympathetic music. Hatred does 
not expend itself upon the victim : it expends 
itself in the ruin of the soul of the man who 
hates. He who hates cannot pray ; he who 
hates can offer no sacrifice upon God’s altar that 
shall be accepted. 

The leader being of sweet temi^er, the 
men went forward—“ removed from thence and 
digroced another well ; and for that the Philis- 
tines strove not ’’ So Isaac said, ‘‘ We will call 
this well Eehoholli' — Room, a place to stand 
upon. There is a place for every one of us, 
could we but find it ; some have a long, long 
search in quest of the right iDlace. The well 
you have found is God’s gift : your beautiful 
home, your happy family, your prosperous busi¬ 
ness. You did not i^erhaps come to that estate 
of contentment and enjoyment all at once. Ee- 
member your own difficulties, and have pity 
upon the fruitless exertions of other men. 
After that another well was dug, and Isaac said, 
“ We will call it Sheba" —an oath, a covenant : 
a settled and unchangeable blessing. So the 
course of life runs—strife, hatred, room, strik¬ 
ing of the hands in holy covenant. Happy is 
the consummation ; it is possible to us all 


under the providence of God. It is a surpris¬ 
ing thing that we should have all this friction 
to pass through, if we look at some aspects of 
our character ; but if we look at other aspects, 
it is surprising that we have so little discipline 
to encounter and to endure. J. P, 

Few things are more pleasing than the pict- 
Tire of Isaac, the gentle patriarch, yielding 
everything and finding everything ; as if his 
history was an antifpie ])ictorial illustration of 
the very words, “ Give, and it shall be given to 
you.” He yields his life on the altar on Moriah, 
and he finds it. In the strife he always gives 
up. By patience he is successful. And so 
” the man waxed great, and grew until he be¬ 
came very great.” A"et we must not forget that 
there are things over which we should stand 
and strive. The all-yielding Isaac was rewarded 
more than the war-like Abraham, and Isaac led 
a far happier life than Jacob ; yet the character 
even of Jacob was higher ; and as to Abraham, 

he rises far above both. Mercer. -Men count 

that in a world of violence and wrong the meek 
will inevitably make themselves aprej^ ; that an 
Isaac, who gives up the well again and again 
rather than contend for it, will at length have 
nothing left him which he may call his own. 
But it is not so. Wonderful under God is the 
strength and power of meekness ; with it is 
ever the victory at the last : in the wmrds of the 
eastern proverb, ” The one staff of Moses breaks 
in shivers the ten thousand spears of Pharaoh.” 
These ‘‘meek” shall in the end inherit all 
things, even this “ earth,” from which it seemed 
at the outset as if they would be thrust out al¬ 
together. Trench. 

23. To I5eer§lieba, Wearied with such 
disturbances in the Philistine country, he is all 
the more ready to go to Beersheba, the border 
town of the irromised land, and ihe paternal 
homestead where the covenant blessings had 
been promised. Here God appeared to Abra- 
ham (chap. 20 :1), and now he again appears 
here to Isaac (ver. 24), and yet afterward to 
Jacob (chap. 46 : 1-4). This place, therefore, 
was the place of high covenant interest. Jacobus. 
The first traveller in modern times who visited 
Beersheba was Dr. Eobinson. Having, without 
knowing it, follo\ved the very track u-hich Isaac 
took from the valley of Gerar northward toward 
Hebron, ” we reached,” he says, “ Wady-es- 
Seba, a wide water-course. Upon its northern 
side, close upon the bank, are two deep wells, 
still called Bir-es-Seba, the ancient Beersheba. 
The larger one is 124 feet in diameter, and 
44^ feet deep to the surface water, 16 feet of 
which at the bottom is excavated in the solid 







ISAAC AND ABIMELEGIL 


428 

rock. The other well lies 55 rods W.S.W., and 
is 5 feet in diameter and 42 feet deep. The 
water in both is pure and sweet, and in great 
abundance. Both wells are surrounded with 
drinking-troughs of stone for camels and tlocks, 
such as were doubtless used of old for the flocks 
which then fed upon the adjacent hills. The 
curb-stones were deeply worn by the friction of 
the ropes in drawing up water by hand." Since 
this account was written, Beersheba has had 
many visitors, two of the latest being Dr. Tris¬ 
tram and Mr. Palmer. “ About two o’clock,” 
says the former (Feb , 1864), “ we reached Beer- 
slieba, where the tents were already pitched 
round one of Abraham’s wells. In front an 1 
behind is a vast uneven plateau, almost green, 
pastured over by thousands of goats, horned 
cattle, and camels, while several Arab encamp¬ 
ments were in sight, drawn to this favored spot 
by the grateful wells and the comparatively 
abundant herbage.” W. H. 

21. 1 am tSie €iod of At>raliam. 
These promises are the same for substance as 
were made to him on his going to Gerar (v. 2-4). 

But this prefatory declaration would at once re- 

> 

new the memory of all the promises before 
made, and direct the mind of Isaac to that abid¬ 
ing covenant entered into with Abraham, and 

to be transmitted to his posterit 3 \ Bush. -If 

Isaac himself had not also possessed his father’s 
faith, he would not, merely for his father’s 
sake, have received this divine promise of bless¬ 
ing. But by the mention of his father God ap¬ 
peals to his filial affection, and reminds him of 
his great example. The appellation is also ad¬ 
monitory of the close connection between 
parents and children, to the latter of whom, 
even after the former are departed, God remains 
unchangeably faithful. In fine, according to 
the exposition of Jesus himself (Luke 20 : 37, 38), 
it contains a loving intimation of the continu¬ 
ance of Abraham’s existence before the Lord. 
C. G. B. 

IFor my servant Abraham’s sake. 

Upon the only two occasions (v. 5) on which the 
Lord was pleased to hold personal intercourse 
with Isaac the renewal of the promises to the 
son was linked in a peculiar manner with the 
obedience of the father. All through this sec¬ 
tion of his life we trace the strong disposition 
to copy his father’s conduct Placed thus in 
like circumstances, he says of Rebekah, as Abra¬ 
ham had said of Sarah, “ She is my sister." As 
the weaker man he is si>ared the trial to which 
Abraham was exposed. His wife is not taken 
from h-m. The protection comes before the 
peril. The discovery of the relationship is 


made. The peremptor}’’ edict of Abimelech is 
issued, and Isaac is permitted to dwell in the 
land in peace. W. H. 

2'3. flc biiilde<l an altar there. As 

an expression of his grateful sense of the divine 
goodness on the present occasion, and as a part 
of his habitual practice, he setup the slated wor¬ 
ship of God on the spot which hud been conse¬ 
crated by similar observances in the da^^s of his 

father. Bu'^h. -We are no better than brute 

beasts if, contenting ourselves with a natural 
use of the creatures, we rise not up to the 
Author ; if, instead of being temples of his 
praise, we become graves of his benefits. Isaac 
first built an altar, and then digged a well. 
Trapp. 

2§, 29. “ When a man’s was's please the 
L' rd, even his enemies shall be at peace with 
him,’’ and there is something sacred in the 
character of a good man, to which the wicked 
often pay an involuntary tribute of respect and 
admiration. Discarding the envy which he maj^ 
have cherished, he comes to do homage to a 
man highly favored of the Lord. Bash. 

39, SQ. Isaac entertained them hospitably, 
entered into a treaty of peace with them, and 
dismissed them courteousl 3 \ Thus, in Isaac, 
we have a type of faith opeiating in an unosten¬ 
tatious, undemonstrative, and thoroughlv’ quiet 
and self-sacrificing way ; and yet producing an 
impression, as we have seen, both^salutaiy and 
powerful. Hughes. 

It is certainly striking that the events of At)ra- 
ham’s life, and even the resolutions which he took 
in con sequence of them, rejDeatedly recur in the 
history of Isaac. In the one and in the other 
case there was famine in the land of Promise. 
In the one case the patriarch actually passed into 
Egypt, in the other he intended to do so ; in both 
cases recourse is had to the same fed.^eJuajd by 
which a wife is passed as a sister ^ in one and in 
the other case a covenant is made with Abimelech; 
in one and in the other case, "we read in part of 
the same stations, of the same wells, of the same 
origin of the name Beersheba ; while lastl.y the 
manifestation of God and the promises appear in 
both cases to have taken place in the same man¬ 
ner and with the same tendency, and in conse¬ 
quence of them each of (he two patriarchs erects 
an altar and serves Jehovah. Still, however sirn 
ilar the aspect of his life to that of Abraham, 
how different was his inw’ard and outward posi¬ 
tion, owing to the difference of character be¬ 
tween the two patriarchs ! Abraham takes 
refuge in Egypt, and Isaac is about to imitate 
him. But Abraham learns only by the compli¬ 
cations and dangers in which he is involved that 




SECTION 55.—GENESIS 27 : 1-40. 


439 


this device was contrary to the will of God. On 
the other hand, Isaac, whose greater weakness 
of character would not have been equal to the 
dangers which there threatened him, is by Di¬ 
vine intervention jjreserved from following the 
same device. Abraham loses his wife. The 
protection of God does not preserve him from 
this trial, although it delivers him from dangers 
which might thence have resulted. The weaker 
Isaac IS spared this trial, and the protection of 
God manifests itself in this, that the falsehood 
of his pretence appears before it is too late. 
The similarity of their nomadic occupations 
and the continuance of former circumstances, 
account for the fact that in both cases we read 
of the same stations and wells, and of another 
alliance with Abimelech, But what a contrast 
between the personality of Abraham, who com¬ 
mands respect, and the patient yielding of 
Isaac. Peo23le do not interfere with the rights 
and jirivileges of Abraham, but Isaac must give 
place before continual hostilities and interfer¬ 
ences. K. 

Esau's llitlite Wives. 

34, 35, The HUiiles (sons of Heth, ch. 10 :15), 
occupying the region around Hebron where 
Abraham often dwelt, were Canaan ites of the 
race of Ham, and Abraham would not allow a 
wife to be taken for Isaac from among them 
(ch. 24 : 3)/ It is another significant indication 
of the reckless character of Esau, that he not 
only took iwo wives, but chose them both from 

this irreligious race. T. J. C.-They belonged 

to a family far gone in transgression and apos- 
tasy from God. The two wives chosen from 
such a stock were a source of great grief to the 
parents of Esau. The choice manifested his 
tolerance at least of the carnal, and his indiffer¬ 


ence to the spiritual. M.-Doubtless his 

father had given him the same charge which 
Abraham had done concerning his own mar¬ 
riage. And then it was a very undutiful, nay, 
an impious action, to marry with those [people 
who were under the curse of God. The Script¬ 
ure might M’ell call him profane ; for he seems 
not to have regarded either the curse or the 

blessing of the Almighty. Bp. PairicJc. -The 

circumstance that E'lau married two Canaanitish 
wives shows how much he had become estranged 
from the religious hopes and views of the chosen 
family. This should have opened Isaac’s eyes 
to the perversity of his preference for Esau. K. 

Esau forfeited his hereditary rights. To marry 
a Canaanitish woman was to lose his primogeni¬ 
ture. Where now your tears for Esau, the faint¬ 
ing hunter, who was taken at a disadvantage by 
his supplanting brother ? Esau siqrplanted 
himself. To marry thus was to dro^r out of the 
entail, to forfeit j^osition, and to commit heredi¬ 
tary suicide. It was ihen that Esau sold his 
birthright. Find out the roots and beginnings 
of things, and you will always discover that a 
man is his own sujqjlanter ; his own enemy. 
You will find far back—ten years ago, twenty, 
a quarter of a century -that a man did some¬ 
thing which has been following him all the 
time. When the crises come that the jjublic 
can look at, they pity him within the four 
corners of the visible crisis itself : they do not 
knowhow judgment has been tracking the man, 
watching him with pitiless, critical eye, waiting 
for its turn to come. J. P. 

Between this marriage of Esau, and the his- 
tory in the next chapter, there intervenes a 
space of thirty-seven years, as may be gathered 
by a collation of the statements of time given. 
Gerl. 


Section 55. 

JACOB’S DECEIT AND BLESSING. ESAU’S BLESSING. 

Genesis 27 :1-40. 

1 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not 
see, he called Esau his elder son, and said unto him. My son ; and he said unto him, Heie 

2 am I. And he said. Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death. Now therefore 

3 take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me 

4 venison ; and make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat ; that 

5 my soul may bless thee before I die. And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son, 

6 And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. And Rebekah spake unto 











430 


JACOBIS DECEIT AND BLESSING. 


7 Jacob iier son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, Bring 
me venison, and make me savoury meat, that ,I may eat, and bless thee before the Lokd before 

8 my death. No\v therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which 1 command thee. 

9 Go now to the tiock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats ; and I will make 

10 them savoury jneat for thy father, such as he loveth : and thou shalt bring it to thy father, that 

11 he may eat, so that he may bless thee before his death. And Jacob said to Bebekah his 

12 mother. Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. My father perad- 
venturo will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver ; and I shall bring a curse upon 

13 me, and not a blessing. And his mother said unto him. Upon me be thy curse, my son ; only 

Id obey my voice, and go fetch me them. And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his 

15 mother : and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved. And Rebekah took the 

goodly raiment of Esau her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them upon 

It) Jacob her younger son : and she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and 

17 upon the smooth of his neck : and she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had 

18 prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. And he came unto his father, and said. My father : 

19 and he said, Here am I ; who art thou, my son ? And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau 
thj^ firstborn ; I have done according as thou badest me : arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my 

20 venison, that thv soul mav bless me. And Isaac said unto his son. How is it that thou hast 
found it so quickly, my son?. And he said, Because the Loud thy God sent me good speed. 

21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I praj'- thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether 

22 thou be my very son Esau or not. And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father ; and he felt 

23 him, and said. The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. And he dis¬ 
cerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands : so he blessed him. 

24 And he said. Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am. And he said. Bring it near to 

25 me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near 

2G to him, and he did eat ; and he brought him wine, and he drank. And his father Isaac said 

27 unto him. Come near now, and kiss me, my son. And he came near, and kissed him ; and 
he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, 

28 See, the smell of my son—Is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed ; —And God 
give thee of the dew of heaven, —And of the fatness of the earth, —And plenty of corn and 

29 wine : —Let people.^ serve thee,—And nations bow down to thee :—Be lord over thy brethren, 
—And let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee:—Cursed be every one that cuiseth thee, —And 
blessed be every one that blesseth thee. 

30 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was j’et 
scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his 

31 hunting. And he also made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father ; and he said unto 
his father. Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me. 

32 And Isaac his father said unto him. Who art thou? And he said, l ain thy son, thy firstborn, 

33 Esau. And Isaac trembled very exceedinglj^ and said. Who then is he that hath taken ven¬ 
ison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou earnest, and have bUssed him ? 

31 yea, and he shall be blessed. When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with ari'cx- 
ceeding great and bitter erj”, and said unto his father. Bless me, even me also, O my father. 

35 And he said. Thy brother came with guile, and hath taken away thy blessing. And he said, 

36 Is n'ot he rightly named Jacob ? for he hath supplanted me these two times : he took away my 
birthright ; and, behold, now he hath taken awa}' my blessing. And he said. Hast thou not 

37 reserved a blessing for me? And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made 
him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants ; and with corn and wine 

38 have I sustained him ; and what then shall I do for thee, my son ? And Esau said unto his 
father. Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, 0 my father. And 

39 Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. And Isaac his father answered and said unto him. 

Behold of the fatness of the earth shall be thy dwelling,—And of the dew of heaven from 

40 above ;—And by thy sword shalt thou live, and thou shalt serve thy brother And it shall 
come to pass when thou shalt break loose,—That thou shalt shake his yoke from otf thy neck. 


The story is one of the most picturesque and I bends over with unabated interest. But it is as 
pathetic in the Bible. It fills the eye, and fixes humiliating as it is attractive, exhibiting an ex- 
itself in the memory of childhood. Old age penditure of contrivance, activity, self-posses- 



SECTION 55.—GENESIS 2? : 1-40. 


431 


sion, nntriithfulness, profanity, all employed 
by wife and son, in practising a mean fraud 
upon such a husband and father, believed by 
both to be upon the bed ot death. W. H. 

That man must have a strange heart, who can 
read this chapter unmoved. It is however a 
very dark page of God’s holy word. Sin and 
the punishment of sin fill the whole of it. 
Isaac sinned in aiming at a wrong object- he 
wanted to set aside the will of God. His object 
was defeated—Esau lost the blessing. Not only 
was his object defeated, but in aiming at it, he 
brought much sin on his family and much an¬ 
guish on himself. Rehekah sinned, first by dis¬ 
trust of God, and then by fraud and deceit. 
Here lay her error and her sin, in thinking that 
with such vile things as these she could further 
the purposes of a holy God. If there was ever 
a case in which crooked means seemed allow¬ 
able or excusable, it was this. But God will 
not bear with these things. We may say that 
we ma}’^ prevent much evil or do much good by 
a slight transgression, and God in his omnipo¬ 
tence may overrule that transgression, as he 
overrules all things, to further his own holy | 
purposes, but sin lies at our door; that act of 
ours is displeasing and hateful to him, as much 
so as though nothing but evil came from it. 
Tke punishment of llebekah may appear slight, 
and yet to a fond mother like her, it must have 
been deeply painful. The curse was indeed 
on her, and it came in a form she little antici 
pated—she lost the son for whom she had plot¬ 
ted and sinned. As for Jacob, one sin makes 
way for another ; one sin impels him to com¬ 
mit another. Falsehood comes after falsehood 
in quick succession, till at last, with a fearful 
hardihood, he employs the name of God him¬ 
self to aid his deceit. For Jacob’s punishment 
we must read the history of his life to see the 
extent of it. It followed him almost to his 
dying hour. And Esau sinned. “ He despised 
his birthright’’—that was his sin; he lost his 
birthright and its blessing—that was his pun¬ 
ishment; and it was a just punishment; he 
only lost that on which he set no value. We 
too have a birthright, one so precious that 
houses and lands, all the silver and gold the 
earth contains, are as dross in comparison with 
it. There are blessings held out to every one 
of ns, blessings put at this moment within our 
reach, which ought to make the heart of every 
one here burn as he hears of them —the par¬ 
don of sin, reconciliation with heaven, adoption 
into God’s family, everlasting life and blessed¬ 
ness in his presence ; not Canaan, not a land 
flowing with milk and honey on earth, but a I 


kingdom in heaven, a world briglfi with the 
glory of an incarnate God and overfiowing wiih 
his joy. And how are we treating tliis birth¬ 
right ? How are we acting with reference to 
these blessings ? Bradley. 

C'Sa. ; The life of Isaac falls into three 
periods. During the first seventy-five years he 
is contemporary with his father. For sixty-one 
years more his son Jacob remains inuler the 
paternal roof. The remaining forty-four years 
are passed in the retirement of old age. The 
chapter before us narrates the last solemn acts 
of the middle period of his life. M. i 

1-4. As he lived to be 180, it must have been 
so many as forty-three years before his death 
that it is said of him that he w'as “ old, and his 
eyes were dim that he could not see.” The in¬ 
firmities of age have come upon him prema¬ 
turely. He is blind, infirm, bedridden He 
remembers that his half brother Ishmael had 
died fourteen years before, at the very age to 
which he had now attained. He imagines that 
his own dissolution is near. He resolves formal¬ 
ly and solemnly to invest his eldest and best- 
liked son Esau wdth all the rights wdiicli primo¬ 
geniture bestowed. W. H.-It was probably 

at a moment ef dangerous sickness when he 
bethought himself of imparting the blessing— 
and thi.? conjecture is supported by the follow¬ 
ing minute coincidences. That Isaac was then 
desirous to Lave “ savory meal such as he 
loved,” as though he loathed his ordinary 
food : that Jacob bade him ” arise and sit that 
he might eat of his venison,” as though he was 
at the time stretched upon his bed ; that he 
“ trembled very exceedingly," when Esau came in 
and he was apprised of his mistake, as though 
he was very weak ; that the wmrds of Esau, 
when he said in his heart ” the days of mourn¬ 
ing for my father are at hand,” are as thongh ho 
was thought sick unto death ; and that those of 
llebekah, when she said unto Jacob “ should I 
be deprived of you both in one day,” are as 
though she supposed the time of her w'idow- 
hood to be near. I will add that the prolong 
ation of Isaac’s life unexpectedly (as it should 
seem) may have had its influence in the con 
tinned protection of Jacob from Esau’s anger, 
the latter, even in the first burst of his passion, 
retaining that reverence for his father w’hicii 
determined him to put off the execution of hia 
evil purposes against Jacob, till he should be 
no more. Blunt. 

4-29. What hath careless Esau lost, if, hav¬ 
ing sold his birthright, he may obtain the 
blessing? Or what hath Jacob gained, if his 
brother’s venison may countervail his pottage ? 





43 ^ 


JACOB'S DECEIT AND BLESSING. 


Yet thus hath old Isaac decreed ; who was not 
now more blind in his eyes than in his affec¬ 
tions ; God had forewarned him that the elder 
should serve the younger, yet Isaac goes about 
to bless Esau. That God, who had ordained 
the lordship to the younger> will also contrive 
for him the blessing : what he will have effected 
shall not want means : the mother shall rather 
defeat the son and beguile the father, than the 
father shall beguile the chosen son of his bless¬ 
ing. God inclines the love of the mother to the 
younger, against the custom of nature, because 
the father loves the elder, against the promise : 
the affections of the parents are divided, that 
the promise might be fulfilled ; Kebekah’s craft 
shall answer Isaac’s partiality. God doth oft- 
times effect his just will by our weaknesses ; 
yet neither thereby justifying our infirmities, 
nor blemishing his own actions. Here was 
nothing but counterfeiting ; a feigned j)erson, 
a feigned name, feigned venison, a feigned an¬ 
swer, and yet behold, a true blessing ; but to 
the man, not the means : those were so un¬ 
sound, that Jacob himself doth more fear their 
curse than hope for their success. Bp. II. 

The moral aspect of the transaction is plain to 
those who are willing to see that the Bible repre¬ 
sents the patriarchs as “ men comj)assed with 
infirmity,” favored by the grace of God, but 
not at all endowed with sinless perfection. It 
is just this, in fact, that makes their lives a 
moral lesson for us. Examples have occurred 
in the lives of Abraham and Isaac ; but the 
whole career of Jacob is the history of a grow¬ 
ing moral discipline. God is not honored by 
glossing over the patriarch’s great faults of char 
acter, which were corrected by the discipline of 
severe suffering. We need not withhold indig¬ 
nant censure from Bebekah’s cupidity on be¬ 
half of her favorite son—so like her family—and 
the mean deceit to which she tempts him. Nor 
is Isaac free from the blame of that foolish 
fondness, which, as is usual with moral weak¬ 
ness, gives occasion to crime in others. What, 
then, is the difference between them and Esau? 
Simply this—that they, in their hearts, honored 
the God whom he despised, though their piety 
was corrupted by their selfish pas.sions. Jacob 
valued the blessing which he purchased wrong 
fully, and sought more wrongfully to secure. 
But Esau, whose conduct was equally unprin¬ 
cipled in desiring to receive the blessing which 
was no longer his, was rightly “ rejected, when 
he would have inherited the blessing,” His 
selfish sorrow and resentment could not recall 
the choice he had made, or stand in the place 
of genuine repentance. “ He found no place 


for repentance, though he sought for it with 
tears,” and he is held forth as a great example 
of unavailing regret for spiritual blessings wan¬ 
tonly thrown away. The true state of Esau’s 
spirit is shown by his resolve to kill his brother 
as soon as his father should die. P. S. 

The honesty of the Bible, in narrating with¬ 
out extenuation the failings and sins of God’s 
own people, is a token both of the historic truth 
and the divine wisdom of the record. The fact 
that God turns the wrong-doings of men to the 
furtherance of his own plans is never used to 
justify, or even to palliate, the sin. It was 
known to Isaac that Jacob was announced to 
be the heir of the promise ; but his partiality 
for Esau led him to attempt to forestall Divine 
Providence by giving his blessing in secret. 
Esau had rashly sold his birthright for a mess 
of pottage ; but he should have regarded his 
oath to his brother and have accei:)ted the con¬ 
sequences. Jacob had taken a mean advantage 
of his necessity, and showed a disposition to 
overreach him. Though he shrank, at first, 
from the deception which his mother proposed, 
—lest his father should discover the cheat, and 
give him his curse instead of his blessing, - yet 
the temptation proved too strong ; and, con¬ 
senting to the first step, he was letl from one 
fraud to another, until he even invoked the 
name of God to a lie : so easy is it to slide from 
sin to sin ! But Rebekah was the chief (jlfender. 
She plotted the deception of Jacob, the imposi¬ 
tion upon her aged and blind husliand, the 
wrong to her firstborn. She attempted to make 
sure a divine promise by a pious fraud ; but she 
brought strife and bitterness into the house¬ 
hold, and sorrow upon herself and her favorite 
son. Selfishness alwaj^s brings sorrow, even 
when it puts on the guise of love. J. P. T. 

Esau had no right, either divine or human, 
to claim the patriarchal blessing. The outward 
right which his birth might have given him 
had from the first been taken away by Him who 
rules the course of nature, and Esau himself 
had by a formal sale ceded it. Hence the blame 
of circumventing their father for the inher¬ 
itance attached to Esau as much as to Jacob 
But the issue places him in the right position 
which God had destined for him. It was not 
Rt-bekah's way, in quiet faith, to wait for help 
from without and from above, so long as she 
could help or counsel herself If God does not 
interpose, she is ready to assist with her wis¬ 
dom. This perverseness and unbelief arose 
from the circumstance that the glory of God 
was not her only aim, and the fulfilment of His 
will not her sole object. The moral state of 





SECTION 55.—GENESIS 27 : 1~40. 


433 


Jacob was similar to that of Rebekah. Bat the 
Nemesis of history apportions to each of the 
four parties concerned their punishment. Isaac 
and Esau immediately feel the consequences of 
their conduct ; Rebekah and Jacob soon after¬ 
ward. Just because her plan had been success¬ 
ful, Rebekah must send away her favorite dur¬ 
ing the dark of the night, destitute and help¬ 
less, nor will she ever behold his face again. 
The deceit of Jacob is repaid him in the same 
coin, and much sorrow, anxiet}', labor, and 
want, are the consequences of his godless cun¬ 
ning. K.-He seems not to have been struck 

by the enormity of the deed as an offence against 
God. How great the contrast between his rea¬ 
soning on this occasion, and that of his son 
Joseph when assaulted by a powerful tempta¬ 
tion. “ I shall bring a curse upon me, and not 
a blessing,” said the one ; “ How shall I do this 
great wickedness, and sin against God,” said 
the other. But as he now sowed, so be after¬ 
ward reaped. Bash. 

5-10, When Rebekah sees Isaac actually 
preparing to pass Jacob by and bless Esau, her 
fears are so excited that she cannot any longer 
quietly leave the matter in God’s hand, but 
must lend her own more skilful management. 
It may have crossed her mind that she was jus¬ 
tified in forwarding what she knew to be God’s 
purpose. She saw no other way of saving God’s 
purpose and Jacob's rights than by her interfer¬ 
ence. The emergency might have unnerved 
many a woman, but Rebekah is equal to the 
occasion. She makes the threatened exclusion 
of Jacob the very means for at last finally set¬ 
tling the inheritance upon him. She braves the 
indignation of Isaac and the rage of Esau, and 
fearless herself, and confident of success, she 
soon quiets the timorous and cautious objec¬ 
tions of Jacob. She knows that for straightfor¬ 
ward lying and acting a part she was sure of 
good support in Jacob. Luther says, ” Had it 
been me, I’d have dropped the dish.” But 
Jacob had no such tremors—could submit his 
hands and face to the touch of Isaac, and re¬ 
peat his lie as often as needful. Bods. 

19-21, All the senses are set to examine ; 
none sticketh at the judgment but the ear ; to 
deceive that, Jacob must second his dissimula¬ 
tion with three lies at one breath : “ lam Esau ; 
as thou badest me ; my venison one sin enter¬ 
tained fetcheth in another ; and if it be forced 
to lodge alone, either departethor dieth : I love 
Jacob’s blessing, but I hate his lie. I would 
not do that wilfully, which Jacob did weakly, 
upon condition of a blessing : he that pardoned 
his infirmity would curse my obstinacy. Bp. II. 

28 


I wonder how Jacob could so readily turn his 
tongue to say (v. 19), I am Esau, Ihi/ firstborn. 
How could he say, I have done as thou badest me, 
when he had received no command from his 
f ithtr, but was doing as his 7ao//ier bade him ? 
How could he say. Eat <>f my venison, when ha 
knew it came not from the field, but from the 
fold ? But especially I wonder how he could 
have the assurance to father it upon God, and to 
use his name in the cheat (v. 20), The Lord thu 

God brought it to me. H.-The baseness of 

Jacob is here coped by his blasphemy. It is no 
mean sign of the sublimity cf Scripture that no 
word of disapproval is inserted in cases like 
this. The condemnation is left to the ” dis¬ 
cernment of good and evil ” which we have 
“ even of ourselves and when passed, it is in 
the history’s sequel, amply justified. The bias- 
jjheray is enhanced by the most solemn name of 
God being used, and his coveuant relation to 
Isaac introduced : Jehovah thy God. Alf. 

So lie ble§t«ecl liim. Jacob got his 
father’s blessing by a lie ; but see what fol¬ 
lowed. His brother purposed to murder him ; 
he was in a manner banished from his father’s 
house ; his uncle dealt deceitfully with him, as 
he had done with his father, and treated him 
with great rigor : and his mother, who put him 
up m this fraud, never saw him after. Bp. 

]VUson. -It is a strange and, in some respec ts, 

perplexing spectacle that is heie presented to us 
—the organ of the Divine blessing represented 
by a blind old man, laid on a ” couch of skins, ’ 
stimulated by meat and wine, and trying to 
cheat God by bestowing the familj^ blessing on 
the son of his own choice to the exclusion of 
the divinely-appointed heir. Out of such be¬ 
ginnings had God to educate a people worthy cf 
Himself, and through such hazards had He to 
guide the spiritual blessing He designed to con¬ 
vey to us all. Bods. 

28, 29, This promise (as was the case with 
most of them) is at first annexed to things seen 
and present ; hence it rises to the unseen 
future. The summit and the centre of the 
blessing is contained in the words, “ Be lord 
over thy brethren since thereby was signified 
that he alone was bearer of the blessing,—the 
others only shared the advantage through him. 
Gerl. 

In the following chapter (ver. 14) the promise 
is made to Jacob, “ In thee and in thy seed 
shall all the families of the earth be blessed 
and to this are to be referred in their full force 
those expressions, “ Let people serve thee, 
etc.” It appears that Jacob believed the Divine 
promises more than Esau. The posterity of 












434 


ESA U'S BLESSING. 


Jacob, likewise, preserved the true religion, and 
the worship of one God, while the Edomites 
were sunk in idolatry. And of the seed of 
Jacob was born at last the Saviour of the world. 
This was the peculiar privilege and advantage 
of Jacob, to be the happy instrument of con¬ 
veying these spiritual blessings to all nations. 
Stackhouse -However alike their temporal ad¬ 

vantages in all spiritual gifts and graces, the 
younger brother was to have the superiority, 
was to be the instrument of conveying the bless¬ 
ing to all nations—7n thee and inihy seed shall a'l 
the families of the earth he blessed: and to this 
are to be referred in their full force those ex¬ 
pressions—Ze/ people serve thee; and nations how 
down to thee: cursed he every one that cursedi thee, 
and blessed he he that hlesseth thee. The same 
promise was made to Abraham in the name of 
God — I will hle^s them ihat bless thee, and curse 
him that curseth thee (ch. 12 : 3), and it is hero 
repeated to Jacob. Bp. N. 

33. He had given a blessing to one person 
under the impression that he was a different 
person ; must not the blessing go to him for 
whom it was designed ? But Isaac unliesitat 
ingly yielded. This clear recognition of God’s 
hand in the matter, and quick submission to 
Him, reveals a habit of reflection, and a spirit¬ 
ual thoughtfulness, which are the good qualities 
in Isaac’s otherwise unsatisfactory character. 
Before he finished his answer to Esau, he felt 
he was a poor feeble creature in the hand of a 
true and just God, who had used even his in¬ 
firmity and sin to forward righteous and gra¬ 
cious ends. It was his sudden recognition of 
the frightful way in which he had been tamper¬ 
ing with God’s will, and of the grace with which 
God had prevented him from accomplishing a 
wrong destination of the inheritance, that made 
Isaac tremble very exceedingly. Esau only saw 
the supplanter, and vowed to be revenged. 
Isaac saw God in the matter, and trembled. 

Duds. -When the invisible hand presses again 

upon the inner springs of thought and feeling, 
and he utters the short but singularly compre¬ 
hensive prophecy as to the future of the seed of 
Esau, the inward eye is full}^ opened ; no 
earthly shadow dims or blurs the vision. He 
weeps with Esau, does all he can to comfort 
him ; but he bows to God, whose hand he rec¬ 
ognizes as making.even the duplicity of man 
to praise. He shakes off the infirmity of faith 
under which he has been laboring, and says 
even of the treacherous Jacob, in whom he had 
been taught in so singular a way to recognize 
the heir of the covenant blessing, “ I have 
blessed him^ yea,, and he shall be blessed, ” W. H. 


34. Crictl willa n groat end exceed¬ 
ing bitter cry. The language is very em¬ 
phatic, and describes a poignancy of grief 
amounting to positive anguish. The time had 
now come that he bitterly bewailed his folly in 
despising and throwiiig away his biithright for 

so trifling a consideralion. Bush. -Why did 

he not rather weep to his brother for the pot¬ 
tage than to Isaac for allessing? If he had 
not then sold, he had not needed now to buy. 
It is just with God to deny us those favors 
which we were careless in keeping, and which 
we undervalued in enjoying. How happy a 
thing is it to know the seasons of grace, and 
not to neglect them ! How desperate to have 
known and neglected them ! These tears are 
both late and false. Bp. 11. 

“ Esau found no place of repentance, though 
he sought it carefully, with tears.” Do not 
mistake that, as if it meant that Esau, wishing 
to repent, could not. Clearly, the repentance 
he sought for was his father’s, not his own ; 
repentance in the sense of change of puipose ; 
and all his tears could not alter that j^urpose, 
or change the word once passed. He had sowed 
to the flesh, and expected to reap both the joys 
of the flesh and the peace of the spiiit. This 
may not be. We reap as we have sown, lioh- 
ertson. -Esau’s trouble was ajirinciple of pro¬ 

faneness in the soul, which was simply devel¬ 
oped in the transaction between him and Jacob 
in his 3 "outh—which was develoj^ed again in his 
marriage cf the two heathen wives—which was 
developed again in his murderous vow concern¬ 
ing his brother—which was simply developed 
more strongly in his utterly godless hypocrisy 
in marrying a daughter of Ishmael under the 
ignorant notion of mere worldly expediency, 
that thereby he was conforming to the ideas cf 
the religion of his father and mother. And 
the meaning cf the apostle in citing the case of 
Esau is to show how all outward privileges 
amount to nothing if there is inward profane¬ 
ness of heart ; that profane apostates have only 
a limited season wherein the recovery of the 
gospel blessing is possible ; that sin may be the 
occasion of great sorrow, though there be no true 
sorrow for sin ; that the profane despising of 
spiritual privileges will, at some time or other, 
testify in experience to God’s severity against 
all reprobates. S. B. 

Esau’s great and bitter cry, which at first 
sight we are disposed to pity, is the cry of one 
who has rejected God, and God in turn has re¬ 
jected him. It is the cry of one who has trifled 
with God’s mercies, and then sought to regain 
theiu when it was all too late. It is the cry of 






SECTION 55.—GENESIS 27 : 1 40. 


435 


one who has not heeded the warning, “ See 
that ye receive not the grace cf God in vain.” 

Nf'ioman. 

33, 40. The B'essbuj cf Esau. As to Isaac, 
one point only is named of him by the wiiter to 
the Hebrews in liis catalogue of illustrious ex¬ 
amples of faith : “ By faith Isaac blessed Jacob 
and Esau concerning things to come” (11 :20). 
These benedictions must be regarded as far 
more than a venerable father's good wishes,-- 
indeed, as nothing less than prophetic benedic¬ 
tions, words uttered under the divine impulses 
of the Holy Ghost. Their broad outlook em¬ 
braced the great outlines of the future history 
of the two nations that were before him in the 
person of his two sons. H C. 

The prophecy thus delivered by Isaac was 
fulfilled in every particular. At first Esau, the 
elder, seemed to prosper more than his brother 
Jacob. There were dukes in Edom before there 
reigned any king over the children of Israel 
(Gen. 36 :31) ; and while Israel was in bondage 
in Egypt, Edom was an independent people. 

E. H. B.-It was Saul who first conquered, 

and David who subjugated them. They re¬ 
volted under Joram, and Amaziah defeated them 
and stormed their citadel Sela. After frequent 
changes in their political relations to Israel, 
they spread themselves abroad at the time of 
the Maccabees over the southern part of Canaan, 
as far as Hebron. John Hyrcanus completed 
their subjugation, and forced upon them the 
rite of circumcision, so that about a century be¬ 
fore Christ they formed one people with the 
Jews. Antipatcr was an Idumaean, and Herod 
the Great was his son. At the destruction of 
Jerusalem, about seventy years after Christ, 
they accelerated its fall. Since ihat period they 
have disappeared from history. C. G. B. 

The dwelling of the Edomites, the de¬ 
scendants of Esau, was Mt. Seir, on the south 
side of the Dead Sea, a district stretching to 
the iElanitic Gulf of the Bed Sea - a rocky dis¬ 
trict, which is barren toward the north ; but 
contains even now some fertile mountain coun¬ 
try-once flourishing communities. Its chief 
town was Sehih (“ a rock'* (2 Kings 14 : 7) ; 
afterward called “Petra,” a great town, which 
gave the name to Arabia PetrcBa\ which has as¬ 
tonished modern trave’lers by its magnificent 
ruins. It was destroyed by the Homan Emperor 
Trajan. In its neighborhood are, even to this 
day, “ the ridges of the mountains covered with 
corn-fields and fruit-gardens.” Oerl. 

The elder branch, it is here foretold, should 
delight more in war and violence, but yet should 
be subdued by the younger. By thy sword shall 


thou live, and shall serve thy l/roth^r. Esau and 
his children got possession of Mount Seir by 
force, expelling from thence the Hordes, the 
former inhabitants (De. 2 : 22). They were al¬ 
most continually at war with the Jews : upon 
every occasion, they were ready to join with 
their enemies ; and when Nebuchadnezzar be¬ 
sieged Jerusalem, they encouraged him utterly 
to destroy the city, saying— Baze it, raze it even 
to the foundations thereof (Psal. 137 : 7). And 
even long after they were subdued by the Jews, 
they retained the same martial siiirit ; for Josc- 
lihus in his time gives them the character of 
“a turbulent and disorderly nation, always 
erect to commotions, and rejoicing in changes ; 
at the least adulation of those who beseech 
them, beginning war, and hasting to battles as 
to a feast.” And a little before the last siege cf 
Jerusalem, they came, at the entreaty of the 
Zealots, to assist them against the priests and 
people ; and there, together with the Zealots, 
committed unheard-of cruelties, and barbar¬ 
ously murdered Annas, the high-priest, from 
whose death Josephus dates the destruction of 
the city. They were swallowed up and lost, 
partly among the Nabathean Arabs and partly 
among the Jews ; and the very name was dis¬ 
used about the end of the first century of the 
Christian Era. Thus were they rewarded for 
insulting and opi^ressing their brethren the 
Jews ; and hereby other prophecies were ful¬ 
filled, viz. Jerem. 49 : 7 ; Ezek. 25 :12 ; Joel 
3 : 19 ; Amos 1 : 11, and particularly Obadiah : 
for at this day we see the Jews subsisting as a 
distinct people, while Edom is no more, agree¬ 
ably to the words of Obadiah (ver. 10). For thy 
violence against thy brother Jacob, in the return of 
his posterity from Egypt, shame shall cover thee, 
and thou shall be cut off forever. And again (ver. 
18). There shall not be any rtmain'ng of the hou,se 
of Esa'i, for the Lord hath spoken it. In what a 
most extensive and 'circumstantial manner has 
God fulfilled all these predictions ! And what 
a proof is this of the divine inspiration of the 
Pentateuch, and the omniscience of God ! Bp. 
Newton. 

O^her Suggestive Points of the Narrative. 

Esau shows how selfish and untruthful the 
sensual man really is, and how worthless is the 
generosity which is merely of impulse and not 
bottomed on principle. While he so bitterly 
blamed Jacob for supplanting him, it might 
surely have occurred to him that it was really 
he who was supplanting Jacob. He had no 
right, divine or human, to the inheritance. 
God had never said that his possession should 





43G 


OTHER SUGGESTIVE POINTS OF THE NARRATIVE. 


go to the oldest, and had in this case said the 
express opposite. Besides, inconstant as E.sau 
was, he could scarce!}^ have forgotten the bar¬ 
gain that so pleased him at the time, and by 
which he had sold to his younger brother all 
title to his father’s blessings. Jacob was to 
blame for seeking to win his own by craft, but 
Esau was more to blame for endeavoring fur¬ 
tively to recover what he knew to be no longer 
his. His bitter cry was the cry of a disap¬ 
pointed and enraged child, what Hosea calls the 
“ howl ” of those who seem to seek the Lord, 
but are re.illy merely crying out, like animals, 
for corn and wine. Many that care very little 
for God's love will seek His favors ; and every 
wicked wretch who has in his prosper,ty sjuirned 
Gjd’s offers, will, when he sees how he has 
cheated himself, turn to God’s gifts, though 
not to God, with a cry. Esau would now very 
gladl}' have given a mess of pottage for the bless¬ 
ing that secured to its receiver “ the. dew of 
heaven, the fatness of the earth, and plenty of 
corn and wine ” Like many another sinner, he 
wanted both to eat his cake and have it. He 
wanted to spend his youth sowing to the flesh, 
and have the harvest which those only can have 
who have sown to the spirit. He wished both 
of two irreconcilable things—both the red pot¬ 
tage and the birthright. He is a type of those 
who think very lightly of spiritual blessings 
while their appetites are strong, but afterward 
bitterly complain that their whole life is filled 
with the results of sowing to the fle.sh and not 
to the spirit. Bods. 

Adam and Eve sold their birthright for the 
fruit of a tree—that was their bargain. Esau 
sold his for a mess of lentils—that was his. 
And men no vadays often sell theirs, not indeed 
for anything so simple as fruits or herbs but for 
some evil gain, which at the time they think 
worth purchasing at any price ; perhaps fur the 
enjoyment of some particular sin, or more com 
monly f »r the indulgence of general careLss- 
ness and spiritual sloth, because they do njt 
like a strict life, and have no heart for Gud’s 
service. And thus they are profane persons, 
for they de.spise the great gift of God. And 
then, when all is done and over, and their souls 
sold to Satan, they never seem to understand 
that they have parted with their birthright. 
They think that they stand just where they did ; 
they take for granted that when they choose to 
become more decent, or more religious, they 
have all their privileges just as before. Like 
Esau, instead of repenting for the loss of the 
birthright, they c nne, as a matter of course, for 
the blessing. Neuoman. 


Esau warns us that it is very possible, by 
careless yielding to appetite and jjassing whim, 
to entangle ourselves irrecoverably for this life, 
if not to weaken and maim ourselves for eter¬ 
nity. At the time, your act may seem a \evy 
small and secular one, a mere bargain in the 
ordinary course, a little transaction such as one 
would enter into carelessly after the day’s woik 
is over, in the quiet of a summer evening or in 
the midst of the family circle ; or it may seem 
so necessary that you never think of its moral 
qualities, as little as you question whether you 
are justified in breathing ; but you are warned 
that if there be in that act a crushing out of 
spiritual h qies to make way for the free enjoy¬ 
ment of the pleasures of sense-if there be a 
deliberate preference of the good things of this 
life to the love of God—if, knowingly, you make 
light of spiritual blessings, and count them 
unreal when weighed against obvious worldly 
advantages —then the c.msequences of that act 
will in this life bring to you great discomfoit 
and uneasiness, great loss and vexation, an 
agun}^ of remorse, and a life-long repentance. 
You are warned of this, and most touchingly, 
by the moving entreaties, the bitter cries and 
tears of Esau. 

But even when our life is spoiled irreparably, 
a hope remains for our character and ourselves 
—not certainly if our misfortunes embitter us, 
not if resentment is the chief lesult of our suf¬ 
fering ; but if, subduing resentment, and tak¬ 
ing blame to ourselves instead of trying to lix 
it on others, we lake revenge upon the real 
smrce of our undoing, and e.'ctirpate from our 
own character the root of bitterness. Painful 
and difficult is such schooling. It calls for 
simplicity, and humility, and truthfulness— 
qualities not of frequent occurrence. It calls 
f -r abiding patience ; for he who l)egins thus 
to sow to the spirit la’e in life, must be content 
with inward fruits, with peace of conscience, 
increase of righteousness and humility, and 
must learn to live without much of what all men 
naturall}^ desire. Bjd'-. 

It is natural to joity Esau ; but one has no 
right to do more. One has no right to fancy 
for a moment that God was arbitrary or hard 
upon him. Esau is not the sort of man to be 
the father of a great nation, or of anything else 
great. Greedy, passionate, reckless people like 
him, without due feeling of religion or of the 
unseen world, are not the men to govern the 
world or help it forward, or to be of use toman- 
kind, or train up their families in justice and 

wisdom and piety. King>by. -When you 

look at the entire lives of Jacob and Esau, you 




SECTION 55.—GENESIS 27 : 1-40. 


437 


find, that while Esau was far better in the be- 1 
giniiiug, Jacob was far better in the end. | 
There was very good material in Esau’s com¬ 
position, but what did he make of it? He s dd ’ 
his birthright. He turned away from God. In¬ 
stead of going up, he went down. There was 
very poor material in Jacob's composition, but 
he accepted God as his God ; and his path, 
though by no means straight, was nevertheless 
in the main an upward path. So Jacob grew 
better and better, and rose higher and higher, 
until we find him at last a veritable saint, a 
noble old man, before he dies. Abraham was a | 
hero ; Isaac was a saint ; but Jacob was a sin¬ 
ner. The biography of Jacob comes closer 
home to many of us than the history cf the 
others. There are few Abrahams ; not a large 
number of Isaacs ; but a great many Jacobs, to 
whom it is most comforting to know, that how¬ 
ever poor stuff we are made of by nature, God 
can make of us, if only we will .yield ourselves 
to him, “vessels unto honor, sanctified, and 
meet for the Master’s use, and prepared unto 
every good work.” And are there not times in 
the history of us all when it is a peculiar sup- | 
port to our faith to be able to call on God as 
“ the God of Jacob” ? Gibson. 

A great modern writer, Goethe, who can be 
accused neither of pietism nor of clericalism, 
wrote on the patriarchs some magnificent pages, 
in which occurs the following extract : “In that 
noble family there appears for the firtt time, in 
Jacob, a member who does not shrink from 
using stratagem and artifice in order to obtain 
those advantages which nature and circum¬ 
stances deny him. It has often been observed 
that the Holy Scriptures in nowise set the patri 
archs before us as models of virtue. They are 
men of most diverse characters, subject to mani¬ 
fold failings and infirmities.” “But,” adds 
this prince of modern authors, “there is one 
fundamental quality which is ever found in 
those men after God’s own heart ; that quality 
the unshaken belief that God takes special 
care of them and theirs.” That unwavering 
faith in the faiihful and merciful God is the 
seal by which Jacob is stamped as well as Abra 
ham. It is, therefore, easy to understand why 
God has chosen him in spite of his many delin¬ 
quencies. In that heart, beneath the dross, 
was the noble metal which God requires, that 
spiritual sense we call faith —the sense which 

was lacking in the profane Esau. Godei. - 

On the whole, here was a mixed character as to 
its excellence, but a high character as to its 
ability. Jacob was, even in his weakest points, 
far better fitted to lay the foundations of a 


family and kingdom than the impulsive and 
purposeless Esau. As a matter of fact, among 
the patriarchs though Abraham is most revered 
Jacob has been the truly influential man with 
the Jewish masses. He has moulded the mass 
of the Jewish people into his own image. 
M*n'cer. 

The fundamental thought connected with the 
divine guidance of Jacob’s life is, that in spite 
of all human hindrances, the divine counsel 
reaches its goal, and that even human sins must 
serve for its realization, although they are pun¬ 
ished none the less. 0.-In the whole of 

this history it is to be observed that God ex¬ 
ecutes his jnirposes according to his own coun¬ 
sel and will, and renders the weaknesses and 
sins of the children of men subservient to their 
accomplishment. The sins themselves he pun¬ 
ishes, as he did in Rebekah, Isaac, Esau, and 
especially Jacob. Amid the confusions and 
antagonisms of man’s weakness and wayward¬ 
ness, his purposes move on. C G. B. 

This is one of the most remarkable complica¬ 
tions of life, showing in the clearest manner 
that a higher hand guides the threads of his¬ 
tory, so that neither sin nor error can ultimately 
entangle them. Each one weaves the threads 
which are committed to him according to his 
own views and desires, but at last when the 
texture is complete we behold in it the pattern 
which the master had long before devised, and 
toward which each l.d^orer had only contributed 

one or another feature. K.-Each member 

j of the family plans his own wicked device, and 
God by the evil of one defeats the e\il of an¬ 
other, and saves His own j^urpose to bless the 
race from being frittered away and lost. And 
it is told us in order that, amid all this mess 
of human craft and selfishness, the righteous¬ 
ness and stability of God’s word of promise may 
be more vividly seen. D )ds. 

The Bible is a book rather of examples than- 
of precepts. There is comparative!}'’little teach¬ 
ing of moral lessons in the abstract. What is 
this but an indication on the part of God that 
He wills us to meditate upon His Word, and to 
derive from it for ourselves the lessons implic¬ 
itly wrapped up in it, without their being al- 
w'avs explicitly stated ? The narrative itself 
seldom or ever develops those lessons ; no 
comments are made, as a general rule, upon the 
conduct of the characters which are brought 
before us ; we are left to gather the moral for 
ourselves, either from the results of the conduct, 
or from principles laid down in another part of 
the Sacred Volume, Thus, God's abhorrence of 














438 


ESAU'S THREAT. JACOB SENT AWAY. 


Jacob’s deceit and falsehood is not stated ex¬ 
pressly in the narrative, but left to be gathered 
from the after fortunes of the Patriarch, whose 
latter years onl}' were gilded with some gleam 
of comfort,—who may be said to have paid a 
life-long penalty of Lis sin. All tliese lessons it 


asks some mental effort to elicit. It is, however, 
an effort which repays itself. It is far more in¬ 
teresting—it gives far more of life and freshness 
to a maxim of duty—to derive it for ourselves 
from an example, than to have it presented to 
us in a dry and abstract form. E. M. G. 


Section 56. 

ESAU’S THREAT. JACOB BLESSED AND SENT TO LABAN. 

I 

Genesis 27 : 41-46 ; 28 : 1-9. 

27 : 41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him : and 
Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand ; then will I slay 

42 my brother Jacob. And the words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah ; and she 
sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as 

43 touchiug thee, doth comfort himself, purposimj to kill thee. Now therefore, my son, obey 

44 my voice ; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran ; and tarry with him a few 

45 days, until thy brother’s fury turn away ; until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, 
and he forget that which thou hast done to him : then I will send, and fetch thee from 
thence ; why should I be bereaved of you both in one day ? 

46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth ; if 
Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these, of the daughters of the land, 
what good shall my life do me ? 

28 : 1 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him. Thou 

2 shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house 
of Bethuel thy mother’s father ; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of 

3 Laban thy mother’s brother. And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and 

4 multiply thee, that thou mayest be a company of peoples ; and give thee the blessing cf 
Abraham, to thee, and to th}’’ seed with thee ; that thou mayest inherit the land of thy 

0 sojournings, which God gave unto Abraham. And Isaac sent away Jacob ; and he went to 
Paddan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and 

6 Esau’s mother. Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him awa}”^ to Pad¬ 
dan-aram, to take him a wife from thence ; and that as he blessed him he gave him a 

7 charge, saying. Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan ; and that Jacob 

8 obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Paddan-aram : and Esau saw that the 

9 daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father ; and Esau w’ent unto Ishmael, and took 
unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister 
of Nebaioth, to be his wife. 


41. As Esau w^as well aware of Isaac’s par¬ 
tiality toward himself, he must have been con¬ 
vinced that it was not owing to him, nor to 
Jacob’s fraud, but to the Lord's doing, that the 
actual result had been brought about. Hence 
it appears that his hatred was of the same nature 
with that of Cain toward Abel, and of Saul tow¬ 
ard David, being directed .^ainst him princi¬ 
pally on account of his having been a special 
object of the divine favor. Under these cir¬ 
cumstances to attempt to take Jacob’s life was 
virtually an attempt to frustrate the decree of 


God by a stroke of his sword ! Bush. -He 

thought not of the hand of God in the whole 
matter, and just as little of condemning him¬ 
self, acknowledging his guilt, and repenting. 
Thus nothing remained to him—as nothing 
does remain to any natural heart, unbroken by 
grace—but hatred and enmity. And Rebekah 
and Jacob came now to experience, as just retri¬ 
bution. the consequences of the mistakes and 
errors with which they sought to anticipate the 
counsel of the Most High. C. G. B. 

44. By the words ‘ a few days” Rebekah per- 








SECTIOJ^ 56.—GENESIS 27 : 41-46; 23 : 1-9. 


439 


3uades lier son to tear himself from home. The 
punishment of the fraud is beginning. She 

never saw him again. A'f. -llebekah in her 

scheming neglected to take account of Laban, a 
man true brother to herself in cunning. She 
had calculated on Esau’s resentment, and knew 
it would last only a few days, and this brief 
period she was prepared to utilize by sending 
Jacob out of Esau’s reach to her own kith and 
kin, from among whom he might get a suitable 
wife. But she did not reckon on Laban’s mak¬ 
ing her son serve fourteen years for his wife, 
nor upon Jacob’s falling so deeply in love with 
Rachel as to make him apparently forget his 
mother. Bods. 

46, She is afraid, or pretends to be afraid, 
that her son Jacob may marry among the llii- 
tiles, as Esau had done ; and therefore makes 
this to Isaac the ostensible reason vhy Jacob 
should immediately go to Paddan-aram, that he 
might get a wife there. Isaac readily falls in 
with Rebekah’s proposal, and immediately calls 
Jacob, gives him suitable directions and his 
blessing, and sends him away. In this view of 
the subject we see at once the reason of the 
abrupt speech contained in this verse. A. C. 

: 1-5. Blessed liiiii and said, 
Arise, go. Too keenly does Isaac feel the 
grief which Esau’s Canaanitish wives had caused 
him, not at once and cordially to have seconded 
such a proposal ; the more so as he has now 
perceived that in many respects he had been 
unjust to Jacob, and has learned to regard him 
as the person in whom the promised race is to 
be continued. As formerly unconsciously and 
in prophetic emotion, so now consciously and of 
set purpose he transfers the blessing of Abra¬ 
ham to the son whom he had neglected, and 
sends him away with the injunction not to take 
a wife of the daughters of Canaan, K. 

4, A little reflection will show that, after all 
his errors in the matter, Isaac did “ by faith” 
bless his sons. Manifestly, Isaac had been 
very early in life initiated into the sublime 
mysteries of that faith which bis father pro¬ 
fessed. The transaction on Mt. Moriah shows 
his full acquiescence in the terms of the cove¬ 
nant made with Abraham. All the circum¬ 
stances of his marriage—his patient delay on 
account of the scruples of his father—his ac¬ 
quiescence in the perilous venture in sending 
among strangers for a wife —his prayer of faith 
for the fulfilment of the promise after ft was 
delayed twenty years—show very clearly that 
he was a man of faith and had a vivid appre¬ 
hension of his high calling, and that therefore, 
even though the feebleness and seeming child¬ 


ishness of his old age led him into error as to 
the mode of executing the duty which faith 
taught him AX'as incumbent upon him, still the 
power of his faith shows itself in his purj^ose 
to transmit the sacred deposit which he had re¬ 
ceived from Abraham. S. R. 

As the blessing now pronounced on Jacob 
was obtained without any' deception on his 
part, it is likely that it produced a salutary 
effect upon his mind, might have led him to 
confession of his sin, and prepared his heart 
for those discoveries of God’s goodness with- 
which he was favored at Bethel. A. C, 

Now Jacob fled hdo Syria (Hos. 12 :12). He 
was blessed with plenty of corn and wine, and 
yet he goes away jjoor ; was blessed with gov¬ 
ernment, and yet goes out to service, a hard 
service. The blessing shall be •'■confirmed to 
him, and yet he shall smart for the indirect 
course he takes to obtain it. While there is 
such an allay as there is of sin in our duties, we 
must expect an allay of trouble in our comforts. 

H.-Isaac’s life was not more retired and quiet 

than Jacob’s was busy and troublesome. In the 
one I see the image of contemplation ; of ac¬ 
tion, in the other. None of the patriarchs saw 
so evil days as he ; from whom justly hath the 
church of God therefore taken her name. 
Neither were the faitlxful ever since called Abra- 
hamites, but Israelites. Bp. II. 

6 -!>. Eaaus third marriage. This proceeding 
of Esau show's the same characteristic misap¬ 
prehension of the position, and of his father’s' 
mind, as w'e have seen in him before. It ful¬ 
fils that mind to the letter, but violates it in 
the spirit. There is, again, no inconsistency 
with what has gone before, as some have 
thought. Esau need not have known that his 
mother had heard of his threat against his 
brother : he sees his brother’s dismissal to 
Haran, and its ostensible reason. He knows 
that his wives were displeasing to his father ; 
and he endeavors in his clumsy' way to repair 
the mischief. Alf. 

True to his character, Esau manifests, on one 
hand, a kindness of disposition in consulting 
the wishes of his parents ; on the other hand, 
even more, a certain wilfulness which is de¬ 
termined to get back outw'ardly the inheritance 
which he has forfeited and despised, together 
with the blind infatuation of unbelief, which 
prompts him to marry among the daughters of 
Ishmael, who in chai'acter w'ere congenial to 
himself. He is the image of a man who is de¬ 
termined to correct his false steps by his own 
strength ; and, accordingly, attempts it in a 
wrong temper. Gerl. -We are expressly tcld 







440 


CHARACTERS OF ESAU AND JACOB. 


tlmt Esau went unto Ishinael. There was a 
Idndredness of condition, probably of taste and 
haV)its, between the father and son-in-law, 
fioth were rejected offshoots from the direct 
line which led downward to the birth of Christ ; 
and we can well imagine a community of feel¬ 
ing between them toward the preferred and 
favored branch of the house from which they 
sprung. T. C. 

Esau does not see any difference between Ish- 
niael’s family and the chosen family ; they are 
both sprung from Abraham, both aie naturally 
ihe same, and the fact that God expressly gave 
His inheritance past Ishmatl is nothing to Esau 
— an act of God has no meaning to him. He 
merely sees that be has not pleased his parents 
as well as he might by his marriage, and his 
easy disposition prompts him to remedy this. 
This is a fine specimen of the hazy views men 
have of what will bring them to a level with 
God’s chosen. Through their crass insensibil¬ 
ity to the high righteousness of God, there still 
does penetrate a perception that if they are to 
please Him there are certain means to be used 
for doing so. There are, they see, certain oc¬ 
cupations and ways pursued by Christians, and 
if by themselves adopting these they can please 
God, they are quite willing to humor Him in 
this. Much commoner than hypocrisy is the 
dim-sighted, blundering stupidity of the really 
profane worldly man, who thinks he can take 
rank with men whose natures God has changed, 
by the mere iuiitation of some of -their w’ays ; 
who thinks, that as he cannot without great 
labor, and without too seriously endangering his 
hold on the world, do precisely what God re¬ 
quires, God may be expected to be satisfied with 
a something like it. Duds. 

Thus by his owm choice as w^ell as in the de¬ 
velopment of history, Esau is removed from 
connedion vciih the history of the covenant. His 
communion with the chosen family had always 
been only external. He had alwmys been, and 
he remained a stranger to its higher interests, 
to its calling and destiny. He went his own 
icays, and that even while he remained in his 
father’s house, and was yet invested with the 
outward and natural claims to be the head of his 
family. His total exclusion from the chosen 
family is only the completing of his former ten¬ 
dency. But, liko Lot and Ishmael, he thereby 
becomes really a heathen. From the first, and 
even before we have studied the life of Jacob, 
we can fully understand the choice of Jacob 
and the rejection of Esau. K-Any one ca¬ 

pable of deeper views will certainly not dream 
that Esau would have been better adapted than 


Jacob to become the medium of Divine revela¬ 
tions. Esau is the representative of natural 
kindliness and honesty, but these qualities are 
joined to riideness and to a woint of suscepti¬ 
bility for what is higher. lie is void of all an¬ 
ticipation and longing. He is satisfied with 
V hat is visible ; in short he is a “profane per¬ 
son.” Such persons, even if giace reaches 
their hearts, which was not the case wntli Esau, 
are not adapted far hca'Iing a religious devel¬ 
opment. The natural di.-ijosition of Jacob is 
much more complex than thiit of Esau. There 
are many folds and coiners in his heart, wdiich 
himself and others find it difficult thoroughly 
to examine, w'hile a man like Esau may be 
pretty well known in the course cf an hour. 
Jrtcob is mild and pliable, sensitive and suscep¬ 
tible for every contact wiih a higher world ; 
always disposed and ready to see ihe heavens 
opened and the angels ascending and descend¬ 
ing. But at the same time, as in all characters 
in whom the imaginative prevails, he is also apt 
to deceive himself, he is under strong tempta¬ 
tion to dishonesty, prone to cunning, and with¬ 
out sufficient openness. God took this man 
into his own training, to remove Ihomany shad¬ 
ows always found when there is much light. 
Under this training alone is it possible really to 
learn, and in that school Jacob became Israel, 
while Esau, who was incapable of any such 
training, remained to the end only Esau, lleng- 
stenherg. 

Taking the two, Esau and Jacob, from first to 
last, how entirely is the judgment of Scripture 
and the judgment of posterity confirmed by the 
result of the whole. The mere impulsive hunt¬ 
er vanishes away, light as air : “he did eat 
and drink, and rose up, and went his way. 
Thus Esau despised his birthright.” The sub¬ 
stance, the strength of the Chosen family, the 
true inheritance of the promise of Abraham, 
was interwoven with the very essence of the 
character of “ the plain man, dwelling in tents,” 
steady, persevering, moving onward with delib¬ 
erate settled purpose, through years of suffering 
and of prosperity, of exile and return, of be¬ 
reavement and recover 3 \ The birthright is al¬ 
ways before him. Bach el is won from Laban 
by hard service, “ and the seven years seemed 
unto him but a few days for the love he had to 
her.” Isaac, and Bebekah, and Bebekah’s 
nurse, are remembered with a faithful, filial re¬ 
membrance ; Joseph and Benjamin are long 
and passionately loved with a more than pa¬ 
rental affection,—bringing dowm his gray hairs 
for their sakes “ in sorrow to the grave.” This 
is no character to be contemned or scoffed at ; 




SECTION 57.-GENESIS 28 : 10-22. 


441 


if it waa encompasaed with much infirmity, yet 
its very complexity demands our reverent at¬ 
tention ; in it are bound up, as his double name 
expresses, not one man, but two ; by toil and 
struggle, Jacob, the Supplanter, is gradually 
transformed into Israel, the Prince of God ; the 
harsher and baser features are softened and 
i'urified away. A. P. S. 

After this event, Isaac lived other forty-three 
jears. But he no more appears on the stage of 
covenant history, as Jacob takes up the thread 
of further development, the promise having 
now devolved on him. The text only records 
that he was gatheied to his fathers when 180 
years old and full of days, and that he was 
buried in the cave of Machpelah by Esau and 
Jacob, whom he was privileged to see once more 
standing as reconciled brothers by his death¬ 
bed. When Jacob left, his father dwelt at Beer- 
sheba. The desire to be nearer to his paternal 
place of sepulchre may probably have been 
the ground of his later settlement in Mamre, 
where he died. Kebekah, who at parting had 
so confidently promised Jacob to let him know 
whenever Esau’s anger was appeased, had prob¬ 
ably died soon after her favorite had left. At 
least the promised message was never deliv¬ 
ered, nor is her name mentioned on Jacob’s 
return. K. 


It has been common to describe Abraham as 
the man of faith, Isaac as the model of patient 
bearing, and Jacob as the man of active working; 
and in the two latter cases to connect the spirit¬ 
ual fruits, which were the outcome of their 
faith, with their natural characters also. All 
this is quite correct ; but it is necessarj^ to take 
a broader view of the whole matter. Let it be 
borne in mind, that God had both made and 
established His covenant with Abraham. The 


history of Isaac and Jacob, on the other hand, 
rather represents the hindrances to the covenant. 
These are just the same as we daily meet in our 
own walk of faith. They arise from opposite 
causes, according as in our weakness we either 
lag behind, or in our haste go before God. 
Isaac lagged behind, Jacob tried to go before 
God ; and their history exhibits the dangers and 
difficulties arising from each of these causes, 
just as, on the other hand, God’s dealings with 
them show how mercifully, how wisely, and yet 
how holily He knew how to remove these hin¬ 
drances out of the way, and to uproot these sins 
from their hearts and lives. A. E. 

Neither of the Patiiarchs has been set up, or 
can be set up, as a genuine pattern of Christian 
morals. But the broad light in w'hich the 
Fathers of Israel are to be viewed is this, that 
they were exclusive worshippers of the One True 
Everlasting God, in a world of idolaters—that 
they were living depositaries of the great doc¬ 
trine of the Unity of the Godhead, when the 
nations around were resorting to every green 
tree—that they “ were faithful found among 
the faithless.” And so incalculably important 
was the preservation of this great Article of the 
Creed of man, at a time when it rested in the 
keeping of so few, that the language of the Al¬ 
mighty in the Law seems ever to have a respect 
unto it : fury, anger, indignation, jealousy, 
hatred, being expressions rarely, if ever, attrib¬ 
uted to him, except in reference to idolatry— 
and, on the other hand, enemies of God, adver¬ 
saries of God, haters of God, being there— 
chiefly and above all, idolaters. But in this 
sense God was emphatically the God of Abra¬ 
ham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob : 
none of them, not even the last, having ever 
forfeited their claim to this high and glorious 
title. Blunt. 


Section 57. 

JACOB’S VISION AT BETHEL. 

Genesis 28 :10-22. 

10 And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a 

11 certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set ; and he took one of the 

12 stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he 
dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven ; and 

13 behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the Loed stood 






442 


JACOB'S VISION AT BETHEL. 


above it, and said, I am the Loed, the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac ; the 

14 land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed ; and thy seed shall be as the 
dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, 
and to the south : and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 

15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee wdthersoever thou goest, and will bring thee 
again into this land ; for I will not leave thee, until 1 have done that which I have sjDoken to 

16 thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Loed is in this place ; 

17 and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place ! this is none 

18 other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob lose up early in the 
morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and 

19 poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Beth-el : but the name 

20 of the city was Luz at the first. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, 
and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 

21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then shall the Loed be my God, and this 

22 stone, which I have set up for a^ pillar, shall be God’s house : and of all that thou shalt give 
me I will surely give the tenth unto thee. 


The blessing of his sons was the last passage 
in the active life of Isaac, after which he retires 
from the scene. Jacob now becomes the lead¬ 
ing figure in the sacred history. His spiritual 
character has not yet come out to view. But 
even now we can discern the general distinc¬ 
tion in the lives of the three patriarchs. Abra¬ 
ham’s is a life of authority and decision ; Isaac’s, 
of submission and acquiescence ; and Jacob’s, 
of trial and struggle. M. 

1-22. That this is really an account of the 
conversion of Jacob we infer not only from the 
circumstances of the case but from the beauti¬ 
ful saying of the prophet Hosea : He found 
him in Bethel and then he spake with us.” In 
this view of the vision at Bethel, we may see 
the very great importance of just such an inter¬ 
position of God at that period of the church’s 
history. The earthly head of the church, Isaac, 
is now aged, blind and feeble. The true heir 
to the succession is a fugitive and a wanderer, 
and it is needful to put beyond all uncertainty 
the question of his appointment of God to the 
leadership, even though like David afterward 
he must still struggle on and wait long till the 
purpose of God respecting him is fully accom¬ 
plished. Here again is illustrated the principle 
of these supernatural interpositions as never 
occurring except w’hen the occasion is of a dig¬ 
nity worthy the interposition of God. This is 
the point by which the supernatural interposi¬ 
tions of the Scriptures are readily distinguished 
from all the legendary interpositions of super¬ 
natural power as recorded in the mythologies of 
paganism, and scarcely less superstitious my¬ 
thologies of a corrupt Christianit 5 \ S. E. 

10, II. With a staff he goes over Jordan 
alone, doubtful and comfortless, not like the 
son of Isaac : in the way the earth is his bed, 
and the stone his pillow ; yet even there he 


sees a vision of angels. Jacob’s heart was never 
so full of joy as when his head lay hardest. 
God is most present with us in our greatest de¬ 
jection, and loves to give comfort to those that 
are forsaken of their hopes. Bp. II. 

12. All that was revealed to Jacob was that 
there was a ladder—a way to heaven, however 
steep and narrow. To us it has been shown 
who the wa}' is. Lilting up our eyes we see 
the Lord standing looking upon us in love and 

hear him speaking to us. Davidson. -What 

Jacob felt in his dream was, that this world is 
no such obstruction between spirits, no such 
hindrance to the wishes of our hearts, as we 
creatures of sense foolishly feel. He dreamed 
that that was true which Christ taught plainly 
w'as truth ; that the Son of man standing on 
earth was yet in heaven ; that streams of power, 
intelligence, sympathy, streams of radiant pitj% 
of ministering love and wisdom, rundown upon 
us, and, lifting our hearts with them, run up 
again to God. In the most beautiful form poet 
ever imagined, Jacob saw that he the exile was 
always at home ; that the child-man, through 
all distance, through all obstructions, is heart 
to heart with God..,, What a deep truth is hero ! 
Mercer. 

Christ has come, and in Him the heavens 
have bended dowm to touch, and touching to 
bless, this low earth, and man and God are at 
one once more. He is the ladder or sole me¬ 
dium of communication, inasmuch as by Him all 
Divine blessings, grace, helps and favors come 
down, angel-like, into our weak and needy 
hearts. Every strength, every mercj’, ever}’’ 
spiritual power, consolation in every sorrow, 
fitness for duty, illumination in darkness, all 
that any of us can need ; it all comes to us 
down that one shining way, the mediation and 
the work of the Divine-Human Christ, the Lord. 





SECTION 57.-GENESIS 28 : 10-22. 


445 


He is the ladder, the sole medium of communi- 
catioa between heaven and earth, inasmuch as 
by him my poor desires and prayers and inter¬ 
cessions, my wishes, my condicts, my confes¬ 
sions rise to God. “No man coiiieth to the 
Father but by me.” He is the ladder, the 
means of all communication between heaven 
and earth, inasmuch as at the last, if ever we 
enter there at all, we shall enter through him 
and through him alone. “ I am the Way, the 
Truth, and the Life.” A. M. 

Out of his eternal and infinite goodness and 
love purposing to become a Creator, and to 
communicate to his creatures, the Deity or¬ 
dained in his eternal counsel, that one person 
of the Godhead should be united to one nature, 
and to one particular of his creatures : that so, 
in the person of the Mediat )r, the true ladder 
might be fixed, whereby God might descend to 
his creatures, and his creatures might ascend to 
God. li'icon. 

To this ancient patriarch in Bethel is revealed 
the wondrous fact that the infinite ocean of 
space between earth and heaven, which no 
genius of man could bridge over into any sort 
of a pathway, has really been bridged over. 
For what Jacob saw in his dream Jesus Chri':t 
has done. A stairway—“ a king’s highway of 
holiness”—springing from the great continent, 
of heaven spans the impassable gulf, and is se¬ 
curely fastened to earth. So that on it are pass¬ 
ing spiritual messengers innumerable in execu¬ 
tion of the plans of God for every intelligent 
creature. Yea, and up that highway redeemed 
souls are ever passing, till “ thousands of thou¬ 
sands and ten times thousands” of earth’s in¬ 
habitants are gathered there. Yes, Jesus, the 

Mediator, is the Way. S. B.-The Ladder 

whose top reached to Heaven while its base 
rested on the earth, is the Son of Man who was 
also the Son of God, “ the only Mediator be¬ 
tween God and man, being both God and man.” 
Was ever figure more appropriate or moie in¬ 
structive ? The fundamental lesson which it 
teaches is this—that the Incarnation of the Son 
of God is the foundation of all our hopes ; that 
independently of this great fact, that “ the 
Word was made flesh,” it is an idle mockery to 
speak of any hope for man. For in the com¬ 
munion of the human soul with its Creator is to 
be found man’s true happiness, —his chief 
good, apart from which no real satisfaction is 
to be had. But this communion was broken off 
entirely by the Fall ; sin made a natural sepa¬ 
ration between the sinner and a holy God. How 
shall it be restored ? How sliall we again climb 
up to the house from which we have become 


outcasts—the bosom of “ our Father which is 
in heaven’ ’ ? The access to Him which you 
could not by any resources in yourself obtain, 
He has provided tor you in Christ. “Behold 
a ladder set up on the earth.” Christ appeared 
a man among men upon the earth, and was 
known after the flesh by the men of His time. 
In His body, in His spirit, in His circumstances, 
in His lot, in His trials, in His temptations, He 
was perfectly human, albeit perfectly sinless. 
He owned human relationships and human 
ties, and was subject to all the innocent infirm¬ 
ities of our nature. But those who associated 
with Him dail}^ who watche I His ways, and 
treasured up His words, soon became aware of 
something more than human in Him, which 
manifested itself as by lightning flashts, while 
they studied His career. The Ladder might be 
set up on earth, but its top reached they knew 
not w'hitlier,—” reached,” as they soon discov¬ 
ered, “ to Heaven.” After His earthly pilgrim¬ 
age had closed, Thomas cried to Him, under the 
force of irrepressible convictions, “ M}' Lord 
and my God and the first martyr, Stephen, 
saw with his bodily eye the Ladder’s head n-st- 
ing in Heaven, and cried, in brave acknowledg¬ 
ment of the great verity, “ Behold, I see the 
Heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing 
on the right hand of God.” Goulbv.ra. 

In an age of the future so far aw'ay that his 
thought can grasp no clear conception of it, — 

when the sinful and sorrowing race of men shall 

« 

have learnt, by long trying and by many tears, 
how little it can do of itself, when the bad 
choice of the first pair has borne bad fruit 
enough, and when the time appointed of the 
Father is fully come,—then a descendant of this 
Jacob shall be born, of such a new and uni¬ 
versal powder of life to save men, that in Him 
all the nations of the earth shall be everlast- 
ingl}^ blessed This was the magnificent truth 
sent dow'n through that Eastern midnight sky 
into the shepherd s mind. This Son of Man 
has come. At the very beginning of His course, 
standing on the threshold of Hio kirj.gdom, 
when He as yet discovers His real divinity to 
only a few open-minded and clean-hearted men 
like Nathanael,—an Israelite in whom there is 
no guile,—He is careful to say, “ Hereafter ye 
shall see heaven open, and the angels of God 
ascending and descending upon the Son of 
Man ” That deeper sense, w’hich the deeper 
readers like Origen and Augustine, and Luther 
and Tholuck, have never failed to recognize, is 
this. Our Lord's coming into the world flings 
forever apart the folded gates of the invisible. 
It throw's the two worlds open into each other. 




444 


JACOB'S VISION AT BETHEL. 


It is the very realiiy which the ladder Jacob saw 
long before in Syiia, with the condescending 
and climbing angels on it, typifies and pre¬ 
figures. From the moment of Chiist’s baptism, 
the outset of His sacrificial and saving ministry, 
all the bars and partition-walls, and to the eye 
of faith even the veils of the holy place, are 
taken out of the way. A tiain of spiritual 
glories is from that hour set in motion, which 
will go on breaking and brightening over the 
earth, in gifts of the Spirit, in the awaking of 
love and trust in human hearts, in righteous 
conduct, and in the gathering of nations about 
His cross, which will have their consummation 
and crown only when He comes again with His 
saints. This is your Christian privilege, you 
who believe and follow the Lord. Because He 
lives, ye live also. No matter if, like the patri¬ 
arch, jmu have to take the stones of that place 
where you are,—hard and cold,---and lay them 
for your pillow, —behold, the pathway of light 
opens up none the less. The angels travel it 
both ways : they come down bringing God's 
help, as well as go up with the burden of your 
prayers. F. D. H. 

13. Tlie LtORD stood above if, and 
said. He had just committed a great offence ; 
his flight from home, his personal loneliness, 
his fears about the future, all the consequences 
of this transgression, the burden of care that 
his condition brought with it, were all incal¬ 
culably enhanced by that heavier burden that 
an awakened conscience presses down upon his 
heart. Never before had the Lord appeared to 
him, never before had that voice divine sounded 
in his ear. Jehovah now meets him by the 
w'ay, as he comes fresh from his transgres'sion, 
and meets him how ? Is it as he met the prophet 
in his flight, saying, “ What doest thou here, 
Elijah?” Is it as he met Moses, after his of¬ 
fence, indicating his sore displeasure ? No, not 
a w'ord of challenge, not a hint as to the past, 
not an expression of displeasure. It is thus 
that the God of his fathers deals with his 
adopted child, become now humbled and peni¬ 
tent, depressed, doubtful even of Divine for¬ 
giveness,"" still more of Divine protection and 
favor. W. H. 

Heaven and earth have been separated by sin. 
But this ladder has re-established the inter¬ 
course. It is therefore a beautiful emblem of 
that which mediates and reconciles. It here 
serves to bring Jacob into communication with 
God, and teaches him the emphatic lesson that 
he is accepted through a mediator. Jehovah 
stood above it, and Jacob, the object of his mercy, 
beneath. He reveals himself to the sleeper as 


Jehovah, Ike God of Abraham ihy father, and of 
Isaac. It is remarkable that Abraham is styled 
his father, that is, his actual grandfather, and 
covenant father. He renews the promise of the 
land, cf the seed, and cf the blessing in that 
seed for the whole race of man. Westward, 
eastward, northw^ard, and southward are they 
to break forth. This expression points to the 
world-wide universality of the kingdom of the 
seed of Abraham, when it shall become the fifth 
monarchy, that shall subdue all that went be¬ 
fore, and endure forever. This transcends the 
destinj^ of the natural seed of Abraham. M. 

-A new sense of communication between 

earth and heaven came upon him, assuming a 
strange reality when he saw the Lord standing 
above, and heard him saj", “ I am the Lord God 
of Abraham thy father and the God ef Isaac.” 
Before this Jacob had heard of that wonderful 
covenant of God so often ratified with his ven¬ 
erable grandfather and his father. The transfer 
of blessing from Isaac to himself as the lineal 
heir of both birthright and blessing w^as a thing 
of quite recent experience. How^ fully he had 
comprehended its glorious significance before 
does not appear ; but now that he is cast out 
alone upon the wide, unknown world —now that 
he so much needs the Great God for his friend 
—it comes over him wdth solemn, precious in¬ 
terest. The words spoken were full of comfort. 
They reminded him of the great family prom¬ 
ise to Abraham, renewed to his father Isaac : 
” A God to thee and to thy sefd after thee,” and 
he felt that the j'romise put its finger upon his 
own aching, solitary heart. He had a fresh as¬ 
surance that his life would not come to nought 
and be a failure. 11. C. 

12-15. The dream of Jacob is the medium 
of divine revelation and \ romi.-e. But the in¬ 
ward state of Jac( b at the time formed its nat¬ 
ural basis. This dream ajipears much more sig¬ 
nificant when w'e recall to mind the feelings 
with which he would lay him down to rest. 
Thoughts accusing and excusing one another 
W'ould overwhelm him and refuse to be con¬ 
trolled, amid the unwanted s Jitude and in the 
loneliness of his position, as night gathered 
around him, and all circumstances conspired to 
make him look into the depth of his soul. The 
present weighs on him as a curse which he 
had drawn on himself ; nor is the dark future 
before him as yet lit up by a single ray of divine 
promise. He has, indeed, ol tained the blessing 
of his father, but the divine sanction has not 
been given to it. Consciousness of guilt, re¬ 
morse of conscience, doubts, cares, and anxie¬ 
ties of various kinds, only tended to deepen his 




SECTION 57.-GENESIS 28 : 10-22. 


445 


sense of loneliness. If he is not to despair, he 
requires to be comforted and strengthened from 
on high. And this is now done. The dream 
aud its vision are the reply of God to the cares 
and anxieties with which he has lain down to 
rest. The vision embodies in a symbol that 
which the divine i^romises (verses 13 to 15', of 
which it is the basis, declare in words. It foims 
a bridge between heaven and earth. Below, is 
the poor, helpless, and forsaken man—a repre¬ 
sentative of human nature with its inability and 
helplessness. But the angels of God ever de¬ 
scend to bring him help, and again ever ascend 
to fetch new deliverance. Above, Jehovah 
Himself stands upon it. By the i^romise, ‘‘ I 
will bless thee, and in thee (aud in thy seed) shall 
all the families of the earth be blessed,” he 
connects the <joal with the commencement of that 
development, so that this forsaken and helpless 
man is to become the source of blessing and 
the medium of salvation to the whole world. It 
is thus that the ladder connects heaven with 
earth, and Jacob at the foot of it with Jehovah 
above it. The Ir.dder which connects heaven 
with earth represents the promise, which equally 
joins heaven and earth, which brings down and 
imparts the powers of heaven to man, as the 
medium of the promise, yea, and in virtue of 
which, Jehovah Himself comes down in order 
that by His covenant and co-operation with 
him who is the medium of the promise, the goal 
might be attained and all the families of the 
earth blessed in him. All this, so far as Jacob 
was concerned, lay only in germ and undevel¬ 
oped in the jjromise. But looking back on its 
fulfilment we know that this goal was to be at¬ 
tained by the desc.ent of the fulness of the per¬ 
sonal God into helpless and disabled human 
nature, through the incarnation of God in 
Christ. K. 

The Lord exi30unds, as it were, this vision to 
him, and makes a particular application to him 
of the truth it shadows forth. He speaks as 
though that ladder were placed between heaven 
and earth for his sake only ; as though it were 
for him only that he kept watch above it. 
*• Behold,” he says, “ I am with thee, and will 
keep thee in all places whither thou goest. I 
will not leave thee.” And thus the Lord re¬ 
veals to us what we call his particular provi¬ 
dence over his servants. Wherever we are, he 
declares that he sees us ; he tells us he is with 
us ; he assures us he cares for us ; he pledges 

himself to keep us. Bradley. -Why should 

we not, as the spiritual seed of Jacob, catch a 
gleam of refreshing light from this assurance as 
we pass along ? If God will be with us if he 


I will keep us in all places and circumstances, if 
he will never leave us nor forsake us, and if he 
j will bring us at last to our promised and hoped- 
for land of rest, then may we go on our way 
j with confidence and joy. Whoever we may 
leave, or whatever we may lose, still we pait 
not from our best friend, nor are we depiived 
of our most valuable portion. We cannot be 
lonely, if God be with us. We cannot want, if 
he provide for us. We cannot err, if he guide 
us. We cannot perish, if he preserve us. And 
! all this he wdl do for those that put their trust 

j in him. Bush. -And what Jacob heard, that 

I he also saw in symbolic vision. The promise 
was the real God-built stair, which leached 
from the lonely place on w’hich the poor w^an- 
^ derer hi^’^ quite up to heaven, right into the very 
presence of Jehovah ; and on which, all silent 
^ and unknowm by the world, lay the shining 
, track of angel-ministry. And so still to each 
one who is truly of Israel is the promise of that 
mysterious “ladder” which connects earth with 
heaven. Below lies poor, helpless, forsaken 
j man ; above, stands Jehovah Himself, and 
I upon the ladder of promise which joins earth to 
heaven, the angels of God, in their silent, 

, never-ceasing ministry, descend bringing help, 
and ascend, as to fetch new deliverance. Nay, 
this “ ladder” is Christ, for b^^ this ‘‘ladder’’ 
God Himself has come dowui to us in the person 
of His dear Son, Who is the promise become 
realit}', as it is written : “ Hereafter ye shall 
see heaven open, and the angels of God ascend¬ 
ing and descending upon the Son of Man.” 
A. E. 

16. And Jacob awaked, and §aid, 
Purely Jcliovali i§ in pBace, and 
I knew it not. He had been reared in the 
faith that God was to be worshipped in definite 
localities. At the place where he did not ex¬ 
pect anything he saw heaven ; he saw some 
form or revelation of God. See how^ the greater 
truth dawns upon his opening mind, “Surely 
the Lord is in this place,” and that is the very 
end of our spiritual education ; to find God 
everyw'here ; never to see the days whitening 
the eastern sky without seeing the coming of 
the King’s brightness ; to feel that every place 
is praying ground ; to renounce the idea of 
partial and official consecration, and stand in a 
universe every particle of wdiich is blessed and 
consecrated by the presence of the infinite 
Creator. We have not yet attained this summit 
I ot education. We still draw a line betw'een the 

I 

Sabbath day and the day that went before it ; 
^ we have still a church and a market-place ; still 
we distribute the sum total of things into 








44G 


/ 


JACOB'S VISION A T BETHEL. 


Church and State, When- God has wrought in 
us all the myster}’^ of his grace, and reared us to 
the last fruition of wisdom possible below the 
skies, we shall know that there is no market¬ 
place, no State, no business, but one great 
Church ; every speech hoi}" and pure as prayer, 
every transaction a revelation of justice. J. P. 

17. AikI Jacob was afrabl. The Holy 
Spirit tells us only of Jacob’s fear. And why ? 
To impress this truth on our minds, that the 
man who sees God, never trifles with him ; that 
the soul he visits and gladdens with his mercy, 
he always fills with an awe of his majesty. 
Turn in this book to any manifestation of him 
you can find here—with hardly an exception, 
the man to whom it is made, trembles before 
him. But it is a fear that has no torment in it. 
Nothing painful gives birth to it. It springs 
from the nearneis to us of the God who loves 
us ; from the view we have of the po'ver that 
blesses us ; from the sight vouchsafed us of the 
holiness that bears with us ; from the vastness 
we see, the length and breadth and dej^tli and 
height, in the grace that saves us. Our fear 
comes not from the terrors of the Lord, but 
from the excellency of the Lord shining forth 
in the goodness of the Lord. It springs from 
the magnificence of that goodness. There is 
forgiveness with him, he tells us, that he may 
be feared ; and we feel it must be so. Bradley. 

Tins is ii<»iic otlier than the ^atc 
of Heaven. Then he was enabled to look 
on into a far distant future ; to feel that he 
should be interested in that which happened 
long after he left the earth ; that he should live 
because his God was not the God of the dead, 
but of the living ; that the blessings to his dis¬ 
tant seed would be blessings to him. Here was 
the real difference between him and Esau. lie 
had no feeling of a present, of a living Ood ^ 
therefore he was content with a mere present 
possession, with plenty of corn and wine and 
fatness of the earth. In time, no doubt, he and 
his posterity would feel their need of Beings to 
worship, of beings to protect them. They 
would form their gods out of the visible things 
in which they lived. Earth would become the 
archetype of Heaven, and therefore all their 
belief in Heaven would be something to make 
them more afraid of the earth, less able to till 
it and subdue it, less able to redeem it from the 
weeds and the beasts that possessed it. This is 
the last and highest result of the tribe of hunt¬ 
ers, of those who seemed as if they held the 
earth in fee and had an undisputed right to the 
property of it. The wanderer in the desert, 
the plain man,—whose ignorance and cowardice 


and meanness were purged away by God’s dis¬ 
cipline, who lived in a land which was not his 
own, and died an exile,—left a family out of 
wliich there grew a nation, which was itself to 
give birth to a universal church ; which was to 
possess and conquer and civilize a world. 
^faur^ce. 

It is the 8on of Man who really bridges the 
interval between heaven and earth, God and 
man. In His person these two are united. 
You cannot tell whether Christ is more divine 
or human, more God or man—solidly based on 
earth, as this massive staircase, by His real 
humanity, by Histhirt}" three years’ engagement 
in all human functions and all experiences of 
this life. He is yet familiar with eternity. His 
name is “ He that came down from heaven,” 
and if your eye follow step by stej) to the 
heights of His person, it rests at last on what 
you recognize as Divine. His 1 )ve it is that is 
wide enough to embrace God on the one hand, 
and the lowest sinner on the other. Truly He 
is the way, the stair, leading from the lowest 
depth of earth to the highest height of heaven. 
In Him you find a love that embraces you as 
you are, in whatever condition, however cast 
down and defeated, however embittered and 
polluted—a love that stoops tenderly to you and 
hopefully, and gives you once more a hold upon 
holiness and life, and in that very love unfolds 
to you the highest glory of heaven and of God. 

When this comes home to a man in the hour 
of his need, it becomes the most arousing reve¬ 
lation. He springs from the troubled slumber 
we cull life, and all earth wears a new glory and 
awe to him. He exclaims with Jacob, “ How 
dreadful is this place. SurJy the Lord is in 
this place, and I knew it not.” The world that 
had been so bleak and empty to him, is filled 
with a majestic vital presence. Jacob is no 
longer a mere fugitive from the results of his 
OM'n sin, a shepherd in search of emjrloyment, 
a man setting out in the world to tiy his fort¬ 
une ; he is the partner with God in the fulfil¬ 
ment of a Divine purpose. And such is the 
change that passes on every man who believes 
in the Incarnation, who feels himself to be con¬ 
nected with God by Jcsus Christ ; he recognizes 
the Divine intention to uplift his life, and to fill 
it with new hopes and purposes. He feels that 
humanity is consecrated by the entrance of the 
Son of God into it : he feels that all human life 
is holy ground since the Lord Himself has 
passed through it. Having once had this vision 
of God and man united in Christ, life cannot 
any more be to him the poor, dreary, common¬ 
place, wretched round of secular duties and 





SECTION 57.- GENESIS 28 : 10-22. 


447 


short-lived joys and terribly punished sins, it i 
was before : but it truly becomes the very gate 
of heaven ; from each part of it he kjiows there 
is a staircase rising to the presence of Grod, and 
that out of the region of pure holiness and jus¬ 
tice there flow to him heavenly aids, tender 
guidance, and encouragement. Bods. 

IN, Jacob dedicates the stone on which his 
head had rested, and converts it into a pillar or 
monument by pouring oil on the top of it. The 
outward import of this action is to distinguish 
the stone, with a view to the time when in vir¬ 
tue of the vow it was to become a house of God 
(v. 22), But in accordance with the views prev¬ 
alent throughout the whole Old Testament, this 
action must also, and pre-eminently, have had 
an inward and symbolical meaning. The sym¬ 
bolical use of oil as an emblem of the Spirit of 
God, who enlightens, revives, and heals, is de¬ 
rived from the use of oil in common life among 
Orientals. In the East it is employed for giv¬ 
ing flexibility, freshness, and health, for allevi¬ 
ating pain and healing diseases, for giving a 
flavor to food, and also for light. Hence to 
pour oil over anything symbolized its dedica¬ 
tion to God and to Divine purposes. K. 

The amended translation of Jacob’s 
vow reads thus : “ If Elohim will be with me, 
and will protect me on this journey Jhat I go, 
and will give me bread to eat and clothing to 
wear, and if I come again in peace to my father’s 
house, and Jehovah will be my Elohim, then 
this stone which I have set up as a pillar shall 
be Beth-Elohim ; and of all that thou shalt give 
me I will surely j^ay thee tithes.” We have all 
said so, and some of us have never fulfilled the 
vow. We rose up from the bed of sickness, 
and said, “ Hence on, every pulse is God’s, every 
breath a prayer.” We have been delivered 
from danger, from poverty, from despair, and 
we have written our vow, and have forgotten 
every word of the covenant. J. P. 

To what extent Christians of the present daj’ 
may expect the guidance of God in the affairs 
of life is a practical question of the highest in¬ 
terest to every earnest-minded man ; and the 
answer to it involves the sublimest fact in re¬ 
ligion. Of old, Jacob tested God on the plains 
of Bethel, in this very respect, asking “ God to 
be with him, and keep him in the way he went, 


give him bread to eat and raiment to put on, so 
that he might come again to his father’s house 
in peace,” and God heard the prayer in all these 
particulars, and thus took to himself the name 
of “ the God of Bethel ” In like manner, that 
ancient name, “ God of Abraham, and of Isaac, 
and of Jacob, ” is the memorial of his special 
watch and care over his children. The life of 
the Patriarchal religion was this, that God does 
by his providence shield and guide his people, 
tliat he condescends to point out the way they 
should take. BudingUm. 

The conditions of Jacob’s vow, which are 
simply responsive to GoePs promise (v. 15), seem 
to denote the secret wish and desire of his 
soul, and not any express stipulation with God. 
Man certainly cannot insist on terms with his 
Maker ; but he may desire and humbly hope 
for a supply of his wants. More than this the 
Patriarch did not expect ; and less than this 
God never intended to give. 

22. Teiitli. The number ten, as being the 
last of the cardinal numbers, expresses the id( a 
of i^erfection, of a whole. Among almost all 
ancient people the tenth of their goods was set 
apart, and very frequently as a holy offering. 
This was an acknowledgment that the whole 
was God’s property ; and by this acknowledg¬ 
ment the possession and enjoyment of the rest 

are sanctified. Gerl. -Thus Jacob opens his 

heart, his home, and his treasure to God. The 
spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound 
mind, has begun to reign in Jacob. As the 
Father is prominently manifested in regenerate 
Abraham, and the Son in Isaac, so also the 
Spirit in Jacob. M. 

There is clear evidence that Jacob was now a 
I child of God. He takes God to be his God in 
covenant, with whom he will live. He goes 
out in reliance upon the divine promise, and 
yields himself to the divine control. Gosman. 

-The sense of the nearness of God filled 

him with awe, incited him to adoration, pledged 
him to gratitude. Marking the spot with a 
memorial-stone, and consecrating it with a vow, 
he went on his way rejoicing. That place is 
ever nearest heaven where God’s presence is 
felt ; and God’s presence .is felt wherever the 
soul looks up to him in humble, grateful, ad¬ 
miring love. J. P. T. 













448 


JACOB'S SERVICE WITH LABAN. 


Section 58. * 

JACOB’S SERVICE WITH LABAN. WIVES AND CHILDREN. SCHEME OF INCREASE. 

Genesis 29 :1-35 ; 30 :1-43. 

29 : 1 Then Jacob went on bis journey, and came to the land of the children of the east. And 

2 he looked, and behold a well in the held, and, lo, three flocks of sheep lying there by it ; 
for out of that well they watered the flocks : and the stone upon the well’s mouth was great. 

3 And thither were all the flocks gathered : and they rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, 

4 and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in its place. And 
Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran aie we. 

5 And he said unto them, Know j^e Laban the son of Nahor ? And they said. We know him. 

G And he said unto them, Is it well with him? And they saifl. It is well : and, behold, 

7 Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep. And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither 
is it time that the cattle should be gathered together : water ye the sheep, and go and feed 

8 them. And they said. We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and they rcll 

9 the stone from the M'ell’s mouth ; then we water the sheep. While he yet spake with 

10 them, Rachtrl came with her father’s sheep ; for she kept them. And it came to pass, 
v/hen Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of 
Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob W'ent near, and rolled the stone from the well's 

11 mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. And Jacob, kissed Rachel, 

12 and lifted up his voice, and wept. And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's 1 rother, 

13 and that he was Rebekah’s son : and she ran and told her father. And it came to pass, 
when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and em¬ 
braced him, and kissed him, and brought him to nis house. And he told Laban all these 

14 things. And Laban said to him. Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode 

15 with him the space of a month. And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art m 3 " brother, 

16 shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy" wages be? And 
Laban had two daughters : the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger 

17 was Rachel. And Leah’s eyes were tender ; but Rachel was beautiful and well favored. 

18 And Jacob loved Rachel ; and he said, I will serve thee sev^n years for Rachel thy younger 

19 daughter. And Laban said. It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her 

20 to another man ; abide with me. And Jacob served seven vrars for Rachel ; and they 

21 seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her. And Jacob said unto Laban, 

22 Give me my wife, for my" day"s are fulfilled, that I may go in unto "her. And Laban galh- 

23 ered together all the men of the place, and made a feast. And it came to pass in the e^cn- 
ing, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him ; and he went in unto her. 

24 And Laban gave Zilpah his handmaid unto his daughter Leah for an handmaid. And it 

25 came to pass in the morning that, behold, it was Leah : and he said to Laban, What is 
this thou hast done unto me ? did not I serve with thee for Rachel ? wherefore then hast 

26 thou beguiled me ? And Laban said, It is not so done in our place, to give the younger 

27 before the firstborn. Fulfil the week of this one, and we will give thee the other also for 

28 the service which thou shalt serve \vith me yet seven other years. And Jacob did so, and 

29 fulfilled her week : and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife. And Laban gave to 

30 Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her handmaid. And he went in also unto 
Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other 
years. 

31 And the Lokd saw that Leah was hated, and he opened her womb ; but Rachel was bar- 

32 ren. And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben : for she said, 

33 Because the Lord hath looked upon my affliction ; for now my husband will love me. And 
she conceived again, and bare a son ; and said. Because the Lord hath heard that I am 

34 hated, he hath therefore given me this son also : and she called his name Simeon. And 
she conceived again, and bare a son ; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined 


SECTION 58.—GENESIS 29 : 1-85; SO : 1-43. 


449 


35 unto me, because I have borne him three sons : therefore was his name called Levi, And 
she conceived again, and bare a son ; and she said, This time will I praise the Lokd : there¬ 
fore she called his name Judah ; and she left bearing. 

30 : 1 And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister ; and 

2 she said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else 1 die. And Jacob’s anger was kindled 
against Rachel ; and he said. Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit 

3 of the womb ? And she said. Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her ; that she may btur 

4 upon my knees, and I also may obtain children by her. And she gave him Bilhah her 

5 handmaid to wife : and Jacob went in unto her. And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a 

6 son. And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath 

7 given me a son : therefore called she his name Dan. And Bilhah Rachel’s handmaid con- 

8 ceived again, and bare Jacob a second son. And Rachel said, With mighty wrestlings have 

9 I wrestled with my sister, and have prevailed : and she called his name Naphtali. When 
Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her handmaid, and gave her to Jacob 

10 to wife. And Zilpah Leah’s handmaid bare Jacob a son. And Leah said. Fortunate ! and 

11 she called his name Gad. And Zilpah Leah’s handmaid bare Jacob a second son. And 

12 Leah said. Happy am I! for the daughters will call me happy : and she called his name 

13 Asher. And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the 

14 field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I 

15 pray thee, of thy son’s mandrakes. And she said unto her. Is it a small matter that thou 
hast taken aw’ay my husband ? and wouldest thou take away my son’s mandrakes also ? 

16 And Rachel sfiitl. Therefore he shall lie with thee to-night for thy son’s mandrakes. And 
Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said. Thou 
must come in unto me ; for I have surely hired thee with my son’s mandrakes. And he 

17 lay with her that night. And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare 

18 Jacob a fifth son. And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I gave my hand- 

19 maid to my husband : and she called his name Issachar. And Leah conceived again, and 

20 bare a sixth son to Jacob. And Leah said, God hath endowed me wdth a good dowry ; 
now w’ill my husband dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons : and she called 

21 his name Zebulun. And afterward she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah. 

22 And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. And 

23 she conceived, and bare a son : and said, God hath taken away my reproach : and she 

21 called his name Joseph, saying. The Loan add to me another son. 

25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had home Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send. 

26 me away, that I maj' go unto mine own place, and to my country. Give me my wives anL 
my children for whom I have served thee, and let me go ; forJhou knowest my service 

27 wherewith I have served thee. And Laban said unto him. If now I have found favor in 

28 thine eyes, iuirij : for I have divined that the Loan hath blessed me for thy sake. And he 

29 said. Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it. And he said unto him. Thou knowest 

30 how I have served thee, and how thy cattle hath fared with me. For it was little which 
thou hadst before I came, and it hath increased unto a multitude ; and the Loan hath 
blessed thee whithersoever I turned : and now when shall I provide for mine own house 

31 also? And he said. What shall I give thee? And Jacob said. Thou shalt not give me 

32 aught : if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will ag,iin feed thy flock and keep it. I will 
pass through all thy flock to-day, removing from thence every speckled and spotted one, 
and every black one among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats : 

33 and of such shall be ray hire. So shall my righteousness answer for me hereafter, when 
thou shalt come concerning my hire that is before thee : every one that is not speckled 
and spotted among the goats, and black among the sheep, that {f found with me shall be 

34 counted stolen. And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word. 

35 And he removed that day the he-goats that were ring-traked and spotted, and all the she- 
goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white in it, and all the black ones 

36 among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons ; and ho set three days’ journey 

37 betwixt himself and Jacob ; and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks. And Jacob took him 
rods of fresh poplar, and of the almond and of the jdane tree ; and peeled white strakes in 

38 them, and made the white appear which was in the rods. And he set the rods wdiich he 
had peeled over against the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs where the flocks 

29 


450 


JACOB'S SERVICE WITH LABAN. 


39 came to drink ; and they conceived when they came to drink. And the flocks conceived 

40 before the rods, and the flocks brought forth ringstraked, speckled, and spotted. And 
Jacob separated the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked and all 
the black in the flock of Laban ; and he put his own droves apart, and put them not unto 

41 Laban’s flock. And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger of the flock did conceive, 
that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the flock in the gutters, that they might con- 

42 ceive among the rods ; but when the flock were feeble, he put them not in : so the feebler 

43 were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s. And the man increased exceedingly, and had 
large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and asses. 


iS-IO. Wells are still the spots where the 
youth and girls of Bedouin life congregate, and 
at the wells alone is Oriental courtship carried 
on to this day. The Syrian girl, especially if a 
Druse or a Christian, unlike the secluded 
daughter of the towns, is frequently intrusted 
with the care of her father's flock. The well, 
the most precious of possessions, is carefully 
closed with a heavy slab until all those whose 
flocks are entitled to share its water have 
gathered. The time is noon. The first comers 
gather and report the gossip of the tribe. The 
story of Jacob and Rachel is, in its most minute 
details, a transcript of the Arab life of to-day. 
H. B. T. 

There is a remarkable analogy in the two ar¬ 
rivals of Jacob and Abraham’s servant at Haran 
—for not only did they come to the same city, 
but probably to the same well, where the same 
scene of pastoral and ancient simplicity is 
acted over again. The interview with Rachel is 
quite a counterpart to that with Rebekah ; and 
the emotions of the two strangers are the same 
and alike natural—those of the elder, Abraham’s 
servant, being of a graver and more solemn char¬ 
acter than those of Jacob, whose sensibilities 
were more vivid and tender. There was a provi¬ 
dence in both ; and we recognize in them the 
similar dealings of God with the patriarchs of 
two generations. T. C. 

Robinson informs us, “ Over most of the cis¬ 
terns is laid a broad and thick flat stone, with 
a round hole cut in the middle, forming the 
mouth of the cistern. This hole we found in 
many cases covered with a heavy stone, which 
it would require two or three men to roll 
away.” The established regulation of the well 
demanded that the stone should not be rolled 
away until all the flocks had been brought to¬ 
gether. But when Jacob learned that the ap¬ 
proaching shepherdess was Laban’s daughter, 
he oversteps this arrangement, ani, in the over¬ 
flowing joy of his heart, he offers his services, 
and rolls away the stone. K. 

11, The unmarried daughters of the nomad 
Arabs to this day keep the flocks. The meeting 
is in the highest degree touching and natural. 


The forlorn man driven from his father's house 
by peril of his life, was at once met, not only 
with his own flesh and bio )d, but with her who 
in a moment becomes to him the centre of his 
new and recovered life. The history is drawn 
from the very deepest wells of human emotion. 
His service done, and his impassioned manner, 
justify his taking the privilege of a near rela¬ 
tive, and all doubt on this is removed by his 
own avowal. Observe the continual and studied 
repetition, “ the daughter of Laban his mother’s 
brother,”—“the flock of Liban his mother’s 
brother,”— “ her father’s brother,”—” Re- 
bekah’s son,”—“Jacob his sister’s son.” TJie 
joy of meeting is imparted to her whom he 
met : she runs and tells her father. And he 
again, in his turn, welcomes the wayfarer with 
the same affectionate ardor. Alf. 

There was much to awaken strong emotion— 
the damsel was the daughter of “ his mother's 
brother;" the sheep were “the sheep of his 
mother's brother." It is not without purpose 
that his mother is thus i^resented to us. It ap¬ 
prises us that his mother was pi’esent to Jacob’s 
mind. He pictured to himself, that just as that 
maiden appeared there before him, so, in that 
very place, had his mother appeared before 
Abraham’s servant many j^earsbefore—and that 
now he was among the scenes of her youth, of 
which she had often spoke to him. We can 
therefore well understand how, when he kissed 
his fair cousin and told her who he was, “he 
lifted up his voice and wept.’ ’ This is a fine 
touch of nature. We begin to feel that there 
is truth in this man, of whom we have not yet 
seen much that is good. Our hearts begin to 
go with him. His future career begins to in¬ 
terest us. Kit. 

1^. Had Laban really possessed the generos¬ 
ity which his words seem to express, he would 
have given Jacob the object of his choice with¬ 
out compelling him to wait seven years for her. 
Though it was proper for Jacob to make the 
offer he did, it was mean and sordid for Laban 
to accept it. But it is evident that his own 
private interest was all that he studied. In 
his sister Rebekah’s marriage there were pres- 









SECTION 58.~ GENESIS 29 : 1-35; SO : 1-43. 


451 


ents of gokl and silver, and costly raiment — 
things which wroaglit much on his mind. But 
here were notie of these moving inducements. 
Here \vas a poor man who could only talk of 
promised blessings ; but upon these he set no 
value. He was governed by sUjhl, and not by 
faith; and seeing that Abraham's descendants 
were partial to his family, he resolved to make 
his market of it. “ Indeed he sold her to him 
for some years’ service. This was Lab in or 
Nabal, choose you which. Their names v^ere 

not more like than their natures.” {Trapp.) - 

God makes use elsewhere of the circumstance 
of this servitude of Jacob to keep up a spirit of 
humility, as well as a memory of their ancestry, 
among the children of Israel. It was a part of 
the confession required to be made by every 
Israelite when he presented his basket of first 
ripe fruits before the Lord, “ A Syrian ready to 
perish was my f ither,” alluding to Jacob's pov¬ 
erty and distress when he first came, at this 
time, into Syria, Again, when the prophet 
Hosea (12 :12) reproves the people for their 
luxury and pride and haughtiness, he reminds 
them that “ Jacob gied into the country of Syria, 
and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he 
kept sheep." It would, no doubt, tend to abate 
the loftiness of spirit of many of the wealthy 
and the great of this world, if they would look 
back upon the humble and perhaps servile con¬ 
dition of the founders of their families. Bush. 

JiO. And Jacob served—hard service in keep¬ 
ing sheep. Seven years for Bachel. The purity 
and intensity of Jacob’s affection was declared 
not alone by the joroposal of a seven years’ term 
of servitude,—a long period of waiting for a 
man of fifty-seven, if not seventy-seven, years 
of age,—but also by the spirit in which he 
served his avaricious relative. Many as the days 
were that required to intervene before he ob¬ 
tained possession of his bride, they were ren¬ 
dered happy by the sweet society of Eachel. 
And they seemed unto him but a few days, for 
the love he had to her. “ Words breathing the 
purest tenderness, and expressing more em¬ 
phatically than the flowery hyperboles of roman¬ 
tic phraseology the deep attachment of an affec¬ 
tionate heart ” (Kalisch) ; words too which 
show the lofty appreciation Jacob had of the 

personal worth of his future bride. T. W.- 

This is a step in Jacob’s training in the fulfil¬ 
ment of God's promise at Bethel. It shows a 
new feature in his character. We see not the 
man of cunning devices, but one full of pure, 
self sacrificing love. Fourteen years of service 
willingly given to purchase, according to East¬ 
ern custom, his bride, Montgomery. 


23-25. This imposition is the Nemesis that 
overtakes Jacob, and must have reminded him 
of the similar wrong of which himself had been 
guilty. As instead of the beloved son he had 
brought to Isaac him whom he had despised 
and neglected, so Laban now substitutes the 
despised Leah for his beloved Bachel. But as 
then Isaac had rightly blessed the son whom 
he had not loved, so also was Jacob’s wife, 
though not beloved, yet destined for him by 
God. For it was Leah nnd not Bachel who 
became the mother of that son who afterward 
inherited the most precious part in the prom¬ 
ise. K.-The conduct of Laban is perfectly 

intelligible as the outcome of his-sordid avarice ; 
but it is difficult to understand how’ Leah could 
acquiesce in a proposal so base as to wrong her 
I sister b}'^ marrying one who neither sought nor 
loved her. She must herself have been attached 
to Jacob ; and it is probable that Laban had 
explained to her his plan for bringing about a 
double wedding. Whiielaw. 

He who, by subtilty and falsehood, stole 
aw'ay the blessing intended for his brother, is 
punished for his deceit, by finding a Leiih where 
he expected a Bachel. He who employed undue 
advantage to arrive at the right of the firstborn, 
has undue advantage taken of him in having 
the firstborn put in the place of the younger. 
He who could practise upon a father's blind¬ 
ness, though to obtain a laudable end, is, in his 
turn, practised upon by a father, employing the 
cover of the night to accomplish a very unwar- 

nntable purpose. Hunter. -In such a way 

God often deals with men, causing them to reap 
the bitter fruits of sin, even when they have 
lamented and forsaken it. “ When thou shalt 
make an end to deal treacherously, they shall 

deal treacherously with thee.” Bush. -Jacob 

was paid in his own coin. He had cheated his 
own father when he pretended to be Esau, and 
now his father-in law cheated him. Herein, 
how unrighteous soever Laban w'as, the Lord 
was righteous. Even the righteous, if they 
take a false step, are sometimes thus recom¬ 
pensed in the earth. Many that are not, like 
Jacob, disappointed in the person, soon find 
themselves, as much to their grief, disappointed 

in the character. H.-He, the younger, had 

taken the place of the elder to gain the father’s 
blessing. In this case the imposture is re¬ 
versed, and practised upon himself. He did 
not recognize Leah, as his father did not recog¬ 
nize 1dm. Here it was devised by a father, there 
it w’as a mother’s work. Moreover it was part 
of the divine purpose that Leah should be his 
wife, and the intricacies of human cunning are 












452 


JACOB'S WIVES 


AND CHILDREN. 


made to subserve the plans of the Most High. 
Leah became the progenitor of Him, the prom¬ 
ised, who was to prove the blessing of the nations. 

C. G. B. 

20-30. Laban shielded himself behind the 
pretence of a national custom, not to give away 
a younger before a firstborn sister. But he 
readily proposed to give to Jacob Rachel also, 
in return for other seven years of service. 
Jacob consented, and the second union was cele¬ 
brated immediately upon the close of Leah’s 
marriage festivities. It were an entire mistake 
to infer from the silence of Scripture that this 
double marriage of Jacob received Divine ap¬ 
probation As always. Scripture states facts, 
but makes no comment. That sufficiently ap¬ 
pears from the life-long sorrow, disgrace, and 
trials which, in the retributive providence of 
God, followed as the consequence of this double 
union. A. E.-Laban is at least not so un¬ 

just as to require Jacob to discharge his second 
servitude before the marriage with Rachel. Im- 
mediatel}^ after the marriage-week is past, he 
gives to Jacob Rachel as his wife. The cere¬ 
mony lasted .seven days, from the symbolical idea 
attaching to the number seven, as being that of 
the covenant. Thus, instead of one, Jacob had 

two wives, and these sisters. K.-Jacob did ! 

not design it, but to have kept as true to Rachel 
as his father had done to Rebekah ; he that had 
lived without a wife to the 84th year of his age, 
could then have been very well content with 
one : but Laban, to dispose of his two daughters 
without portions, and to get seven years’ service i 
more out of Jacob, thus imposes upon him, and | 
draws him into such a strait by his fraud H. j 

* 27 . Fulfil licr week. The msrriage 
feast lasted seven days ‘ it would not, therefore, ^ 
have been proper to break off the solemnities ' 
to which the men of ihe place had been invited ' 
(ver. 22), and probably Laban wished to keep ' 
his fraud from the public eye ; therefore he in- j 
forms Jacob, that if he will fulfil the marriage I 
loeelc for Leah, he will give him Rachel at tbe | 
end of it, on condition of his serving seven j 
other years. To this the necessity’’ of the case I 
caused Jacob to agree ; and thus Laban had 
fourteen years’ service instead of seven; for it is 
not likely that Jacob would have served even 
seven days for Leah, as his affection was vffiolly 
set on Rachel, the wife of his own choice. By 
this stratagem Laban gained a settlement for 
both his daughters. Jacob had before practised 
deceit, and is now deceived ; and Laban, the 
instrument of it, was afterward deceived him¬ 
self. A. C. 

31. Rachel, whom he loved, is barren : Leah, 


who was despised, is fruitful : how wisely God 
weighs out to us our favors and crosses in an 
equal balance ; so tempering our sorrows that 
they may not oppress, and our joys that they 
may not transport us ! each one hath some mat¬ 
ter of envy to others, and of grief to himself, 
Leah envies Rachel’s beauty and love ; Rachel 
envies Leah’s fruitfulness ; yet Leah would not 

be barren, nor Rachel blear-ej^ed. Bp. 11. - 

32-35. Leah bore in succession four sons, 
whom she significantly named Rexiben (“ be¬ 
hold ! a son”), saying, “ Surely Jehovah hath 
looked upon my affliction Simeon {“ hear¬ 
ing” ), “ Because Jehovah hath heard that I was 
hated Levi (” cleaving,” or “ joined ”), in the 
hope “ Now this time will my husband cleave 
to me;” and Jadoh (^‘praised,” viz., be Je¬ 
hovah), since she said : “ Now will I praise 
Jehovah." It deserves special notice, that in 
the birth of at least three of these sons, Leah 
not only recognized God, but specially acknowl¬ 
edged Him as Jehovah, the covenant-God. A E. 

The Lord, who had decreed temporary barren¬ 
ness for Rachel the fair, opened the w^omb of 
Leah the despised ; neither to compensate Leah 
for the loss of Jacob’s 1 tve, nor to punish Jacob 
for his sinful partiality ; but to manifest his 

! power, lo show that children are the heritage of 
the Lord, to vindicate his sovereignty, to attest 
that God giveth families to whomsoever he will, 
and to suggest that the line of promise was de¬ 
signed to be not the fruit of nature, but the gift 
of grace. T. W. 

I Jacob served doubly for Rachel ; but his ser¬ 
vice was amply paid afterward, although for a 
time the veil of disappointment hid the purpose 
of God. While Leah, as the m<)ther of Judah, 
was the true ancestress of Messiah, still it was 
in Joseph, the son of Rachel, that Jacob’s heart 
was satisfied, and that the history of the king¬ 
dom of God was most manifestly carried on and 
its glory set forth. As in the case of Sarah and 
Rebekah, so in that of Rachel, the birth of the 
representative seed is connected with special 
bestowments of grace. Roberts. 

30 : B. The eager desire for offspring among 
the Hebrew women is easily accounted for, if 
we bear in mind that the distinguishing bless¬ 
ing of Abraham was a numerous posterity, and 
in particular one illustrious person in whom all 
the nations of the earth should be blessed. But 
Rachel’s language was that of a sinful impa. 
tience, for which it would seem, that in the 
ri.'hteous providence of God she afterward paid 
dear, as she died in giving birth to Benjamin 

(ch. 37 : 16-19). Bush. -It is remarkable 

that as soon as Rachel had children (literally. 














SEJTION 58.-GENESIS 29 : 1-35; 30 : 1-43. 


453 


sons) she did die. It is impossible to read this 
and not to form an unfavorable estimate of 
Rachel. There is at the same time an impetu¬ 
osity and an ungodliness in her speech to her 
husband. Alf, 

2 , It was a very grave and pious reply which 
Jacob gave to Rachel’s peevish demand : Am I 
ill (rod's steid? The Chaldee paraphrases it 
well, D >st tkoti a.sk sons of ms? OnrffUest thou 
not to ask from before the Lord 7 The Arabic 
reads it, “ Am I above God ; can I give thee that 
which God denies thee ?” This was said like a 
plain man. He acknowledges the hand of God 
in the affliction which he was a sharer with her 
in. lie hath loikh'hl the fruit of the womb. Note, 
Whatever we want, it is God that withholds it, 
a sovereign Lord, most wise, holy, and just, 
thit may do what he will with his own, and is 
debtor to no man ; that never did, nor ever can 
do, any wrong to anj’^ of his creatures. The 
keys of the do .ids, of the heart, of (he grave, 
and of the womb, are four keys which God has 
in his hand, and which (the Rabbins say) he in¬ 
trusts neither with angel nor seraphim. II. 

3-9, It is remarkable how much against his 
will, and against his eventual peace, Jacob, who 
would have been content and happy wdth Rrebel 
only, was absolutely driven, by the force of cir¬ 
cumstances, to take not only two wives, but 
four. Having got the wrong wife in the first 
instance, he could only obtain the right one, by 
taking her as an addition to the first. Then, 
as the beloved one proved childless, he could 
not refuse her importunities to take her hand¬ 
maid Bilhah, as Abraham had taken Hagar, that 
she might, through her, obtain children, and be 
put on equality with her fruitful sister and 
rival, Leah. Having done thi.s, and the plan 
liaving produced the desired results, he could 
not, in justice, refuse Leah the same advantage, 
and was obliged to take her handmaid, Zilpali, 
in like manner. Thus Jacob became encum¬ 
bered with four wives at once, all through his 
first disappointment, by the culpable contriv¬ 
ance of Laban. With respect to these hand¬ 
maids, it should be observed, that they were 
slaves, whom Laban had 2 )resented to his daugh¬ 
ters, as their own j^eculiar property at the time 
of their marriage, and who were entirely at 
their disposal, and free from the control of the 
husband. Such handmaidens had before been 
given to Rebekah, and had accompanied her to 
the land of Canaan, We meet with these dotal 
servants frequently in the ancient and modem 
East, and even among the classical ancients. 
Their condition, indeed, among the Greeks 
and Romans, seems to have been in all re- 


! spects similar to that in which it here aj)- 
! i)ears. Kit. 

I 10-24, In the rivalry here disclosed, both 
j parties were competitors for Jacob’s good will ; 

and both hojDed for success, as the worldly often 
I do in seeking their selfish ends, from the divine 
I blessing on their own devices. God overrule.s 
i all for ultimate good, and through such instru¬ 
ments as these works out his wise and benefi¬ 
cent ends ; and herein are seen the wisdom and 
the mystery of his providence. In this dis¬ 
closure of the interior life of Jacob’s household 
we have an instructive picture of the evils of 
] jiolygamy, in its legitimate results as here de¬ 
scribed. The peace of the domestic fireside is 
destroyed by conflicting rival interests. The 
paternal home, the sanctuary where God in¬ 
tended that all divine influences should centre 
and harmonize, in the development and growdh 
of the human spirit into the likeness of God, is 
made the scene of discord and strife. It is no 
wmnder, that from such a nursery jrroceeded 
such characters as are some of those described in 
the subsequent family history of Jacob. T. J. C. 

14-24. On the part both of Rachel and Leah 
it was a miserable compact ; and a i)itiable spec¬ 
tacle it surely was, that of two rival wives con¬ 
tracting with one another about their husband’s 
society. Rachel disposes of Jacob for a night 
in consideration of a handful of mandrakes, 
and Leah counts herself entitled to Jacob’s 
favors as a boon which she had purchased with 
Reuben’s yellow aj^ples. Not to speak of the 
humiliation in all this to Jacob, and the contin¬ 
ual misery to which he must have been subjecte I 
between his ardent sister-wives, think of the 
wretchedness it must have entailed ui^on the 
women themselves, and the dispeace it must 
have brought into the rival homes. A more 
powerful condemnation of polygamy it wdll be 
difficult to find, or a more signal illustration cf 
the retribution which sooner or later follows on 
the heels of transgression. T. W. 

There was much amiss in the contest and 
competition between these two sisters, yet God 
brought good out of this evil ; for the time 
being now at hand when the seed of Abraham 
must begin to increase and multiply, thu.s 
Jacob’s family was replenished with twelve 
sons, heads of the thousands of Israel, from 
whom the celebrated twelve tribes descended, 

and were named. H.-The narrative is meant. 

to show that the mercy of God, and n t natural 
means, bestows children upon these women. 
Leah does not refuse to her sister the mandra- 
gora of her son. Yet Leah conceives, and 
Rachel remains barren, and this because the 









454 


JACOB'S SCUBMU OF IFCBEASB. 


former had called upon the Lord, and lie had 
heard her (verse 17). Again, it is when God 
remembers Eachel (verse 22), that she con¬ 
ceives. To enforce this tiath, the Holy Ghost 
here brings before us a picture of human life, 
without keeping anything back. Baum. 

That her family might yet further be built 
up, is the blessing Ltah desirt s and devoutly 
prays for, as is inlimated, where heark¬ 

ened %Ln<o Leah. Bishop Patrick well suggests 
liere, that the true reason of this contest be¬ 
tween Jacob’s wives and their giving their 
maids to be his wives, was the earnest desire 
they had to fulfil the promise made to Abraham j 
(aud now lately renewed to Jacob), that his seed | 
should be as the stars of heaven for multitude, 
and that in one Seed of his, the Messiah, all 
the nations of the earth should be blessed. And 
he thinks it had l>een below the dignity of this 
sacred history, to take such particular notice of 
these things, if there had not been some such 

great consideration in them, H.-This view 

is strongly confirmed by the almost uniform ref¬ 
erence of the sisters to God's dealing with iheni 
in connection with the successive births. B. 

21. It is not usual to enumerate female de¬ 
scendants. Dinah’s name is mentioned for the 
sake of the history in ch. 34. Jacob had more 
daughters : compare ch. 37 : 35 with 4G : 7. Alf. 

22. And C«od Iiearkeiicd to licr. It 

appears that Rachel sought God by prayer, and 
that he heard her, so that her pi’ayer and faith 
obtained what her impatience and unbelief had 
prevented. A. C.-23, 24. The whole nar¬ 

rative is full of God’s justice and of man’s weak¬ 
ness and unworthiness. The plain and hated 
wife-sister is blessed with children ; the hus¬ 
band's heart is won toward her ; the beautiful 
and beloved one is led, through crosses and 
failings, and her husband’s anger, to a humbler 
mind, God in time compensating her for her 
affliction. Alf. 

The whole account with all its lights and 
shades is another proof of the impartiality of 
the divine historian, and a strong evidence of 
the authenticity of the Pentateuch. Neither the 
spirit of deceit nor the pariialitg of friendship 
could ever pen such an account. A. C. 

25, 26. Jacob was desirous to go to Canaan, 
though he had a great family to take with him, 
and no provision yet made for them. He had 
got wives and children with Laban, but nothing 
else ; yet he does not solicit Laban to give him 
either a portion with his wives, or the mainte¬ 
nance of some of his children. No, all his re¬ 
quest is. Give me my wives and my children, and 
send me away. H.-27. But when he inti¬ 


mated this wish to his father in-law, Laban was 
unwilling to part with one by whom he had so 
largely profited. With a characteristic confu¬ 
sion of heathen ideas with a dim knowledge of 
I the being of Jehovah, Laban said to Jacob (we 
I here translate literall}’) : “ If I li.ive found grace 
ill thy sight tarry), for I have divined (as* 
certained by magic), and Jehovah hath blessed 
me for thy sake.’’ The same attempt to place 
Jehovah as the God of Abraham by the side of 
the god of Nahor—not denying, indeed, the ex¬ 
istence of Jehovah, but that he w'as the only 
true and living God—occurs again later when 
Laban made a covenant with Jacob. It also 
frequently recurs in the liter history of Israel. 
Both strange nations and Israel itself, when in 
a stale of apostasy, did not deny that Jeluvah 
was God, but they tried to place Him on a level 
with other and false deities. A. E. 

Jacob’s Scheme of Inckease (verses 25-43). 

Laban, who had experienced how remarkably 
the blessing of God had rested upon all that his 
son-in-law had done, endeavors by all means in 
his power to retain his services. With relfish 
readiness he agrees to the demand made by 
Jacob, that all the young of the flock which 
shall be speckled or spotted were to become his 
hire. But here also the cunning and calcula¬ 
tion, which formed an element in Jacob’s nat¬ 
ural character, appear as strikingly as formerly 
in his relation to Esau. As then, so now, the 
purposes of God coincide with those'of Jacob, 
notwithstanding the means by which he seeks 
to attain his ends. Jacob meets cunning with 
cunning, but Jehovah allows success to follow 
his cunning. K. 

Jacob's s'ratagem aga'insl Laban. This was the 
employmient of a triple artifice : (1) by means 
of pilled rods to produce party-colored animals 
in Laban’s flock ; (2) on securing these, so to 
use them as to increa'-e their number ; and (3) 
to direct the animals in such a fashion that the 
stronger and healthier portion of the flock 
should be his, and the feebler Laban’s. That 
Jacob’s stratagem did not fail is apparent ; 
but how far it was due to the particular expedi¬ 
ent emploj^ed cannot be so easily determined. 
The extraordinary rapidity with which brown 
and speckled animals were jiroduced appears to 
point to the intervention of a special providence 
in Jacob’s behalf. That in what Jacob did 
there was nothing fraudnleut may be inferred 
from the fact that he acted under the Divine 
approval (ch. 31 : 12', and made use of nothing 
; but the superior knowledge of the habits of ani- 













SECTION' 5S.—GENESIS 29 : 1-35; 30 : 1-43. 


455 


mals which he had acquired through his long 

experience in keeping sheep. T. W.-Thus 

it happened that however frequently Laban 
changed the conditions of agreement, eventu¬ 
ally the advantage is always on the side of 
Jacob, and the flocks which by agreement be¬ 
came his increased very rapidly. K. 

Rich in nothing but wives and children, he 
now desired to return to his father’s house, ac¬ 
counting his charge his wealth. But God meant 
him yet more good. Laban sees that both his 
family and his flocks were well increased by 
Jacob’s service. Not his love therefore but his 
gain makes him loath to part. Even Laban’s 
covetousness is made by God the means to en¬ 
rich Jacob. Behold, his strait master entreats 
him to that recompense which made his nephew 
mighty and himself envious : God, considering 
his hard service, paid him wages out of Laban’s 
folds. In the very shapes and colors of brute 
creatures there is a divine hand, which dis- 
poseth them to his own ends. Small and un¬ 
likely means shall prevail, where God intends 
an effect. Little peeled sticks of hazel or pop¬ 
lar laid in the troughs shall enrich Jacob with 
an increase of his spotted flocks ; Laban’s sons 
might have tried the same means and failed : 
God would have Laban know, that he put a 
difference betwixt Jacob and him ; that as for 
fourteen years ho had multiplied Jacob's charge 
of cattle to Laban, so now for the last six years 
he would multiply Laban’s flock to Jacob : and 
if Laban had the more, yet the better were 
Jacob’s. Bp. 11. 

In our estimate of Jacob’s conduct, 
we must remember what passed in these verses. 
It was with the distinct view of “ providing for 
his own house also” that Jacob made this com¬ 
pact. Laban might have known, and doubtless 
did know, that it would be hard driven , and a 
man with flocks and herds surely could not be 
ignorant of the stratagem which Jacob meant 
to, and did, employ. In fact, his very precau¬ 
tion in ver. 36 shows that he was aware of the 
influence of the spotted cattle. Alf. 

31-^3. Tliou ilaalt not give me aiiy- 
tliiiig. This shows that Jacob had no stock 
from Laban to begin with. “ I will pass through 
all thy flock to-day” with thee. “ Kemove thou 
thence every speckled and spotted sheep, and 
every brown sheep among the lambs, and the 
spotted and speckled among the goats.” These 
were the rare colors, as in the East the sheep 
are usually white, and the goats black or dark 
brown. Aii<l siicla §listll be iiiy liire. 
Such as these uncommon party-colored cattle, 
when they shall appear among the flock already 


cleared of them ; and not those of this descrip¬ 
tion that are now removed. For in this case 
Laban would have given Jacob something ; 
whereas Jacob was resolved to be entirely de¬ 
pendent on the divine providence for his hire. 
AibcI my i igBateouNiie^s will answer 
for me. The color will determine at once 
whose the animal is. 34-36, Laban willingly 
consents to so favorable a proposal, removes 
the patty-colored animals from the flock, gives 
them into the hands of his sons, and puts an 
interval of three dH 3 ^s’ journej' between them 
and the pure stock which remains in Jacob's 
hands. Jacob is now to begin with nothing, 
and have for his hire any party-colored lambs 
or kids that appear in those flocks, from which 
every specimen of this rare class has been care¬ 
fully removed. M.-From henceforth, only 

what out of the white flocks were born ringi 
straked should be Jacob’s property". Laban 
had acted here with the greatest severity and 
exactness, and he had no light to complain if 
he were dealt with according to the strict letter 
of the law. Gerl. 

The agreement between Jacob and Laban de¬ 
pends upon the fact that, in the East, the sheep 
are commonlj’’ white and the goats black, while 
speckled and spotted animals are rarely seen. 
All siiotted and dark sheep, and all speckled 
goats, are removed from the flock intrusted to 
Jacob, and led over to the flocks intrusted to 
the sons of Laban, so that only sheep of pure 
white color and goats of pure black color re¬ 
main. All in that flock which should bear dif¬ 
ferent colors were to become the hire of Jacob ; 
and as in the ordinary course of nature, any¬ 
thing of the kind expected bj' Jacob was scarce!}" 
to be anticipated, Laban agrees to his demand, 
selfishly rejoicing over what he supposes the 
folly of his nephew". And j^et Laban comes off 
worst in a compact w'hich apparently seemed 
so very advantageous to him. K. 

The whole proceeding is that of one cunning 
man against another. Laban does not leave 
the matter in Jacob’s hands, as proposed (ver. 
32), but takes it into his own, and intrusts that 
part of the flock which is Jacob’s hire to his 
(Laban’s) sons, putting them at a distance from 
his own flock, which remains with Jacob, and 
keeping them studiously separate, to prevent 
the result w'hich nevertheless Jacob’s superior 

cunning brought about in the end. Atf. -In 

effecting his purpose at least, he did not use 
any unlawful means. We are to judge this his¬ 
tory as many others in the Old Testament, in 
which, though God does not counsel or sanc¬ 
tion the acts. He still allow’s them to bo success- 





45G 


JACOB'S FLIGHT AND LABAN'S PURSUIT. 


fnl, for the sake of carrying out His designs in 
relation to His kingdom. Gerl. 

37-4JI. Darwin himself could scarcely have 
devised a more scientifically complete experi¬ 
ment on the “ variation of animals under do¬ 
mestication” than that which Jacob conducted 
among the flocks of Laban. The setting of the 
pillar rods” in the “ watering troughs,” and 
that by selection before the stronger cattle and 
at “ breeding time,” shows, if anything could 
show, an acquaintance with the modifiability of 
life-processes through the intelligent use of ex¬ 
terior agencies. Thomas. - 37-40. His fiist 

device is to place party-colored rods before the 
eyes of the cattle at the rutting season, that 
they might drop lambs and kids varied with 
speckles, patches, or streaks of white. He had 
learned from experience that there is a congru¬ 
ence between the colors of the objects contem¬ 
plated by the dams at that season and those of 
their young. At all events they bare manj' 
straked, speckled, and spotted lambs and kids. 
He now separated the lambs, and set the faces 
of tlie flock toward the young of the rare colors, 


1 doubtless to affect them in the same way as the 
pilled rods. 2\t his own folds by ihemsdves. 
These are the party-colored cattle that from 
time to time appeared in the flock of Laban. 
41, 42. In order to secure the stronger cattle, 
Jacob added the-second device of employing 
the party-colored rods only when the strong 
cattle conceived. The sheep in the East lamb 
twice a year, and it is supposed that the lambs 
dropped in autumn are stronger than those 
dropped in the spring. On this supposition 
Jacob used his artifice in the spring, and not 
in the autumn. It is probable, however, that 
he made , his experiments on the healthy aiid 
vigorous cattle, without reference to the season 
of the year. 43. The result is here stated. 
The man brake forth eA-ceedivcfly, became lapidly 

rich. M.- Jicob's ultimate advaytcement over 

Laban comes out with greater prominence in 
the ensuing chapter ; the present notices his 
amazing prosperity. ' ‘ The man increased ex¬ 
ceedingly and, in spite of Laban’s craft and 
avarice combined, eventually eclipsed him in 
j the possession of flocks and herds. Whiltlauj. 


S action 59. 

JACOB’S FLIGHT AND LABAN’S PUKSUIT. MEETING AND PAKTING. 

Genesis 31 :1-55. 

1 And he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our 

2 father’s ; and of that w'hich was our father’s hath he gotten all this glory. And Jacob be- 

3 held the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as beforetime. And the 
Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred ; and I will be 

4 with thee. And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock, and said 

5 unto them, I see your father’s countenance, that it is not toward me as beforetime ; but the 

6 God of my father hath been with me. And ye know that with all my power I have served 

7 y >ur father. And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ttn times : but G< d 

8 suffered him not t> hurt me. If he said thus. The speckled shall be thy wages ; then all the 
flock bare speckled : and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy wages ; then bare all 

9 the flock ringstraked. Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to 

10 me. An I it came to pass at the time that the flock conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and 
saw in a dream, and. behold, the he-goats which leaped upon the flock were ringstraked, 

11 speckled, and grisled. And the angel of God said unto me in the dream, Jacob : and I said, 

12 Here am I. And he said. Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the he-goats which leap upon 
the flock are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban dceih unto 

13 thee. I am the God of Beth el, w’h ere thou anoint edst a i)illar, where thou vowedst avow 
unto me : now arise, get thee out from this land, and return nnto the land ot thy nativity. 

11 An 1 Rach«^l and Leah answered and Said unto him. Is there yet any portion or inheritance for 

15 us in our father’s house? Are we n t counted of him strangers? for he hath sold us. and 

16 hath also quite devoured our money. For all the riches which God hath taken away firm 
our father, that is ours and our children’s : now then, W'hatsoever God hath said unto thee, do. 

17 Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon the camels ; and he carried away 

18 all his cattle, and all his substance which he had gathered, the cattle of his getting, which he 

19 hxd gathered in Paddan-aram, for to go to Isaac his father unto the land of Canaan. Now 
Laban was gone to shear his sheep : and Rachel stole the teraphim that w^ere herfath<r’s, 

20 And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syiian, in that he told him not that he fled. 








SECTION 59.—GENESIS 31 : 1-55. 


457 


21 So lie fled with all that he had ; and he rose np, and passed over the River, and set his face 
toward the mountain of Gilead. 

22 And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled. And he took his brethren 

23 with him, and pursued after him seven days’ journey ; and he overtook him in ihe mountain 

24 of Gilead. And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream of the nigbt, and said unto him, 

25 Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. And Laban came up 
with Jacob Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountain ; and Laban with his brethren 

26 pitched in the mountain of Gilead. And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou 
hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughttrs as captives of the sword ? 

27 Wherefore didst thou flee secretly, and steal away from me ; and didst not tell me, that I 

28 might have sent thee away with mirth and with songs, with tabret and with haip ; and hast 

29 not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? now hast thou done foolishly. It is in 
the power of my hand to do you huit : but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, 

30 saying. Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob either good (u* bad. And now, 
though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house, yd 

31 wherefore hast thou stolen my gods? And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Eecause I was 

32 afraid : for I said, Lest thou shouldest take thy daughters from me by force. With whomso¬ 
ever thou findest thy gods, he shall not live ; before our brethren discern thou Mhat is thine 

33 with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them. And Laban 
W’ent into Jacob’s tent, and into Leah’s tent, and into the tent ot the two maidservants ; but 

34 he found them not. And he went out of Leah’s tent, and entered into Rachel’s tent. Now 
Rachel had taken the teraphim, and put them in the camel’s furniture, and eat upon them. 

35 And Laban felt about all the tent, but found them not. And she said to her father, Let not 
my lord be angry that I cannot rise up before thee ; for the manner of women is uiion me. 

36 And he searched, but found not the teraphim. And Jacob was wroth, and ehode with Laban : 
and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast 

37 hotly pursued after me ? Whereas thou hast felt about all my stuff, what hast thou found of 
all thy household strrff? Set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge 

38 betwixt us two. This twenty years have I been with thee ; thy ewes and thy she-goats have 

39 not cast their young, and the rams of thy flocks have I net eaten. That which was torn of 
beasts I brought not unto thee ; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst ihtu require it, 

40 whether stolen by day or stolen by night. Thus I w^as ; in the day the drought censumed 

41 me, and the frost by night ; and my sleep fled from mine eyes. These tw^enty years have I 
been in thy house ; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six jears for thy 

42 flock ; and thou hast changed my wages ten times. Except the God of my father, the God of 
Abraham, and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now hadst ihou sent me away 
empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labor of n)y hands, and rebuked thee yester- 

43 night. And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, The daughttrs are my daughters, and the 
children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that thou seest is mine : and 
what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have 

44 borne ? And‘now come, let us make a covenant, I and thou ; and let it be-for a w itness be- 

45 tween me and thee. And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar. And Jacob said unto 

46 his brethren. Gather stones ; and they took stones, and made an. heap : and they did eat 

47 there by the heap. And Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha : but Jacob called it Galeed. And 

48 Laban said. This heap is witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of 

49 it called Galeed ; and Mizpah, for he said. The Loan watch betw^een me and thee, when we 

50 are absent one from another. If thou shall afflict my daughters, and if thou shall take wives 

51 beside my daughters, no man is with us ; see, God is witness betwoxt me and thee. And 
Laban said to Jacob, Eehold this heap, and behold the pillar, which I have set betwixt me and 

52 thee. This heap be witness, and the pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to 

53 thee, and that thou shall not j'ass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm. The God 
of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwdxt us. And Jacob 

54 sware by the Fear of his father Isaac. And Jacob offered a sacrifice in the mountain, and 
called his brethren to eat bread : and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the moun- 

55 tain. And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and 
blessed them ; and Laban departed, and returned unto his place. 


Jacob was now commanded in a vision by 
“ the God of Bethel ” to return to the land of 
his birth ; and he fled secretly from Laban, w’ho 
had not concealed his envy, to go back to his 
father Isaac, after twenty years spent in Laban’s 
service—fourteen for his waves, and six for his 
cattle. Jacob, having passed the Euphrates, 
struck across the desert by the great fountain 
at Palmj'ra ; then traversed the eastern part of 
the plain of Damascus and the plateau of Ba- 
shan, and entered Gilead, which is the range of 


mountains east of the Jordan, forming the fron¬ 
tier between Palestine and the Assyrian desert. 
Laban called his kindred to the pursuit, and 
overtook Jacob on the third day in Mount 
Gilead. P. S. 

Jacob w'as now ninety-six years of age. It 
has become manifest that he cannot obtain leave 
of Laban to return home. He must, therefore, 
either come off by the high hand, or by secret 
flight. Jacob has many reasons for preferring 
the latter course. I, 2. His prosperity pro- 



458 


JACOB'S FLIGHT AND LABANS PURSUIT. 


Yokes the envy and slander of Laban’s sons, | 
and Laban himself becomes estranged. 3. The i 
Lord now commands Jacob to return, and 
promises his presence to protect him. 4-13. 
Jacob opens his mind fully to Rachel and Leah. 
Rachel, we observe, is put first. Several new 
facts come out in his discourse to them. Ye 
A;noio—Jacob’s ajopeal to his wives on this point 
—that with all wy might I served your father. He 
means, of course, to the extent of his engage¬ 
ment. During the last six years he was to pro¬ 
vide for his own house, as the Lord permitted 
him, with the full knowledge and concurrence 
of Laban. Beyond this, which is a fair and 
acknowledged exception, he has been faithful 
in keeping the cattle of Laban. Your father de¬ 
ceived me, and changed my wages ten times,' that 
is, as often as he could. God suffered him not to 
hurt me. Jacob left his hire to the providence 
of God. He thought himself bound at the same 
time to use all legitimate means for the attain¬ 
ment of the desired end. His expedients may 
have been perfectly legitimate in the circum¬ 
stances, but they were evidently of no avail 
without the divine blessing. And they would 
become wholly ineffectual when his wages w'ere 
changed. Hence he says, God took the cattle 
and gave them to me. 10-13. Jacob seems 
here to record two dreams, the former of which 
indicates the result by a symbolic representa¬ 
tion, which ascribes it rather to the God of na¬ 
ture than to the man of art. The second dream 
makes allusion to the former as a process still 
going on up to the present time. This appears 
to be an encouragement to Jacob now to com¬ 
mit himself to the Lord on his way home. The 
angel of the Lord announces himself as the God 
of Bethel, and recalls to Jacob the pillar and 
the vow. The angel, then, is Jehovah mani¬ 
festing himself to human apprehension. M. 

The dream first related (in v. 10) seems to 
have occurred near the commencement, if not 
before, of his final and successful arrangement 
wdth Laban. It may have suggested his de¬ 
vices, or have been suggested by them ; or the 
same train of waking thoughts may have sug¬ 
gested both. The second dream is of higher 
significance, and occurred near the close of his 
connection with Laban ; see the last sentence 
of V. 13. In relating this to his wives, to ac¬ 
count to them for his successful competition 
with Laban, he says nothing of the means by 
which he himself sought to insure it. The 
dream implies no judgment on these means ; 
and only reminds him that it was the divine 
favor that thwarted and punished the grasping 
and cruel avarice of Laban. Whatever judg- 


I ment may be formed of Jacob’s own conduct, 

I the reader of the narrative will admit the justice 
of his complaint when he says (in v. 42) : 
‘ ‘ Thou wouldst now have sent me away empty. ” 
T. J. C. 

Jacob’s reasons for departing were, that God 
had commanded him to return ; that he had 
been very badly treated by Laban, whom to the 
best of his power he had faithfully served ; and 
that now the increase of w^ealth Avhich God had 
given to him was viewed with jealous e^’es by 
Laban and his family. 14-16. The wives’ 
reasons lay, first, in their assent to Jacob’s own 
reasons. But, beside this, they had special 
reasons of their own. They had cleaily, they 
said, nothing to expect from their father, who 
treated them as strangers, belonging to Jacob 
rather than to himself. And, furthermore, by 
selling them for Jacob’s services, he had appro¬ 
priated all the advantages to himself ; for if ho 
Lad been paid for them in goods or money, cus¬ 
tom would have required him to have employed 
some part of it in gifts to them ; which, in the 
way he had proceeded, was avoided, whereby 
they were left without the separate means to 
which they were, by their rank in life, entitled. 
Kit. 

The whole speech of Jacob is inconsistent 
with the view that he had cheated and over¬ 
reached Laban throughout. And vv. 7, 8 reveal 
to us another contribution to cur judgment on 
this matter. Laban had done all he could to 
overreach on his side ; he had frequently (ten 
times is used to signify very often) and capri¬ 
ciously changed the form of Jacob’s hire ; but all 
to no purpose : God defeated his schemes and 

turned them against himself. Alf. -These 

words contain a clear vindication of Jacob from 
the charge brought against him by Laban’s sons 
(v. 1), of having desj^oiled their father of his 
wealth. In whatever form his wages were to be 
paid to him, God, and not he, had so ordered 
the course of thipgs that it should turn to his 
advantage, and this he would gratefully ac¬ 
knowledge. Bush. 

12. The providence of God had taken notice 
of the hardships that Laban had j)ut upon him, 
and took this way to right him ; for I have seen 
all that Laban doeth unto thee. There is more of 
equity in the distributions of Divine Providence 
than we are aware of, and by them the wronged 
are righted really though perhaps insensibly. 

03. C am Ihc Oocl of Bietlcel. That 
was the place where the covenant was renewed 
with him. Worldly prosperity and success are 
doubly sweet and comfortable when we see 
them flowing not from common providencOj 




SEGTIO:^ 59.-GENESIS 31 : 1-55. 


459 


but from covenant-love ; to perform ihe mfrcy 
prom sed; when we have them from God as ihe 
Ood of Bethel, from those promises of the life 

which now is that belong to godliness. H.-- 

For more than twenty years the voice of God 
has been silent ; but now in the sky at Mesopo¬ 
tamia the light ariseth in darkness. That one 
declaration, “ I am the God of Bethel,” awak¬ 
ens a series of beautiful memories and joyffd 
expectations ; and when the pilgrim’s staff is 
resumed, Jacob is at least assured he shall not 
return to the land of his fathers unaccompanied 
or unprotected ! Is it marvel, amid all changes 
of times and circumstances, that the name 
“ God of Bethel ” has forages been treasured in 
many a believer’s heait ? This name, when 
well considered, has the same significance to us 
as that of Jehovah ; it is a covenant designa- 
tion, and makes us know the Almighty as the 
unchanging, faithful Guide of His people on 
their earthly pilgrimage. Van 0. 

14. The answer of his wives is the only loyal 
one they could make, and is again (ntirely 
against ihe idea of guilt on Jacob’s part. It is 
simply founded on the fads which have gone 
before in the history. Their father had sold 
them to Jacob : they were entirely severed from 
him, and he spared no pains to show them this ; 
Jacob’s earnings, which were theirs also, their 
father was endeavoring to defraud them of. So 
that their consent is freely given to do that 
which God had commanded their husband. 

-I'/- 

1§, 19. It was honestly done to take no 
more than his own with him, the cattle of his 
fitting (v. 18). He took what Providence gave 
him and was content with that, and would not 
take the repair of his damages into his owii 
hands. Yet Rachel was not so honest as her 
husV)and , she stole her fdhers images (v. 19), 
and carried them away with her. H. 

Tlic lerapliini of licr fatlier. These 
images, which are mentioned through the w^hole 
history" up to the Babylonish captivity, were a 
kind of household god, images in the likeness 
of men (so Michal put such an image in the 
bed, and pretended it wnis David, 1 Sam, 
19 : 13). From several passages w'e gather that 
they were consulted and gave oracles in some 
way, though w'e do not now know how, Gerl. 
- Teraphim were small images, kept as do¬ 
mestic idols or household gods. This was one 
of the practices of heathen superstition often 
met w'ith in the Old Testament. Among the 
Hebrews, it was not so much a form of idolatry 
as a corrupting superstition engrafted on the 
true religion. Laban, in ^ 30, calls these 


images his gods; and in ch. 35 ; 4, “strange 
gods" are spoken of, in connection with another 
superstitious observance, as being in Jacob’s 
fauiily after his return to his home in Palestine. 
It is not necessary to suppose that they wero 
strictly objects of worship. They were held in 
superstitious veneration as dispensers of good 
fortune, and as a protection against evil intiu- 
ences. They w^ere also consulted Jis oracles 
(Zech. 10:2); properly, “the teraphim have 

spoken vanity.” T. J. C.-These were a sort 

of “ family-idols,” figures of human shape, bor¬ 
rowed from the heathen world around him, 
w'hieh Laban probably used as a kind of oracle, 
to discover the future, or the fortunate issue of 
any undertaking. Such teraphim also appear 
from time to time in Israel, until, under Josiah, 
they were rooted out as “ abominatiotis." 
C. G. B. 

iil-SO. The story of his final flight to Canaan 
is perfect in its Oriental coloring. At the head 
of his flocks and herds ; with his wives, chil¬ 
dren and sla\es, he strikes away, across the 
Euphrates, at the utmost speed so cumbered a 
march allows, for Mount Gilead, the outpost 
of “ his own country.” His flight remains un¬ 
suspected for three days, but, then, Laban, hear- 
ing of it, sets off on swift camels in pursuit ; 
overtaking the fugitives on the seventh day, 
while they were still among the richly wooded 
and watered hills of Gilead, w'hich mark off the 
fertile land from the desert, east of the Jordan. 
The five tents of Jacob and his wives had been 
pitched on the slope of the hills, apparently 
w'here they reach their highest elevation of 5000 
feet, not far from the Jabbok, the camels and 
flocks lying around, and now those of Laban 
are set ui) on a neighboring hill, specially knowm 
as Mount Gilead. It is a moment of real danger 
to Jacob, for Laban’s kinsmen, as the men of 
his tribe with him are called, are much the 
stronger. He had given his daughters no in¬ 
heritance, and had treated Jacob with the ut¬ 
most duplicity and harshness, but with true 
Arab dissimulation he chides Jacob for having 
stolen away without giving him an opportunity 
of dismissing him and his wives with a parting 
feast, or even letting him give his daughters a 
farew’ell kiss. That he was thus placable, was 
due, we are told, to a dream he had had over¬ 
night, warning him to do Jacob no harm. But 
the fugitives had done him the terrible wrong 
of stealing his “ gods,” and these must be given 
back. Geikie. 

Gilead, or Mowd Gilead, sigirifies “ rocky 
region,” and was a name given to the range of 
mountains extending from the Sea of Galilee to 








4G0 


MEETING AND PARTING OF JACOB AND LABAN. 


the Dead Sea, in contrast with the “ Mishor," 
or plains and downs of Baslian. Southward, 
(iilead gradually blends with the highlands of 
Moab, while eastward there was no defined 
boundary, as it melts insensibly, first into 
plains, then into the great Syrian desert. From 
north to south its extent was about sixty miles. 
It is first nrentioned here. H. B. T. 

21. The very night before he came up with 
him, God interposed in the quarrel, rebuked 
Laban and sheltered Jacob, charging Laban not 
to speak unto him either good or had, that is, to 
say nothing against his going on with his jour¬ 
ney, for that it proceeded from the Lord. La¬ 
ban, during his seven days’ march, had been 
full of rage against Jacob, but God comes to 
him, and Avith one word ties his hands, though 
he does not turn his heart. The safety of good 
men is very much owing to the hold God has of 
the consciences of bad men, and the access he 
has to them. God sometimes appears wonder¬ 
fully for the deliverance of his people, then 
w'hen they are upon the very brink of ruin. H. 

26-elO, Throughout his address Laban means 
to insinuate that Jacob had no cause to leave 
him on account of anything he had done ; that 
where there was so much secrecy, there must be 
something dishonorable ; and that in pursuing 
him he was moved only by affection for his chil¬ 
dren. But his words are obviously full of hy¬ 
pocrisy. However he may talk about his regard 
to his children and grandchildren, that which 
la}’^ nearest his heart was the substance which 
Jacob had taken with him, and which he no 
doubt meant in some way to recover. But he 
acts the part of thousands, who, when galled by 
an evil conscience, endeavor to ease themselves 
of its reproaches by transferring the blame from 
themselves to the persons they have wronged. 
He reproaches Jacob with a conduct which he 
well knew had resulted entirely from his own 
harshness and severity ; and with the utmost 
self-complaisance talks of the liberal and gener¬ 
ous things which he intended to have done, after 
the call and occasion are over, and when his 
generosity is in no danger of being put to the 

test. BaAi. -It is remarkable that Laban, in 

his complaint, says not a word about the prop¬ 
erty ; but having been prevented from the pro¬ 
ceedings he contemplated, he makes the offence 
rest upon the unfriendly distrust evinced by 
this secret departure. He complains that his 
daughters had been carried away like captives 
taken with the sword. And again, he had not 
been suffered to kiss his daughters, before what 
was meant to be a final separation. The poor 
man is full of his daughters ; for whom, accord¬ 


ing to their own account, he has no real regard 
at all. Kit. 

The entire scene is eminently rich in allusions 
to Oriental manners and customs. The be¬ 
havior of Laban is true to life, and ever]^ ex¬ 
pression is familiar to my ear “ as household 
words.” Laban saj's : The God of your father 
spake unto me yesternight, saying. Take thou 
heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good 
or bad. Now we should think that Laban was 
uttering his own condemnation, and it appears 
strange that Jacob did not letort upon him by 
asking, Why, then, have you followed me? 
You have disobeyed the command of God, ac¬ 
cording to your own admission. Jacob, how¬ 
ever, knew very well that such a plea would 
avail nothing. Laban believed that he fulfilled 
the intent of the divine command merely by 
refraining to injure Jacob, and so the latter 
understood it. The terms of the order were 
most comprehensive and stringent ; but the 
real intention was to forbid violence, and this 
sort of construction must be applied to Oriental 
language in a thousand cases, or we shall push 
simple narratives into absurdities. W. M. 
Thompson. 

32. Knew not. Jacob acted with perfect 
honesty toward Laban. Henceforth we per¬ 
ceive no further trace of his former craftiness. 
The dealings of God’s providence had removed 
his old characteristics ; and the genuine trust 
in God, which had from the first lain dormant 
in his heart, is now called forth. Gerl. 

34. A saddle, so constructed as to be easy 
and comfortable for women on a journey, would 
be a convenient seat for their use in the tent, 
while halting for the night or for a few day.s’ 
repose. Such are now in use in Eastern coun¬ 
tries. T. J. C.-35. The stratagem succeeded 

to her wish, and Laban departed without sus¬ 
picion. It seems natural to suppose that Rachel 
did believe that by the use of these teraphim 
Laban could find out their flight and the direc¬ 
tion they took, and therefore she stole them, 
and having stolen them, she was afraid to ac« 
knowledge the theft, and probably might think 
that they wmuld be of some use to herself. 
Therefore, for these two reasons, she brought 
them away. 

36-42. And Jacob w a§ wroth, and 
cliodc with Laban. The expostulation of 
Jacob with Laban, and their consequent agree¬ 
ment, are told in this place with great spirit and 
dignity. Jacob was conscious that though he 
had made use of cunning to increase his flocks, 
yet Laban had been on the whole a great gainer 
by his services. He had served him at least 




SECTION 59.—GENESIS 31 : 1~55. 


461 


twenty years, fourteen for Rachel and Leah, and 
.s/x for the cattle. Ticenfy years of a man’s life 
devoted to incessant labor, and constantly ex¬ 
posed to all the inclemencies of the weather, 
deserve more than an ordinary reward. Laban’s 
constitutional sin was covetot(snes'<, and it ap¬ 
pears to have governed all his conduct, and to 
have rendered him regardless of the interests 
of his children so long as he could secure his 
own. That he had frequently falsified his agree¬ 
ment with Jacob, though the j^^^'^’ficulars arc 
not specified, we have already had reason to 
conjecture from vs. 7, and with this Jacob 

charges him. A. C.-In ignorance, and under 

the strong impulse of indignation at such a 
charge, Jacob bids Laban search through all the 
camp for anything that he could claim as his ; 
and as to the gods alleged to be stolen, “ with 
whomsoever thou findest them, let him not 
live.” Had Rachel not shared her father’s and 
husband’s skill in deceit, it had fared ill with 
her and Jacob ; but she succeeded in concealing 
the images, and stopping the search. Laban 
having thus ox)enly failed to substantiate the 
charge, Jacob’s lips are angrily opened, and in 
the language almost of poetr}'’ and rhythm, he 
upbraids his father-in-law for all his conduct 
toward him during the past twenty years. We 
go so fully along with him in the eloquence of 
his wrath, that our only regret is in the remem¬ 
brance that it is founded on the fiction of 

Rachel’s innocence. W. II.-There is a deal 

of nature in this free and indignant outbreak of 
Jacob’s— restrained by the fear of a detention 
that might have involved some of his family ; 
but when that fear had passed away, and its 
operation as a check was removed—then the 
sense of injury, kept under till now, comes 
forth in loud and open remonstrances against 
him who had inflicted it. It is this trueness 
to humanity which stamps an authentic charac¬ 
ter on the whole narrative. T. C. 

42 , Except the of my father. 

With exemplary humility, and a devout sense of 
his dependence on the blessing of heaven, Jacob 
here refers his pro.^perity to its true source ; 
and in so doing he administers a keen reproof 
to Laban. He gives him plainly to understand 
that, notwithstanding this specious talk about 
his regard for his children, and his sending him 
away with songs, with tabret and with harp, j’et 
it was owing to a special interposition of the 
Almighty that he was not stripped of everything 
he had. Laban had made a merit of obeying 
the dream, but Jacob was not to be imposed 
upon by such a pretence. He therefore con¬ 
strues the divine visitation into an evidence of | 


his evil design, one by which God intended ex¬ 
pressly to rebuke him, and thus plead the cause 
of the injured. As to the twofold title which 
he here applies to the Most High, “ The God 
of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac”—the reason 
assigned for it by Adam Clarke strikes us as 
extremely plausible, viz. that “ Abraham was 
long since dead, and God was hu unalUnabte 
portion forever. Isaac was yet aliv’e in a state 
of probation, living in the fear of God ; not ex¬ 
empt from the danger of falling, therefore God 
is said to be his/mr; not only the object of his 
religious worship in a general way, but that holy 
and just God, before whom he was working out 
his salvation with fear and trembling—fear, lest 
he should fall ; and trembling, lest he should 
offend.” Bash. 

44-'19, Laban, despite his hypocritical j^ro- 
fessions of how affectionate their leave-taking 
might have been if Jacob had not “ stolen 
awa}’’,” stood convicted of selfishness and un¬ 
kindness. In fact, if the conduct cf Jacob, 
even in his going away, had been far from 
straightforward, that of Laban was of the most 
unprincipled kind. However, peace was re¬ 
stored between them, and a covenant made, in 
virtue of which neither party was to cross for 
hostile purposes the memorial pillar which they 
erected, and to which Laban gave a Chaldee 
and Jacob a Hebrew name, meaning “ the heap 
of witness.” Hypocritically as in the mouth of 
Laban the additional name of Mizpah sounds, 
w’hich he gave to this pillar, it is a very signifi¬ 
cant designation to mark great events in our 
lives, especially our alliances and our undertak¬ 
ings. For Mizpah means “ watchtower,” and 
the words which accompanied the giving of this 
name were : “ Jehovah watch between me and 
thee, when we are absent one from another.” 
A. E. 

555. That when Abraham was with Nahor and 
Terah the}' were idolaters is clearly intimated 
(Josh. 24 ; 2). “ The God of Abraham, cf 

Nahor, and of Terah,” therefore, were words 
capable of a very ill construction. It is, in fact, 
little else than swearing by the idols of his 
Chaldean ancestors, and a virtual reproach of 
Jacob for having forsaken the religion of his 
forefathers. Jacob sware hy the Fear of his father 
Isaac. Jacob seems evidently aware of Laban’s 
design in thus referring to their early ancestors, 
and therefore, that he might bear an unequiv¬ 
ocal testimony against all idolatry, even that of 
Abraham in his younger years, he would swear 
only ‘M)y the Fear of his father Isaac,” who 
had never worshipped any ot-her than the true 
God. Bush. 







462 


PARTING OF JACOB AND LABAN 


55. And LiSil>aii rnse lap. There is 
something that restraineth men from doing 
some evils, to which they have not only a nat¬ 
ural proneiiess but an actual desire and pur¬ 
pose. When we behold Laban, who had pur¬ 
sued seven days after Jacob in an hostile man 
ner, upon overtaking him to no more than 
expostulate with him, and then kiss^ddpi and 
bless him and return to his place ; anoVlxen 
we behold Esau, who had vowed the death of 
Jacob, and who went forth to meet him with 
four hundred men, armed as it should seem for 
liis destruction, yet run to meet him on his ap¬ 
proach, and embrace him and fall on his neck 
and kiss him : it cannot be imagined that such 
a stop should be made but by the restraint of 
some overruling hand ; nor may we doubt that 
every such restraint, by whatsoever second and 
subordinate means it be furthered, is yet the 
proper work of God, as proceeding from his 
irresistible providence. Itw’as God that turned 
Laban’s revengeful thoughts into a friendly ex¬ 
postulation : it was the same God that turned 
Esau’s inveterate malice into a kind, brotherly 
congratulation. Bp. Sanderson. 

JLiibaii departed, and returned 
unto llis plaee. That is, to Ilaran. This 
parting proved final. We hear no more of 
Laban, or of the family of Nahor. They might 
for several ages retain some knowledge of Je¬ 
hovah ; but mixing with it the superstitions of 
the country, they naturally would, as there is 
little doubt they did, sink into gross idolatry 

and be lost among the heathens. Bash. -In 

Laban and his tribe, as they sweep out of sight 
into the Eastern Desert, we lose the last trace 
of the connection of Israel wdth the Chaldean 
Ur or the Mesopotamian Haran. A. P. S. 

Laban is the man who appreciates the social 
value of virtue, truthfulness, fidelity, temper¬ 
ance, godliness, but wishes to enjoy their fruits 
without the pain of cultivating the qualities 
themselves. He is scrupulous as to the char¬ 
acter of those he takes into his employment, 
and seeks to connect himself in business with 
good men. In his domestic life, he acts on the 
idea which his experience has suggested to him, 
that persons really godly will make his home 
more peaceful, better regulated, safer than 
otherwise it might be. But he never for one 
moment entertains the idea of himself becom¬ 
ing a godly man. In all ages there are Labans, 
who clearly recognize the utility and worth of a 
connection with God, who have been much 
mixed up with persons in whom that worth was 
very conspicuous, and who yet, at the last, 
“ depart and return unto their place,” like 


Jacob’s father-in-law, without having themselves 
entered into any affectionate relations with 
God. Dods. 

One cannot help thinking that this family at 
Haran must have been a wily, politic, deceitful 
set. Laban was characterized by it all over. 
Kebekah had her full share ; and we can detect 
no small spice of it in their descendants, as in 
Jacob on the one hand and Rachel on the other. 
There seems to have been a very unformed 
morale among them ; and, besides this, there 
was a great avarice in Laban, who was altogether 
of a very harsh and repulsive character. T. 0. 

-When we reflect upon Rebekah’s conduct 

in the mode of obtaining Isaac's blessing for 
Jacob ; when we consider Jacob s own proceed¬ 
ings in securing the birthright and the bless¬ 
ing ; when we regard Laban’s scandalous deceit 
in resi:)ect of Jacob’s marriage—in which his 
daughter Leah took part ; and when we look to 
the various proceedings of the two sisters as 
rival wives ; with the theft of her father’s 
images by Rachel, and her readiness at lying 
and deception to conceal that theft—we have, 
taken altogether, about as full an amount of 
immorality and lack of truthfulness as it would 
be easy to find in any one family. Dr. Chal¬ 
mers remarks ; “ Altogether, our notion is very 
much confirmed with regard to the low stand¬ 
ard of virtue in those da} s—not that we have a 
higher morality, but a higher rule of morality, 
than in the patriarchal ages of the world. The}’' 
had a worse system of virtue in those days, even 
though at present we should fall short of them 
in practice. They had an inferior schooling to 
what we now have—a dimmer moral light— 
whether they were before or behind us in actual 
observances.” A.11 this is admirably just and 
true, and we cannot do better than bear these 
ideas in mind in considering the doubtful con¬ 
duct of some personages in the early scrijotural 
history. KV. 


Writers unfriendly to revealed religion, start¬ 
ing with the notion that the Mosaic narrative is 
uniformly exemplary, not historical, have en¬ 
larged wit’u malicious triumph on the delin¬ 
quencies of the patriarchs and their descend¬ 
ants. Perplexity and triumph surely equally 
groundless ! Had the avowed design of the in¬ 
tercourse of God with the patriarchs been their 
own unimpeachable perfection ; had that of the 
Jewish polity been the establishment of a di=- 
vine Utopia, advanced to premature civilization, 
and overleaping at once those centuries of slow 
improvement, through w’hich the rest of man¬ 
kind were to pass, then it might have been diffi- 









SECTION 60.—GENESIS 32 : 1-23 


463 


cnlt to give ft reftsonable account of the inani- 
lest railure. So far from this being the case, an 
ulterior purpose is evident throughout. The 
patriarchs and their descendants are the de¬ 
positaries of certain great religious truths, the 
unity, omnipotence, and providence of God, not 
solely for their own use and advantage, but as 
conservators for the future universal benefit of 
mankind. Hence, provided the great end, the 
preservation of those truths, was eventually ob¬ 
tained, human affairs took their ordinary 
course ; the common passions and motives of 
mankind were left in undisturbed operation. 
Superior in one respect alone, the ancestors of 
the Jews and the Jews themselves were not be¬ 
yond their age or country in acquirements, in 
knowledge, or even in morals ; as far as morals 
are modified by usage and opinion. They were 
polygamists, like the rest of the Eastern world ; 
they acquired the virtues and the vices of each 
state of society through which they passed. 
Higher and purer notions of the Deity, though 
they tend to promote and improve, by no means 
necessarily enforce moral perfection ; their in¬ 
fluence will be regulated by the social state of 
the age in which they are promulgated, and the 
bias of the individual character to which they 


are addressed. Neither the actual interposition 
of the Almighty in favor of an individual or 
nation, nor his employment of them as instru¬ 
ments for certain important purposes, stamps 
the seal of divine approbation on all their 
actions ; in some cases, as in the deception 
practised by Jacob on his father, the worst part 
of their character manifestly contributes to the 
purpose of God : still the nature of the action 
is not altered ; it is to be judged by its motive, 
not by its undesigned consequence. Allow¬ 
ance, therefore, being always made for their age 
and social state, the patriarchs, kings, and other 
Hebrew worthies are amenable to the same ver¬ 
dict which would be passed on the eminent men 
of Greece or Rome. Excepting where they act 
under the express commandment of God, they 
have no exemption from the judgment of pos¬ 
terity ; and on the same principle, while God 
is on the scene, the historian will w-rite with 
caution and reverence ; while man will judge 
with freedom, justice, and impartialit 3 \ Mil- 
man. 


For differing views as to the Chronology of 
Jacob’s Life, see Bible Commentary, vol. 1, pp. 
177-179, and Pulpit Com. Genesis, p. 383. B. 


Section 60. 

MAHANAIM. PREPARES FOR MEETING WITH ESAU. 

Genesis 32 :1-23. 

1 And Jacob ivent on his way, and the angels of God met him. And Jacob said when he saw 

2 them. This is God’s host : and he called the name of that place Mahanaim. 

3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the field 

4 of Edom. And he commanded them, saying. Thus shall ye say unto my lord Esau ; Thus 

5 saith thy servant Jacob, I have sojourned with Laban, arid stayed until now : and I have 
oxen, and asses and flocks, and menservants and maidservants : and I have sent to tell my 

6 lord, that I may find grace in thy sight. And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying. We 
came to thy brother Esau, and moreover he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with 

7 him. Then Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed : and he divided the people that was 

8 with him, and the flocks, and the herds, and the camels, into two companies , and he said. If 
Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the company which is left shall escape. 

9 And Jacob said, 0 God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, 0 Lord, which 

10 saidst unto me. Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will do thee good : I am 
not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto 
thy servant ; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan ; and now I am become two com- 

11 panies. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau ; for I 

12 fear him, lest he come and smite me, the mother with the children. And thou saidst, I will 
surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for 

multitude. 







4G4 


MAHAN AIM. PREPARES FOR MEETING WIIII ESAU. 


13 And lie lodged there that night ; and took of that which he had with him a present for 

14 Esau his brother ; two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred ewes and twenty 

15 rams, thirty milch camels and their colts, forty kine and ten bulls, twenty she asses and ten 

10 foals. And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by itself ; and said 

17 unto his servants. Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove. And he 
commanded the foremost, saying. When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, say 

18 ing. Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee? then thou 
shalt say. They he thy servant Jacob’s ; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau : and, behold, 

19 he also is behind us. And he commanded also the second, and the third, and all that fol¬ 
lowed the droves, saying, On this manner sjhall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him ; and 

20 ye shall say. Moreover, behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease 
him with the present that goeth before me^ and afterward I will see his face ; peradventure 

21 he will accept me. So the present passed over before him : and he himself lodged that night 
in the company. 

22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two handmaids, and his eleven 

23 children, and passed over the ford of Jabbok. And he took them, and sent them over the 

stream, and sent over that he had. i 


Chap. In the events of this chapter 
W'e find the turning point in the life of Jacob. 
Before, we notice halting on both sides, contin¬ 
ual attempts at self-deliverance, artifices and 
cunning, weak and defective faith ; afterward, 
we descry humilit,y and resignation to the will 
of God, confidence and trust in God and in His 
leadings. At last the catastrophe, long prepar¬ 
ing, takes place, by which old Jacob is to be- 
c(»me a new man, and the wild excrescences of 
a richly endowed nature are to be removed. It 
is only now that we can understand how Goa 
had borne with all his perversity and so visibly 
blessed him, notwithstanding his cunning and 
his artifices. All this tended, through the mercy 
of God, to lead him to repentance. Much labor 
and sorrow, many trials and chastisements, and 
much pity and patience, were required before 

Jacob, so strong aud wise in himsel’f, was hum- 

1 

bled and broken in heart. But the more glori¬ 
ous also was the fruit of this long and difficult 
training. The former stages in the life of Jacob 
were only preparatory to that great and striking 
event to which they pointed. All along it had 
been a struggle on the part of a clever and 
strong, a self-confident and self sufficient per¬ 
son, who was only sure of the result when he 
helped himself —a contest with God, who 
wished to break his strength and his wisdom, 
in order to bestow upon him real strength and 
real wisdom. The life of Jacob had been a con¬ 
tinuous struggle carried on by the patriarch 
with the weapons of his own strength and wis¬ 
dom, and by God with the weapons of grace, of 
patience, and of long-suffering. This stage in 
his life closes with these fervent prayers, in 
which his oppressed heart found relief. K, 
1,2. Leaving the mountains of Gilead, Jacob 
had entered the land of promise, in what after¬ 


ward became the possession of Gad. A glorious 
prospect here opened before him. Such beaut}’, 
fruitfulness, freshness of verdure, and richness 
of pasturage ; dark mountain forests above, and 
rich plains below, as poor Palestine, denuded 
of its trees, and with them of its moisture—a 
land of ruins—has not known these many, many 
centuries ! And there, as he entered the land, 
“the angels of God met him.” Twenty years 
before they had met him, on leaving it, at 
Bethel, and, so to speak, accompanied him on 
his journey. And now in similar pledge they 
welcomed him on his return. Only then they 
had been angels ascending and descending on 
their ministry, while now they were “ angel 
hosts” to defend him in the impending contest, 
whence also Jacob called the name of that place 
Mahan.aim, “two hosts,” or “two camps’’ 
And if at Bethel he had seen them in a 
“ dream,” they now appeared to him when wak¬ 
ing, as if to convey yet stronger assurance. 
A. E. 

Many years before Jacob saw the mystical 
ladder connecting heaven and earth, and the 
angels of God thereupon ascending and de¬ 
scending from the one to the other. Now, in 
circumstances of danger, he sees the angels of 
God on earth, encamped beside or around his 
own camp. He recognizes them as God’s camp, 
and names the place Mahanaim, from the double 
encampment. This vision is not dwelt upon, 
as it is the mere sequel of the former scene at 
Bethel. Mahanaim has been identified with 
Mahneh, about eight miles from the cairn of 

Laban and Jacob. M.-The name was handed 

on to after-ages, and the place became the sanc¬ 
tuary of the Transjordanic tribes. He was still 
on the heights of the Transjordanic hills, be¬ 
yond the deep defile where the Jabbok, as its 





SECTION 60.—GENESIS 32 : 1-23. 


465 


name implies, “ wrestles” with the moun¬ 
tains through which it descends to the Jordan. 
A. P. S. 

God's hosts now become visible to allay the 
fear of man’s hosts. Having just escaped one 
host of enemies, another is coming forth to 
meet him. At this juncture the heavenly mes¬ 
sengers make their appearance, teaching him to 
whom he owed his late escape, and that he who 
had delivered did deliver, and he might safely 
trust would still deliver him ; thus making 
good the previous promise (Gen. 28 :15), “ Be¬ 
hold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all 
places vvhither thou goest, and will bring tbee 
again into this land.” It does not appear, in¬ 
deed, that they were charged with any verbal 
communicaHon, but Jacob would have no diffi¬ 
culty in inferring the object of their mission, to 
work in his mind an assurance of the over¬ 
ruling and protecting providence of God. 
Thus, too, when the vision of the fiery chariots 
was vouchsafed to Elisha’s servant, it was left 
to his own mind to draw the pro]3er conclusion 
from such a cheering spectacle. Bush. 

4-9. Jacob now sends a message to Esau ap¬ 
prising him of‘his arrival. Unto tlie laticl 
of Seir. Arabia Petraea, with which Esau 
became connected by his marriage with a daugh¬ 
ter of Ishmael. He was now married fifty-six 
years to his first two wives, and twenty to his 
last, and therefore had a separate and extensive 
establishment of children and grandchildren. 
6. Four liiiiidrccl men willi liiiii. This 
was a formidable force. Esau had begun to live 
by the sword, and had surrounded himself with 
a numerous body of followers. Associated by 
marriage with the Hittites and the Ishmaelites, 
he had risen to the rank of a powerful chief¬ 
tain. It is vain to conjecture with what intent 
Esau advanced at the head of so large a retinue. 
It is probable that he was accustomed to a 
strong escort, that he wished to make an impos¬ 
ing appearance before his brother. 7, 8, 
Jacob, remembering his own former dealings 
with him, has good cause for alarm. He be¬ 
takes himself to the means of deliverance. He 
disposes of his horde into two camps, that if 
one were attacked and captured, the other might 
meanwhile escape. He never neglects to take 
all the precautions in his power. M. 

9 -li2. Next, he seeks help from God. This 
prayer is the first on record, for the intercession 
of Abraham for Sodom was more of a remon¬ 
strance or argument than a prayer. It does not 
seem that there could be a finer model for a 
special prayer than this,—the most ancient of 
all. He first claims his interest in the broad 
30 


covenant with Abraham and Isaac, just us we 
might, and ought to, set forth our interests in 
the mercies covenanted to us in Christ ; then 
he urges the covenant of personal mercies and 
l^romises ; then he confesses his utter unworthi¬ 
ness of the blessings that have been showered 
irpon him, yet venturing, notwithstanding, to 
hope for deliverance from the danger that lay be¬ 
fore him. KU. 

The very first sentence of Jacob’s prayer has 
this peculiarity about it, that it is steeped in hu 
mility ; for he does not address the Lord as his 
own God at the first, but as the God of Abra¬ 
ham and Isaac. The prayer itself, though it ic 
very urgent, is as lowly as it is earnest. With 
all its intensity’', there is a loving remembrance 
of who Jacob is, and who Jehovah is ; and the 
suppliant speaks in terms fit to be used toward 
the thrice holy God by a man of lowly heart. 

Spurgeon. -Such was the humble self-denying 

sense he had of his own unworthiness, that ho 
did not call God his own God, but a God in 
covenant with his ancestors, 0 God if my fa'her 
Abraham, and God of my father Isaac ; and this 
he could the better plead, because the covenant, 
by divine designation, was entailed upon him. 
God’s covenant with our fathers may be a com¬ 
fort to us when we are in distress. H. 

He approaches God as the God of his father, 
and as such a God in covenant. This was laying 
hold of the divine faithfulness. It was the 
prayer of faith ; and though we may not have 
exactly the same plea in our approaches to 
God, 3 ’et we have one that is more endearing 
and moie prevalent. The God and Father of 
our Lord Jesus Christ is a character which ex¬ 
cites more hope and in which more great and 
precious promises have been made than in any 
other. He addresses him as his own God, 
pleading what he had promised to him, as well 
as to his fathers. “ Who saidst unto me, Ke- 
turn,” etc. Jehovah has never made promises 
to us in the same extraordinary way that he did 
to Jacob ; but, whatever he has promised te 
believers in general ma}’’ be pleaded by every 
one of them in particular, especially when en¬ 
countering opposition in the path of duty. 
Another remarkable feature in this prayer is 
the deep spirit of self-abasement which breathes 
through it. While he celebrates the great mercy 
and truth of God toward him, he acknowledges 
himself unworthy of the least instance of either. 
The original is, if possible, still more emphatic ; 
“ I am less, than all the mercies.” etc., as if ho 
not only disclaimed the worthiness of merit, but 
also that of meetness. In view of his own sinful 
conduct, on.a former, occasion, he is amazed at 





4GG 


JACOB'S rUAYER FOR DELIVERANCE. 


the returns of mercy and truth «'hich he had 
met with from a gracious God. By sin he had 
reduced himself in a manner to nothing ; but 
God’s goodness had made him great. Bush. 

-In this confession he gives to God alone the 

glory, as formerly he had taken it to himself, 
and in this prayer he casts away all confidence 
in his own strength and wisdom, which hitherto 
had been the anchor of his life, and he implicitly 
throws himself upon God and his promise. K. 

On the one hand, Jacob seems the father of 
Jewish guile, fear, unscrupulousness and thrift. 
On the other, he appears not only as the deeply 
faithful lover in his youth and the most tender 
father, but as an elevated, majestic man of faith, 
who believed in high things, who valued them, 
and who left on record such words of lowliness 
and penitence for his faults, in such genuine 
tones, that the purest, most repentant hearts 
take them up from age to age and repeat them 
as their own : I am not worthy of the least of 

all the mercies.” Mercer. -He does not say, 

“ all thy mercy”—the word is in the plural — 
“ the least of all thy mercies." For God lias 
many bands of mercies; favors 'never-come 
alone, they visit us in troojss. All the trees in 
God’s vineyard are full of boughs, and each 
bough is loaded with fruit. All the flowers in 
God’s garden bloom double, and some of them 
bloom sevenfold. We have not mercy only, but 
mercies numerous as the sand. Mercy for the 
past, the present, the future ; mercy to temper 
sorrows, mercy to purify joys ; mercy for our 
sinful things, mercy for our holy things. “ All 
thy mercies the expression has a vast acreage 
of meaning. He does not know how to express 
-his sense of obligation except with plurals and 
universals. He seems to say to the Lord, “ Be¬ 
cause of all this great goodness, I pra}’^ thee go 
on to deal well with thy servant. Save me from 
Esau, or all thy mercies will be lost. Hast 
thou not in thy past love given pledge to me to 
keep me even to the end?” Mercy and truth 

• all through the Bible are continually joined to¬ 

gether, “All the paths of the Lord are mercy 
fund truth.” Spurgeon. -It was the just and 

• humble acknowledgment of Jacob to God, ” I 
am less than the least of all thy mercies.” God 
rewards his faithful servants, not according to 
the dignity of their works, but his own liberal¬ 
ity and munificence. In dispensing his favors, 
he does not respect the meanness of our persons 
or services, but gives to us as a God. And the 
clearest notion of the Deity is, that he is a being 
infinite in all perfections, therefore all-snffi. 
cient, and most willing to make diis ..creatures 

>.completely happy. Batei. 


Thankfulness was Jacob’s distinguishing 
grace, as faith was Abraham’s. Abraham ap¬ 
pears ever to have been looking forward in hope 
—Jacob looking back in memory : the one re¬ 
joicing in the future, the other in the past. 
Jacob’s happiness lay, not in looking forward 
to the hope, but backward upon the experience, 
of God’s mercies toward him. He delighted 
lovingly to trace, and gratefully to acknowl¬ 
edge, what had been given, leaving the future 
to itself. Such was Jacob, living in memory 
rather than in hope, counting times, recording 
seasons, keeping days ; having his history by 
heart, and his past life in his hand ; and as if 
to carry on his mind into that of his descend, 
ants, it was enjoined upon them, that once a 
year every Israelite should appear before God 
with a basket of fruit of the earth, and call to 
mind what God had done for him and his 
father Jacob, and express his thankfulness for 
it. Well were it for us, if we had the character 
of mind instanced in Jacob, and enjoined on 
his descendants ; the temper of dependence 
upon God’s providence, and thankfulness under 
it, and careful memory of all He has done for 
us. It would be well if we were in the habit of 
looking at all we have as God’s gift, undeserv¬ 
edly given, and day by day continued to us 
solely by His mercy. He gave ; He may take 
away. He gave us all we have, life, health, 
strength, reason, enjoyment, the light of con¬ 
science ; whatever we have good and holy within 
us ; whatever faith we have ; whatever of a re¬ 
newed will ; whatever love toward Him ; what¬ 
ever power over ourselves ; whatever prospect 
of heaven. He gave us relatives, friends, educa¬ 
tion, training, knowledge, the Bible, the Church. 
All comes from Him. While He continues His 
blessings, we should follow David and Jacob, 
by living in constant praise and thanksgiving, 
and in offering up to Him of His own. New¬ 
man. 

II, 12, Jacob’s petition was that of a kind 
husband and a tender father. But it was main¬ 
ly in the character of a believer in the promises, 
and one deeply concerned for the divine glory, 
that it was offered. It was as though he had 
said, “ If my life, and that of the mother with 
the children be cut off, how are thy promises 
to be fulfilled ?” It is natural for us, as hus¬ 
bands and parents, to be importunate with God 
for the well-being of those who are so nearly re¬ 
lated to us ; but the way to obtain mercy for 
them is to seek it in subordination to the divine 

glory. Bush. - Thou saidst, I will deal well with 

ihee, and again in the close, Thou saidsi, 1 will 
surely do ihee good. The best we can say to God 








SECTION 6L-OENESI8 32 : 24-32 ; 33 : 1-20. 


467 


in prayer, is, what he has said to ns. God’s 
promises, as they are the surest guide of our 
desires in prayer, and furnish us with the 
best petitions, so they are the firmest ground 
of our hopes, and furnish us with the best 
pleas. H. 

Deliver me, 1 pray lliee ! To this de¬ 
liverance he urgeth the Lord by no less than 
seven arguments. First, God's covenant with 
Abrabam and Isaac ; as if he had said, Remem¬ 
ber those names with whom thou madest solemn 
covenants of protection, both to them and their 
posterity. The second is from God s particu 
lar command for this journey, “ Thou saidst 
unto me, return I departed bj’^ thy direction, 
and therefore thou, O Lord, art ever engaged to 
give me defence while I yield thee obedience. 
Thirdly, he puts him in mind of his promises. 
Thou saidst, “ I will deal well with thee,” and 
that includes all other promises made unto 
him ; these he makes as a bulwark to defend 
him, as his anchor in the storm. This anchor 
must fail and this bulwark be broken down be¬ 
fore danger comes to me. If thy promise stand, 
I cannot fall. The fourth is the confession of 
his own unworthiness. Faith is always hum¬ 
ble, and while we are most confident in God’s 
word we are most distrustful of our own unde¬ 
sert : “ I am not worthy of the least of all thy 
mercies.” Though I am thus bold to urge thy 
covenant, yet I am as read}’^ to acknowledge my 
own undesert. Thou art a debtor bj'^ the prom¬ 
ise thou hast made me, not by any performance 
of mine to thee. Fifthly, he seeks to continue 
the current of God’s favor by showing how 
plentifully it had already sti'eamed unto him, 
which he doth by way of antithesis, setting his 
former poverty in opposition to his present 
riches : “ With my staff I passed over this Jor¬ 
dan, and now I am become two bands that 
is, thou hast blessed me abundantly, and shall 
my brother’s malice blast all ? The sixth argu¬ 


ment is the greatness and eminence of his peril: 
“ I fear lest he come and slay the mother upon 
the children”—a proverbial speech in the holy 
Scriptures, like that of cutting off branch an I 
root in one day, both denoting total excision ( r 
an utter overthrow. Seventhly, he closes by 
re-enforcing the mention of the promise whiih 
he urgeth more strongly than before. There it 
was only, “ Thou saidst I will deal well with 
thee ;” but here it is, “ Thou saidst. In doing 
good I will do thee good ’’—that is, as it is ren¬ 
dered in our translaiion, “ I w'ill surelv do thee 
good,” and therefore let not my brother do me 
evil. We see Jacob’s prayer was a pleading of 
reasons with God, and himself in the issue got 
not only anew blessing but a new name ; Israel, 
a prince with God, a prevailer both with God 
and men. Caryl. 

113-21. Ills final act of preparation is the sernl- 
^^0 Cf i Esau. Here again Jacob shows 

his worldly wdsdom. The disposition of this 
princely present in several droves, following one 
another at intervals (v. 16), was such as to re¬ 
peat the favorable impression made by each, as 
they successively came before Esau accom¬ 
panied with a conciliatory message. The an¬ 
nouncement made with the first, and repeated 
with each succeeding one, “ thy servant Jacob 
is behind us,” would give time for reflection 
and kindly impressions, before their meeting. 
The number of those who had charge of the 
present, and successively made their appearance 
with their several messages, was also an expres¬ 
sion of consideration and respect for the per¬ 
sonage to whom it was delivered. T. J. C. 

22, 23. As soon as he judges that the weaker 
members of the camp are refreshed enough to 
begin their eventful march, he rises and goes 
from tent to tent awaking the sleepers, and 
quickly forming them into their usual line of 
march, sends them over the brook in the dark¬ 
ness, and himself is left alone. Dods. 


Section 61. 

THE WRESTLING AT PENIEL. MEETING WITH ESAU. CAMP AT SUCCOTH. 

SHECHEM. 

Genesis 32 : 24-32 ; 33 :1-20. 

32 ; 24 And Jacob was left alone ; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the 

25 day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his 

26 thigh : and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh w'as strained, as he wrestled with him. And he 
said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou 




46S 


THE WRESTLING AT PENIEL. 

27 bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he 

28 said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel : for thou hast striven with God 

29 and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, 
thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name ? And he 

30 blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel : for, said he, I have 

31 seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. And the sun rose upon him as he passed 

32 over Penuel, and he halted upon his thigh. Therefore the children of Israel eat not the 
sinew of the hip which is irpon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day : because he touched 
the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip. 

33 : 1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four 
hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Kachel, and unto the 

2 two handmaids. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and 

3 her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. And he himself passed over be¬ 
fore them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his 

4 brother. And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed 

5 him ; and they wept. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children ; 
and said. Who are these with thee ? And he said. The children which God hath gra- 

6 ciously given thy servant. Then the handmaids came near, they and their children, and 

7 they bowed themselves. And Leah also and her children came near, and bowed them- 

8 selves : and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves. And he 
said. What meanest thou by all this company which I met ? And he said. To find grace 

9 in the sight of my lord. And Esau said, I have enough ; my brother, let that thou hast 

10 be thine. And Jacob said. Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then 
receive my present at my hand : forasmuch as I have seen thy face, as one seeth the face 

11 of God, and thou wast pleased with me. Take, I pray thee, my gift that is brought to 
thee ; because God hath dealt graciousl}'^ with me, and because I have enough. And he 

12 urged him, and he took it. And he said. Let us take our journe 3 ^ and let us go, and I 

13 will go before thee. And he said unto him. My lord knoweth that the children are ten¬ 
der, and that the flocks and herds with me give suck : and if they overdrive them one 

14 day, all the flocks will die. Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant : and 
I will lead on softly, according to the pace of the cattle that is before me and according 

15 to the pace of the children, until I come unto my lord unto Seir. And Esau said. Let 
me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said. What needeth 

16 it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord. So Esau returned that day on his way i;nto 

17 Seir. And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his 
cattle : therefore the name of the place is called Succoth. 

18 And Jacob came in peace to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when 

19 he came from Paddan-aram ; and encamped before the city. And ho bought the parcel 
of ground, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Sliechem’s 

20 father, for an hundred pieces of money. And he erected there an altar, and called it 
El-elohe-Israel. 


The primary meaning of this story is, that 
Jacob, whose courage fails before his brother, 
and the reward of whose wiles threatens to be 
lost at one blow, is shown how man, despairing 
in his guilt, must wrestle out his cause with 
God, but that when he has gained.the blessing 
from God, he has no more to be afraid of from 
any man. At the same time, Jacob’s combat, 
when he first wrestles with bodily strength, is per¬ 
haps a picture of the perverseness of his former 
life, in which he believed himself to be able to 
force the fulfilment of the promise by the con¬ 
tinual use of carnal means, and had made it 
difficult enough for the divine leadings to be¬ 
come master ^ him. His becoming lame is 

\ 


then meant to show that God does not i^ermit 
Himself to be forced by natural strength. But 
then Jacob becomes victorious by the iceapon 
of prayer (comp. Hos. 12 : 4). As the natural 
character of Jacob, the intriguing holder of the 
heel—the tough, shrewd man—prefigures the 
natural character of the nation that descended 
from him, so the spiritual character of God’s 
people is prefigured in the wrestler with God. 0. 

The failings of the patriarchs are human, and 
the fact that they are not passed over in their 
history makes even the story of these shepherds 
of priceless worth to me. The timid Isaac, the 
crafty Jacob, stand before me as they really 
were ; but they also show that the craft of the 


V 




SECTION 61.-GENESIS S2 : 24-32 ; 33 : 1-20. 


460 


latter was of little service to him, and in his 
old age he shows a chastened and tried charac¬ 
ter which makes him a Ulysses among those 
Shepherd Fathers. His history is an instructive 
mirror of the human heart, and God Himself 
has effaced the blots which the youthful Jacob 
bore in his very name. “ Thou shalt be no 
longer Jacob,” says He, “ but a hero of God, 
Israel,” a name of honor which the poetry of 
the race adopts. It is not bodily might that is 
recorded in it, but the heroism of God, prayer 
and faith. . . . Jacob has divided his camp 
and flocks from fear of a nocturnal surprise by 
his brother. And lo, there appears the divine 
form of a heavenly warrior and wrestles with 
him. All vanish with the dawn—indeed the 
tone and color of the whole narrative move 
dimly, as if under the mysterious shades of 
night. The wrestler does not give his name, 
but leaves it to be conjectured. Jacob does not 
triumph, tells the story to no one, only wonders 
how a simple shepherd like him could have 
seen Elohim face to face and still live. But 
the great charm is the inner lesson. It is 
shown the trembling patriarch how idle it is to 
fear Esau, when he has overcome Jehovah by 
his prayer. Herder. 

It was a real transaction, but symbolical of 
Jacob’s past, present, and future. The ” man” 
who wrestled with Jacob ” until the breaking of 
day” was Jehovah. Jacob had, indeed, been 
the believing heir to the promises, but all his 
life long he had wrestled with God—sought to 
attain success in his own strength and by his 
own devices. Seeming to contend with man, 
he ha.d really contended with God. And God 
had also contended with him. At last further 
contest was impossible : Jacob had become dis¬ 
abled, for God had touched the hollow of his 
thigh. In the presence of Esau Jacob was 
helpless. But before he could encounter his 
most dreaded earthly enemy, he must encounter 
God, with Whom he had all along, though un¬ 
wittingly, contended by his struggles and de¬ 
vices. The contest with Esau was nothing ; the 
conlest with Jehovah everything. The Lord 
could not be on Jacob’s side, till he had been 
disabled, and learned to use other weapons 
than those of his own wrestling. Then it was 
that Jacob recognized with whom he had hitherto 
wrestled. Now he resorted to other weapons, 
even to prayer ; and he sought and found an¬ 
other victory, even in the blessing of Jehovah 
and by His strength. Then also, truly at ” the 
breaking of day,” he obtained a new name, and 
with it new power, in which he prevailed with 
God and man. Jacob, indeed, “ halted upon 


his thigh but he was now Israel, a Prince 
with God. A. E, 

24. The man here spoken of is an appear¬ 
ance of God, that aj^pearance of which we have 
before spoken, whose words are uttered in the 

Person and name of God himself. Alf. -In 

giving the reason for calling the name of the 
place Peniel (v. 30), he says, “ for I have seen 
God face to face.” Here then it is obvious that 
he who is at one time called “ a man,” is at an¬ 
other called ” the Angel,” and again designated 
by the august title of “ God leaving us to the 
inevitable inference that the mysterious wrestler 
was no other than the divine jiersonage so fre¬ 
quently brought before us under the appellation 
of “the Angel”—“the Angel of the Lord ” — 
“ the i\ngel of the Covenantthat is, in other 
words, the Son of God appearing in that nature 
which he afterward assumed in accomplishing 
the work of our redemption. Could there be 
the least remaining doubt on the subject it is 
dispelled by the further statement of Hosea 
(12 :4, 5), “ He found him in Bethel, and there 
he spake with us ; even the Lord of Hosts; the 
Lord is his memorial i.e. the name by which 
he is perpetually to be remembered in connec¬ 
tion with this event. Bash. 

We suppose the contest of Jacob to have taken 
place in outward reality, and in a state of wake¬ 
fulness. Even the halting which was the con¬ 
sequence of this wrestling could only have been 
the result of a real and outward contest. It is 
quite decisive that the text contains not the 
slightest indication that this wrestling had been 
different from the passage over Jabbok (v. 23), 
and from the breaking of the day (v. 26 com¬ 
pared with V. 31). And it is not more difl&cult 
to believe that the angel of the Lord should, 
under certain circumstances, have really wres¬ 
tled with Jacob than that he should outwardly 
and perceptibly have entered the tent of Abra¬ 
ham, have allowed his feet to be washed, and 
condescended to partake of the feast which the 
patriarch had hospitably spread for him. K, 

-If God could partake of the hospitality of 

Abraham, and take Lot by the hand to deliver 
him from Sodom, we cannot afi&rm that he may 
not, for a worthy end, enter into a bodilj' con¬ 
flict with Jacob. These various manifestations 
of God to man differ only in degree. If we ad¬ 
mit any one, we are bound by parity of reason 
to accept all the others. M. 

25 , 26 , All along Jacob’s life had been the 
struggle of a clever and strong, a pertinacious 
and enduring, a self-confident and self-suffi¬ 
cient person, who was sure of the result only 
when he helped himself —a contest with God, 






470 


THE WRESI'LIXG AT PENIEL. 


who wished to break his strength and wisdom, 
in ordt-r to bestow upon him real strength in 
divine vvectkiiess, and real wisdom in divine 

folly. K.-All this self-confidence culminates 

now, and in one final and sensible struggle, his 
Jacob-nature, his natural propensity to wrest 
what he desires and win what he aims at, from 
the most unwilling opponent, does its very 
utmost and does it in vain. And as the first 
faint dawn appears, and he begins dimly to 
make out the face, the quiet breathing of 
which he bad felt on his own during the con¬ 
test, the man with whom he wrestles touches 
the strongest sinew in Jacob’s body, and the 
muscle on which the wrestler most dej^ends 
shrivels at the touch and reveals to the falling 
Jacob how utterly futile had been all his skill 
and obstinacy and how quickly the stranger 
might have thrown and mastered him. It is at 
this touch, which discovers the Almighty power 
of Him with whom he has been contending, 
that the whole nature of Jacob goes down be¬ 
fore God. He sees how foolish and vain has 
been his obstinate persistence in striving to 
trick God out of his blessing, or wrest it from 
Him, and now he owns his utter incapacity to 
advance one step in this way, he admits to him¬ 
self that he is stopped, weakened in the way, 
thrown on his back, and can effect nothing, 
simply nothing, by what he thought would 
effect all; and, therefore, he passes from wres¬ 
tling to praying, and with tears, as Hosea says, 
sobs out from the broken heart of the strong 
man, “ I will not let thee go except thou bless 
me.” Dods. 

This mysterious wrestler has wrestled from 
him, by one touch, all his might, and he can 
no longer stand alone. Without any support 
whatever from himself, he hangs upon the con 
queror, and in that condition learns by experi¬ 
ence the practice of sole reliance on one migh¬ 
tier than himself. This is the turning-point in 
this strange drama. Despairing now of his own 
strength, he is Jacob still : he declares his de¬ 
termination to cling on until his conqueror bless 
him. He now knows he is in the hand of a 
higher power, who can disable and again enable, 
who can curse and also bless. He knows him¬ 
self also to be now utterly helpless without the 
healing, quickening, protecting power of his 
victor, and, though he die in the effort, he will 
not let him go without receiving this blessing. 
Jacob’s sense of his total debility and utter de¬ 
feat is now the secret of his power with his 
friendly vanquisher. He can overthrow all the 
prowess of the self-reliant, but He cannot resist 
the earnest entreaty of the helpless. M. 


1 “Let me go,” he said, “for the day break- 
eth.” He could have gone without asking leave 
of Jacob ; but he suffers the firm embrace, and 
he asks relief from it only to draw out from 
Jacob the declaration, “I will not let thee go 
until thou bless me.” Thus at last it is—when 
utterly stripped of the power by which he had 
previously maintained the struggle—when ceas¬ 
ing from wrestling, he simply clasps, and cleaves, 
and clings, and weeps, and prays, that Jacob 
prevails, and becomes in turn the conqueror. 
27. “What is thy name?” the mjsterious 
stranger says. The old name, reirresenting the 
old character, must be confessed before the new 
name, representing the new character, is be¬ 
stowed. “ Thy name shall no more be called 
Jacob”—a supplanter, an overreacher, a suc¬ 
cessful w'restler with Esau or Laban—“but 
Israel ”a prince of God : “ for as a piinco 
hast thou power with God, and hast prevailed ” 
W. H. 

Jacob is here knighted in the field, and has a 
title of honor given him by Him that is the 
Fountain of honor, which will remain to his 
praise to the end of time. Yet this was not all ; 
having power with God, he shall have power 
with men too. Having prevailed for a blessing 
from Heaven, he shall prevail for Esau’s favor. 
Whatever enemies w^e have, if wm can but make 
God our Friend, we are well off ; they that by 
faith have power in Heaven, have thereby as 
much power on earth as they have occasion for. 
An interest in the angel’s blessing is better than 
acquaintance with his name. The tree of life 
is better than the tree of knowledge. Thus 
Jacob carried his point ; a blessing he wrestled 
for, and a blessing he had ; nor did ever any 
of his praying seed seek in vain. See how won¬ 
derfully God condescends to countenance and 
crown importunate prayer : those that resolve, 
though God slay them, yet to trust in him, will 

at length be more than conquerors. H.-In 

allusion to this transaction, the Most High saj^s 
by the Prophet (Is. 45 :19), “ I said not to the 
seed of Jacob seek ye me in vain.” The seed of 
Jacob is specified rather than the seed of Abra¬ 
ham, from this eminent instance of Jacob’s 
praying and prevailing in a season of extrem¬ 
ity, and thus carrying an implication that his 
“seed” would inherit their father’s spirit in 
this respect. Bush. 

2§. No more Jacob shall thy name be called, 
but Israel,—a prince of God, in God, with God. 
In a personal conflict, depending on thyself, 
thou wert no match for God. But in prayer, 
depending on another, thou hast prevailed with 
God. There are three acts in this dramatic 










SECTION 61.—GENESIS 32 : 24-32; 33 : 1-20. 


scene ; first, Jacob wrestling with the Omni- 
Ijresent in the form of a man, in which he is 
signally defeated ; second, Jacob importunately 
supplicating Jehovah, in which he prevails as a 
prince of God ; third, Jacob receiving the bless¬ 
ing of a new name, a new development of spir¬ 
itual life. M. 

Sinew of tlie liip. Whatever be 
the literal sense of the w^ords, they doubtless 
mean the “ sciatic nerve,” which is one of the 
largest in the body, and extends down the thigh 
and leg to the ankle. The Arabs still use this 
same word (Nisheh or Naseh) to designate the 
sciatic nerve. The custom prevailing among 
the Jews to this day of abstaining religiously 
from eating this sinew seems a lasting monu¬ 
ment of the historical truth of this wonderful 
event in the life of Jacob. E. H. B. 

Once that the touch of the Divine finger, once 
that the consciousness of the close and antago¬ 
nistic presence of the Unseen, the Omnipotent, 
is felt—what an instant change in Jacob’s feel¬ 
ings and Jacob’s conduct ! The new nature 
symbolized by the new name begins already to 
reveal itself. All his old self-confidence is 
gone. His only trust is in the love and pitj" 
and great power of the Being uj)on whom he 
hangs. No thought of Esau is in the mind, no 
fear of Esau in the heart. Other and far deeper 
thoughts and feelings fill mind and heart. To 
know him—the Eternal, the Almighty, the All 
Holy One ; to stand right with him, be blessed 
by him, is the one thing that engrosses and ab¬ 
sorbs. “ And Jacob asked him, saying. Tell 
me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said. Where¬ 
fore is it that thou dost ask after my name ? 

And he blessed him there.” W. H.-From 

this moment was revealed in Jacob distinctly 
that higher nature, that powerful grip upon 
spiritual things, which Paul calls “ laying hold 
upon eternal life,” that singular life and power 
in the beliefs of the soul which must prevail. 
From this moment dates, though with many de¬ 
clensions, the true patriarch, Mercer. -His old 

life falls from him : purified and sanctified by 
God’s gracious dealings with him, he is no 
longer to bear the old name Jacob, polluted as 
it was by his deceit ; but he is to be called by a 
new name, which shall be a witness of his vic¬ 
tory in the severest trial—a victory gained by 
distrust of himself and firm trust in God’s 
promise. God’s manifestation to him is not 
destructive of life—his soul is preserved ; and 
though he halts on his thigh, the sun rises full 
of blessing upon him. This history is not only 
full of signification to Jacob, but it represents 
the combat and the triumph of the soldiers of 


4:i 

God in their severest trials. At different times 
in their life God seems to be an adversary, to 
withdraw His grace and protection ; they find 
themselves in great peril outwardly or inw'ardly ; 
and they have nothing on which to rely but 
God’s proini.se, in naktd faith, without the com¬ 
fort of His presence in their souls. These are 
the times when God is pleased to crowm His 
true combatants, and for their greater confir¬ 
mation to relieve them from their distresses. 
Oerl. 

No purpose is more settled in the counsels of 
heaven, than to beat down the vain self-confi¬ 
dence which in one form or other is so prone 
to intrude itself into the devoutest doings of 
even the best of men. Some secret reliance 
upon their own strength, or uprightness, or 
understanding, mingles with the workings of 
their hearts, and prevents that entire renunci¬ 
ation of themselves wdiich is essential to their 
being filled wdth the fulness of God. But 
W'hen the Most High begins to wu-estle with a 
soul, that is, to carry on more effectually the 
w'ork of grace, he struggles with him in such a 
manner as to abase every high thing that exalts 
itself within him, and bring him to the lowest 
depths of self-abasement and self-annihilation. 
He wull leave him nothing to plead but his pure 
gratuitous mercy in Christ, He will cause 
him, by his hidden influences in his heart, to 
feel that he has no alternative remaining but to 
enrbrace with the arms of faith the Son of God, 
and thus, as a crippled conqueror, to prevail. 
He thus learns to believe from the heart the dec¬ 
laration that “ it is not of him that willelh, nor 
of him that runneth, but of God that showeth 
mercy.” In a word, we may see, in this inci¬ 
dent of the mystical conflict, how completely 
the Lord designs to strip the sinner of every 
relic of self-confidence, that he may cast him¬ 
self, weak, wear 3 % lame, halting, and helpless, 
into the arms of the all-sufficient Saviour. Bush. 

Very sigirificant to Jacob in his after life must 
have been the lameness consequent on this 
night’s struggle. He, the wrestler, had to go 
halting all his days. To the end some men 
bear the marks of the heavy stroke by which 
God first humbled them. It came in a su.lden 
shock that broke the health, or in a disappoint¬ 
ment which nothing now given can ever quite 
obliterate the trace of, or in circumstances pain¬ 
fully and permanent!}’’ altered. With many men 
God is forced to such treatment ; if any of us 
are under it, God forbid we should mistake itu 
meaning and lie prostrate and despairing in the 
darkness instead of clinging to Him who has 
smitten and will heal us. D >ds. 





472 


THE WRESTLING AT PENIEL. 


They who bear the name of Israel have the 
same power to prevail with God that Jacob had 
at Peniel. The Angel of the covenant acted as 
though he could not break away from the eager 
patriarch. The effect was the same as though 
he could not. So it is with the struggle of other 
saints. How often is the appearance strongly 
held out that “ the effectual fervent prayer of a 
righteous man availeth much.” Griffin. 

God often holds the suppliant in suspense 
for the sake of throwing him upon self-exami¬ 
nation. It may be simply indispensable both 
for the good of the suppliant and for the honor 
of God that he should be put to the deepest 
self-searching, to compel reflection and consid¬ 
eration for the purpose of convicting him of 
some sin that must needs be seen, confessed, 
repented of and put utterly away. We must 
not overlook the great fact that when God grants 
signal blessings in answer to any man’s prayer, 
it will be taken as a tacit indorsement on God’s 
part of this man’s spiritual state. It will be 
considered as God’s testimony that he is not 
“ regarding iniquity in his heart ” — that there 
are no iniquities palpable to the world and 
present to the man’s own consciousness—in¬ 
dulged and not condemned and forsaken. On 
this principle it often happens that God must 
needs compel the praying soul to the most thor¬ 
ough heart-searching and to the most absolute 
and complete renunciation of known sin, before 
he can honorably and safely bestow signal 
blessings. If wo jslace this obvious principle 
of God’s spiritual administration alongside of 
the well known facts of Jacob’s history, we shall 
readily see reasons, apparently all-sufficient, 
for this long delay and this remarkable struggle 
of prayer before the blessing was given. The 
Lord was searching his servant and impressing 
some great principles of practical duty upon 
his mind under circumstances well adapted to 
insure very thorough reformation. H. C. 

A spirit of praj^er is a demonstration of an 
Israel of God ; this Jacob had, this he made use 
of, and by this he obtained the name of Israel. 
A spirit of prayer in straits, difficulties, and dis¬ 
tresses—a spirit of prayer when alone, in pri¬ 
vate, in the night, when no eye seeth but God’s, 
then to be at it, then to lay hold of God, then 
to wrestle, to hold fast, and not to give over 
until the blessing is obtained, is a sign of one 
that is an Israel of God. Bunyan. 

To make Christ’s forgiving love my own there 
must be the personal contact of my soul with 
the loving heart of Christ, the individual act of 
my own coming to Him, and, as the old Puri¬ 
tans used to say, “ my transacting” with Him. 


Like the ocean of the atmosphere, His love en¬ 
compasses me, and in it I live, and move, and 
have my being. But I must let it flow into my 
spirit, and stir the dormant music of my soul. 
I can shut it out, sealing my heart love-tight 
against it. I do shut it out, unless by my own 
conscious, personal act I yield myself t<^ Him, 
unless by my own faith I come to Him, and 
meet Him. As if there were not another soul 
on earth, I and He must meet, and in solitude 
deep as that of death, each man for himself 
must yield to Incarnate Love, and receive eter¬ 
nal life. The flocks and herds, the wives and 
children have all to be sent away, and Jacob is 
left alone, before the mysterious Wrestler comes 
whose touch of fire lames the whole nature of 
sin and death, whose inbreathed power strength¬ 
ens to hold Him fast till He speaks a blessing 
who desires to be overcome, and makes our 
yielding to Him our i)revailing with Him. As 
one of the old mystics called praj’er “ the flight 
of the lonely man to the onl}^ God,” so we may 
call the act of faith the meeting of the soul 
alone with Christ alone. A. M. 

The words of the Wrestler at the brook Jab- 
bok, ” Let me go, for the day breaketh,” ex¬ 
press the truth that spiritual things will not 
submit themselves to sensible tests. When we 
seek to let the full daylight, by which w'e dis¬ 
cern other objects, stream upon them, they elude 
our grasp. When we fancy we are on the verge 
of having our doubts forever scattered, and 
our suppositions changed into certainties, the 
very approach of clear knowledge and demon¬ 
stration seems to drive those sensitive spiritual 
presences into darkness. As Pascal remarked, 
and remarked as the mouthpiece of all souls 
that have earnestly sought for God, The world 
only gives us indications of the presence of a 
God who conceals himself. What is possible, 
God has done. He has made Himself known 
in Christ. We are assured, on testimony that 
stands every kind of test, that in Him, if no¬ 
where else, we find God. Dods. 

That this was the turning-point in Jacob’s 
inner life, the bestowment of the new name 
would of itself have led us to expect. A care¬ 
ful study of his life establishes it. Dividing 
that life into two parts—the 97 years that pre¬ 
ceded, and the 50 that followed the great inter¬ 
view at Peniel—we find little in the former to 
attract ; not a little, on the other hand, to re¬ 
pel. Abundance, indeed, of good materials of 
character exhibit themselves : nothing shallow, 
nothing weak, all of good quality and propor¬ 
tion, quick intelligence, warm affection, poetic 
sentiment, large and varied capacities for work, 



SECTION 61.—GENESIS 32 : 24-82 ; 33 : 1-20. 


firmness of purpose, fertility of resource, unfal¬ 
tering self-confidence ; but the presence, withal, 
of a selfish and sneaking cunning, an aptness 
for deceit and treachery in dealing even with 
nearest friends ; and the absence of any clear 
tokens of the continuous and dominant influ¬ 
ence of the ancestral faith—the first vision at 
Betliel making apparently but a temporary im 
pression—one that faded away amid the mani¬ 
fold engagements of the strange and troubled 
life at Paddan-aram. In the second section, the 
fifty years that date from Peniel, Jacob appears 
a quite altered man ; the old nature, doubtless, 
still there, but thoroughly restrained and sub¬ 
dued. Not a trace of craft in any one piece of 
conduct ; the crooked cunning ways followed 
no more. For adroitness there is simplicity ; 
for falsehood, truth. Self-confidence has got 
its death-wound in that midnight meeting. 
Trial follows trial, bereavement succeeds be¬ 
reavement. Under severe and protracted dis¬ 
cipline, the higher spiritual nature grows and 
ripens, till at the close the piety of Abraham 
and Isaac, their faith in God and in his special 
l)romises, shines forth in Jacob in undimmed 
lustre. \V. H. 

The Meeting with Esau. 

: 4 , Esau was moved and melted into ten¬ 
derness by a responsive influence to the prayer 
of Jacob from on high, but still through the 
subordinate means %vhich Jacob did well in put¬ 
ting into operation. The successive appli¬ 
ances, first of the costly gifts, secondly of his 
own personal appearance, and thirdly of the 
successive presentations of his family, were all 
exceedingly well devised on the part of Jacob ; 
and one cannot help admiring at the same time 
the exhibition of Esau. He had many good 
points and properties. Constitutionally, and 
'.IS viewed in the light of a natural man, there 
was much to like and to admire in him. T. C. 

9 , 10 . Jacob might truly say, not in mere 
compliment, that the sight of Esau’s face had 
been to him as the sight of God’s face, discern¬ 
ing as he did in his brother’s altered mind to 
him a sign of the divine favor. 13 , 14 . The 
excuse was genuine. Tender children, such as 
many of Jacob’s were, would be injured, and 
flocks fn milk, or with young, would die even 
with a day’s overdriving ; and therefore could 
not keep pace with Esau and his men. Observe 
Jacob addresses Esau always as “ my lord," but 
Esau speaks to Jacob as “my brother." The 
one had a guilty conscience, which forbade him 
to touch on the brotherly relation ; the other 
was clear on this matter. Atf. -There was 


4r:3 

nothing in Jacob’s language to his brother 
which, when translated from Eastern to our 
Western modes of conduct and expression, is 
inconsistent with proper self-respect. If ho 
declined the offer of an armed guard, it was be¬ 
cause he felt he needed not an earthly host to 
protect him. Besides, it was manifestly impos¬ 
sible for cattle and tender children to keep up 
with a Bedouin warrior band. A. E. 

16 . Esau retires to make room for Jacob ; he 
leaves to him the land of his inheritance, and 
disappears on his way to the wild mountains of 
Seir. In those wild mountains, in the red hills 
of Edom, in the caves and excavations to which 
the soft sandstone rocks so readily lend them¬ 
selves, in the cliffs which afterward gave to the 
settlement the name of “ Sela” or “Petra,” 
lingered the ancient aboriginal tribe of tho 
Horites or dwellers in the holes of the rock. 
These “ the children of Esau succeeded, and 
destroyed from before them, and dwelt in their 
stead.’’ It was the rough rocky country de¬ 
scribed in their father’s blessing : a savage 
dwelling, “ away from the fatness of the earth 
and the dew of heaven by the sword they 
were to live ; a race of hunters among the 
mountains. A. P. S. 

The best about Esau is “ goodnature,” which 
is but nature after all, nature and not grace. 
As contemplated according to the higher re¬ 
quirements and demands which God makes on 
men, he is described by the Apostle in a single 
word, but one full of significance, “ a profane 
person one with no sanctuary in his soul, 
with little sense or none of the privileges so 
glorious and unique which were the inheritance 
of the elect family, and of himself as the centre 
of that family, divinely appointed to this 
honor. That the prerogatives of the firstborn, 
slighted and despised by him, should pass to 
his younger brother, lay in the very nature and 
moral necessity of things. There were no fit¬ 
nesses, no predispositions for this honor in 
him ; rather the most marked unfitnesses for 
standing at the head of the great religious 
movement in which was wrapped up the whole 
future hope of the world. Trench. 

17. Jacob turned in a north-westerly direc¬ 
tion to Succoth, a place still east of Jordan, and 
afterward in the possession of the tribe of Gad. 
Here he probably made a lengthened stay, for 
we read that “ he built him an house, and 
made booths for his cattle,” whence also Iho 

name of Succoth, or “ booths.” A. E.-That 

the stay at Succoth was more than a mere ordi¬ 
nary halt for rest and refreshment upon a jour¬ 
ney, is apparent ; but can we form any idea of 








474 


ACOB'S STAY AT SIIECU EM. 


its probable length ? We have ten years here 
to come and go upon, tor so long was the inter¬ 
val between Jacob’s reaching the borders of 
Canaan and his arrival at Hebron, Over these 
intervening years we have to distribute the in¬ 
cidents recorded in the 33d, 34th, and 35Lh 
chapters of Genesis, To allow of Dinah and 
her brothers being of anything like sufficient 
age, it is necessary to throw the events narrated 
in the 34th chapter as far on as possible toward 
the close of this period. If we assign a year to 
the journey from Shechem to Bethel, Ephrath, 
Edar, and Mamre, there remain nine years to 
be divided between Succoth and Shechem, But 
did Jacob actually allow ten years to elapse 
after reaching the banks of the Jordan before 
visiting his aged parent at Mamre ? That after 
so long a separation Jacob should have lived 
continuously so many years so near to Hebron 
as he was at Succoth and at Shechem—a single 
week enough to carry him to and fro, and give 
him a day or two with Isaac—without once 
going to see him, is incredible'. W, H, 

Jacob may have paid one or more visits to his 
father, either from Shechem or even from Suc¬ 
coth, without the circumstance being expressly 
mentioned in the narrative. From chaj), 35 : 8, 
compared with chap, 24 :59, we gather that 
soon after his return Jacob must have come 
into immediate contact with the house of his 
father, for we find the nurse of Rebekah, who 
had been in the house of Isaac, now in that of 
Jacob, But Jacob no longer subordinated his 
own household to that of his fatber, because in 
virtue of God’s leadings he had now been con¬ 
stituted the representative of the promise, while 
after Isaac had bestowed the Ilessing upon 
Jacob, his work, so far as he was the represent¬ 
ative of the promise, was finished, K. 

1§. Came isi peace to llie city of 
Slieclicai, wliicli is in tlie land of 
Canaan. The words seem designedly chosen 
to indicate that God had amply fulfilled what 
Jacob had asked at Bethel : to “ come again in 
peace,” A. E, 

In Abraham’s time, we do not read of any city 
of Shechem, The phrase used is, “ i\\e place of 
Sichem, ” meaning, probably, the place where 
Sichem, or Shechem, afterward stood. The city 
of Shechem would seem to have taken its name 
from the son of Hamor, the prince of whom 
Jacob bought his parcel of ground, and hence 
w'ould date from about the time of Jacob’s so¬ 
journ there, Shechem is midway between Jeru¬ 
salem and Nazareth—and between the Jordan 
and the Mediterranean Sea, The broad valley 
running north and south through the territory 


of ancient E[)hraim —the ancient Moreh, the 
modern Mukhna—is flanked on the west by a 
range of abrupt and lofty hills. The road usu¬ 
ally followed leads through ihe plain along the 
base of these hills. Travelling northward b}^ 
this road, we reach, some six or seven miles 
from the southern limit of the plain, the point 
where a cross-valley from the west breaks 
Ihrough the range of hills over against us. This 
cross-valley, where it issues into the great vallej’, 
is half a mile wide, 'L’he hills, at the points of 
intersection, rise to the dignity of mountain 
promontories ; that on the north being the his¬ 
torical “ Ebal,” while that on the south is the 
still more renowned “ Gerizim ” Out a little 
from the base of Gerizim, just where the edges 
of the two valleys meet, is Jacob’s Well ; while 
a few hundred yards to the north, or near the 
middle of the cross-valley, is the little Moham¬ 
medan structure known as “ The Tomb of 

Joseph.” N. C. B.-See Sketch Map, New 

Testament, vol, 1, pp. 96 and 100. 

Coming from the south, yoii continue up the 
plain of Mukhna until Mount Gerizim faces 
boldly upon it on your left. Passing the east¬ 
ern front of Gerizim and looking westward, 
you see at a glance the Yale of Shechem, run¬ 
ning east and west, with Mount Gerizim on the 
south and Ebal on the north. Just where you 
turn is Jacob’s Well. Gerizim and Ebal, it v.'ill 
be noted, are lofty parallel ridges, with the nar¬ 
row Yale of Shechem between them. Gerizim 
stands two thousand eight hundred and forty- 
eight feet above the sea, and Ebal three thou¬ 
sand and seventy-six feet. At the eastern open¬ 
ing of the vale is Jacob’s Well ; a mile to the 
west is the city of Nablus, replacing the old 
Shechem and lying at the foot of the ridge of 
Gerizim. About a half mile north of Jacob’s 
Well is a village called Askar, j^robably the 
Sychar whence came the “ woman of Samaria” 
with whom our Lord held converse as he sat by 
Jacob' > Yv'ell. Dulles. 

The patriarchal associations of Shechem are 
almost as suggestive as those of Hebron itself ; 
not only beginning with Abraham, but being 
made impressive by existing relics—Jacob’s 
Well and the Tomb of Joseph answ^ering sever¬ 
ally to Abraham’s Oak and the Cave of Mach- 
pelah. But beyond Hebron Shechem was made 
memorable by a visit of our Saviour to its vi¬ 
cinity, and by the delivery there of a recorded 
discourse of the Great Teacher—a discourse not 
only fraught with heavenly truth and power, 
but also characterized by local and historical 
references, such as fitted it to the time and place 
and purpose of His address. N. C. B. 




SECTION 61.—GENESIS 32 : 24-22; 33 : 1-20. 


475 


19. For ii litiii<Ired 5>iece3 of money. 

Hebrew Icesitah, lamb, but here to bo rendered in 
the plural “lambs,” by which is probably 
meant a kind of coin with the image of a lamb 
stamped upon it. “ The primitive race of men 
being shepherds, and their wealth consisting in 
their cattle, in which Abraham is said to have 
been rich, for greater convenience metals were 
substituted for the commodity itself. It was 
natural for the representative sign to bear im- 
l)ressed the object which it represented ; and 
thus, accordingly, the earliest coins were 
stamped with the figure of an ox or a sheep.” 
{Maurice Lid. Aniiq.) Thus the ancient Atheni¬ 
ans had a coin called jSovg ox, because it was 
stamped with the image of an ox. Thus, too, 
the Latin word for money, pecunia, is derived 
from pecus, cattle, from the image stamped upon 
it. The custom no doubt arose from the fact 
that in primitive times the coin was the ordinary 
value of the animal whose image it bore. Bush. 

20. And lie erected llicre anallar. 
At the same place where Abraham had built his 
first altar (chap. 12 :7). Abraham dedicated 
his “ unto the Loed, who appeared unto him ;” 
Jacob his, unto “ God, the God of Israel," which 
was the new name that God had given him. 
The place was at or near Shechem : so that the 
woman of Samaria might well say as she did to 
our Saviour, that “ their fathers worshipped 

God in that mount.” Wall. -This whole 

transaction was an act of faith on the part of 
Jacob. The purchase of land, and that in the 
very place where God had first promised Abra¬ 
ham that the land should be his, showed his 
conviction in the certainty of that promise as 
renewed to him and his seed : the erection of 
an altar on this his own land connected the act 
of purchase with the God in whose promise he 
trusted ; and the naming of that altar bespoke 
special faith in the symbolic meaning of the 
name which God had given him. Alf. 

The Oak of Moreh, the first camp and altar of 
Abraham in the Land of Promise, was before 
Shechem (Gen. 12 : 6), at the entrance of the val¬ 
ley, in the plain, and, therefore, close to Jacob's 
Well. There is no spot in sacred story more ac¬ 
curately marked out than this ; and here we are 
on the very spot consecrated by the presence of 
our Divine Saviour ; exactly where we are sit¬ 
ting He sat. The arched arcade that protected 
the well and invited the wayworn traveller by 
its shade, has long since crumbled ; but its pil¬ 
lars and ruins are strewn around us. This is 
the parcel of ground that Jacob bought of 
Hamor, the father of Shechem, where, like his 
grandfather, he first encamped when he came 


from the land of the east : here he, too, erected 
his altar, and here he sank that well, which has 
remained to the present day. The very circum¬ 
stances of the case explain both his purchase 
and his sinking this well. Though the plain is 
the richest in the land, yet the streams in it are 
few. The brook that flows eastward from the 
valley is but scanty, for most of the sjjrings 
drain to the west. Two of the three great foun¬ 
tains on this side the city were within its boun¬ 
daries, and the third belonged to the village 
hard by. Jacob knew well the jealousy between 
the settled inhabitants and the nomad herds¬ 
men, who would certainly not be permitted to 
water their flocks within the precincts ; and, 
therefore, with that cautious prudence which 
ever stamped his character, he purchases a 
small piece of land, quite outside the valley, 
where there could be no suspicion of his mak¬ 
ing a stronghold, and in it he sinks this well— 
which must have been, for those times, a most 
costly work—deeper far than the wells sunk by 
his grandfather Abraham, under similar circum¬ 
stances, at Btersheba. . . . The sinking of a 
well in the East is a greater work than the erec¬ 
tion of a castle or fortress, and whether the 
wells be those of Abraham at Beersheba or ot 
Jacob at Shechem, they hand down the name of 
their constructor from generation to generation 
as the benefactor of posterity. How truly in 
keeping with Jacob’s peace-loving character 
was this act of sinking a well in the plain at 
such enormous cost, so near the city a.nd its 
abundant springs and rills ; fearing lest his 
sons should be brought into collision with the 
men of Shechem concerning that water which 
was far more precious than land. Yet with 
characteristic caution he first purchased the 
piece of land of the lord of the country—of 
Hamor the father of Shechem. H. B. T. 

The well is 75 feet deep, 7 feet 6 inches di¬ 
ameter, and is lined throughout with rough 
masonry, as it is dug in alluvial soil. Every 
one visiting the well throws stones down for 
the satisfaction of hearing them strike the bot¬ 
tom, and in this way, as well as from the debris 
of the ruined church built over the well during 
the fourth century, it has become filled up to 
probably more than half of its original depth. 
Lieut. Anderson. See New Testament, vol. 1, 
Section 22. 


The beautiful biographies of the Old Testa¬ 
ment reveal to us the hand of God, leading the 
patriarchs and other holy men along a perpet- 
ual pilgrimage, in which they are as really with¬ 
out self-direction as was Israel in the wilder- 









476 


DmAE’S WRONG, AND THE VENGEANCE OF HER BROTHERS. 


ness. Surely the way of Abram was not in 
himself, when God called him out of the East, 
led him into Canaan, and into Egypt, and 
through a long life gave him no inheritance, no, 
not so much as to set his foot on. The wander¬ 
ings of Jacob were as little under his own con¬ 
trol. And we have only to look back upon our 
own little biography, however quiet and un¬ 
eventful that history may have been, to learn. 


! that of the great body of events, very few have 
been at our own disposal. A higher wisdom 
hath determined the times before appointed, 
and the bounds of our habitation ; hath ordered 
how we should be educated ; the field of our 
labor ; the afflictions which have entered into 
our discipline, and the stations which we now 
occupy. J. W. A. 


Section 62. 

DINAH’S WEONG, AND THE CKUEL VENGEANCE OF HEK BEOTHEKS. 


Genesis 34 : 1-31. 

1 And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters 

2 of the land. And Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her ; 

3 and he took her, and lay with her, and humbled her. And his soul clave unto Dinah the 

4 daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindlj'^ unto the damsel. And Shechem 

5 spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife. Now Jacob heard that he 
had defiled Dinah his daughter ; and his sons were with his cattle in the field : and Jatob 

6 held his peace until they came. And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to 

7 commune with him. And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it : 
and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel 

8 in lying with Jacob’s daughter ; which thing ought not to be done. And Hamor communed 
with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter : I pray you gi\e 

9 her unto him to wife And make ye marriages with us ; give your daughters unto us, and 

10 take our daughters unto you. And ye shall dwell with us : and the land shall be before 3 on ; 

11 dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein. And Shechem said unto her 
father and unto her brethren. Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I 

12 wdl give. Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say 

13 unto me : but give me the damsel to wife. And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and 
Him )r his father with guile, and spake, because he had defiled Dinah their sister, and said 

14 unto them. We cannot do this thing, to give onr sister to one that is uncircumcised ; ffir that 

15 were a reproach unto us ; only on this condition will we consent unto you : if ye will be as 

16 we be, that every male of you be circumcised ; then will we give our daughters unto you, and 
we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will becc me one peoj le, 

17 Bat if ye will nrt hearken unto us, to be circumcised ; then will we take our daughter, and 

18 we will be gone. And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor’s son. And the 

19 young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter : and he 

20 was honored above all the house of his father. And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto 

21 the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying. These men are 
peaceable with us ; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein ; for, behold, the 
land is large enough for them ; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give 

22 them our daughters. Only on this condition will the men consent unto us to dwell with us, 

23 to become one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised. Shall 
not their cattle and their substance and all their beasts be ours ? only let us consent unto 

24 them, and they will dwell with us. And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened 
all that went out of the gate of his city ; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of 

25 the gate of his city. And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of 
the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took each man his sword, and came 

26 upon the city unawares, and slew all the males. And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son 

27 with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went forth. The 
sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister. 

28 They took their flocks and their herds and their asses, and that which was in the city, and 

29 that which was in the field ; and all their wealth, and all their little ones and their wives, 

30 took they captive and spoiled, even all that was in the house. And Jacob said to Simeon and 
Levi, Ye have troubled me, to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the 
Cinaanites and the Perizzites ; and, I being few in number, they will gather themselves to- 

31 gether against me and smite me ; and I shall be destroyed, I and my^ house. And they said, 
Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot? 





SEOTlOIi G2.~GE:;E8IS Si 1-31. 


477 


The Bible hides nothing of shame ; is not 
afraid of words which make the cheek burn ; 
conceals nothing of moral crippleness, intirm- 
ity, or weakness, or evil. The Bible holds 
everything up in the light. Recognize, at least, 
the fearless honesty of the book. This is not a 
gallery of artistic figures ; this is no gathering 
together of dramatic characters—painted, ar¬ 
rayed, tauglit to perform their part msthetically, 
\yithout fault and beyond criticism ; these are 
living men and women—when they pray, when 
they sin, when they shout like a host of wor¬ 
shippers, and when they fall down like a host 
of rebels, or flee like a host of cowards. The 
Bible paints real characters. God saj^s what is 
true about every one of us. If there is shame 
in it, we must feel it ; the wrong is ours, not 
his. No other book could bo so dauntless, 
could paint what we call the defective side of 
human nature with so bold a hand and yet 
claim to be the revelation of God. J. P. 

The events related in this chapter could not 
have happened till Jacob had lived six or seven 
years in the neighborhood of Shechem ; for in 
a less time than this the two brothers could not 
have arrived at man’s estate, nor Dinah her¬ 
self have attained a marriageable age. Bush. 

The history of Dinah is recorded to convince 
future ages that the sins of impurity are so 
hateful to God that they seldom go unj^unished 
in this world ; if they do, worse will be their 
punishment in the next. Bp. Wilson. 

I. Dinah went out to see. When 
this happened, the Scripture does not inform 
us. She was probably fltteen or sixteen years 
of age. The occasion of the calamity, Josephus 
tells us, was a great festival held at Shechem, 
which she ventured to go to, desirous of seeing 
the spectacles and fashions of the place. Stack- 
house. 

7, Folly in Israel. The first instance 
on record where the family of Jacob is desig¬ 
nated* by the title of “ Israel.” The word 
“ folly” in Scriptural usage implies an act of 
shameless turpitude committed against the Di¬ 
vine precept. The “ fool ” of the Scrijjtures is 
not by interpretation a simpleton, but a sinner; 
and “ folly,” instead of mental infirmity, is moral 
delinquency, and that of an aggravated character. 
This should be especially borne in mind in 
reading the book of Proverbs. It is not un¬ 
likely that from the present-example the phrase¬ 
ology here employed became proverbially aj)- 
plied to express the same sinful conduct. Bush. 

As the cunning of Jacob forms a prototype of 
the future national character, so now also the 
carnal pride of the sons in their pre-eminence 
over the heathen indicates one of the main 
characteristics of the Jewish people at a later 
period. K.-A history like this brings typi¬ 

cally before us all the aberrations caused during 
the course of history, when the belief in the 
high pre-eminence of Israel was in a carnal 
manner cherished by carnally-minded men. 
The feeling that they were the sons of Jacob, 
the chosen race, that any violation of tlieir 
honor must be more terribly revenged than in 
the case of others, and that not even submission 
to the rite of circumcision could atone for it, 
appears to have mainly influenced the conduct 
of the sons of Jacob. Oerl. 

The heads of the Jewish tribes, as we become 


better acquainted with them, are full of all rude 
and savage impulses, impatient of home sub¬ 
jection, not yet tamed by the sterner discipline 
uf law. Just the inclinations and tendencies 
which we saw in Esau are in them. At the 
same time they have inherited much of their 
father’s craft ; they will compass their ends by 
force or cunning, or both. It is no Arcadian 
picture ; the simple life of shepherds, as the 
book of Genesis represents it, is infected with 
vices which we think the most foreign from 
simplicity. Maurice. 

The intention was malicious, as appears by 
the sequel of the story ; all they aimed at was to 
prepare them for the day of slaughter. Bloody 
designs have often been covered and carried 
on, with a pretence of religion ; thus they have 
been accomplished most plausibly, and most 
securely^ But this dissembled piety is, doubt¬ 
less, double iniquity. Religion is never more 
injured, nor God’s sacraments more profaned, 
than when they are thus used for a cloak of ma¬ 
liciousness. H. 

To execute rigor upon a submissive offender, 
is more merciless than just ; or if the punish¬ 
ment had been both just and proportionable 
from another, yet from them which had vowed 
peace and affinity, it was shamefully unjust. 
To disappoint the trust of another, and to neg¬ 
lect our own promise and fidelity for i^rivato 
])urpnses, adds faithlessness unto our cruelty. 
What impiety was this ; instead of honoring a 
holy sign, to take an advantage by it ! Bp. U. 

It was true that Shechem had done ill, but 
he was endeavoring to atone for it, and was as 
honest and honorable after the deed as the case 
would admit. It was true that Shechem had 
done ill ; but what was that to all the Shechem- 
ites ? Does one man sin, and will they bo 
wroth with all the town? Must the innocent 
fall with the guilty? This was barbarous in¬ 
deed. But that which above all aggravated the 
cruelty was the most perfidious treachery that 
was in it. The Shechemites had submitted to 
their conditions, and had done that upon which 
they had promised to become one peoirle with 
them ; yet they act as sworn enemies to those to 
whom they were lately become sworn friends, 
making as light of their covenant as they did of 
the laws of humanity. And are these the sons 
of Israel ? Cursed he their anger, for it was fierce. 
This also added to the crime, that they made a 
holy ordinance of God subservient to their 
wicked design, so making that odious ; as if it 
were not enough for them to shame themselves 
and their family, they bring a reproach upon 
that honorable badge of their religion ; justly 
would it be called a bloody ordinance. H. 

Jacob’s sons, making every alloM-ance for 
their outraged feelings, acquitted themselves 
most detestably in this whole transaction. The 
allegation of a religious principle in the propo¬ 
sition which they made makes it all the more 
atrocious ; and they stand forth in an aggra- 
vateti likeness as the genuine descendants of the 
maternal family whence they sirrung. There 
was something diabolical in the deceit where¬ 
with the plot was constructed, and the appalling 
cruelty of its termination—when a hecatomb of 
innocent men and families was offered up to 
appease their vengeance. Altogether, it was a 
most revolting tragedy. T. C. 





478 


AGAIN AT BE'IIIEL 


Their atrocious wickedness elicited from the 
dying lips of their father the prophetic denun¬ 
ciation (Gen. 49 : 7), “ Cursed be their anger, 
for it was tierce, and their wrath, for it was 
cruel : I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter 
them in Israel ” Bash —^As a token of the 
divine displeasure at this treachery and cruelty, 
they were excluded from the subsequent bless¬ 
ing, sharing in this respect the fate of lieuben, 
the firstborn, who incurred the same punish¬ 
ment from a similar cause. Hence it was that 
the promise of becoming the progenitor of the 
Mesiias devolved upon the fourth son, Judah. 
Moses, however, though himself a Levite, re¬ 
lates this enormity of Levi without a scruple,— 
a sufficient proof that he wrote in the service of 
God and truth, and not for any selfish purpose 

or personal interest. C. G. B.-In all the 

simplicity of truth, he gives an unvarnished 
statement of atrocities which have reflected 
everlasting disgrace upon the memory of the 
founder of his line. Would an impostor have 
done this ? The story teaches us, with affect¬ 
ing emphasis, how one sin leads on to another, 
and, like flames of fire, spreads desolation on 
every side ! Dissipation leads to seduction ; 
seduction produces wrath ; wrath thirsts for re¬ 
venge ; the thirst of revenge has recourse to 
treachery ; treachery issues in murder ; and 
murder is followed by lawless depredation ! 
Bash. 

The whole of this miserable story has its place 
in the development of the kingdom of God. No 


alliance can be true and safe which is not upon 
the foundation of the Divine covenants. Cir¬ 
cumcision without faith is u mere carnal oidi- 
nance, working evil. The sin of Shechem was 
avenged, but it was avenged by the commission 
of a greater sin by Simeon and Levi. It was 
not thus that the kingdom of God was to be 
spread. “ Ye have troubled me,” Jacob said. 
And so have all worldly agencies and methods 
troubled the true Church. It is better to suffer 
at the hands of the wicked than to make com¬ 
promising alliance with them. The worldly 
Church has filled the world uith mistry. Abuse 
of Divine things has been the sruiree <.f innumer¬ 
able evils, not only among the pei pie of God, 
but even in the sphere of men’s secular life. 
But notwithstanding the sin cf Simeon and 
Levi, their jirompt execution of tl e Divine judg¬ 
ment upon the sin of Shecliem must have pro¬ 
duced a wholesome fear in the country’, and 
connected that fear with moral purit 3 ^ The 
sins of unchastity and violation of family rights 
were monstrously prevalent among the heathen 
people of Canaan, and it was doubtless ordered 
that this outbreak of human passion should 
bear witness for God as the God of purity and 
the God of households, who blesses the life 
which is free from the defilement of sensual 
indulgence, and in which the bonds ot rela¬ 
tionship and virtuous marriages and the sanc¬ 
tities of home are deepl}’^ reverenced. We read 
afterward, “ the terror of God was upon the 
cities that were round about them.” Pul. Com. 


Section 63. 

AGAIN AT BETHEL. SECOND BLESSING. DEATH OF DEBORAH, OF RACHEL, OF 

ISAAC. 

Genesis 35 :1-20, 27-29. 

1 And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there : and make there an 
altar unto God, who appeared unto thee when thou fieddest from the face of Esau thy brother. 

2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him. Put away the strange 

3 gods that are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your garments : and let us arise, 
and go up to Beth-el ; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the daj’ 

4 of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. And they gave unto Jacob all the 
strange gods which were in their hand, and the rings which were in their ears ; and Jacob hid 

5 them under the oak which was by Shechem. And they journeyed ; and a great terror was 

upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. 

6 So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan (the same is Beth-el), he and all the 

7 people that were with him. And he built there an altar, and called the place El-beth-el : be- 

8 cause there God was revealed unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother. And Deb¬ 
orah Rebekah’s nurse died, and she was buried below Beth-el under the oak : and the name 

of it was called Allon-bacuth. 

9 And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. 

10 And God said unto him, Thy. name is Jacob : thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but 

11 Israel shall be thy name : and he called his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God 
Almighty : be fruitful and multiply ; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and 







SECTION 63.—GENESIS 35 : 1-20, 27-29. 


479 


12 kings shall come out of thy loins ; and the land which I gave unto Abraham and Isaac, to thee 

13 I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. And God went up from him in 
ll the place where he spake with him. And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he spake 

with him, a pillar of stone : and he poured out a drink offering thereon, and pouret^ oil 

15 thereon. And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Beth-el. 

16 And they journeyed from Beth-el ; and there was still some way to come to Ephrath : and 

17 Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour. And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, 

18 that the midwife said unto her, Fear not ; for now thou shalt have another son. And it came 
to pass, as her soul was in departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-oni : but his 

19 father called him Benjamin. And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath (the 

20 same is Beth-lehera). And Jacob set up a pillar upon her grave ; the same is the Pillar of 
Rachel’s grave unto this day. 

27 And Jacob came unto Isaac his father to Mamre, to Kiriath-arba (the same is Hebron), where 

28 Abraham and Isaac sojourned. And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years. 

29 And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, old and full of 
days ; and Esau and Jacob his sons buried him. 


l-§. Jacob returns to Bethel. He receives 
the direction from God. He had now been for 
some years lingering in Succoth and Shechem. 
There may have been intercourse between him 
and his father’s house during this interval. The 
presence of Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse (v, 8), 
in his family, is a plain intimation of this. M 
I. Of the manner in which the present com- 
municatiun was made to him, nothing is said : 
but the purport of it was that he should remove 
to Bethel, situated about thirty miles south of 
Shechem, build there an altar, and perform the 
vow which he had previously made (Gen. 
28 : 20, 22). It was now about thirty years since 
that vow was made ; Jacob had dwelt eight or 
ten in Canaan since his return from Paddan- 
aram, and had now attained to one hundred and 
six years of age ; yet for some reason unex¬ 
plained he had hitherto delayed to pay it. 

Bash. -God reminds Jacob of his vow at 

Bethel, and sends him thither to perform it. 
Jacob had said in the day of his distress. If 
I come agTni in peace ilvs stone shaH be God's 
house (ch. 28 : 22). God had performed his part 
of the bargain, and had given Jacob more than 
bread to eat, and raiment to put on —he had got 
an estate, and was become two bands ; but, it 
should s^em, he had forgotten his vow, or, at 
least, had too long deferred the performance of 
it. Seven or eight years it was now since he 
came to Canaan ; he had purchased ground 
there, and had built an altar in remembrance of 
God’s last appearance to him when he called 
him Israel (ch. 33 ; 19, 20) ; but Bethel still is 
forgotten. 11. 

The mercy of God changed the flight from 
Shechem. into a jtUgrimvje to Bethel. In itself the 
Divine comm oid (to g ^ to Bethel) implied a Di¬ 
vine assnrance in thi.s danger ; for if God calls 
him to Bethel, He would surely bring him safely 


thither. But the place to which he was directed 
to go conveyed even more fully this assurance, 
for in Bethel he had found a refuge with God at 
the time of his first trouble. Then, God had 
promised to protect, to bless, and to bring back 
him, who, poor and forsaken, had to tiee the 
land ; now, this prediction is richly fulfilled — 
Jacob has returned unscathed to the Holy Land, 
the rich proprietor of large flocks. K. 

Of the truth that God remembers all his own 
mercies to his people, every act of his love tow¬ 
ard every one of them, here is a confirma¬ 
tion, After thirty years, the vision at Bethel 
was fresh as ever in His memory. A mere 
dream of the night, sent by Him to comfort one 
of the least of his servants, is not forgotten. 
This we can believe ; but it is hard to believe 
that the Lord remembers the petty movements 
and workings of our minds, that the mighty 
God should hold in mind the promises of a 
worm. But hold them he does. He takes 
special notice of every word we utter that has a 
reference to himself, and every purpose we 
form. He records the vows we make to him, 
and his mind dwells on them as though he de¬ 
lighted in them, and longed to have them ful¬ 
filled. “I remember thee,” he says to his 
church of old, “ the kindness of thy youth, the 
love of thine espousals,” Many years before 
this, he lets Jacob see that he remembers the 
t:indness of his early years ; ” I am the God of 
Bethel where thou anointedst the pillar, and 
where thou vowedst a vow unto me and now 
he refers to the same transaction again. 

2-4, Jacob's directions to prepare for worship 
at Bethel. His neglect to carefully instruct his 
sons had borne bitter fruit. It necessitates the 
sudden and difficult effort now put forth to in¬ 
duce his sons to seek with him to serve God. 
He cannot rightly worship God unless his chil 






480 


SECOND BLESSING. DEATH OF ISAAC. 


(Iren find household are with him in spirit, 
Jacob’s neglect had led to carelessness by his 
sons of the Divine service. He could not him¬ 
self enter heartily on the service until he had 
discharged his duty as guide and instructor to 
his family. F Hastings. 

gods. The household deities— 
the teraphim, such as Rachel took with her. At 
all times among the Israelites there was united 
together with the worship of the one true God 
very much idolatry’, in which the unbelief, or 
half-hearted belief of the people sought sup¬ 
port. Qerl. -These “ strange gods” were idol¬ 

atrous and superstitious objects of which his 
sons had, as he knew, just before acquired pos¬ 
session, when they pillaged the town of 
Shechem —valuable for the materials of which 
they were composed, but which Jacob feared 
might in the end prove dangerous. The part of 
the injunction which directs the people to pu¬ 
rify themselves, and to put on clean vestures, is 
remarkable as the first example of the personal 
cleanness which was afterward regarded as es¬ 
sential to a becoming appearance before God in 
worship -a salutary observance, which became 
a matter of ceremonial law under Moses, but 
which, like many other observances of the law, 
had its origin in earlier times. Kd. 

4. Earrings were frequently used as amulets, 
believed to arrest evil, or to act as a charm ; 
they were often covered with allegorical figures 
or mysterious sentences, according to the deities 
to which they were consecrated ; they formed 
therefore one of the ordinary instruments of 
superstitious usages, Kalisch. 

5, After the sanguinary conduct of Jacob’s 
sons, is it not surprising that the neighboring 
tribes did not join together, and extirpate the 
whole family ? So they certainly would, had 
not the terror of God fallen upon them. Jacob 
and the major part of his family were innocent 
of this great transgression ; and on the preser¬ 
vation of their lives the accomplishment of great 
events depended : therefore God watches over 
them, and shields them from the hands of their 
enemies. A. C. 

8, “ Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and 
she was buried beneath Bethel, under an oak, 
and the name of it was called Allon-bachuth 
(the oak of weeping).” Thus Deborah’s long 
and faithful service in the household of Isaac, 
and the family mourning over the old, tried 
family friend, are deemed worthy of perpetual 
memorial in the Book of God ! But from the 
circumstance that Deborah died in the house of 
Jacob, we infer not only that her mistress Re- 
bekah was dead, but that there must have been 


some intercourse between Isaac and Jacob since 
his return to Canaan. Most probably Jacob 
had visited his aged parent, though Scripture 
does not mention it, because it in no way affects 
the history of the covenant. A. E. 

9-15. CiJod appeared unto Jaeol> 
aiKain. lie was now at Bethel, the place from 
which he may be considered to have set out for 
Paddan-aram, and where he made his vow that 
if God would be with him and be his God, ho 
would make that place the house of God. He 
had now come back again to the same spot ; ho 
had fulfilled his vow by consecrating Bethel as 
the temple of God ; this might then well be 
considered as the accomplishment of his return 
from Paddan-aram. Accordingly God appears to 
him here once more, promises him again, and 
more emphaticallj’’, protection, blessing, in¬ 
heritance, confirms the name of Israel to him, 
and assures him that his posterity shall be 
numerous, powerful and blessed. And Jacob, 
recognizing the fulfilment of all that had been 
promised him when he fled from Esau, and of 
all that his vows had pointed to, rears again 
a stone pillar as he had done forty years before, 
and again solemnly names the place Bethel. 
The whole of this history thoroughly fits in to 
all that has gone before. 

II. I am God Aliiiig^lify. El-Shaddai. 
It was by this name that God revealed himself 
to Abram, w'hen he changed his name to Abra¬ 
ham, and promised him the land of Canaan for 
an everlasting possession (ch. 17 : 8). The use 
of the same name here is singularly appropri¬ 
ate. E. H. B. 

16-20. They draw near to a place then 
known only by its ancient Canaanite name, and 
now for the first time mentioned in history, 
“ Ephrath, w'hich is Bethlehem.” The village 
appears spread along its narrow ridge, but they 
are not to reach it. “ There Rachel died, and 
was buried in the way to Ephrath.” A. P. S. 
-Rachel had jrassionately said. Give me chil¬ 
dren, or else I die; and now that she had chil¬ 
dren (for this was her second), she died. Dying 
is here called the departing of her soul. The 
death of the body is but the departure of the 
soul to the world of spirits. H. 

19. Ephrutli, whicii i's BetliSeliem. 
Ephrath, or Ephrata, w'as the old, and Bethle¬ 
hem the later name of this town. “ Bethle¬ 
hem” means “house of bread but we do not 
know on what occasion it was imposed. 'The 
town was in the allotment of the tribe of Judah, 
being situated about six miles south of Jerusa¬ 
lem, on the road to Hebron. It was a city in 
the time of Boaz (Ruth 3 :11), whose grandson 






• SECTION 63.—GENESIS 85 : ,~20, 27-29. 


481 


was Jesse, the father of David, who was born 
and reared there ; in consequence of which the 
place is very frequently distinguished as “ the 
city of David. ” Bush. 

■ 20. And Jucol> §et a pillar upon 
her grave. This monument of Kachersis 
the first that wo read of in Scripture. It was 
certainly standing when Moses wrote, as ap¬ 
pears from this verse ; and mention is made of 
it just before Saul was anointed king (1 Sam. 
10 ; 2). The monument now shown for it is a 
modern and Turkish structure. Maundrell. 

27. At last Jacob came to his journey’s end, 
“ unto Isaac his father, unto Mamre, unto the 
city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abra¬ 
ham and Isaac sojourned.” During the j^ears 
of his slay at Succoth and Shecheiu Jacob had 
probably often visited his father, as he was only 
a few days’ journey distant from him ; but 
now in the latter days of Isaac's life he went 
altogether into his neighborhood, taking with 

him his docks and herds. Ctrl -He came to 

dwell with him, and to be the comfort of his old 

age. Bp. Patrick. -Isaac had the comfort of 

seeing the promise jf God, in this instance of 
earthly prosperity, made good to himself and to 
Abraham ; as a sure pledge that the spiritual 
promises, that “ in their seed all the nations of 
the earth should be blessed,” would be made 
good in God’s due time. Bp. Wilson. 

2§, 29, Here the life of Isaac is closed. 
Joseph must have been, at the time of Jacob’s 
return, in his thirteenth year, and therefore his 
father in his hundred and fourth. Isaac was 
consequently in his hundred and sixty-third 
year. He survived the return of Jacob to He¬ 
bron about seventeen j^ears, and the sale of 

Joseph his grandson about thirteen. M- 

lli!$ §oii§ jCf^au and JacoS? I>arie<1 
llilll. As Isaac and Ishrnael had buried Abra¬ 
ham. Hence it appears the friendship between 
Esau and Jacob continued a'ter their interview 

on Jacob’s return. Bp. Patrick. -Had the 

death of Isaac been introduced in the proper 
order of time, it would have fallen in the midst 
of the history of Joseph ; but it occurred about 
twelve or fifteen years after his being sold into 
Egypt. Esau and Jacob were 120 years of age 
at the death of their father, and from their unit¬ 
ing, as Isaac and Ishrnael had done on a similar 
occasion, in performing the funeral obsequies 
of their father, it is to be inferred that the rec¬ 
onciliation between them was cordial and last¬ 
ing, Bush. 

But from henceforward the two branches of 
Isaac’s family were entirely separated. The 
country about Mount Seir became the perma- 
31 


nent residence of the Edomites, who were gov¬ 
erned first by independent sheiks or princes, 
afterward were united under one monarchy. 
Jacob continued to dwell in Canaan, with his 
powerful family and ample possessions, until 
dissensions among his sons prepared the way 
for more important changes, which seemed to 
break forever the connection between the race 
of Abraham and the land of Canaan, but ended 
in establishing them as the sole possessors of 
the whole territory. Mibnan. 

The dates and incidents in the life of Isaac 
may be tabulated as follows : 


Isaac. 

Age. 

Abeaham. 

Age. 

Jacob. 

Age. 

Incident. 

Record. 

Birth 

100 



xxi. 

25 

125 


Mount Moriah. . 

xxii. 

37 

137 


Death of Sarah. 

xxiu. 

40 

140 


Marriage of Isaac . 

XXV. 

GO 

IGO 


Birth of Esau and Jacol 

XXV. 

75 

175 

15 

Death of Abraham .... 

XXV. 

100 


40 

Marriage of Esau ... . 

xxvL 

123 


63 

Death of Ishmael ..- .. 

XXV. 

, . 



Abimelech. 

xxvi. 

137 


77 

Jacob’s departure. 

* « > • 

151 


91 

Birth of Joseph. 

XXX. 

157 


97 

Return of Jacob. 

xxxi. 

168 


108 

Joseph sold. 

xxxvil 

180 


120 

Death of Isaac. 

XXXV. 


A glance at this table reveals how little com¬ 
paratively is told us of Isaac. He is born some¬ 
where in the neighborhood of Gerar, in the 
100th year of his fat’ner’s life. His birth re¬ 
kindles the old feud between Sarah and Hagar, 
which reaches its height when, at the feast 
made on the day of the weaning, Ishrnael is 
seen making scornful mirth of the new-born 
child. At Sarah’s imperious demand, sup- 
l^orted by the Divine direction, Hagar and Ish- 
mael are sorrowfully sent forth by Abraham to 
seek another home. Isaac remains the sole and 
undisputed heir of the promises. 

Looking back upon the life of Isaac, the few 
frailties and failures it displays are lost in the 
remembrance of his sublime act of submission 
and self-surrender on Mount Moriah ; his ven¬ 
eration for his father’s character, and constant 
willingness to walk in his steps ; his humility 
in accepting all from God as coming to him for 
his father’s sake ; his attachment to his 
mother ; his affection for his wife ; his fond¬ 
ness-undue it may have been, yet touchingly 
tender—for the rough but generous Esau ; the 
unexpressed and unostentatious, but deep, se¬ 
rene, meditative piety which sustained and 
cheered him throughout the long, lonely years 
before his death. His truly was a spirit easy to 
be entreated, open to forgiveness, shut against 
malice, incapable of revenge ; showing much of 




































4S2 REUBm'S SIN. ESA U'S DESCENDANTS: 


the temper inculcated by him of whom on Mount 
Moriah he was the type ; the meekest, most 
placable, most patient, most peace-loving most 
houie loving of the patriarchs. W. H. 

This chapter closes the ninth of the pieces or 
documents marked off by the phrase “ these are 
the generations.” Its opening event was the 
birth of Isaac (25 :19), which took place in the 
hundredth year of Abraham, and therefore 


sevenly-five years before his death recorded in 
the seventh document. As the seventh pur¬ 
ports to be the generations of Terah (11 :27) 
and relates to Abraham, who was his offspring, 
so the present document, containing the gener¬ 
ations of Isaac, refers chiefly to the sons of 
Isaac, and especially to Jacob, as the heir of 
promise. M. 


Section 64. 

KEUBEN’S SIN. ESAU’S DESCENDANTS. JUDAH AND TAMAE. 

Genesis 35 :21-26 ; 36 :1-43 ; 38 : 1-30. 

85 , 21 And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Eder. And it came to 

22 pass, while Israel dwelt in that land, that Keuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s 
concubine : and Israel heard of it. 

23 Now the sons of Jacob were twelve : the sons of Leah ; Keuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and 

24 Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun ; the sons of Kachel ; Joseph 

25 and Benjamin : and the sons of Bilhah, Kachel’s handmaid ; Dan and Naphtali : and the 

26 sons of Zdpah, Leah’s handmaid ; Gad and Asher ; these are the sons of Jacob, which 
were born to him in Paddan-aram. 

36 ; 1 Now these are the generations of Esau (the same is Edom). Esau took his wives of the 

2 daughters of Canaan ; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daugh- 

3 ter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite ; and Basemath Ishmael’s daughter, sister 

4 of Nebaioth. And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz ; and Basemath bare Keuel ; and Oholi- 

5 baraah bare Jeush, and Jalam, and Korah ; these are the sons of Esau, which were born 

6 unto him in the land of Canaan. And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daugh¬ 
ters, and all the souls of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his posses¬ 
sions, which he had gathered in the land of Canaan ; and went into a land away from his 

7 brother Jacob. For their substance was too great for them to dwell together ; and the 

8 land of their sojournings could not bear them because of their cattle. And Esau dwelt in 

9 mount Seir : Esau is Edom. And these are the generations of Esau the father of the 

> 10 Edomites in mount Seir ; these are the names of Esau's sons ; Eliphaz the son of Adah 

11 the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau. And the sons of Eliphaz 

12 were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz. And Timna was concubine to Eli¬ 
phaz Esau’s son ; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek : these are the sons of Adah Esau’s 

13 wife. And these are the sons of Reuel ; Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah : 

14 these were the sons of Basemath Esau’s wife. And these were the sons of Oholibamah 
the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s V'ife ; and she bare to Esau Jeush, 

15 and Jalam, and Korah. These are the dukes of the sons of Esau : the sons of Eliphaz the 
firstborn of Esau ; duke Teman, duke Omar, dnke Zepho, duke Kenaz, duke Korah, duke 

16 Gatam, duk. Amalek : these are the dukes that came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom ; 

17 these are the sons of Adah. And these are Ihe sons of Reuel Esau’s son ; duke Nahath, 
duke Zerah, duke Shammah, duke Mizzah : these are the dukes that came of Reuel in the 

18 land of Edom ; these are the sons of Basemath Esau’s wife. And these .are the sons of 
Oholibamah Esau’s wife ; duke Jeush, duke Jalam, duke Korah : these are the dukes that 

19 came of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife. These are the sons of Esau, and 
these are their dukes : the same is Edom. 

20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land ; Lotan and Shobal 

21 and Zibeon and Anah, and Dishon and Ezer and Dishan ; these are the dukes that came 

22 of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom. And the children of Lotan 

23 were Hori and Hemam ; and Lotan’s sister was Timna. And these are the children of 

24 Shobal ; Alvan and Manahath and Ebal, Shepho and Onam. And these are the children 
of Zibeon ; Aiah and Anah ; this is Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as 

25 he fed the asses of Zibeon his father. And these are the children of Anah ; Dishon and 

26 Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. And these are the children of Dishon : Hemdan and 

27 Eshban and Ithran and Cheran. These are the children of Ezer ; Bilhan and Zaavan 

28 and Akan. These are the children of Dishan ; Uz and Aran. These are the dukes that 

29 came of the Horites ; duke Lotan, duke Shobal, duke Zibeon, duke Anah, duke Dishon, 







483 


SECTION 64.~GENE8I8 35 : 21-26 ; 36 : 1-43; 33 : 1-30. 

30 duke Ezer, duke Dishan : these are the dukes that came of the Horites, according to their 
dukes m the land of Seir. 

And these aie the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any 
king over the children of Israel. And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom ; and the 

33 name of his city was Dinhabah. And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah 

34 reigned in his stead. And Jobab died, and Hushaiii of the land of the Tenianites leigiied 

35 in his stead. And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote Midi an in the 

3(> held of Moab, reigned in his stead : and the name of his city was Avith. And Hadad 

37 died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead. And Samlah died, and Shaul of Be- 

38 hoboth by the River reigned in his stead. And yhaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of 

39 Achbor reigned in his stead. And Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned 
in his stead: and the name of his city was Pau ; and his wife’s name v/us Mehetabel, the 

40 daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-zahab. And these are the names of the dukes 
. that came of Esau, according to their lamilies, after their places, by their names ; duke 

41 rimnah, duke Alvah, duke Jetheth ; duke Oholibamah, duke Elah, duke Pinon ; duke 

42 Kenaz, duke Teman, duke Mibzar ; duke Magdiel, duke Iram : these be the dukes of 

43 Edom, according to their habitations in the land of their possession. This is Esau the 
father of the Edomites. 

38 : 1 ^ And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and tinned. 

2 in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. And Judah saw there a daughter of 

3 a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua ; and he took her, and went in unto her. And 

4 she conceived, and bare a son ; and he called his name Er. And she conceived again, and 

5 bare a son ; and she called his name Onan. And she yet again bare a son, and called his 

6 name Shelah : and he was at Chezib, when she bare him. And Judah took a wife for Er 

7 his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in ihe 

8 sight of the Lord ; and the Lord slew him. And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy 
brother s wife, and perform the duty of an husliand's brother unto her, and raise up seed 

9 to thy brother. And Onan knew that the seed should not be his ; and it came to pass, 
when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest he should 

10 give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did was evil in the sight of the Lord * 

11 and he slew him also. Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law. Remain a widow 
in tliy father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown, up : for he said, Lest he also die, like 

12 his brethren. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house. And in process of time 
Shua’s daughter, the wife of Judah, died ; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto 

13 his sheepshearers to Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. And it was told 

14 Tamar, saying. Behold, thy father in law goeth up to Timnah to shear his sheep. And 
she put off from her the garments of her widowhood, and covered herself with her veil, 
and wrapped herself, and sat in the gate of Enaim, which is by the way to Timnah ; ft r 

15 she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she was not given unto him to wife. When Judah 

16 saw her, he thought her to be air harlot ; for she had covered her face. And he turned 
unto her by the way, and .said. Go to, 1 pray thee, let me come in unto thee : for he knew 
not that she w'as his daughter in law. And she said, W’hat wilt thou give me, that thou 

17 mayest come in unto me? And he said, I will send thee a kid of the goats from the 

18 flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it? And he said, What 
pledge shall 1 give thee? And she said. Thy signet and thy cord, and thy staff that is in 
thine hand. And he gave them to her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. 

19 And she arose, and went away, and put off her veil from her, and put on the gaiments of 

20 her widowhood. And Judah sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend the Adul- 

21 lamite, to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand : but he found her not. Then he 
asked the men of her place, saying, W’here is the harlot that was at Enaim by the way- 

22 side? And they said. There hath been no harlot here. And he returned to Judah, and 
said, I have not found her ; and also the men of the place said. There hath been no harlot 

23 here. And Judah said. Let her take it to her, lest we be put to shame : behold, 1 sent 

24 this kid, and thou hast not found her. And it came to pass about three months after, 
that it wa.s told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath pla;s ed the harlot ; and 
moreover, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said. Bring her forth, and 

25 let her be burnt. When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying. By 
the man, whose these are, am 1 with child : and she said. Discern, I jnay thee, whose are 

26 these, the signet, and the cords, and the staff. And Judah acknow’edged them, and said, 
She is more righteous than I ; forasmuch as I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he 

27 knew her again no more. And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, 

28 twins were in her womb. And it came to pass, when she travailed, that one put out a 
hand : and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying. This came 

29 out first. And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came 
out : and she said. Wherefore hast thou made a breach for thyself? therefore his name 

30 was called Perez. And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon 
his hand : and his name was called Zerah. 


35 : 22. Jacob’s sin is visited on him by de¬ 
grees, stroke after stroke. The notice, Israel 
heard it, points to this, and serves, besides, to 


connect this account with the mention of this 

deed in the last speech of Jacob. A/f. -God 

so ordered it that this flagrant deed of sin 



484 


ESAU AND THE EDOMITES. 


8lix)uld be heard of, not by Jacob only, but by 
all that read the sacred story to the end of time. 
We afterward learn (Gen. 4U:4) that he lost 
the birthright in consequence.of it. Judgment 
never fails in the end to wait upon transgres¬ 
sion. By his conduct, however, in reference to 
his brother Joseph (Gen. 37 :20, 22), he seems 
to have obtained, in behalf of his posterity at 
least, a mitigation of his punishment. Bash. 

It is a mercy that the Scripture record of 
human life is painted to us in such dark colors 
as it is. The Bible saints were not the heroes of 
romance, for then they might have been painted 
spotless. They were the men of real life, and 
the details of that life sometimes guilty enough. 
But, tlien, life was an earnest thing with them. 
It was transgression, if you will ; but then it 
was sore, buffeting struggle after that—much 
toiling and wandering in sharp suffering, that 
none knew but God : it was the penitence of 
men bent manfully on turning back to God. 
And so they fought their way back till they 
struggled out of the thick darkness into the 
clear light of day and peace. Let us lay this to 
heart. It is not the having been “ far off ” 
that makes peace impossible. It is not sin— 
no, not the darkest -that shuts out from resto¬ 
ration : “ Being justified by faith, we have peace 
with God.” It is languid indecision, desperate 
sullenness, anything which keejos a man away 
from Christ, that prevents peace ; but in all 
this world there is nothing else. F. W. 11. 

A complete list of the sons of Jacob, 
now that Benjamin the youngest was born. 
This is the first time we have the names of 
these heads of the twelve tribes together ; after¬ 
ward, we find them very often spoken of and 
enumerated, even to the end of the Bible (Kev. 
7 : 4 ; 21 : 12). H. 

Cil. 31} : ksaa and the Elomites. As in ch. 25, 
the history gives the genealogies of Abraham’s 
descendants by other wives in order to dispose of 
them, and to treat the line of Isaac, so here it 
gives the genealogies of the descendants of 
Esau in order to have done with them and to 
advance in the line of Jacob. In both cases 
the races enumerated are those which in subse¬ 
quent times had to do with Israel. Alf. -It 

was,as necessary to register the generations of 
Ei m as those of Jacob, m order to show that the 
Me.ssiah did not spring from the for.'^er, but that 
he did spring from the la'ter. The genealogical 
tables, so frequently met with in the sacred 
writings, are standing proofs of the truth of the 
prophecies that the Messiah should come from 
a particular family : which prophecies M'ere 
cle.irly fulfilled in the birth of Christ. And 
they testify that the Messiah thus promised is 
found in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, who 
incontestably sprang from the last, the only re¬ 
maining branch of the family of David. These 
registers were religiously preserved among the 
Jews till the destruction of Jerusalem, after 
which they were all destroyed ; insomuch that 
there is not a Jew in the universe who can 
trace himself to the family of David : conse¬ 
quently all expectation of a Messiah to come is, 
even on their own principles, nugatory and 
absurd ; since nothing remains to legitimate 
his birth. When Christ came all these registers 
were in existence. When Matthew and Luke 
wrote all these registers were still in existence ; 


and had they pretended what could not have 
been supported, an appeal to the registers 
would have convicted them of a falsehood. But 
no Jew attempted to do this, notwithstanding 
the excess of their malice against Christ and 
his followers ; and because they did not do it, 
we may safely assert no Jew could do it. Thus 
the found Ition standeth sure. A. C. 

S, Mount Seir is the mountain ridge extend¬ 
ing along the east side of the valley of Arabah, 
from the Dead Sea to the Elanitic Gulf. The 
name signifies rough, or rugged. Alf. 

Esau himself, in the lifetime of his father, 
migrated with his Canaanitish wives to this 
country', which afterward became the home of 
his descendants. This mountainous but fertile 
region had long been occupied by the Horites, 
whose territories they at first shared, but after¬ 
ward, at a period antecedent to the Exodus, 
took possession of. In proof of their impor¬ 
tance as a people even in these earliest time.s, a 
list of eight kings is given (vs, 31) who “ reigned 
in the land, of Edom before there reigned any 
king in Israel.” Of their hereditary enmity to 
the chosen People we find tiaces net only in 
their refusal to allow their “ brother Israel ” 
(Num. 20 : 14) to pass through their land tluring 
the wanderings in the wilderness, though the 
request was made under circumstances of the 
utmost urgency, but from the terms in which 
we find them denounced by^ the later prophets. 
The warlike character of Esau was perpetuated 
in the latest of his descendants. They were 
ultimately brought into close alliance with their 
ancient toes. But, according to Josephus, the 
children of Israel found reason to dread the 
children of Esau no less as allies than as open 
enemies. Even in his own clay that historian 
describes them as “ a turbulent and unruly 
race, rushing to battle as if they were going to 
a feast. ” Lee. 

15-19, The first dukes of Edom. The Al- 
luph or duke is the head of the tribe among 
the Edomites, like the Nasi or prince among 
the Israelites. 

iJO, llorVe. The Horites—dwellers in caves 
(Troglodytes)—were the original inhabitant.^ of 
Seir, and were driven out by the Edomites 
(Deut. 2 : 12) ; but they appear still to have re¬ 
mained among them in a part of the land, 
Esau had a Horite, Aholibamah, as his wife ; 
his son Eliphaz, a Horite, Timna, as a concu¬ 
bine, which would mark a declension on the 
part of the Horites. The families of this tribe 
are mentioned, because the descent of Aholi¬ 
bamah and Timna is given. The Horites derive 
their names from the caves, many of them hewn 
out of the rock, and from their underground 
dw'ellings. These are still to be seen in great 
numbers. Qerl. 

5i0-30. In the midst of this genealogy of 
the Edomites, here is inserted the genealogy of 
the Horites, those Canaaiiites, or Hittites, that 
were the natives of mount Seir. This comes in. 
here, not only to give light to the story, but to 
bo a standing reflection upon the Edomites for 
intermarrying with them, by which, it is prob¬ 
able, they learned their way, and coriupted 
themselves. E.sau having sold his birthright, 
and lost his blessing and entered into alliance 
vvith the Hittites, his posterity and the sons of 
Seir are here reckoned together. Those that 








4S5 


SEGTIOX 64.—GENESIS 35 : 

Ireaclierously desert God’s church, are justly ' 
numbered with those that were never in it • 
apostate Edomites stand on the same ground 
with accursed Hontes. H. 

The series of eight Icings here enu¬ 
merated are plainly elective, as not one suc¬ 
ceeds his father. The king co-exists with the 
dukes, who are again enumerated at the close of 
the list, and are mentioned in the song of Moses 
(Ex. 15 ; 15). These dukes are no doubt the 
electors of the common sovereign, who is de¬ 
signed to give unity and strength to the nation. 
It is natural to suppose that no sovereign was 
elected till after the death of Esau, and, there¬ 
fore, if he lived as long as Jacob, after tl)o chil¬ 
dren of Israel had been seventeen years in 

(I king reigned over the chil¬ 
dren of Eroel, simply means before there was a 
monarchy established in Israel. It does not im¬ 
ply that monarchy began in Israel immediately 

after these kings. Al.-In the previous 

chapter (vs. 11), there had been an emphatic 
promise from God Almighty (El-Shaddai) to 
Jacob that “ kings should come out of Lis 
loins.” The Israelites, no doubt, cherished a 
constant hope of such a kingdom and such a 
kingly race. Aloses himself (Deut. 28 ; 36) 
prophesied concerning the king that the Israel 
ites should set over them ; and hence it was not 
unnatural that, when recording the eight kings, 
who had reigned in the family of Esau up to 
hi s own time, he should have noted that as yet 
no king had risen from the family of his 
brother Jacob, to whom a kingly progeny had 
been promised. E. U. B. 

{{9. The last of the eight kings, of whom it is 
not said that he died, seems to have been the 
contemporary of Moses, who made application 
to him for leave to pass through his land. If 
this be so, it follows that the remainder of 
Genesis comes immediately from the liaiid of 
Moses ; a result which is in accordance with 
other indications that have presented them¬ 
selves iii'the previous part of this book. This 
interesting monument of antiquity, notwith¬ 
standing its brevity, we shall find to be arranged 
with admirable precdsion. M. 

Mount Seir is called the land of their pos- 
session. While the Israelites dwelt in the house 
of bondage, and their Canaan was only the land 
of promise, the Edomites dwelt in their own 
habitations, and Seir was in their possession. 
The children of this world lave their all in 
hand, and nothing in hope, while the children 
of God have their all in hope, and next to 
nothing in hand. But, all things considered, it 
is better to have Canaan in promise than 

mount Seir in possession. H.-A worldly 

Esau may have his mount Seir. may have his 
portion at once, without any discipline, any ac¬ 
quaintance with God or himself. But Israel, 
the lielovedof God, mu-t forego rest, must wait, 
and suffer, and fight, in the May to it One ex¬ 
ercise of faith and patience must succeed to an¬ 
other ; and by these they must be trained into 
a meetness for the Canaan promised to them as 
their inheritance. And such is the Christians 
calling. He must reckon on trial and conflict ; 
he mu.st learn to endure it, to go forw'ard, and 
quit himself as a man, taking up his cross and 
carrying it patiently, j’ea, cheerfully, as what 
all iiis brethren are doing, as what God called ' 


21-26} 36 : 1-43; 38 : 1-30. 

him to M’hen he called him to glor}', and in as¬ 
sured faith that it shall soon be exchanged for 
glory. F. Goode. 

The notice here taken of Esau is a kind of 
final leave taken of him and of his posteiity, 
for \ve hear no more of them but as enemies of 
the chosen people. He is presented to our 
view tor a moment, as surrounded with a ghiie 
of earthly glory, but as there is nothing suihle 
without the pale of the kingdom of God, the 
curtain speedily drops upon all his splendor 
and pomp, and it is seen no more. The sjiiiit 
of inspiration pausing for a moment to .show 
that no word of God, how'ever slight, fails of 
its effect, immediately passes to its main drift, 
and directs our view to the more abiding and 
truly glorious concerns of the line of Jacob, 
Bush. 

CIb. 28 ; The Bible makes no apology, draws 
no curtain, makes no excuse ; on it goes : tak¬ 
ing life as it is, and describing it without flat¬ 
tery or fear. The Bible is tiue to the very loot 
and reality of things. The book does not ignoie 
facts, but faces them, names them, proposes 
remedies for them, and searches into the n.ot 
and core of the whole of them. Evil be to him 
that evil thinks. These things belong to a 
greater whole ; they must not be detached ; the 
jiart that would be intolerable is essential to the 
whole that is beautiful. J. P. 

The removal to Egypt was needful in order to 
separate the sons of Jacob from the people of 
the land. How readily constant contact vvith 
the Canaanites would have involved even the 
best of them in horrible vices appears from the 
history of Judah, when, after the selling of 
Joseph, he had left his father s house, and, join¬ 
ing himself to the people of the country, both 
he and his rapidly became conformed to the 
abominations around. A. E. 

The hislorij ef Judah a> d Ids daughter-in-hno 
Tamar. The object of this parenthetical chap¬ 
ter seems to be to show how near the otfspring 
of Jacob were to falling into the habits and 
loathsome sins of the Canaanitish peoples ; and 
to pave the way for the history of their removal 
into the land of Egypt, which took place by 
means of Joseph’s being sold tind carried 
thither. At the same time it defines and ac¬ 
counts for the two main branches in the kingly 
line of Judah. Af. -It supplies a very im¬ 
portant link, In the or family history, 

of Jacob, the two chief persons were Joseph ancl 
Judah ; Joseph from Ids high character, his 
jiersonal importance, his influence in the future 
destinies of the race, and his typical foreshad¬ 
owing of the Messiah ; Judah, from his obtain¬ 
ing the virtual light of primogeniture, and from 
his being the ancestor of David and of the Son 
of David. E. H. B. 

We see in this story how one interest - that 
for their families, and the preservation of them 
—overpowered every other feeling, even the 
sense of shame in a w'oman. The sanctity of 
an ancient descent, as it had been brought out 
of Mesopotamia by Abraham’s posterity, and 
the establishment of the duties of the brother- 
in law (the Levirate, from a Latin word, levir, a 
husband’s brother), are forcibly put forth by 
this narrative. The law was, that wdien a widow 
w'as left childless, it was the brother’s duty to 
marry the widowq and the firstborn, son of this 









JUDAH AND TAMAR. 


4B6 

marriage was to oe regarded as the child of the 
deceased brother. The purport of the laws of 
the Israelites on the subject (no doubt derived 
from the patriarchs), was to preserve as much 
as possible the heirs in a direct line. The father 
lived in the son —the whole family descended 
from him was in a certain sense himself. Gtri 

iSSf 22, The word rendered harlof, in these 
two verses, and for which we have no other in¬ 
telligible expression, means consfcrated j name¬ 
ly, to the goddess of licentiousness, to whose 
temple and worship her gains were devoted. 
The name, and the custom on which it was 
founded, only partially reveal the fearful cor¬ 
ruption of religion aud morals wherever idolatry 
prevailed. T. J. C. 

25. By tli3 mail \vlio§c tlie^e are. 

It is obvious that Tamar might before this have 
exposed Judah, had she been so inclined. In 
this, however, it does not aj^pear that she was 
induenced by vindictive feelings toward Judah, 
or that she had any wish to hold him ujd to 
public abhorrence, but simply to vindicate her 
own conduct ; while God, in the mean time, was 
carrying on his purpose to bring the offender, 
by this means, to a i^enitent confession of his 
fault. Instead of boldly summoning him into 
her presence, and requiring of him to stand 
forth as her accuser before the judges, she does 
not even name him, nor seek an interview, but 
sends to him the pledged articles, leaving it to 
his own conscience to rebuke him before God. 

Not till she was in actual peril of a hor¬ 
rible death did she expose the author of her 
ignominy, and then only to himself. Though 
highly culpable, in the eye of the divine law, 
for the course she adopted, she seems to have 
intended merely to test her own rights, denied 
her by the timid policy of Judah. In regard 
to these rights, Judah himself acknowledged 
that her claim was just, and that he was the 
offender. Allowance must of course be made, 
in her case, for the loose sentiments and prac¬ 
tices of the age. It has been justly said that her 
conduct, culpable as it was, was marked by 
shrewdness, tenderness, and magnanimity. 

26. iShe is more in the right than 1. That is, 
her cause is more just than mine ; I am the 
offeniler. He admits that in withholding Shelah, 
her rightful husband (v. 11), he had been guilty 
of a wrong, and that her claim, which he had 
denied, was just. T. J. C. 

We account for the tenacity with which Tamak 
clung to her claims on the family of Judah by 
her anxiety to have a child from the family of 
Judah. And the less, by her birth as a heathen, 
she was entitled to any connection with the 
chosen race, the more jealously did she insist 
on the rights which marriage had given her. 
The same views, but in an infinitely higher and 
i;obler form, appear under similar circum 
stances in the case of Kuth. However we may 
feel the deep aberration of Tamar, we cannot 
ignore that in it a higher faith was concealed. 

K.-Under the arts of Tamar in regard to 

Judah there still lay concealed faith in the sanc¬ 
tity of the customs and ordinances of the chosen 
race of Israel. For this reason, too, Judah 
bore her testimony, “ She is more righteous 
than I.” At the same time we see with what 
honesty and candor the Holy Scripture paints 


mankind ; how God chooses his people not for 
any apparent external virtues, but according to 
his own free giace ; how the whole of the 
scheme for the recovery of sinful man is a work 
of free lavor ; and, in fine, how there was 
enough of sin in Israel’s family to require a 
speedy and severe purification, which did not 
long tarry. C. G. B. 

The brith of Thaiez forms the central point of 
this chairter, as, according to the law, he occu¬ 
pied ihe place of the firstborn of Judah. All 
that precedes only forms the basis for this ac¬ 
count, and is so circumstantially narrated only 
because it at the same time affords a d<(p in¬ 
sight into the personal position and the history 
of Judah. Again the history of Judah and of 
his house is of such importance, because in his 
prophetic blessing Jacob assigns to Judah the 
sceptre of principality among the tribes of 
Israel ; and the primogeniture of Fharez is 
brought out so prominently because Nahshon, 
the eminent prince and leader in Israel, during 
the journey through the wilderness, is a de¬ 
scendant of Pharez (Nu. 2:3). “But”—we 
continue with Ba\m\garUn~'' we may look be¬ 
yond the natural horizon of Moses ; lor we do 
not merely say that Moses has written this ac¬ 
count, but also that the Holy Ghost has written 
it. We therefore perceive in this narrative a 
glance into ages yet luture. We call to mind 
that king David had sprung from Nahshon (Kuth 
4 :18-22), and that Jesus of Nazareth, who was 
made of God both Lord and Christ, was the 
son of David. We are therefore now tracing 
the lineage of Jesus Christ, and looking forward 
to Him who is both the commencement and the 
end of all things.” The narrative discloses the 
sins of Judah with the same openness and faith¬ 
fulness as it details the moral aberrations of 
other patriarchs and kings, for the purpose of 
showing that the high position assigned to them 
in the kingdom of God, and to which they were 
called and trained, was not due to their own 
virtue and excellency, brrt to the sovereign 
mercy of Him that had called them. K. 

I find not many of Jacob’s sons more faulty 
than Judah ; who yet is singled out frern all 
the rest to be the royal progenitor of Christ, 
and to be honored with the dignity of the birth-’ 
right, that God’s election might not be of merit, 
brrt of grace ; else howsoever he might have 
sped alone, Tamar had never been joined with 

him in this line. Bp. II. -It is wonderful 

that this incestuous transaction shoirld form one 
step of that chain w'hich led to the birth of cur 
Saviour. It is spoken of by commentators as a 
thing that deepens his humiliation. In associ¬ 
ating himself by relationship with such an 
atrocit 3 >' as this, his redemption descends to the 
lowest depths of human guilt and depravity'. It 
casts a light on the infinite mercy of God ; and 
makes me to feel in this alliance of the trans¬ 
cendental with the terrestrial in its grossest 
form, that God’s W'aj^s are not as man’s ways. 
T. C. 

The four eldest sons of Jacob fell under very 
foul guilt. Reuben and Judah under the guilt 
of incest, Simeon and Levi under the guilt of 
murder ; yet they w^ere patriarchs ; of Levi 
came the priests, of Judah the kings and Mes¬ 
siah ; thus they became examples of repent¬ 
ance, and monuments of pardoning mercy.. H. 





SECTION 65.—GENESIS 87 : 1-36. 


487 


Such a record as this thirty-eighth chapter of 
Genesis excites the clamor of scoffing unbelief I 
against the moral teachings of the Old Testa¬ 
ment ; and even suggests to some classes of 
Christians the theory that the Old Testament 
worship is of an inferior sort to that of the New 
Testament, because partriarchy and the chosen 
ones in the covenant of God are represented as 
guilty of great immoralities. It is sufficient to 
reply simply to this clamor that it rests entirely 
upon the misconceptions of the objector him¬ 
self as to the plan and purpose of that Old Tes¬ 
tament record. These objectors would have 
the inspired penman to sketch characters for 
us after the fashion of our modern biographies, 
which too often present us with mere ideal 
men that never existed, or rather the beatified 
ghosts of departed heroes. The Old Testament 
aims to furnish us a gallery’’ of characters in¬ 
tended as often for our warning as for our ex¬ 
ample. It is not intended to set forth, merely 
for our admiration, perfect ideals of character 
in any single character but that character of the 
‘'Son of Man.” All others are pictures of liv¬ 
ing men and women, with all the blots and 
blurs of a fallen humanity upon them, and 
“ the old man” still adhering to them, even 
after the work of Divine grace has begun in the 
soul, and that under the most favorable circum¬ 
stances. These objectors seem to forget that 
this Old Testament sets out with the account of 
how humanity, at first perfect, has fallen and 
become degraded ; and its purpose is not simply 
to inculcate moral maxims, but to trace the his¬ 
tory of an intervention of divine grace to restore 


the fallen humanity instead of leaving it to its 
native gravitation toward utter brutishness, fol¬ 
lowing its physical nature, or utter devilishness, 
following its spiritual nature. And its aim is 
to describe the conflict which ever comes from 
the attempt to develop out of this fallen hu¬ 
manity a new and regenerate humanity. If the 
Scriptures anywhere indorsed these heroes of- 
the faith, and all the covenant people of God as 
perfect models of character for your imitation, 
then might you object to the picture of Noah, 
and Lot as intoxicated ; of Abraham, Isaac and 
Jacob as guilty of falsehood ; of Judah as driven 
by lust to incest ; of Moses as guilty of man¬ 
slaughter, and David of murder and adultery.. 
Or if you can show that God is represented as 
approving of these outbreaks of wickedness, 
that would be another matter, and there would 
be some point to this objection. But intelli- ■, 
gently read and candidly judged, the Old Tes¬ 
tament nowhere represents God as approving 
of any moral princijile that is not approved iU' 
the New Testament, and that does net meet the- 
approval also of every enlightened conscience. 
Nor in any instance does this history, exhibiting 
such remarkable fidelity in portraying its char-"' 
acters in all their faults as well as their virtues^ • 
fail to exhibit the sins and failings and foibles 
of the noblest of its heroes, as bringing upon 
them the marks of God’s disapproval in the sor¬ 
row and sufiering which infallibly followed— 
just as Jacob now is reaping in old age the 
fruits of the sins and foibles of his earlier years,- 
S. R. 


Section 65. 

JOSEPH’S DREAMS. SOLD INTO EGYPT. 

Genesis 37 : 

1 And Jacob dwelt in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan. These are 

2 the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his 
brethren ; and he was a lad with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his fathers 

3 wdves : and Joseph brought the evil report of them unto their father. Now Israel loved 
Joseph more than all his children, because he w^as the son of his old age : and he made him a 

4 coat of many colors. And his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all hisbreth- 

5 ren ; and they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. And Joseph dreamed a 

G dream, and he told it to his brethren : and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto 

7 them. Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed : for, behold, w’e were binding sheaves 
in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright ; and, behold, your sheaves cam© 

8 round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou in. 
deed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet 

9 the more for his dreams, and for his wmrds. And ho dreamed yet another dream, and told it 
to his brethren, and said. Behold, I have dreamed yet a dream ; and, behold, the sun and the 

10 moon and eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his breth¬ 
ren ; and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, VvTiat is this dream that thou hast 
dreamed ? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to 

11 thee to the earth? And his brethren envied him ; but his father kept the saying in mind. 






4'88 


JOSEPirS DREAMS. 


12 And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. And Israel said nnto Joseph, 

13 Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem ? come, and I will send thee nnto them. And 

14 he said to him, Here am I. And he said to him, Go now, see whether it be well with thy 
brethren, and well with the flock ; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale 

15 of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was 

16 wandering in the field ; and the man asked him, saying, "What seekesfc thou? And he said, I 

17 seek my brethren : tell me, I pray thee, where they are feeding ihe flock. And the man said. 
They are departed hence ; for I heard them say. Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after 

18 his brethren, and found them in Dothan. And they saw him afar off, and before he came 

19 near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another. Be- 

20 hold, this dreamer cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into one 
of the pits, and we will say. An evil beast hath devoured him : and we shall see what will be- 

21 come of his dreams. And Eeuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand ; and said, 

22 Let us not take his life. And Reuben said unto them, Shed n.o blood ; cast him into this pit 
that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him : that he might deliver him out of their 

23 hand, to restore him to his father. And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his 
brethren, that they stript Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colors that was on him ; and 

'24 they took him, and cast him into the pit : and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. 

25 And they sat down to eat bread : and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a 
travelling company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead, with their camels bearing sjricery and 

26 balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said unto his brethren. What 

.27 profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the 

Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him ; for he is our brother, our flesh. And his 

.28 brethren hearkened unto him. And there passed by Midianites, merchantmen ; and they 
drew and lifted up Joseph out of the joit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces 

29 of silver. And they brought Josejjh into Egypt. And Reuben returned unto the pit ; and, 

30 behold, Joseph was not in the pit ; and he rent his clothes. And he returned unto his breth- 

31 ren, and said. The child is not ; and I, whither shall I go ? And they took Juseijh’s coat, and 

32 killed a he-goat, and dipped the coat in the blood ; and they sent the coat of many colors, and 
they brought it to their father ; and said. This have we found : know now whether it be thy 

33 son’s coat or not. And he knew it, and said. It is my son’s coat ; an evil beast hath devoured 

34 him ; Joseph is without doubt lorn in pieces. And Jacob rent his garments, and put sack- 

35 cloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his 
daughters rose up to comfort him ; but he refused to be comforted ; and he said. For I will 

36 go down to the grave to my son mourning. And his father wept for him. Aud the Midian¬ 
ites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard. 


The story of Joseph is simply the traditional 
account of the events which first led to the pro¬ 
longed sojourn of the Israelites in a land w'hich 
was neither their original nor their destined 
home, but one in which, in their own affecting 
phrase, they were strangers in a far country. 
Evidently, before it was written out in Genesis, 
the legend had often been repeated orally in 
their tents, at their camp-fires, and by the 
mothers of the tribe in teaching their children. 
And the story also had a strong local coloring ; 
at that early day, the very dawn of the histori¬ 
cal epoch of mankind, it would have been intel¬ 
ligible only to a people who knew all about 
Egypt, and had also heard much about Canaan, 
and the long journey through ihe desert be¬ 
tween these two countries. It has the true ring 
of genuineness ; it breathes the air of Egypt 
"and the desert in the old, old times. F. Bowen. 
• -The life and fortunes of Joseph, embracing 


one tenth of the book of Genesis, form a story 
of unrivalled attraction, whether we consider 
the simplicity and beauty of the narrative, the 
pathos of the events, or the moral lessons which 
it teaches. Viewed merely as a human compo¬ 
sition, as a specimen of simple, graceful, elo¬ 
quent, and pathetic narrative, it has no par¬ 
allel. We find in it all that gives beauty to 
the finest drama—a perfect unity of design ; 
a richness and variety of incident involving 
the plot in obscurity, yet gradually drawing 
to its intended development ; and the whole 
issuing happily, rewarding pre-eminent virtue 
with appropriate honors and blessings, and 
visiting iniquity with deserved humiliation and 
punishment. It is a story which persons of 
all ages, and minds of all orders, peruse with 
equal interest ; and the degree of secret moral 
influence which the spotless example of Joseph 
has exercised upon countless numbers of the 





SEjriON 65.-GENESIS 37 : 1-36. 


480 


readers of Iho Scriptures, can never be appre¬ 
ciated till tlie day of the revelation of all 
tilings. We behold in him one who in every 
period of life, in every change of condition, in 
ever}’’ variety of relation, secures our confi¬ 
dence, our respect, our love. In adversity, we 
see him evincing exemplary patience and resig¬ 
nation ; in temptation, inflexible firmness ; in 
exaltation, unaffected simplicity, integrity, gen¬ 
tleness. and humility. Bush. 

In the history of Joseph and his brethren, a 
train of events, apparently natural, and arising 
out of each other, is overruled to the accom¬ 
plishment of the purposes and prophecies of 
God, without any interference with, or control 
over, the free agency of man ; and the history 
furnishes us with a complete specimen of the 
mode in which an all-wise Providence still gov¬ 
erns the world. G. T.-Without infringing 

individual liberty or diminishing the guilt of 
those who sought to thwart the purposes of 
Heaven, those results were brought about which 
had been foreordained by Him whose counsels 
run parallel with the ages. Free, yet instru¬ 
ments in the accomplishment of a divine jilan ! 
The incidents in Joseph’s life furnish an argu¬ 
ment in favor of an overruling Providence so 
overwhelming that no sophistry can successfully 
blunt its force. J. S. V. 

Joseph is frequently spoken of as a “ type of 
Christ.” It may be doubted whether this is 
not too strong a statement of the case, since 
the Scriptures nowhere sjieak of him as any 
constituted type, and it is a wise maxim that 
nothing is properly a type except what the 
Scriptures make typical either directly or by 
very direct implication. But in the sense that 
the life of Joseph is the foreshadowing of things 
yet to come, it is a tj'pe of that of Jesus Christ. 

S. E.-It is the tendency of all history to be 

typical. We read it very inattentively if we do 
not see that it is constantly throwing itself up 
into representative men and events. This is 
the tendency, above all, of Divine history, for 
God’s providence guides it in a special manner 
outwardly, and God’s Spirit breathes through 
it all, with a grand unity of aspiration, to one 
central event. That there should be types in 
such a history is most natural. Ker. 

When w'e come to the New Testament history, 
we find that a large part of this Old Testament 
historic record was intended to symbolize and 
shadow forth great historic truths of the future ; 
just as the ritualism of the Old Testament 
worship was designed to shadow forth the great 
ideas of the redemption in the future for faith 
to lay hold upon. The infinite mind who pre¬ 


sides in all this history preairanging all wdth 
reference to the coming Messiah to assume hu¬ 
manity, so that not only in the institutions of 
worship of the old church W'ere they taught to 
see the shadowing of great truths, but in the 
history of God’s transaction all was fitted in 
like manner to foreshadow the coming of Christ. 
Of this pre-eminently is Lord Bacon’s saying 
true : “ History is prophecy.” S. B. 

iJ. Tlic.se arc tlie ^^ciiei atioiis of 
tfacol>. The Toledoih, or genealogical history 
of Isaac began (ch. 25 ; 19) alter the death of his 
father Abraham, a few verses having been allot¬ 
ted (vv. 12-18) to dispose of the history of his 
brother Ishmael. In the satne manner, the 
Toledidh of Jacob are given in this chapter after 
the death of his father Isaac, ch. 36 having in¬ 
tervened to account for Esau and his famil 3 \ 
Many of the i^receding chapters had been occu- 
pied with the history of Jacob and his sons, but 
Jacob’s Toledoih begin at this point, because 
now he has become the sole head and father of 
the chosen seed; The Toledoth, or family his¬ 
tory, of Jacob continues now till his death. 

Joiicpli, bciii^ scvcBiCccia jciifs old. 
This history goes back a few years ; lor Isaac 
must have been living when Joseph was seven¬ 
teen. But the historian had full}' wound up 
the history of Isaac before commencing the 
Tohdolh of Jacob ; and he now' gives unity to 
the history of the descent into Egypt by begin¬ 
ning with the adolescence of Joseph, his father’s 
fondness for him, and his brothers’ jealousy of 
him. E. H. B. 

3. The Hebrew words mean simply, “ a tunic 
reaching to the extremities.” They describe a 
garment such as was commonly worn in Egypt 
and the adjacent lands—a long white linen robe 
extending to the ankles and w'rists, and em¬ 
broidered with a narrow stripe of color round 
the edge of the skirt and the sleeves. And if 
this white linen garment be but a poor substi¬ 
tute for the rich, gorgeous robe which has so 
long held its place in our thoughts, it has its 
compensations. For it helps us to understand 
the env 3 % the fierce murderous jealousy, of 
Joseph’s brethren. That they should be moved 
to kill him, or even to sell him for a slave, be¬ 
cause he wore a gay coat and went fine, is al¬ 
most inconceivable ; but this long linen tunic 
meant more than a mere coat of many hues. It 
w'as worn, as a rule, only by the most noble and 
opulent classes, by kings’ sons and daughters, 
by priests and scribes, by those who were ex¬ 
empt from manual labor. Cox - A full-Ungth 

garment / covering the w'hole person, the body 
of the garment extending to the feet, and the 






490 


JOSEPH SOLD INTO EGYPT. 


sleeves to the wrists. Such garments were worn 
only by persons exempted from manual labor, 
and were indicative of rank and wealth. The 
injudicious partiality of Jacob conferred this 
distinction on the favorite child of his old age. 
On the contrary, the ordinary dress, such as 
was worn by persons engaged in active employ¬ 
ments, extended but a little below the knee, 
the sleeves reaching only to the elbow, T. J. C. 

4. Con’d not hid peace to him. The partiality 
of his father, exhibited in so weak a manner, 
provokes the anger of his brothers, who cannot 
bid him good-day, or greet him in the ordinarj^ 

terms of good-will. M.-We are taught here 

the evil of favoritism in the family. The bal¬ 
ance, as between the different children in the 
same household, must be held evenly by the 
parents. One maybe brighter, or more amiable, 
or more companionable than another, but be¬ 
fore the discipline of the family they ought to 
be all on a level. They are all alike children of 
the father, and should be dealt with by him on 
princijDles of the strictest equity. In some re 
spects their differences of disposition will re¬ 
quire differences of treatment, but they should 
be all kept on an equality. W. M. T. 

10. Joseph’s dream came true, though his 
white tuoic was soon soiled with the sand of 
the desert pit and with the blood of the goat’s 
kid. Joseph’s dream came true, though it was 
fulfilled in a way and by means too wonderful 
for him to anticipate. Instead of simply suc¬ 
ceeding to his father’s inheritance, and ruling 
his eleven brethren, he stood next to Pharaoh, 
and governed busy, populous Egypt. His father 
and brothers did make obeisance unto him. 
Nay, the very sun and moon, which govern the 
tides and rains, and mete out years of famine 
and years of plenty, even these served him and 
helped him to the throne. Through the pit 
and the prison, by the path of sorrow and cap¬ 
tivity, he rose to be the very centre of the 
world ; for “ all the world went down into 
Egypt to buy corn of Joseph.” Cox. 

11. Envied lliiii. Envy is the breath of 
the old serpent. It is pure devil, as it is also 
purely spiritual. It needs no body, no concu¬ 
piscent organization, no appetites or fleshly 
motions, no nerves even, for the exercise of its 
devilish energies. It is a soul-poison, yet acting 
fearfully upon the body itself, bringing more 
death into it than seemingly stronger and more 
tumultuous passions that have their nearer seat 
in the fleshly nature. It is “ rottenness in the 
bones.” T. L. 

Kept the sayin;; in mind. There is 
something very impressive in the silent thought¬ 


fulness of Jacob. It is like the pondering in 
her heart by Mary of the things that were told 
her. This is the third time in which Jacob is 
introduced as thinking what he did not speak, 
but laid u]^ in silence. It accords with the 
policy of his character. T. C. 

12-14. By a remarkable combination of 
events and interweaving of their life-web by the 
hand of Providence, the opportunity is offered 
for the development of their hatred of Joseph 
by his brethren. The immense flocks of Jacob, 
combined with those of Isaac, his father, are 
too numerous to find pasturage in the vale of 
Hebron, where Isaac has alwajvs resided, and to 
which Jacob has come. Some larger provision 
must be made for pasturage. Nothing more 
natural than that Jacob should think of sending 
his flocks to his former range at foot of Mount 
Gerizim and Mount Ebal, for there he had pur¬ 
chased most excellent land about a mile and a 
half from Shechem, and he would avail himself 
of its advantages. Perhaps it is now the hitter 
part of summer, and the pastures in the south 
about Hebron are more parched than sixty miles 
north in the shady nooks and hills about 
Shechem. S. R. 

15-17, Joseph found not his brethren at 
Shechem itself, but a stranger directed him to 
“ DoihanN the two wells, whither they had 
gone. Dothan was beautifully situated, about 
twelve miles north from Samaria. Northwaid 
spread richest pasture-lands ; a few swelling 
hills separated it from the great j)lain of Esdrae- 
lon. From its position it must have been the 
key to the passes of Esdraelon. and so, as guard¬ 
ing the entrance from the north, not only of 
Ephraim, but of Palestine itself. On the crest 
of one of those hills the extensive ruins of 
Dothan are still pointed out, and at its south¬ 
ern foot still wells up a fine spring of living 
water. From these hills Gideon afterward de¬ 
scended upon the host of Midian. It was here 
that Joseph overtook his brethren, and was cast 
into the dry well. And it was from that height 
that the sons of Jacob must have seen the Arab 
caravan slowly winding from Jordan on its way 
to Egypt, when they sold their brother, in the 
vain hope of binding the word and arresting 
the hand of God. A. E. 

In the afternoon we came out upon a plain of 
rich meadow-land. It is a crescent-shaped 
2 )lain, hill-encircled, unbroken by fence or 
hedge or wall. Not a house enlivens its broad, 
still expanse. On the farther side is a hill, 
steep, but not very high. At its foot is a grand 
well, with a building enclosing it. Welookabout 
us on well and plain with a rare delight. This 





SECTION 65.~GENES18 37 * 1-36. 


491 


is Tell Dothan ~ the Dothan to which that 
Joseph whom we have loved ever since, in child 
hood, his story fell upon eager ears, wandered 
in search of his brethren. No wonder that the 
sons of Jacob led their flocks and herds hither, 
for it is a charming plain. The pasturage would 
suffice for even their thousands of sheep, of 
goats and cattle. Later in Jewish history 
Dothan appears as the residence of the prophet 
Elisha. Benhadad the Syrian encircled the 
hill with his army, that he might capture this 
troublesome prophet, but the host was smitten 
with confusion of sight and led away from 
Dothan to Samaria. The reply of Elisha to his 
terrified attendant, " Fear not, for they that be 
with us are more than they that be with them,” 
has become one of the watchwords of the Chris¬ 
tian life. It first rang bravely out at this 
Dothan. Dalles. 

It is a striking illustration of how, when God 
has a general purpose to accomplish, as this 
sending Joseph into Egypt, he overrules and 
directs all the little things which as second 
causes operate to accomplish his purpose. Had 
these brethren of Joseph remained near 
Shechem they w'ould probably not have accom¬ 
plished their crime. They could not have so 
easily concealed it from their father. And no 
caravans to Egypt passed that way to offer a 
chance to sell him into slavery. Thus this in¬ 
cidental departure to Dothan Avas a mesh of the 
web. S. R. 

I§. They eoiis|>irc<9 ag^aiiist him tf> 
slay him. Envy has completed its work ; 
now they coolly contemiDlate murder. 22. 
Their plan meets opposition from an unex¬ 
pected source. Reuben said, “ Shed no blood ; 
but cast him into this pit, that he might rid 
him out of their hands and deliver him to his 
father again.” Reuben is the last of the ten 
from whom Ave Avould have expected mercy. 
His sincerity seems to be fully attested by his 
subsequent anguish, by his vivid remembrance 
of the painful incidents of this tragic scene and 
by his offer to assume the responsibility of 
Benjamin’s safe return from Egypt. J. S. V. 

Reuben, of all the brothers, had most reason 
to be jealous of Joseph, for he AA'as the first¬ 
born, and so entitled to those distinguishing 
favors which Jacob Avas conferring on Joseph ; 
yet he proves his best friend. Reuben's temper 
seems to have been soft and effeminate, which 
had betrayed him to the sin of uncleanness ; 
while the temper of the two next brothers, 
Simeon and Levi, Avas fierce, which betrayed 
them to the sin of murder, a sin which Reuben 
startled at the thought of. Our natural consti¬ 


tution should be guarded against those sins to 
Avhich it is most inclinable, and improved (as 
Reuben’s here) against those sins to Avhich it is 
most‘averse. Reuben made a proposal which 
they thought Avould (ffectually answer ih^ir in¬ 
tention of destroying Joseph, and yet Avhich he 
designed should answer hU intention of rescu¬ 
ing Joseph out of their hands, and restoring 
him to his father, probably hoping thereby to 
recover his father’s favor, Avhich he had lately 
lost ; but God overruled all to serve his own 
puri)ose of making Joseph an instrument to 
save much people alive. H. 

Crime begets crime. Envy brought forth 
malice, deceit, lying, the intent of murder, anil 
the kindred crime of man stealing. Such a 
fountain of iniquity is the heart of man ! What 
a dreadful secret had these ten men to carry all 
their lives! And poor old Jacob ! —his final 
retribution for the deception practised upon his 
brother comes in this cruel deception, that 
shall carry him mourning down into the grave 1 
God, indeed, had better thoughts for him ; but 
the guilt of men remains the same, however 
God may overrule it for good. As Ave cannot 
charge upon God our own evil-doings, neither 
can Ave credit ourselves Avith the good Avhich 
God brings out of evil. J. P. T. 

*24, The numerous rock-hewn cisterns that 
are found everywhere would furnish a suitable 
pit in Avhich they might have thrust him ; and 
as these cisterns are shaped like a bottle, with a 
narrow mouth, it would be impossible for any 
one imprisoned A\dthin it to extricate himself 
without assistance. These cisterns are now all 
cracked and useless ; they are, hoAvever, the 
most undoubted evidences that exist of the 
handiwork of the inhabitants in ancient times. 
Lieul. Anderson. 

25. They sat clown to cat hrcacl. In 

this heartless meal Reuben can have taken no 
part. It appears from verse 29, that he must 
have left his brethren, perhaps Avith the very 
purpose of seeking means to rescue Joseph, 
The simplicity and truthfulness of the narra¬ 
tive are all the more apparent by the indiffer¬ 
ence of the writer to the question how and why 
it Avas that Reuben was absent at this point of 
the history. A forger would have been likely 

to tell all about it. E. H. B.-The heartless 

barbarity Avith which the brethren of Joseph sat 
doAvn to eat and drink the very dainties he had 
brought them from his father, Avhile they left 
him, as they thought, to starve, has been re¬ 
garded by all later generations as the height of 
hard-hearted indifference. Amos, at a loss to 
describe the recklessness of his own genera- 





492 


JOSEPH SOLD INTO EGYPT. 


tion, falls back upon this incident, and cries 
woe upon those “ that drink wine in bowls, and 
anoint themselves with the chief ointment, but 
they are not grieved for the atiliction of 
Joseph.” D iiis. 

27, Whatsoever they thought, God never 
meant that Josei:)h should perish in that pit ; 
and therefore he sends very Islimaelites, to ran¬ 
som him from his brethren : the seed of him 
that persecuted his brother Isaac shall now re¬ 
deem Joseph from his brethren’s persecution. 

Bp. 11. -Tliere was much commerce between 

Egypt and Asia. The spices and resins so much 
used in Egypt for tmbalrning were brought 
from the East. Slaves, too, were always in de¬ 
mand. The route of caravans crossing the Jor¬ 
dan at Beisan lay near Dothan ; so that these 
Ishmaelitish traders naturally passed that way. 
Thus every incident of the narrative is verified 
by the geographical features of the countr 3 % and 
by the commercial customs of the times, J. P. T. 

The same company of men in v, 27 are called 
“ Ishmaelites,” in v. 28, “ Midianites,” and in 
V. 36 (Hebrew'), “ Medanites this diversity 
of appellation being designed to intimate that 
they were a mixed people, made \ip of different 
races, and perhaps for that reason called in the 
Chaldean “ Arabians,” which signifies mixed. 
“Here,” says Dr. Vincent (Com. and Nav. of 
the Anc.), “ upon opening the oldest history in 
the world, we find the Ishmaelites from Gilead 
conducting a caravan loaded with the spices of 
India, the balsam and myrrh of Hadramaut ; 
and in the regular course of their traffic pro¬ 
ceeding to Egypt for a market. The date of this 
transaction is more than seventeen centuries 
before the Christian era, and notwithstanding 
its antiquity, it has all the genuine features of 
a caravan crossing the Desert at the present 
hour.” The route of these Ishmaelites toward 
Egypt may be easily traced. They passed the 
Jordan, which is fordable in many places dur¬ 
ing the summer months, then took their way 
through the valley of Jezreel or Esd.aelon, 
which lay but little northward from Dothan—a 
valley running from east to west, and leading 
from the Jordan, in the most convenient way, 
to the shores of the Mediterranean. Hence 
they could journey in the safest and most speedy 
manner to Egypt. Bush. 

It is worth while to note specially here the 
remarkable undesigned coincidences and agree¬ 
ments of the record with the entire topography 
of the scene of this transaction, which Moses 
never saw% and with the facts developed by the 
recently discovered monuments of that era in 
Egypt. In the first place, on travelling over 


the country in which these events are recorded 
to have taken place, you will be struck with the 
exactness with wdiich the history fits in with 
the entire topograph}^ of the country. Here is 
still Jacob’s well and Shechem, and the fertile 
piece of ground, and here, following the tract 
of Joseph northward from it is Dothan ; here 
are the pits or bottle-shaped wells, like Jacob’s 
well, and dry in the late summer, into which 
Joseph w^as put, and so constructed that it 
would be impossible to get out without assist¬ 
ance, since they swell out to eight or nine feet 
in the middle. And here just at Dothan is the 
juncture of the narrow valleys leading north 
from Esdraelon, along which runs the highway 
from the East, between the plains of the Eu¬ 
phrates and the Nile. Nowhere but just along 
that line would any Ishmaelitish caravan have 
passed by to which they could sell a slave. And 
there to-day may be seen the long camel train 
passing east and west along the point of Gilboa, 
reminding one when seen in the distance of a 
long railway train, each camel led by a halier 
attached to the saddle of the one before it. 
And, on the other hand, on the monuments and 
in the paintings during this century, disen¬ 
tombed from the ruins of Egypt and collected 
in the galleries at London, I’aris, Berlin, Cairo, 
are displayed the life and manners and customs 
of those ancient civilizations in Egypt, arranged 
according to their successive d 3 'nas'ies and 
ages, exhibiting precisely the same facts which 
this record implies Pictures of these \ ery cara¬ 
vans of merchants coming from the East to 
Eg 3 rpt, as their great mart ; of slaves brought 
in with them, and slaves sent in as tribute from 
subject provinces ; of slaves of all colors, at 
their various sorts of service -those such as the 
boy Joseph occupying business positions in 
their master’s service, sturdy Africans doing 
the drudgery, Arab runners, etc. S. li. 

Full little did Joseph think when he went to 
seek his brethren, that this W'as the last time he 
should see his father’s house : full little did his 
brethren think when they sold him to the Ish¬ 
maelites, to have once seen him in the throne 
of Egypt. God’s decree runs on ; and, while 
w'e either think not of it or oppo.se it, is iier- 

forined. Bp. II. -They thought that if he 

w^ere sold for a slave, he wmuld never be a lord, 
if sold into Egypt w’ould never be their lord ; 
yet all this was working toward it. The wrath 
of man shall praise God, and the remainder of 
wrath he will restrain (Ps. 76:10). Joseph’s 
brethren were wonderfully restrained from 
murdering him, and their selling him as worn 
derfully turned to God’s praise. H. 








SECTION 65.~0ENE8I8 87 : 1-36. 


493 


From this history of Joseph, we might con¬ 
clude that he was himself quite p't.ss' ve in the 
whole transaction. Yet when the brothers talk 
together upon this same subject many years 
afterward in Egypt, they say one to another, 
“ We are verily guilty concerning our brother, 
in that we saw the anguish of his soul wlmi he 
besought ns, and we would not hear.” The.se 
fervent entreaties are sunk in the direct history 
of the event, and only come out by accident 
after all. B'unl. 

.These brothers of Joseph were bent on mak¬ 
ing the realization of his dreams impossible, 
and yet the thing which they did was one step 
toward the bringing about of the elevation of 
their brother. They were made to see it after¬ 
ward ; and they were working under no con¬ 
straint. Nobody compelled them to give up 
their first idea of putting Joseph to death. The 
proposal to put him into a pit was purely spon¬ 
taneous with Eeuben, and they were at liberty 
to act upon it or not as they chose. The same 
thing was true of the suggestion of Judah about 
selling him to the Ishmaelites. Each jjarty was 
seeking its own ends, and yet they W'ere all con- 
tributing to bring about the purpose of God 
concerning Joseph. We cannot exjfiain the 
“ law” of it, but we clearly see the fact. Oh the 
marvellous wisdom of that providence of God 
which thus, without doing violence to the will 
of any human being, lays all their actions 
under tribute for the furtherance of its designs ! 
W. M. T. 

29. And Rciua>e3i returned iiiito tS«e 

pit. From this it is evident that Reuben was 
absent when Joseph was sold, and consequently 
did not consent at the time to the deed. He 
mourns bitterly on finding his plan defeated. 
Joseph is now lost to his father forever, and he 
pictures to hi.mselE the anguish of that new 
affliction which threatened to fall upon the good 
old man after the severe griefs which he had 
already sustained from his own misbehavior 
and that of his brethren. He pours out his bit¬ 
ter complaints to his hard-hearted brethren, but 
to little purpose. They could not well undo 
what was done, nor had they any wish to undo 
it. Bash. 

lieuhen intends to deliver Joseph from the 
vengeance of his brothers, and secretly to send 
him back to his father. Beside his natural 
kindliness, as the firstborn, Reuben would feel 
himself more particularly responsible to his 
father. Judah also wished to preserve the life 
of Joseph, but he agrees with his other brothers 
in deeming it necessary that he should be re¬ 
moved, so that thereby the possibility of having 


his dreams realized should be set aside. As 
they probably thought that the realization of 
these dreams was dependent on his investiture 
with the rights of primogeniture, it appeared 
the most sure means of attaining their object to 
sell him as a slave into a distant country. 
Thus, we conclude with Ranke: “The narra¬ 
tive has now reached the point when it seems 
as if the direct contrary of Joseph’s former 
prophetic dreams should take place. He whose 
superiority his parents and brothers v^ere to 
acknowledge, now lives as a slave in a foreign 
land.” K. 

3»5. I>£i&a^ls(ci'§. Of whom, besides Dinah, 
he perhaps had several. Daughters, when not 
the subjects of any remarkable history, are not 
enumerated in the genealogical register. Geii. 

I will g^o down to tSie gfi'avc to my 
son nioiirnillg[. A more correct version is, 
“I will go down to my son mourning into Sheol.” 
This is the first of the sixty-five instances in 
which the proper name 8h>ol occurs in the Old 
Testament. It is a precise equivalent of the 
Greek /iude.s, which is found ten times in the New 
Testament. The word never means grave, for 
which the Hebrew has a term uniformly used 
to denote the earthly receptacle of a dead body, 
but alwaj's the place of departed spirits, 
whether good or evil. It thus distinctly con¬ 
veyed the idea of the soul's existence after 
death. The patriarch's conceptions of this un¬ 
seen world were doubtless dim and vague, birt 
he expected to meet Joseph there, and his use 
of the word is quite inconsistent with the notion 
that death is the extinction of the whole man. 

. . . According to Old Testament usage, Sheol 
(or Hades) was the receiotacle of all the dead 
without exception. Thither went the patriarch 
Jacob, and thither also went such men as the 
unscrupulous Joab and the malignant Shimei 
(1 Kings 2 : G-9). The primary idea is that it is 
the realm of the dead, and as such concent)atcs 
in itself whatever terror death has for miin. 
Hence the combination of the two terms as in 
the 18th Psalm, “ the sorrows of Sheol (Hades), 
and the snares of death” (comp. Ps. IIG :3 ; 
Job 17 : 16 ; Prov. 5 :5) And as natural death 
is a symbol of spiritual death, and images that 
remoteness from God, the fountain of life, 
which is the worst of all evils, so the region 
called Sheul (or Hades) came to be regarded as 
the place to which especially the ungodly be¬ 
long (Ps. 9 : 17 ; 49 :14). This accounts for the 
dread with which the Old Testament believers, 
such as David (Ps. G : 5) and Hezekiah (Is. 
38 : 18), usually thought and spoke of it ; al¬ 
though in their better moments they had an 






JOSEPH SOLD INTO EGYPT. 


404 

assured conviction that God would show them 
the path of life where there are pleasures for¬ 
evermore (Ps. IG ; 11), that he would redeem 
them from Shml (4'J: 15), that after guiding 
them by his counsel here lie would receive 
them to glory (73 : 24), and therefore that even 
in death he was their portion forever (73 ; 20). 

. . . The grave and the p t refer primarily to 
the bofly, and so miss the very point of Sheol, 
which refers to the spirit. The only safe way 
is to transliterate the word throughout, and then 
the English reader, studying all the passages in 
which it occurs, can arrive at his own conclu¬ 
sion as to its meaning. Cliambtrs. 

The noun “ Sheol” is made from the verb 
Shaal, having the sense, to ask, to demand ; and 
conceives of the place as evermore demanding, 
insatiable ; that which is never full ; never has 
enough. The current Hebrew conceptions of 
the word may be seen in Prov. 30 : 15, 16, and 
Isa. 5 : 14. and Hab. 2:5. There are three 
things that are never satisfied ; yea four say 
not. It is enough : the grave” (Sheol). ‘‘ There¬ 
fore hell (Sheol) hath enlarged herself and 
opened her mouth without measure ; and their 
glory, and their multitude and their pomp, and 
he that rejoicetli shall descend into it.” “ Who 
eniargeth his desire as hell ” (Sheol) “ and is 
as Death, and cannot be satisfied.” As to the 
location of Sheol it seems clear that thev 
thought of it as an under-world, as somehow 
beneath the surface of the earth. We see this 
in the case of Korah and his company (Num. 
16 : 28-34), and in De. 32 : 22. In regard to 
their conceptions of Sheol as a state of being for 
the righteous and the wicked dead, it is easy to 
see that holy men of the olde.st time lacked the 
clear light of the gospel age. H. C. 

The under-wtrld. By this term is meant (of 
course only in figurative conception) the abode 
of the departed, the world of spirits. It is con¬ 
ceived of as beneath (Is. 14 : 9), as under the e >rth 
(llev. 5 :3, 13 ; Philip. 2 :10), as reached by dig¬ 
ging into it (Amos 9:2); men are said to go down 
into it (Num. 16 :33) ; its depth behno is con¬ 
trasted with the height of heaven above (Job 
11 :8). Such expressions are intended to ac¬ 
commodate what is said to common apprehen¬ 
sion, and not to teach us anything respecting 
the locality of the abode of departed spirits. 
T. J. C. 

[For a different view of the meaning of 
” Sheol,” see Dr. Shedd’s recent book, “ End¬ 
less Punishment of the Wicked.”] 

Moses constantly spoke of the death of the 
godly patriarchs as a being “ gathered to their 
people.” He said this of Abraham (Gen. 25 : 8) ; 


of Ishraael (25 :17) ; of Isaac (35 :29) : of Jacob 
(49 : 33). And he records these as Jacob’s words 
when he supposed Joseph to have died : “ I 
will go down into Sheol to my son mourning” 
(37 :35). In the face of these facts can it bo 
said that Moses knew nothing of the future life ? 
Did he think the fathers —the righteous people 
—had passed by death into non-existence —into 
what was not life in any sense whatever ? H. C. 

SOo And tlic s«Bd Iiiin in¬ 
to Hebrew, the Medaniles. These 

were the descendants of Medan, the son of Abra¬ 
ham (Gen. 25 : 2). Both these and the Midian- 
ites seem to have lived intermingled with the 
Ishmaelites, by which general name they are 
called (v. 25). Bush. -Joseph’s history be¬ 

longs henceforth to a wider sphere. The glimpse 
of Egypt, opened to us for a moment in the life 
of Abraham, now spreads into a vast and per¬ 
manent prospect. A. P. S. 

We seem to have sufficient grounds for the 
belief that the Egypt of Joseph’s time was that 
of the Middle Empire or Hyksos, an Asiatic 
peo 2 )lG who held Egypt in subjection for some 
centuries before the great rising under j^ahmes, 
which re-established a native dynasty upon the 
old throno of the Pharaohs. M. Chabas re¬ 
marks that the Hykso.'^, or shejiherd kings, after 
a time became “ Egyptianized.” “ The science 
and the usages of Egypt introduced themselves 
among them. They surrounded themselves 
with learned men, built temples, encouraged 
statuary, while at the same lime they inscribed 
their own names on the statues of the Old Em¬ 
pire, which were still standing, in the place of 
those of the Pharaohs who had erected them. 
It i.s this period of civilization which alone has 
left us the sphinxes, the statues, and the in¬ 
scriptions which recall the ait of Egj’pt ; the 
manners of the foreign conquerors had by this 
time been sensibly softened.” And again, 
‘‘ Apepi, the last shepherd king, wuis an en¬ 
lightened prince, wdio maintained a college of 
men skilled in sacred lore, after the example of 
the Pharaohs of every age, and submitted all 
matters of importance to them for examination 
before he formed any decision.” The Phaiaoh 
of Joseph, according to the Syncellus. w\as this 
very Apepi, the last shepherd king, the prede¬ 
cessor of the Aahmes, wdio, after a long and 
severe struggle, expelled the Hyksos, and re¬ 
established in Egypt the rule of a native dy¬ 
nasty. G. R. Babylon, and'Egypt''). 

By the time that Joseph was sold into Egypt 
there was little outw’ard difference between the 
court at Zoanand the c.ourt of the native princes 
at Thebes. The very names and titles borne by 




SECTION 66.—GENESIS 39 : 1-23. 


495 


the Hyksos officials had become Egyptian ; and 
though they still regarded the god Set as the 
chief object of their worship, they had begun 
to rebuild the Egyptian temples and pay honor 
to the Egyptian deities. Potiphar, to whom 
Joseph was sold, bore a purely Egyptian name, 
meaning “ the gift of the risen one,” while the 
name of Potipherah, the high priest of On, 
whose daughter, Asenath, was married by 
Joseph, is equally Egyptian, and signifies “ the 
gift of the Sun-God.” The Sun-God was the 
special deity of On ; to him the great temple of 
the city was dedicated, and the name by which 
the place was known to the Greeks was Heliop¬ 
olis, ” the city of the sun.” Sayce. 


Sold liiin. The whole passage implies the 
existence in Egypt at this time of a traffic in 
slaves, who were foreigners, and valued at no 
very high rate. The monuments prove slaves 
to have been exceedingly numerous under the 
Ancient Empire. The king had a vast num¬ 
ber ; the estates of the nobles were cultivated 
by them ; and a large body of hieroduJi, or 
“sacred slaves,” was attached to most of the 
tenq^les. Foreign slaves seem to have been 
preferred to native ones, and wars were some¬ 
times undertaken less with the object of con¬ 
quest or subjugation than with that of olitain- 
ing a profit by selling those who were taken 
prisoners in the slave market. G. P. 


Section 66. 


POTIPHAK’S SLAVE. FALSELY ACCUSED AND IMPRISONED. 

Genesis 39 :1-23. 


1 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt ; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain 
of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hand of the Ishinaelites, which had brought 

2 him down thither. And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man ; and he 

3 was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with 

4 him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace 
in his sight, and he ministered unto him ; and he made him overseer over his house, and all 

5 that he had he put into his hand. And it came to pass from the time that he made him over¬ 
seer in his house, and over alt that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for 
Joseph's sake ; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had, in the house and in the 

' 6 field. And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand ; and he knew not aught that teas with 

7 him, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was cornel}', and well favoured. And it 
came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph ; and she 

8 said. Lie with me. But he refused, and said unto his master's wife. Behold, my master know- 

9 eth not what is with me in the house, and he hath jiut all that he hath into my hand ; there 
is none greater in this house than I ; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, 
because thou art his wife : how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? 

10 And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by clay, that he heaikened not unto her, to 

11 lie by her, c-r to be with her. And it came to pass about this time, that he went into the 

12 house to do his work ; and there was none of the men of the house there within. And she 
caught him by his garment, saying. Lie with me : and he left his garment in her hand, and 

13 fled, and got him out. And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her 

14 hand, and was fled forth, that she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, 
saying. See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us ; he came in unto me to lie 

15 with me, and I cried with a loud voice . and it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up 

16 my voice and cried, that he left his garment by me, and fled, and got him out. And she laid 

17 up his garment by her, until his master came home. And she spake unto him according to 
these words, saying. The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me 

18 to mo(dc me : and it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment 

19 by me, and fled out. And it came to pass, when his master heard the W'ords of his wife, 
which she spake unto him, saying. After this manner did thy servant to me ; that his wiath 

20 was kindled. And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the piison, the place where 

21 the king’s prisoners were bound : and he was there in the prison. But the Lord was with 
Joseph, ancl shewed kindness unto him, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the 

22 prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that w'ere 

23 in the prison ; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the 
prison looked not to any thing that w'as under his hand, because the Lord wuis with him ; and 
that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper. 


1-0. Fiom. o sl'ive, Joffcph. ?.<? vifule overseer io 
Potiphar. He was faithful, honest, uptight, 
and conscientious, because in his earthly he 


served a heavenly Master, whose presence he 
always realized. Accordingly “ Jehovah was 
with him,” and “ Jehovah made all that he did 





49G 


/ 


TEMPTATION RESISTED, 


to prosper in liis hand.” His master was not 
long in observing tliis. From an ordinary 
domestio slave he promoted him to be “ over¬ 
seer over his house, and all that he had he put 
into his hand.” The contidence was not mis¬ 
placed. Jehovah’s blessing henceforth rested 
upon Potiphar’s substance, and he “ lettallthat 
he had in Joseph’s hand ; and he knew not 
aught that he had, save the bread which he 
did eat.” The sculptures and paintings of the 
ancient Egyptian tombs bring vividly before us 
the daily life and duties of Joseph. “The 
property of great men is shown to have been 
managed by scribes, who exercised a most 
methodical and minute supervision over all the 
operations of agriculture, gardening, the keep¬ 
ing of live stock, and fishing. Every product 
was carefully registered, to check the dishon¬ 
esty of the laborers, who in Egypt have always 
been famous in this respect. Probably in no 
country was farming ever more systematic. 
Joseph’s previous knowledge of tending flocks, 
and perhaps of husbandry, and his truthful 
character, exactly fitted him for the post of 
overseer. How long he filled it we are not 
told.” {Poole.) A. E. 

He who acknowledges God in all his ways has 
the promise that God shall direct all his steps. 
Joseph’s captivity shall promote God’s glory ; 
and to this end, God. works in him, /or him, and 
h// him. Even the irreligious can see when the 
Most High distinguishes his followers : Joseph’s 

master saw that Jekovik w is iciih him. A. C.- 

He saw that Joseph was the object of supernat¬ 
ural care and favor ; and this Moses ascribes to 
its true source. 5. Aiasfl U etiiiac to ptiss 
from ISai5 llm^. The blessing of heaven 
previous to Joseph’s advancement to the stew¬ 
ardship had rested more especially upon him¬ 
self and his doings. He had been made to 
prosper in a signal manner, and Potiphar was 
constrained to acknowledge it. But now from 
this time the blessing of the Lord w'as upon 
Potiphar, upon all that he had, whether in the 
house or the field, but still for Joseph’s sake. 
As Potiphar had shown himself disposed to 
favor, the Lord’s servant, the Lord will repay 
his kindness by blessing him. Bush. 

Joseph came into Egypt soon after he was 17 
(ch. 37 :2) ; he was thirteen years in Potiphar’s 
service and in prison -of these, more than two 

in prison. B.- 7-15. Quite in contrast with 

the usual oriental custom, women were exempt 
from seclusion, and moved in society with ap¬ 
parently entire freedom. This appears in the 
family of Potiphar. The ancient sculptures and 
jiaintings found in their tombs give a very full 
view of the domestic life of the ancient Egyp¬ 
tians, no point of which is more striking than 
the high social position of woman and the en¬ 
tire absence of the harem system of seclusion. 
“ The wife is called the lady of the house.” Ac¬ 
cording t:) the monuments the women in Egypt 
lived under far less restraint than in the East, 
or even in Greece. Wilkinson’s Egypt is full of 
testimony to this point. (Hengstenberg’s Mosen, 
p. 24 ) H. C. 

7-10. Joseph resists the daily solicitations 
of his master's wife. None greater in this house 
than I. He pleads the unreserved trust his 
master had reposed in him. He is bound by 
the law of honor, the law of chastity {this great 


evil), and the law of piety {sin against God). 
Joseph uses the common name of God in ad¬ 
dressing this Egyptian. He could employ no 
higher pleas than the above. M. 

Joseph’s bearing in ihis case was worthy to 
be put on jjermanent record to pass down 
through all future generations to the end of 
time, a perfect model of both virtue and wis¬ 
dom —the virtue that resists seductive tempta¬ 
tion with unwavering firmness ; and the wisdom 
that comprehends and apjilies the ijerfect 
methods of resisting temptation. Josejih did 
not dally with his tempter ; did not suffer the 
temptation to gather new force, but met it in¬ 
stantly with the strongest considerations pos¬ 
sible—“ How can I do this great wickedness 
iind sin again.'it God?” The sense of a present 
God settled the question forever. There was 
indeed another line of consideration. Potiphar 
had trusted him most entirely ; shall he abuse 
this trust ? Never. Thus Joseph’s course was 
at once decided. H. C. 

All the spite of his brethren vvas not so great 
a cross to him as the inordinate affection of his 
mistress. Temptations on the right hand are 
now more perilous and hard to resist, by how 
much they are more plausible and glorious ; 
but the heart that is bent upon God knows how 
to walk steadily and indifferently betwixt the 
pleasures of sin and fears of evil. He saw this 
pleasure would advance him ; yet resolves to 
contemn : a good heart vvill rather lie in the 
dust, than rise by wickedness. ‘‘ How shall I 
do this, and sin against God?” He knew that 
all the honors of Egypt could not buy off the 
guilt of one sin, and therefore abhors her com¬ 
pany : he that will be safe from the acts of 
evil must wisely avoid the occasions. As sin 
ends ever in shame when it is committed, so it 
makes us past shame that we may commit it. 

Bp. II. -By the grace of God he was enabled 

to resist the fierce assault, and to baffle a plot 
against his innocence more formidable than the 
cruel machinations of his brethren against his 
life. He achieved a victory over himself, such 
as has seldom been witnessed in this fallen 

world. Bush. -Nothing can be nobler than a 

true and thorough manhood, wdiere, amid the 
seductions of sense, the soul still retains the 
mastery of itself by retaining its loyalty to God. 
Ilamilton, 

9. Sin a|raiii§t Ciacl. The direct sin 
w^ould have been against his master ; but 
Joseph clearly lecognized that the true guilt of 
all sin consists in its breach of the law, and 

disobedience to the will of God. E. H. B.- 

So did David, after his great sin, in his peniten¬ 
tial utterance : “ Against thee, thee only, have I 
sinned.” B. 

The sin he w^as tempted to, considering his 
youth, his beauty, his single state, and his 
plentiful living at the table of a ruler, wars a sin 
which, one would think, might most easil}’’ 
beset him and betray him. The tempter w^as 
his mistress, wdiorn it was his place to obey and 
his interest to oblige, W'hose favor would con¬ 
tribute more than anything to his jirtferment, 
and by whose means he might nriive at the 
highest honors of the court. On the other 
hand, it was at his utmost peril if he slighted 
her and made her his enemy. 0|)portunity 
favored the temptation. The tempter w^as in 












SEOTIOJY 66.—GENESIS 89 : 1-23. 


497 


the house with him ; his business led him to 
be, without ony suspicion, where she was : 
none of the family were within, there appeared 
no danger of its being ever discovered, or, if it 
should be suspected, his mistress would protect 
him. To all this was added importunity, fre¬ 
quent constant importunity, to such a degree 
that at last she laid violent hands on him. His 
resistance of the temptation was very brave, and 
the victory truly honorable. The almighty 
grace of God enabled him to overcome this as¬ 
sault of the enemy, lloio can I do this? not 
only, Iloio .Hhai If or How dare If but Hnc 
can If “ Not only sin against my master, my 
mistress, myself, my own body and soul ; but 
against God?" The worst thing in sin is that 
it is against God, against his nature and his 
dominion, against his love and his design. 
They that love God, for this reason hate sin. H. 

What is his answer to the temptation ? God ! 
There is no other true answer. When the 
tempter comes we must take wing, and get j 
away to God ! There are temptations in life — 
temptations at every turniug of the street — 
temptations in all the evolutions of daily cir¬ 
cumstances—temptations that come suddenly, 
unexpectedh% flatteringly. There is no true, 
all-conquering, all-triumphant answer to the 
temptation of the devil but this, — God/ He 
will deliver, if so be we put our trust in him. 
J. P. 

The words to his master's wife, “Can I do 
ikis great wl-kedness, and sin against G<>d tell 
us that the child of the covenant believes the 
covenant. Awaj' from the tents in which he , 
has been brought up, —without any outward I 
tokens to remind him of any lessons he has re- | 
ceived there, in an hour of tremendous tempta- | 
tion, —he confesses a righteous liuler, whom j 
he is to obey ; he trusts in him, and does obey I 
him ; he goes to prison for it. . . . We are in j 
danger, when any great trial ot_ our moral j 
strength comes, of sinking ignominiously, if we | 
have nothing better to rely ujoon than calcula- i 
tions of consequences, or religious terrcrs, or a ! 
sense of honor ; all which the gusts of pission j 
may scatter to the winds. Be sure that nothing | 
will avail but trust in a present Helper and De- | 
iiverer ; of One who cares more for us than we i 
care for ourselves ; who will not suffer any who | 
trust in Him and not in themselves, to fall from 
Him. Minrice. 

V2. This second time is Joseph stripped of 
his garment : before in the violence of envy, 
novv of lust ; before of necessitj^ now of choice ; 
before to deceive his father, now his master ; 
for, behold, the pledge of his fidelit 3 \ which 
he left in those wicked hands, is made an evi¬ 
dence against him of that which he refused to 
do. Therefore did he leave his cloak, because 
he would not do that of which he is accused and 
condemned because he left it. What safety is 
there against great adversaries, when even argu¬ 
ments of innocence are used to convince of evil? 
Lust is a cLsper^te madness when it is op¬ 
posed ; no hatred burns so furiously as that 
which arises from the quenched coals of love. 
Bp. Hall. 

Josepli fled, and ;?ot Iiiiii out. To 

know when to fight and wtien to fiy, are of great 
importance in the Christian life. Some temp¬ 
tations must be manfully met, resisted, and 

32 


thus overcome : from others we must fiy. Pie 
who stands to contend or reason is infallibly 

ruined. A C.-There is but one thing which 

jou have to fear in eaith or heaven, — being un¬ 
true to your better selves, and therefore untrue 
to God. If you will not do the ihing you know 
to be right, and say the thing you know to be 
true, then indeed you are weak. You aie a 
coward, and sin against God, and suffer the pen¬ 
ally of your cowardice. You desert God, and 
therefore you cannot expect him to stand by 

you. C. Kingsley. -Not for what we can make 

l)y it, or for what it is worth, but for what il is, 
and for its lelationship to God, let us do the 
light, and we may rtst assured, however it may 
be now, that in the end we shall be on the win¬ 
ning side, for character is success— not position, 
not prosperity, not reputation—but character, 
and d is made and haidened and tenqiered in 
the fire of trial. Leave the reputation and the 
success, then, to look after themselves, ami be 
not disconcerted if they should both be for a 
lime under a cloud ; but look well to the char¬ 
acter, for that is the main thing, and the life 
that secures that for Christ is always worth liv¬ 
ing. W. M. T. 

I4-B8, Inordinate desire is turned to re¬ 
venge. She charges upon him the ciime of 
which she heiself vas alone guilij^ and she 
shows the evidence of his purity as the proof of 
liis guilt. To appearances, the innocent one is 
the guilty ; the guilty one is the innocent Ac¬ 
cordingly Joseph is cast iido ] ris( n. Potiphai's 
palace has crumbled to decay, and Potiphar’s 
wife has long since entered a world whtre false¬ 
hood will not shield the guilty ; but slander still 
lives, and has ns temporary triumphs. It seems 
to have a marvellous adaptation to all countries, 
to all ages, and to all slates of sc'cretj^ Born 
of malice, fed on ruined reputations, clad in the 
stolen robes of virtue and polished into the like¬ 
ness of a holy detestation of wrong-doing— slan¬ 
der, notwithstanding her innate loathsomeness, 
has attained a prominence wLich true goodness 
deplores exceedingly. As in Joseph’s case, the 
virtue which vice cannot conquer it is almost 
certain to malign. J S. V. 

20. The incident is related because it formed 
a necessary link in the chain of circumstances 
that brought him before Pharaoh. And however 
strong his temjotation may have been, more 
men would be found who could thus have 
spoken to Potiphar’s wife, than who could have 
kept silence when accused by Potiphar. For 
his purity you will find his equal, one among a 
thousand; for his mercy scarcely one. 'the 
word is on his tongue that can put a very differ¬ 
ent face on the matter, but rather than utter 
that word, Joseph wdll suffer the stroke that 
otherwise must fall on his master’s honor. He 
is content to lie under the crrrel suspicion that 
he had in the foulest w'ay wronged the man 
whom most he should have regarded, and whom 
in point of fact he did enthusiastically serve. 
There w'as one man in Egypt whose good will 
he prized, and this man now scorned and con¬ 
demned him, and this for the very act by whidi 
Joseph had proved most faithful and deserving. 
Bods. 

21-23, The contrast could scarcely be greater 
than between his former prophetic dreams and 
his present condition. But even so Joseph re- 







498 


DREAM8 OF TWO IMPRISONED OFFICERS. 


mained steadfast. And, as if to set before us 
the other contrast between sight and faith, the 
sacred text expressly states it : “ But ” — a word 
on which oar faith should often lay emphasis— 
“ Jehovah was with Josejah, and showed him 
mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the 
keejier of the prison.” By and by, as his in¬ 
tegrity more and more appeared, the charge of 
the prisoners was committed unto him ; and 
as “ what he did Jehovah made to prosper,” 
the whole management of the prison ultimately 
passed into Joseph’s hands. Thus, here also 
Jehovah proved Himself a faithful covenant- 
God. A silver streak was lining the dark cloud. 
But still must “ patience have her perfect 
work.” A E. 

In the account of Joseph’s imprisonment is 
given to us an explanation of one of the mys¬ 
teries of this our human life. It is a mystery 
that often sinfulness and selfishness reap the 
prizes here, while goodness and integrity have 
to endure the ills of this life. It is as if we 
thought that the Everlasting rewarded the good¬ 
ness of his servants as a foolish mother giving 
her child that which is pleasant to the taste. 
We do well, and suffer tor it ; and then we 
complain that we have not our reward in ma¬ 
terial pro.sperity. Shortly after his imprison¬ 
ment, Joseph was released, his merit acknowl¬ 
edged, and almost regal dignity conferred upon 
him. Whereupon we say, “ Now all is right, 
merit has its reward and with this poetical 
justice we are satisfied. But this is not the 
justice of God’s world. Are these, then, the re¬ 
wards of well-doing,—horses and carriages, the 
royal robe, and the knee bowed before him ? Is 
it with these things, quite earthly, that the 
Everlasting rewards celestial qualities V Neither 
in this world nor in the world to come are these 
the rewards of goodness. What was Joseph’s 
reward? Not the rank conferred upon him; 
but this—to be pure, to be haunted by no prin¬ 
ciple of remorse ; to see God, to have the vision 
of the King in his beauty, to know and to feel 
that he is near. Think you that from this the 
dungeon could take much, and that to this his 
earthly honors could add anything? The re¬ 
ward of well-doing is God. Robertson. 

The case of Joseph proves that all the suffer¬ 
ing in this world cannot he retribution for sin. 
There may be great suffering which cannot in 
any true sense be the punishment of crime. 
Further, this case illustrates some of the ends 
which God aims to secure by permitting the 
sufferings of the good ; e.g. to discipline them 
to patience under suffering, and to trust in God 


I in the midst of darkness and in spite of it, 
Joseph’s slavery and prison life in Egypt would 
have been simpl}'' miserable without this pa¬ 
tience and this trust in the Lord his God. 
Everything in the future as before his eye was 
dark enough ; but he knew there was a God of 
loving kindness above - a God who made no 
mistakes, yet whose iDurposes were often too 
deep for afflicted man to fathom, and therefore 
a God whom his children should learn to trust 
as certainly doing all things well. 

Again ; the case serves to reveal God’s pity 
and his love in that he goes with his children 
into their slave-life and into their prison-life 
with such smiles of favor, such tokens of his 
presence, as may W'ell make them joyful in the 
most terrible affliction. As Paul and Silas 
prayed and sang praises within the cold, deso¬ 
late walls of a prison while yet smarting under 
the Roman scourge, and with perhaps some 
prospect of sufferings more severe wdien another 
day should dawn ; so Joseph found the Lord 
with him when he reached Egypt a slave ; with 
him when cast into prison because he virtu¬ 
ously repelled a temptation to crime. God was 
there, proving to his strvant Joseph that no 
surroundings are so dark flat God’s manifested 
presence will not make them light—that no suf¬ 
ferings and no bereavements are so severe that 
God cannot throw his smile upon the sufferer 
and fill his soul v\ith overflowing joy ! 

Yet again ; this lesson teaches that God uses 
means apparently rough and stern to prepare 
his servants for higher responsibilities and more 
signal blessings. We cannot say what Joseph 
would have been if he had remained in the 
bosom of his father’s home through all those 
years from sev'enteen to thirty, instead of being 
in God’s school of suffering and trial ; but it is 
safe to say that he made rapid strides forward 
in this school of God—in his knowledge of hu¬ 
man nature ; in his quick and manifest sym- 
jiathy with every one in trouble ; in his skill to 
gain the confidence of those about and above 
him ; in his capacity for business ; and not 
least in his living piety^ and his humble w^alk 
with God. His surroundings threw him roughly 
upon his own resources, and at the same time 
sw’eetly upon God’s resources ; in consequence 
he rose, as few men have even been fit to rise, 
from slave-life and prison-life, to be the actuary 
of a great kingdom—the almoner of bread and 
of life to the nations of the then civilized world ; 
and also to become one of the most exalted and 
spotless characters of all history. Are not the 
ways of God truly wonderful ? H. C. 


Section 67. 

DREAMS OF TWO IMPRISONED OFFICERS. THE EGYPT AND PHARAOH OF JOSEPH. 

Genesis 40 : 1-23. 

1 And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker 

2 offended their lord the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was w^roth against' his tw'o officers, 

3 against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. And he put them in w’ard 
in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. 







SECTION 67.-GENESIS 40 : 1-23. 


490 


4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he ministered unto them : and 

5 the,\ continued a season in ward. And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his 
dream, in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the 

6 baker of the king of Lg^’pt, vvdiich were bound in the prison. And Joseph came in unto them 

7 in the morning and ^a\v them, and, behold, they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh’s officers 
that were with liini in ward in his master’s house, saying. Wherefore look ye so sadly to-daj'? 

8 And they said unto liim, SVe have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it. 
And Joseph sai I unto them. Do not interpretations belong to God ? tell it me, 1 pray you. 

9 And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him. In my dream, behold, a vine 

10 was before me ; ami in the vine were three blanches : and it was as though it budded,’a; d its 

11 blossoms shot forth ; ami the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes : and Pharaoh's cup 
was in my hand ; and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Phaiaoh s cup, and I gaie the 

12 cup into Pharaoh’s hand. And Joseph said unto him, This is the inteipretation of it ; the 

13 three branches are three days; within yet three days shall Phaiaoh lift uji thine head, and 
restore thee unto thine office : an I thou shalt give Pharaoh’s cup into his Land, after the 

14 former manner when thou wast his butler. But have me in thy remembrance when it shall Vie 
well with thee, an I shew kindness, 1 pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pha- 

15 raoh, and bring me out of this h'^uso ; for indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the 
Hebrews : and here also hav’e I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon. 

16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in 

17 my dream, and, behold, three baskets of white bread were on mj'head : and in the uppeimost 
ba-ket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh ; and the birds did eat thtm cut of 

18 the b isket upon my head. And Joseph answered and said. This is the interpretatic n thereof : 

19 the three baskets are three days ; within yet three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy h« ad ficm off 

20 thee, and shall hang thee on a tree ; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee. And it 
came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a ftast unto all his 
servants : and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and the head of the chief baker anrong 

21 his servants. And he restore>l the chief butler unto his l)utlership again ; anel he gave the 

22 cup into Pharaoh’s hand : but he hanged the chief baker ; as Joseph had inteipreted to them. 

23 Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him. 


View this interesting life as you may, study it 
at any point, and the truth uttered by David 
must appear to your mind ; “ The steps of a 
good man are ordered by the Lord, and he de- 
lighteth in his way,” In no life could the hand 
of God be more visible, for it leads him through 
some of the most trying experiences that ever 
befell a mortal ; and y^’et every experi* nee, how¬ 
ever bitter, seems only a rugged path to greater 
heights and grander associations. Nor was all 
this mere chance. Look at his life closely and 
you will see, fr.rin beginning to end, that it was 
one of conformity to the ways of God—that the 
rule of right was that by which it was governed. 

S. T. Grail im. 

Tnere was nothing beyond the ordinary proc¬ 
esses of nature, as far as human observation 
can extend, in the circumstances which led to 
the imprisonment of Joseph, and to that of 
Pharaoh’s butler and baker. And there is as 
little of the sensibly marvellous in the restoia- 
tive process which took the butler and baker 
out of prison, as in the former process which 
carried them there—though it was a determin¬ 
ing Providence which fixed every footstep of 
b >th. There was nothing beyond the ordinary 
play of interests and passions in a court that 
any common observer could have discerned— 
in the birthday feast, or in the restoration of 
the butler, or in the execution of the baker, or 
lastly, in the forgetful ingratitude of the butler. 

T. C.-At many critical points Joseph’s life 

touches the lives of others, and is thereby car¬ 
ried so much the further forward towaid the 
attainment by him of the place which God was 
preparing for him. Yet Joseph, if he had 
chosen to act otherwise than he did, might have 
thrown away all the opportunities which these 
places of junction in his life afforded hiui. 
But he fell in with God’s plan. He could see 


the chance—speaking after the manner of men 
— when it came, and could use it to the highest 
advantage. And by all this he was steadily 
preparing himself for the place which God in 
his plan was preparing for him. Then Provi¬ 
dence is not fatalism, and if you would avail 
yourself of the opportunities which God fur¬ 
nishes at the critical tuinings of your history, 
watch 3 ’our character, and seek so to meet 
everything as from him, and so to serve him in 
everything, that when the important time ar¬ 
rives you can recognize itsralue, and improve 
it for his glory rn your own advancenunt. The 
men that fail in life do not fail for want (f such 
opportunities as Josejih had, but for want of the 
character to see these opportunities, and the 
ability to use them. Keej) near to God, form 
your character according to his principles, and 
then you will find a way to s<Tve him, and 
will feel that somehow you ate on the ra ad to 
vour success, and in training for your sphere. 
Nv. M. T. 

If the special intentions of Providence toward 
individuals were effected by the aid of super 
natural interpositions, the power and presence 
of the Supreme Disposer might indeed be more 
strikingly displayed ; but his skill much less. 
And herein especially is manifested the perfec¬ 
tion of the Divine wisdom, that the most sur¬ 
prising conjunctions of events are brought about 
by the simplest means, and in a manner that 
is perfectly in harmony with the ordinary ccuise 
of human affairs. This is in fact the great 
miracle of providence—that no miracles are 
needed to accomplish its purposes. Countless 
series of events are travelling on from remote 
quarters toward the same point ; and each 
series moves in the beaten track of ordinary 
occurrences ; but their intersection, at the very 
moment in which they meet, shall serve, per- 




500 


DREAMS OF TWO IMPRISONED OFFICERS. 


haps, to give a new direction to the affairs of 
an empire. The mdterUds of the machinery of 
providence are all of ordinary cprality ; but their 
combination displays nothing less than infinite 
Hklil. I. T. 

1 - 4 . We should not have had this s'tory of 
Pharaoh’s butler and baker recorded in IScripl- 
ure, if it had not been servicetible to Josepii’s 
j)refernient. The world stands for the sake of 
the church, and is governed for its good. H. 

4, These high otticers of stale (for such they 
were, in accordance with Oriental usage ; com¬ 
pare the case of Nehemiah, Neh, 2 ; 1-9) were 
treated with the consideration due to their 
rank, while the issue of their arrest was pend¬ 
ing. The captain of the life-guard himself 
assigned Joseph as their personal attendant. 

T. J. C.-Joseph had now ample opportunity 

for acquiring information which afterward stood 
him in good stead for apprehending the charac¬ 
ter of Pharaoh, and tor making himself ac- 
(juainted with many details of his government, 
and with the general condition of the people. 
Officials in disgrace would be found much more 
accessible and much more communicative of 
important information than officials in court 
favor could have been to one in Joseph’s posi¬ 
tion. D >ds. 

5. It is easy to ascertain the point of connec¬ 
tion for the dreams of these two captives. They 
knew that Pharaoh’s birthday was to be in 
three days, and from the analogy of former ex¬ 
periences, they would anticipate that their fate 
would then probably be decided. Falling 
asleep with such thoughts, wishes, hopes, and 
fears, their dreams were only a continuation of 
their waking thinking, when the power of an¬ 
ticipation, awakened while the external senses 
were asleep, descended into their thoughts. 
Conscience may also have had a jiart in giving 
its peculiar cast to each of the dreams. K. 

S. Tell it SJIC, E pray y®ii. Joseph was 
conscious of an extraordinary prophetic impulse 
upon his spirit, enabling him to act the part of 
an interpreter. Yet he required that the 
dreams should first be made known to him. 
God could easily have saved him the trouble of 
learning from the men what they had dreamed. 
The same Spirit that taught him to interpret 
could have made known to him the dreams, as 
we know was the case with Daniel in the court 
of Nebuchadnezzar. But in this instance the 
diearns had not been forgotten by the dreamers, 
and God does not impart that knowledge supei- 
naturally which can be acquired by the ordinary 
methods. It was sufficient for Joseph to be 
enabled to show the meaning of the dreams 
when informed what they were. Bush. 

Joseph in becoming the interpreter of the 
dreams of other men became the fulfiller of his 
own. Had he made light of the dreams of his 
fellow-pri.soners because he had already made 
light of his own, he would, for aught we can 
.see, have died in the dungeon. And, indeed, 
what hope is left for a man, and what deliver¬ 
ance is possible, when he makes light of his 
own most sacred experience, and doubts whether 
aitt-r all there was any Divine voice in that part 
of his life which once he felt to be full of signifi¬ 
cance? We cannot but leave behind us many 
“ childish things,” beliefs that we now recog¬ 
nize as mere superstitions, hopes and fears 


which do not move the maturer mind. But 
when a supposed advance in the knowledge of 
things spiritual robs us of all that sustains true 
spiritual life in us, and begets contempt of our 
own past experience ; when it ministers not at 
all to the growth in us of-what is tender and 
pure and loving and progressive, mb cannot but 
question whether it is not a delusion rather 
than a truth that has taken possession of ns. 
Dnds. 

O-E'y. When they heard his words of sym- 
jiathy, the dreamers told him their visions. 
The dream of each rooted itself in and grew out 
of his foimer occupation, and they are illus¬ 
trated in almost every particular by the repie- 
sentations found in these later years on the 
Egyptian monuments. 

14, 15. The dream of the cup-bearer was in¬ 
terpreted by Joseph to mean that within three 
day's he would be restored to his office ; and, 
showing the implicitness of his faith in the 
truth of the revelation, he accompanied his ex¬ 
planation with this pathetic statement and wist¬ 
ful request--" But think on me whin it shall bo 
well with thee, and show kindness, I pi'ay thee, 
unto me, and make mention cf me unto Pha¬ 
raoh, and bring me out of this house ; fcr in¬ 
deed I was s*olen away out of the land of tho 
Hebrews, and here also have I done nothing 
that they' should put me into the dungeon.” 
Ah ! yes, captivity is still captivity, though the 
slave be set over other slaves ; a prison is still 
a prison, though the piisoner be intrusted in it 
with the charge cf others ; and this ] laintivo 
appeal lets us see deep down in Joseph’s heait 
to the very quick of his distress. W. M. T. 

-He does not reflect upon his breth eu that 

sold him, he only says, 1 was stolen out if the, 
hind of the Hebrews, that is, unjustly sent awny 
thence, no matter where the fault was. Nor 
does he reflect on the wrong done him in this 
imprisonment by his mistress that was his pros¬ 
ecutrix, and his master that was his judge ; 
Imt mildly avers his own innocence : Here have 
I done nolhinj, that (hey shotdd put me i do (he 
dungeon. H. 

lu I'salm 105, ver. 17-19, we read : “ He sent 
a man before them : Joseph was sold for a 
slave. They (ormented his feet with fetters; hi.i 
soul came into iron, until the time when his woid 
came ; the word of the Lord cleared him.” The 
road to the throne lay through the prison ; and 
but for the hateful fetteis which toimented 
Joseph, he would never have worn the signet 
from Pharaoh’s hand, nor the golden chain 
which Pharaoh flung round his neck, From 
ruling the state prison, he was called to rule 
the state. ” The word of the Lord cleared 
him,’’and all the bright dreams of his youth 
were outdone. He learned by happy experience, 
that the great Buhr cf men is no austere capri¬ 
cious ty'rant, but a most just and graciorrs Lord. 
With his good he overcame the evil that was in 
his brethren, turning their hatred to love and 
self-reproach. The night in which he sat 
ushered in a long and brilliant day. If his 
fetters tormented him, it was only that he 
might grow perfect through suffering ; if the iron 
tntered into his soul, il was onhy that it miijht make 
him strong. 

It would seem, indeed, to be a law of the Di¬ 
vine governurent, that ia proportion as men are 












SECTION 67.~GENES/S 40 : 1-23. 


501 


great in capacities for service, tliej^ should have 
(heir capacities developed hy bitter aud long 
sudained afflictions. “ I he poets learn in suf¬ 
fering what they leach in song.” It is almost 
impossible to recall a teacher or saint of ancient 
times whose earlier yeais v\ere not familiar with 
sorrovv aud defeat, who was not hampered and 
obstructed on every side from the very moment 
in which he set himself to teach a new liuth, or 
to eiif )rce a jiurer morality. Patriarchs, jiroph 
ets, [isdiuists, apostles were all tormented with 
these fetters, and felt the iron of them in their 
very souls. It is a good thing to hove iron in 
the soul, although to (jet it there involves so 
great a p.iiu. Iron in the soul is as lequi.'.ile 
as iron in the blood, as indispensable to spirit¬ 
ual strength as to physical health, if by “ iron” 
we understand, as we may, the manly hardness 
which can endure the blows of adverse circum¬ 
stance, the shocks of change. We can be pa¬ 
tient and hopeful when once we are assured 
that all our defeats and disappointments, our 
failures and reverses and broken illusions, are 
parts of the disciplin3 by which Gotl is tiaining 
us for the work we long to do, and are qualify¬ 
ing us to enjoy the freedom we crave. If only 
our character is being moulded and hardened, 
and its capacities brought out by suffering, 
then it is not unjust of God to inflict suffering 
upon us. It is not unjust, although we have 
not deserved the suffering, nor can ever deserve 
it : it is most tender and gracious, since He Mdio 
is afflicted in all our afflictions will be very sure 
not to lay upon us more than we are able to 
bear, and is thus preparing us to be and do all 
that we most desire to do .and be. If we can 
become perfect only through suffering, shall we 
not thank Him for the suffering which perfects 
us ? If only as we learn to rule in the prison of 
deferred opportunities and defeated ho]>es, we 
can become fit to rule over the “ many cities” 
of the heavenly kingdom, sh.all we shrink from 
the prison which leads to the throne V If the 
iron nmsi enter our souls that we may be strong 
ami I the flatteries and the adversities ( f fm- 
tunf', shall even the fetters which torment us be 
unwelcome to us? If the world wants iron 
dukes and iron men, God wants iron saints, and 
therefore he suffers the iron to enter into their 
souls. Cox .. 


Egyptian history' is divided into three grand 
epochs. The old empire, from Menes till the in¬ 
vasion of the Shepherd kings ; the middle em¬ 
pire, continuing while the Hyksos held posses¬ 
sion of Lower Egypt ; and the nex) empire, dat¬ 
ing from the expulsion of the Shepherds, when 
all Egypt was reunited under the resplendent 
eigbte-^nth dynasty of Thebes. Egypt, so long 
enveloped in a mystery as deep as that which 
siirr Hinds the sphinx, has .at length a history : 
and her stone-engraved monuments are the liv¬ 
ing chroniclers of her mighty Past. In Thebes 
are the yet fresh and legible monuments of a 
city that had stood for sixteen centuries, when 
Rome was founded ; that for thirteen hundred 
years before David ascended the throne of 
Israel in Jerusalem, had furnished the ninjor 
part of the sovereigns of one of the gre.atest em¬ 
pires of the world ; that w.as at least eight cen¬ 
turies old when Cecrops founded Athens ; that 


had existed full four hundred years when Abia- 
ham pitched his teiit upon the mouniain of 
Bethel. If not the oldest luin in the woild — 
fur it disputes with Nineveh the palm of an¬ 
tiquity-it is the grandest and the best pre¬ 
served memorial of am ient times. But Thebes 
is not merely a mighty ru n of the pact. It is 
also a hisl07-y, and from the hieroglyphics of its 
temples and the sculptured chambers of its 
royal sepulchrts, it [iroclaims the great events 
of that dim antiquity conceining which we have 
no w’riitm record, but the fragmentaiy me¬ 
morials of the booR of Genesis. This rude his- 
toiy, carved in granite to commemorate the ex¬ 
ploits of kings, and to transmit their names 
and deeds wdih the imperishable sarcophagi of 
their embalmed dust, now interpieted by the 
skill of'learned men, brings incidental confii- 
mation to the history of the Old Testament, and 
nowhere contradicts that history. Each temple, 
each palace, eac-h obelisk, each tomb in Eg.^pt, 
is not only a monument, but a histoiy of an 
individual and his times, or of the nation at 
large. Deep in the face of the imperishable 
granite or of the firm sandstone that enters into 
I the structure of nearly every building and 
monument, are graven the names or titles of 
kings, their own full-length portraits, and the 
leading events of their reigns, in 1 attle scenes, 
coronation ceremonies, religious and civil pro¬ 
cessions,—a pictorial liihtoiy ef each monarch, 
with the manners and customs of the people. 
These sculptures, unimpaired by moisture or by 
the growth of lichens, in a climate of almost 
jierpetual diought, ancl in some instances pro¬ 
tected by the fine sand that has drifted in upon 
them from the desert, letain much of their 
original freshness, and are far more clean, legi¬ 
ble, and sharply defined, than sculptuies of a 
few hundred years ago upon the mined abbey.", 
monasteries, and cathedrals of England and 
Scotland The sculptuies and pictures upon 
the walls of tombs hewn from limestone rock, 
and jirotected from dampness by the absence t<f 
rain and of vegetable growth, likewise reiain in 
f>>rm and in coloring a distinctness that makes 
them the speaking witnesses of buiied gener¬ 
ations. From these records of stinj must we 
learn the history of Egypt, unwrilttn in bocks, 
J. P. T. 

The key to the ancient Egyptian language is 
the celebrated Rosetta stone, a slab of black 
marble, found by the French in 1799 "near the 
mouth of the Rosetta branch of the Nile, and 
now in the British Museum. It contains a de¬ 
cree, written in sacred, enchorial, and Grerk 
characters, respecting the coronation of Ptolemv 
V. Epiphanes. Die. B. 

Ab lut two hundred years after the time of 
Abraham, the history of Joseph brings Egjpt 
under review, with a pictorial vividness w'hich. 
has its parallel in no other record for at least 
more than a thousand years. When w'e com¬ 
bine the scattered references in the later chap¬ 
ters of Genesis, they represent a remarkably 
compact organiz.ation. The light falls on no 
stiictly primitive peoi^le, nor barbarous cu.s- 
toms, but on a very highly civilized community, 
skilled in agriculture, soci.al in habit, ancl ac¬ 
complished in various branches of art. The 
monarchy wdiich we rioted in Abraham’s time 
continues, and the king still bears the title of 







502 


THE EGYPT AND PHARAOH OF JOSEPH 


Pliara >h. He is absolute, or ncarl}' r^, commit¬ 
ting men to prison, and releasing them ; or, if 
he please, ordering their executions, ap[)ointing 
officers over tlie whole land, and taxing it ap¬ 
parently at his pleasure ; raising a foreigner 
suddenly to the second position in the king¬ 
dom, an I recpiiring all, without exception, to 
renter him obedience. “At the same time, 
the king has counsellors, or ministers, elders of 
his house, and others whose advice he asks, 
and without whoso sanction he does not seem | 
t) act in important matters.” He had a body- | 
guard under “a captain” a '‘chief confec¬ 
tioner,” a “ chief cup-bearer.” He rides in a 
chariot, and all pay him homage. There are 
distinct classes of soldiers, priests, physicians, 
sacre I scribes, magicians, and herdsmen. As 
betokening the stage of civilization which had 
been reache 1, there is mention made of line 
linen, golden chains, silver drinking-cups, 
wagrns, chariots, embalming, and coffins. In 
addition to these glimpses, wo have it stated 
that they carried burdens on the Jiead ; that 
they sat at meat, and did not recline, as was the 
comm )n custom in the East ; and that “ every 
shepherd was an abomination unto the Egyp¬ 
tians.” All these peculiarities are fully repre¬ 
sented in the monuments but especially is the 
last made prominent. Sir J. G. Wilkinson tells 
us that the artists delighted on all occasions in 
representing the shepherds as “ dirty and un- 
fihaven and that, on the tombs near the Pyr¬ 
amids of Geezeh, they are “ caricatured as a de¬ 
formed and unseemly race.” IE. Fraser. -It 

may be broadly stated that, in this entire de- 
scripti )n, there is not a single fraction which 
is not in harmony Mutli what we know of the 
Egypt of this remote period from other sources. 
Nay, more, almost every point in it is coii- 
hrmed, either by the classical writers, by the 
in uiuments, or by both. G. R. 

All agree in considering that one great land¬ 
mark in Egyptian history is the invasion and 
dominion of the Hvksos or Shepherd kings, 
and tliat another is the overthrow and expul¬ 
sion of these usurpers. The most eminent au¬ 
thorities designate the fifteenth, sixteenth, and 
seventeenth dynasties as those of the Shepherds. 
With the eighteenth a new epoch was inaugu¬ 
rated ; and as the Pharaoh of the time of the 
Exodus is now by most identified with Menep- 
thali, son of Himeses II , of the nineteenth 
dynasty, the Pharaoh of Joseph is sujiposed to 
be one of the kings of the seventeenth dynasty, 
whose date is in the later jiart of the Sheiiherd 
dominion. Joseph would thus be raised to his 
position as governor Of i-gypt by a king who, 
though himself a foreigner, and able to appre¬ 
ciate foreign merit, was one of those who had, 
as the result of the long sojourn of his people 
in the land, adopted Egyptian titles an 1 usages, 
and the king, ‘‘who knew not Joseph,’’ may 
liave belonged to the new dynasty by whom the 
Shepherds were expelled. W. M. T. 

The Pharaoh of Joseph was a despotic mon¬ 
arch, ruling all Egypt, who followed Egyptian 
customs, but did not hesitate to set them aside 
when he thought fit ; who seems to have desired 
to gain complete power over the Egyptians : and 
who favored strangers. These particulars sup¬ 
port the idea that he was an Egyptianized for¬ 
eigner rather than an Egyptiart If we turn to 


the old view that Joseph’s Pharaoh was one of 
the Shepherd kings, we are struck with the fit¬ 
ness of all the circumstances of the BiVilical nar¬ 
rative. It is stated b}' Eusebius that the Pha¬ 
raoh to whom Jacob came was the Shepherd 
Apophis. Apophis belonged to the lilteenth 
dynastv, which was certainly of Shepherds, and 
the most poweiful foreign line. This dynasty, 
according to Mr. Poole’s liew of Egyiitiaii 
chronology, ruled for either 284 years (Africa- 
hus), or ‘259 years 10 months (Josephus), from . 
about B.c. 2080. According to Hales’s chronol¬ 
ogy, which Mr. Poole would slightly' modify, 
Joseph’s government fell niubr this dynasty, 
j commencing about b o. 187G, during the reign 
I of the last but one or perhaps the last king of 
i the dynasty% possibly in the time of Apophis, 

! who ended the line according to Africaiiiis. 
i This dynasty' is said to have been ot Phoeni¬ 
cians. This king Mr. Poole regards as having 
reigned from Joseph’s appointment (or, per- 
ha^is, somewhat earlier) until Jacob’s death, at 
least twenty six y'ears, from b c. about 187G to 
1850, and as having been the filth or sixth king 
of the fifteenth dynasty'. Pic. B. 

Apepi (Apophis) was the last monarch of the 
Hyksos line (or Shepheids), probably Hittites. 
The best modern authorities think it in the 
highest degree probable that it was Apepi who 
made the gifted Hebrew (Joseph) his prime- 
minister, and who invited Jacob and his sons 
to settle in Egypt. . . . The Hy'ksos monarchs 
fixed their residence in the Delta itself ; they 
selected Tanis—an ancient Egyptian town of 
considerable impoitance—for the main seat of 
I their court. While maintaining a great fortihed 
camp at Avaris, on their eastern frontier, where 
they' lived sometimes, they' still more favored 
the quiet Egyptian city on the Tanitic branch 
of the Nile, where they could pass their time 
away from the sound of arms, amid ancient 
temples and sanctuaries dedicated to various 
Egyptian gods, which they allowed to stand, if 
they did not even use them for their own wor¬ 
ship. The Delta had never previously' been the 
residence of Egy'ptian kings, and it did not 
again become their residence until the time of 
the nineteenth dynasty, shortly before the Ex 
odus. Another peculiarity of the Hyksos jreriod, 
belonging especially to its later poition, is to 
be found in the religious views professed, pro¬ 
claimed, and enjoined upon subject princes. 
Apepi, according to the ms. known as “the 
First Sallier papyrus,” made a great movement 
in Low'er Egypt in favor of moni^heism. 
Whereas previc iisly the shepherd kings had al¬ 
lowed among their subjects, if they had not 
even yiractised themselves, the w'or.ship of a 
multitude of god.s, Apepi “ took to himself ” a 
single god “ for lord, refusing to serve any other 
god in the whole hind.” According to the 
Egyptian writer of the ms , the name under 
which he worshipped his god was ‘ Sutech,” 
who among the Hittites seems to have been 
ecjuivalent to Baal, and was certainly a sun-god, 
probably identified with the material sun itself, 
but viewed as having also a spiritual nature, 
and as thecieator and sustainer of the univeise. 
Apepi’s great temple of Sutech at Tanis was the 
natural outcome of his exclusive worship of thi.s 
god, and showed forth in a tangible and conspic¬ 
uous form the earnestness of his piety, G. li. 








SECTION 68.-GENESIS 41 : 1-57. 


503 


It is now certain that the narrative of the his¬ 
tory of Joseph aud the sojourn and exodus of 
the Israelites—that is to say, the portion from 
Genesis 39 to Exodus 15—so far as it relates to 
Egypt, is substantially not much later than b.c. 
1300 ; in other words, was written while the 
memory of the events was fresh. The minute i 
accuracy of the text is inconsistent with any 
later date. It is not merely that it shows knowl¬ 
edge of Egypt, but knowledge of Egypt under 
the llainessides and yet earlier. The condition 
of the country, the chief cities of the frontier, 
the composition of the army, are true of the age 
of the R.iinessides, anil not true of the age of 
the Pharaohs, contemporary with Solomon and 
his successors. If the Hebrew documents are 
of the close of the period of the kings of Judah, 
how is it that they are true of the earlier con¬ 
dition, not of that which was contemporary 
with those kings ? Wny is the Egypt of the law 
markedly ditfereiit from the Egypt of the proph¬ 
ets, each condition being described consistently 
with its Egyptian records, themselves contem¬ 
porary witn the events ? Why is Egypt de¬ 
scribed in the Law as one kingdom, and no 
hint given of the break-up of the Empire into 
the small principalities mentioned by Isaiah 
(19 ; 2) y Why do the proper names belong to 
the Kamesside and earlier age, without a single 
instance of those Semitic names which came 
into fashion with the Bubasiic line in Solomon’s 
time ? Why do Zoan-Rameses and Zoar take 
the places of Migdol and Tahpanhes V Why are 
the foreign mercenaries, such as the Lubrin, 
spoken of m the constitution of Egyptian armies 
in the time of the kingdom of Judah, wholly 
unmentioned ? The relations of Egypt with 


foreign countries are not less characteristic. 
The kingdom of Ethiopia, which overshadowed 
Egypt from before Hezekiah’s time and through¬ 
out his reign, is unmentioned in the earlier 
documents. The earlier Asyrian Empire, which 
rose for a time on the fall of the Egyptian, no- 
1 where appears. 

These agreements have not failed to strike 
foreign Egyptologists who have no theological 
bias. I'hese independent scholars, without ac¬ 
tually fotmulaiing any view of the date of the 
I greater part of the Pentateuch, appear uni¬ 
formly to treat its text as an authority to be 
cited aide by side with the Egyptian monu¬ 
ments. So Lepsius, in his leseaidies cn the 
date of the Exodus, and Brugsch, in his diccus- 
sion of the route, and ( habas, in his paper on 
Raineses and Pithan. Of couise it would be 
unfair to implicate any ime of these scholais in 
the inferences expressed above ; but, at the 
same time, it is impossible that they can, for 
instance, hold Kuenen’s theories of the date of 
the Pentateuch, so far as the pait relating to 
Egypt is concerned. They have taken the two 
sets of documents- Hebiew and Egyptian—side 
by side, and in the working cf elaborate prob¬ 
lems found everything consistent wdth accuracy 
on both sides ; and of couise accuiacy would 
not be maintained in a tradition handed down 
through several centuries. If the large poition 
of the Pentateuch relating to the Egyptian 
period of Hebrew history, including as it does 
Elohistic as well as Jehovistic sections, is of the 
remote antiquity here claimed for it, no one can 
doubt that the first four hooks of Moses are 
substantially of the same age. E. S. Poole. 


Section 68. 

DREAMS OF PHARAOH. ELEVATION OF JOSEPH. YEARS OF PLENTY. 

Genesis 41 ; 1-57. 

1 And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed ; and, behold, he 

2 stood by the river. And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, well favoured and 

3 fattieshed ; and they fed in the reed-grass. And, behold, seven other kine came up after 
them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed 5 and stood by the other kine upon the brink 

4 of the river. And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and 

5 fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. And he slept and dreamed a second time ; and, behold, seven 

C ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good. And, behold, seven ears, thin and 

7 blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them. And the thin ears swallowed up the seven 

8 rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream. And it came to pass 
in the morning that his spirit was troubled ; and he sent and called for all the magicians of 
Egypt, and all the wise men thereof : and Pharaoh told them his dream ; but there w'as none 

9 that could interpret them unto Pharaoh. Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying. 

10 I do remember my faults this day : Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward 

11 in the house of the captain of the guard, me and the chief baker : and wm dreamed a dream 
in one nighL^: and he ; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream. 

T ^.4 


/ 








504 


DREAMS OF PHARAOH. 


12 And there was with ns there a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard ; 
and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams 5 to each man according to his dream 

13 he did interpret. And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was ; me he restored 

14 unto mine office, and him he hanged. Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought 
him hastily out of the dungeon ; and he shaved himsell, and cdianged his raiment, and came 

15 in unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is 
none that can interpret it ; and I have heard say of thee, that when thou hearest a dream 

IG thou canst interpret it. And Joseirh answered Pharaoh, sa 3 ing. It is not in me : God shall 

17 give Pharaoh an answer of peace. And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I 

18 stood upon the brink of the river : and, behold, there came up out of the riv?r seven kine, 

19 fattieshed and well favoured ; and they fed in the reed-grass ; and, behold, seven other kine 
came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and leantieshed, such as I never saw in all the 

20 land of Egj'pt for badness • and the lean and ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat 

21 kine : and when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them ; 

22 but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginnirg. So I awoke. And I saw in mj’’ dream, 

23 and, behold, seven ears came up upon one stalk, full and good ; and, behold, seven ears, 

24 withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them : and the thin ears 
sw'allowetl up the seven good ears : and I told it unto the magicians ; but there wms none that 

25 could declare it to me. And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one ; what 

26 God is about to do he hath declared unto Pharaoh. The seven good bine are seven j^ears ; 

27 and the seven good ears are seven j ears ; the dream is one. And the seven lean and ill 
favoured kine that came up after them are seven j'ears, and also the seven empty ears blasted 

28 with the east wind ; they shall be seven j’ears of famine. That is the thing which I spake 

29 unto Pharaoh ; what God is about to do he hath shewed unto Pharaoh. Behold, there come 

<10 seven j’ears of great plenty throughout all the land of Egjpt ; and there shall arise after them 

seven years of famine ; and all the plentj’^ shall be forgotten in the land of EgyjDt ; and the 

31 famine shall consume the land ; and the plenty shall not be known in the land bj^ reason of 

32 that famine which followeth ; for it shall be very grievous. And for that the dream was 
doubled unto Pharaoh twice, it is because the thing is established bj' God, and God will 

33 shortly" bring it to pass. Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and vise, and set 

34 him over the land of Egyj^t. Let Pharaoh do ihis, and let him appoint overseers over the 

35 land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And let 
them gather all the food of these good j’ears that come, and lay up corn under the hand of 

36 Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. And the food shall be for a store to the 
land against the seven 3 ’ears of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt ; that the land 

37 perish not through the famine. And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the 

38 eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said unto his servants. Can we find such a one as this, 

39 a man in whom the spirit of God is ? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God 

40 hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou : thou shalt be over my 
house, and according unto thj' word shall all mj^ people be ruled ; only in the throne will I be 

41 greater than thorr. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land cf 

42 Egypt. And Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, 

43 and arraj^ed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck ; and he made 
him to ride in the second chariot which he had ; and they cried before him, Bow the knee : 

44 and he set him over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, 

45 and withorrt thee shall no man lift rrp his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt. And 
Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenath-paneah ; and he gave him to wife Asenath the 

46 daughter of Poti-phera priest of On. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt. And 
Joseph was thirty j'ears old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egv'pt. And Joseph went 

47 orrt from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughorrt all the land of Egypt. And in the 

48 seven plenteous j’ears the earth brought forth bj^ handfuls. And he gathered up all the food 
cf the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities : the 

49 food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he rip in the same. And Joseph laid 
up corn as the sand of the sea, verj^ much, until he left numbering ; for it was without num- 

50 her. And unto Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine came, which Asenath 

51 the daughttr of Poti-phera priest of On bare unto him. And Joseph called the name of the 
firstborn Manasseh ; For, said he, God hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s 


SECTION 68.-GENESIS 41 : 1-57. 


505 


52 house. And the name of the second called he Ephraim : For God hath made me fruitful in 

53 the land of my affliction. And the seven years of plentj', that was in the land of Eg^pt, came 

54 to an end. And the seven years of famine began to come, according as Joseph had said ; and 

55 there vas famine in all lands ; but in all the land of Eg 3 ^pt there was bread. And when all 
the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharach for bread ; and Pharaoh said 

56 unto ail the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph ; what he saith to you, do. And the famine was o\er 
all the face of the earth : and Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyp- 

57 tians , and the famine was sore in the land of Eg^^pt. And all countries came into Egj'pt to 
Joseph for to buy corn ; because the famine was sore in all the earth. 


1 - 36 . Joseph remained in prison two years 
longer, forgotten by the released cup-bearer, 
when Pharaoh was disturbed by dreams which 
none of the scribes or wise men of Eg 3 ^pt could 
interpret. Then the chief cup-bearer remem¬ 
bered his fault, and told Pharaoh of Joseph, 
who was brought out of prison, and set before 
the king. After bearing vdtness to the true 
God, as in the former case, by ascribing all the 
power of interpretation to him who had sent 
the dreams, he explained to Pharaoh their sig¬ 
nificance, which to an Egyptian was most strik¬ 
ing. The dream had been twofold, to mark its 
certain and speedy fulfilment. Seven years of 
an abundance extraordinary even for fruitful 
Egj'P't were to be followed by seven years of 
still more extraordinary dearth. In the first 
dream, the seven jmars of plenty were denoted 
by seven heifers, the sacred symbols of Isis, the 
goddess of production, which came up out of 
the river, the great fertilizer of Egypt, whose 
very soil is well called by Herodotus “ the gift 
of the Nile.” These w’ere beautiful and fat, as 
they fed on the luxuriant marsh-grass by the 
river’s bank ; but after them came up seven 
others, so ill looking and lean that Pharaoh had 
never seen the like for badness, which devoured 
the seven fat kine, and remained as lean as they 
were before. The second dream was still 
2 )lainer. There sprang up a stalk of that branch¬ 
ing Egyptian wheat which now' grows in our 
own fields from seed found in mummy-cases. 
That seen by Pharaoh had the unusual number 
of seven ears, full and good, denoting the seven 
j’ears of plenty. Then there sprang up another 
stalk, also bearing seven ears, thin and blasted 
with the east wind, and so mildew'ed that they 
infected and consumed the seven good ears. 
Josejih went further, and counselled Pharaoh 
to give some discreet jDerson authority over all 
the land, that he might store up the surplus 
corn of the seven j'ears of i^lenty against the 
seven j'ears of famine. P. S. 

1-45, God cannot neglect his owm, least of 
all in their sorrows. After tw'o years more of 
Joseph s patience, that God wdio caused him to 
be lifted out of the former pit to bo sold now 


calls him out of the dungeon to honor. He now 
puts a dream into the head of Pharaoh : he puts 
the remembrance of Josejrh’s skill into the head 
of the enp-boarer ; who to irleasure I’haraoh, 
not to requite Joseph, commends thepiisomr 
.for an inter[)reter ; he jruts an interpretation in 
the mouth of Joseph : he jruts into the heart cf 
Pharaoh this choice of a miserable prisoner, to 
make him the ruler of Eg^qrt. Behold : one 
hour hath changed his fetters into a chain of 
gold, his jail into a palace, Potiphar’s captive 
into his master's lord, the noise of his chains 
into “ Bow the knee.’’ He who refused the 
allurements of the wife of Potii)bar had now 
given him to his wife the daughter of Potiphei ah. 
Humility goes before honor ; serving and suffer¬ 
ing are the best tutors to government. How 
well are God’s children paid for their patience ! 
How happy are the issues of the faithful ! 
Tp. II. 

I. At the end of two fiilB years. For 

two full years after the restoration cf the cup¬ 
bearer to his office Joseph remained in the 
prison, occupying the position to which, for his 
trustworthiness and integrity, he had been 
raised. Although this delaj' w^as due to the un¬ 
grateful forgetfulness of the man to whom he 
had show'n so much kindness, and for whose in¬ 
tercession with the monarch he had so touch¬ 
ingly made request ; j’et the overruling provi¬ 
dence of God is clearly seen in the occasion and 
the time at which Joseph’s services were recalled 
to the remembrance of the butler, and brought 
b}’ him to the notice of the king. W. M. T. 

We have need of j^atience, not only bearing, 
but imiling patience. Joseph la^’in prison until 
the time that his word came (Ps. 105 :19p 
There is a time set for the deliverance of God's 
fieople ; that time will come, though it seem to 
tarry ; and when it comes, it will appear to 
have been the best time, and therefore w'e ought 

to wait for it. H.-B}' those years of prison 

life, as well as by the privations w’hich preceded, 
Joseph’s character w'as steadied into strength 
and ripened into maturity, so that w'hen his op¬ 
portunity came he used it wdth effect. They 
did for him what his forty years in Midian did 





506 


DREAMS OF PUARAOIL 


for Moses, and his eighteen months in Arabia 
did for Paul. They threw him in upon him¬ 
self, and back upon God. They disciplined 
him into calm self-possession, because they gave 
him a strong hold upon Jehovah. W. M. T. 

-As things turned out, it was well for Joseph 

that his friend did forget him. For, supposing 
the chief butler had overcome his natural re¬ 
luctance to increase his own indebtedness to 
Pharaoh d)y interceding fur a friend, and sup¬ 
posing Pharaoh had been willing to listen to 
him, what would have been the result ? Prob¬ 
ably that Joseph might have received his lib- 
ert 3 % and a free pass out of Egj^pt. In any 
probable case his career would have tended 
rather toward obscurity' than toward the fulfil¬ 
ment of his dreams. Rods. 

2-7, The j)articular3 of the dreams are all 
singularly appropriate. The scene is by the 
Nile, on which depends all the plenty of Egypt. 
The kine and the corn respectively denote the 
animal and the vegetable products of the coun¬ 
try. The cattle feeding in the reed-grass showed 
that the Nile was fertilizing the land and sup¬ 
porting the life of the beasts. The lean cattle 
and the scorched-up corn foreshadowed a time 
when the Nile, for some reason, ceased to irri¬ 
gate the land. The swallowing up of the fat by 
the lean signified that the produce of the seven 
years of plenty would be all consumed in the 
seven years of scarcity. E. H. B. 

The first dream is clothed in striking Egyptian 
emblematic figures. Egypt is the offspring of 
the Nile. The fertility of the land is yearly 
renewed by its overflowings. The cow is a very 
ancient emblem of the land, and of the earth 
generally, and was worshipped among the Egyp¬ 
tians as the goddess Isis. The Nile, Osiris, is 
honored under the form of a bull. Gerl. 

That the number of the cows should have 
been seven is a singular touch of true local col¬ 
oring, recognized only within a few years, but 
affording a striking proof of the exactness of the 
whole incident in its illustration of Egj'ptian 
modes of thought and life. Isis is often seen 
associated with seven cows ; a mystical number 
represented by the same word in Eg^^ptian, He¬ 
brew, and Sanscrit. So, also, Osiris is at times 
represented as attended by seven cows, his 
wives. At the summer solstice a cow was led 
seven times round his temple. That those in 
the dream should have been bathing in the Nile 
is, moreover, only a reproduction of paintings 
often seen on the monnmenls. Geikie. 

8. magicians. There is a wide region, a 
borderland between the two worlds of spirit 
and of matter, in which are found a great many 


mysterious phenomena which cannot be ex¬ 
plained by any known laws of nature, and 
through which men fancy they get nearer to the 
spiritual world. There are many singular ap¬ 
pearances, coincidences, forebodings, premoni¬ 
tions, toward which men have alwaj's been at¬ 
tracted. When men have no word from God to 
depend upon, no knowledge at all of where 
either the race or individuals are going to, they 
will eagerly grasp at anjdhing ihi^t even seems 
to shed a ray of light on their future. We make 
light of that whole category of i:)henomena, be¬ 
cause we have a more sure word of prophecy by 
which, as with a light in a dark place, w'e can 
tell where our next step should be, and what 
the end shall be. But invariably in heathen 
countries, where no guiding spirit of God was 
believed in, there existed a class of persons who 
undertook to satisfy the craving of men to see 
into the future. Duds. 

14. The fact of Joseph having shaved himself 
is in striking accord wdth the Egyptian custom, 
which was to let the beard «and hair grow in 
mourning only—otherwise most scrupulously 
shaving : whereas the Hebrews cultivated the 
hair and beard and shaved in token of mourn¬ 
ing. He changed his raiment, from the ordi¬ 
nary habit of the prison to that of ordinarj’ life 
or even of festal rejoicing. The fact of his hav- 
ing it in his power to do so shows that he was 

not treated as an ordinary prisoner. A'f. - 

The extreme personal cleanliness of the ancient 
Egyptians is indicated, not only in this shaving 
of Joseph, but in his change of raiment. The 
attention which the piiests, in particular, paid 
to this matter, is mentioned by divers ancient 
authors. But it was not confined to their order. 
“ Every Egyptian prided himself, ” says Wilkin¬ 
son, “ on the encouragement of habits which it 
was considered a disgrace to neglect.” Kit. 

16. €ro<l siEaall ;;ive Fliaraoli an an¬ 
swer. When Joseph professes to declare from 
God himself Avhat he was about to do, and when 
everything happened according to his predic¬ 
tions, it was undeniably evident that the God 
whom Joseph worshipped was the Buler of the 
universe, and that Joseph received from him 
that wdsdom in which he so far excelled all the 
magicians and wise men of Egypt. Thus the 
true God left not himself wdthout a witness in 
the most famous kingdom of the world, at a 
time when the grossest darkness enveloped most 
of the Gentile nations. Bush. 

26, 27. The fertility of a year depended 
upon the due proportion of the Nile-inundation. 
Too much or too little of it would necessarily 
bring dearth and famine. Hence both the fat 






507 


SECTION 68.—GENESIS 41 : 1-57. 


and the lean kine which were seen to ascend 
from the Nile were symbols either of years of 
fruitfulness or of deaith. K.-The explana¬ 

tion of the inundation is as follows ; The White 
Nile, fed by the immense equatorial lakes, which 
are themselves supported by a rainfall lasting for 
more than nine months out of the twelve, and 
which constitute great natural reservoirs, sends 
down a constant, vast, and only slightly varj"- 
ing stream nf water to the sea. Unlike it, how¬ 
ever, the Blue and the Black tributaries are 
largely intermittent, and in the dry season 
would fail, without the White River, to reach 
the Mediterranean at all. On the other hand, 
without these two adluents the Nile would have 
no flood, and, even if it had, would leave little 
or no alluvial deposit. But the heavy summer 
rains in Abyssinia, which fall between May and 
September, wash down the rich lands of that 
country by the Blue Nile and the Atbara, and 
these, added to the ordinary current of the 
White Nile, increase its volume so as to cause 
the periodical overflow, and at the same time 
to charge its waters with red argillaceous mud 
to such an extent that when spread over a wide 
surface, and allowed sufticient slackness of cur¬ 
rent for the purpose, they precipitate over the 
land that rich alluvial dressing which enables 
it to i^roduce a constant series of the most 
abundant harvests. Thus, roughly speaking, 
the White Nile supplies the unfailing volume of 
water, and the Abyssinian tributaries give the 
annual inundation. The river begins to rise'at 
Cairo about the end of June, and goes on in¬ 
creasing until the end of September, then, after 
remaining at the same level for a few days, it 
commences to fall, and continues to do so until 
about the middle of the following May. If the 
rise be less than twenty-four feet there will bo 
a scanty harvest, and if less than twenly there 
will be a famine ; but if it exceed thirty, the 
>illages will be flooded, and great damage will 
be the result.* W. M. T. 

30-30. When there was famine in Canaan 
in the days of Abraham, there was jilenty in 
Egypt ; and so established was its character in 
this respect, tliat it was frequently called the 
[jranary of ihe world. Yet Joseph here foretells 
that there should not only be a grievous famine 
in Egypt, but a famine so terrible that all the 
luxuriant plenty of the former fruitful j^ears 
should be forgotten as if it never were ; and it 
w'as to continue, not for one or two, but for 
seven years ! The good counsel which Joseph 
adds to the interpretation of the dream makes 
the answer of God an answer of peace and not 
of evil. The, purpose of God in Pharaoh’s 


dreams was to procure deliverance and honor 
to Joseph, and to preserve Egypt, and the family 
of Jacob, and the countries around from de¬ 
struction. Joseph’s advice tended to secure 
this result. Bush. 

37-39. Pharaoh and his court are at once 
struck with the appositi ness of the interpreta¬ 
tion, and unhesitatingly adopt it as the true 
one. The Spirit of God was shown to be in 
him, both by the interpretation, and by the 
wisdom of words with which he had followed it 

up. Alf. -This is paralleled by an expression 

in the similar history of Daniel (ch. 5 :11, 14p 
It is not necessary for us to know what idea 
Pharaoh attached to his own words in this ex¬ 
pression. It was plain to him that Joseph could 
not have discovered the import of the dreams 
by his own sagacity. He was sensible that a 
divine person or a divine influence had enlight¬ 
ened his mind and given him thi i extraerdinary 
knowledge. His proposal therefore to honor 
Joseirh was a virtual honoring of the God whom 

he served. Bush. -It would seem that the 

Pharaoh of the time was a monotheist. '-Not 
only does le make no protest against the pro¬ 
nounced monotheism of Joseph (-> s. IG, 25, 32), 
but he uses himself the most decidedly mono¬ 
theistic language when he says to his nobles, 
“ Can we find such a one as this is— a man in 
whom ihe Spirit of God ii?” and again when he 
addresses Joseph as follows : “ Forasmuch as 
God hath showed Hwe all this, there is none so dis¬ 
creet and wise as thou aid.” No such distinct 
recognition of the unity of God is ascribed 
either to the Pharaoh of the Old Empire who 
received Abraham, or to those of the New Em- 
jrire who came into contact with Moses. G. R. 

I 4S. We now know the exact period of Egyp¬ 
tian history at which the Exodus must have 
taken place ; and if we count 430 years, “ the 
sojourning of the children of Israi I who dwelt 
in Egypt” (Exod. 12 :40), back from this, we 
shall be brought to the reign of the Hyksosking 
I Apophis or Apepi, the very king, in fact, under 
i whom, according to ancient authors, , Joseph 
was raised to be the adon, or second ruler of 
the state. It was not until the H;\ksos were 
driven out of the country, and Aahmes, the 
i founder of the eighteenth dynasty, was pursu- 
I ing* with bitter hatred both them and their 
! friends, that “ there arose up a new king over 
Egypt, which knew not Joseph.” Sayce. 

41-45. Every trait in the description is 
purely Egyptian. Pharaoh gives him his sig¬ 
net, which “ was of so much importance with 
the ancient Egyptian kings, that their names 
were always enclosed in an oval which repre- 













508 


ELEVATION OF JOSEPH YEARS OF PLENTY. 


sented an elongated signet.” He arraj's him 
“ in vestures of byssu.s, ’ the noble and also the 
priestly dress ; he puts the chain, or “ the col¬ 
lar of gold” “ about his neck,” which was al¬ 
ways the mode of investitiire of high Egyptian 
officials ; he makes him lide “ in the second 
chariot which he liad,” and he has it proclaimed 
before him : “ Avrtch/' that is, “ fall down,” 
“ bend the knee,” or“ do obeisance. ” To com¬ 
plete all, on his naturalization Joseph’s name is 
changed to Zaphnath-paduedh, which most prob¬ 
ably means ” the supporter of life,” or else 
” the food of the living,” although others have 
rendered it “ the saviour of the world,” and Ihe 
Ilibbis, but without sufficient reason, “ the re 
vealer of secrets.” Finally', in order to give 
him a position among the highest nobles of the 
laud. Pharaoh “ gave him to wife Aseivith," 
daughter of Potiphera, priest or prince of On 
(Heliopolis). A. E. 

Oa, the “ Aven” of Ezek. 30 :17, the “ Beth- 
shemesh” of Jer. 43 :13, and ” Heliopolis” of 
the Septuagint, was a place of great celebrity, 
and the principal seat of learning in Egypt be¬ 
fore the accession of the Ptolemies, when the 
schools were transferred to Alexandria ; the 
ruins are not far from Cairo, and are marked 
by an obelisk sixty-eight feet high, which is 
considered one of the oldest monuinents of its 
kind in Egypt. Mounds and crude brick walls 
are all that remain of Bethshemesh ; for its 
“ images” have been broken, and “ the houses 
of the gods of the Egyptians” have been burned 
with fire (Jer. 43 ; 13). At On Moses is said to 
have studied, and to have become “ learned in 
all the wisdom of the Egyptians.” IFi/son. 

The people of Egypt were divided into castes, 
like those of India, as they exist to the present 
day, and as they formerly prevailed among 
many other oriental nations. At the head of 
these castes stood that of the priesthood. From 
this order the king was usually selected ; if one 
of the warriors, the next class in rank, should 
attain to that eminence, he was always installed 
and enrolled in the superior order. The priestly 
caste, in rank' and power, "stood far above the 
rest of the people. In each nome or district (if 
indeed these divisions were of so early' a date) 
stood a temple and a sacerdotal college. In 
them one third of the whole land of the coun¬ 
try' was inalienably' vested. The priests were 
not merely the ministers of religion, they were 
the hereditary conservators of knowledge. They 
were the public astronomers, by whom all the ag¬ 
ricultural labors of the people were regulated ; 
the public geometricians, whose service was in¬ 
dispensable, since the ^^ile annually obliterated 


the landmarks of the country' ; in their hiero- 
gly'jjhical characters the public events were re¬ 
corded ; they were the physicians ; in shoit, lo 
them belonged the whole patrimony of science, 
which was inseparably bound up wiih their re¬ 
ligion. The political powers of this hereditary 
aristocracy were unbounded ; they' engrossed 
apparently both the legislative and judicial 
functions ; they were the framers, ihe conser¬ 
vators, the interpreters of the laws. As inter¬ 
preter of dreams, Joseph, no doubt, intruded 
into the province of this all jrowerful caste, and 
the king, not improbably with a view to disarm 
their Jealousy', mariied his new vizier lo the 
daughter of the Priest of the Sun, ^\ho dwelled 
in On, called afterward by' the Greeks Heliop¬ 
olis (the City of the Sun). Moreover, in the 
great political measure of Joseph, the resump¬ 
tion cf all the lands into the hands of the 
crown, the sacred property cf the priests was 
exempted from the operation of the law, and 
the whole class supported, during the famine, 
at the royal charge. The next caste in dignity 
was that of the warriors, called by Herodotus, 
Hermoty'bies or Kalasyries. The lower classes 
of the people constituted the rest of the orders ; 
according to Herodotus five, to Diodorus three 
more. The latter reckons husbandmen, arti¬ 
sans, and shepherds ; Herodotus, shepherds, 
swineherds, manufacturers and shopkeepers, 
interpreters, and mariners, that is, the boatmen 
of the Nile. The boundaries of these castes 
were unalterably fixed, the son held forever 
the same rank, and pursued the same occupa¬ 
tion with his father. Jhlinan. 

The ministers of the court were in Egypt the 
priests, just as the state was a Theocracy, and 
the king was considerel as the representative 

and incarnation of the Godhead. IPrxjs. - 

The reader will perhaps recall the striking 
analogy between the Egyptian system and the 
Hebrew Theocracy, particularly in the point that 
the ministers of religion were alsS ministers of 
civil law and prominent in its administration. 
The judges in the civil courts were taken chiefly 
from the tribe of Levi. H. C. 

46, 47, Joseph knew that his advancement 
was intended for the public good ; to tnable 
him to do some general service ; and to jDreserve 
life. This is the design of Providence, when¬ 
ever a person is advanced to any station of fig¬ 
ure and fortune. And men should consider 
that the more they enjoy', they are accountable 
for so much more ; and as they' are capable of 
doing the more good, by' neglecting these op¬ 
portunities they’ expose themselves to the greater 
punishments. Bp. Conybeare. -He who en- 








509 


SECTION 68.—GENESIS 41 : 1-57. 


abled Joseph to repel temptation and to endure 
atiiiction, enabled him also to bear the glory 
that was conferred upon him with humility. 
He was, and he felt himself to be, exalted to 
power for the good and the safety of the peo 
j)le, and he entered at once upon the active dis¬ 
charge of the duties of his station. He went 
through all the land of Egj^pt, not to show his 
greatness, but to see with his own eyes what 
was to be done, to issue the proper orders, and 
to see their execution Bash. 

Those who take God’s discipline kindly here 
and turn it to best account according to his 
thought and will, have their reward above. It 
is not needful that we know in their details 
what the heavenly responsibilities are, and 
what the dignities and ihc honors of those who 
have been faithful over a few things here ; but 
we are safe in the belief that earthly discipline 
and culture are not lost attainments as to the 
after life. As one short day Iran.sferred Joseph 
from the prison-house cf the kingdom to the 
lordship of that kingdom, so one day is long 
enough for the transfer of many a humble, suf¬ 
fering saint of God from dungeons of darkness 
and jjain to palaces of royalt}^ and bliss. In 
the story of Joseph these great truths of God’s 
administration with his people were breakiim 
forth upon the minds of men by most interest¬ 
ing stages of progress. H. C. 

47 - 49 . During the seven plenteous years 
Joseph seems to have travelled as commissioner 
from city to city, establishing royal granaries in 
each, and storing therein the one fifth of the 
produce which he claimed in the king’s name, 
and in the public interest. So superabundant 
were the harvests that the impost does not seem 
to have been felt. Though only a fifth part of 
the whole, the quantity was “ as the sand of 
the sea.” VVe know from the sculptures how 
carefully the Egyptian scribes registered each 
spring the produce of the fields. But during 
these years they “left numbering, for it was 
without number.” J. P. Norris. -The Pen¬ 

tateuch describes the labors of Joseph in build¬ 
ing storehouses, and storing up corn against 
the famine. The paintings on the’monuments 
give a vivid representation of the whole scene, 
showing how very common the storehouse was 
in Egypt. It appears from the paintings, that 
they kept an account of the amount of grain 
stored in the magazines, for at the side of the 
windows of one of them there are characters 
indicating the quantity' deposited therein. This 
throws light on the statement, that Joseph gath¬ 
ered corn as the sand of the sea, “ until he left 
numbering.” E. C. W.-The corn was 


stored up in each of the cities from the lands of 
which it was collected ; and it was thus secured 
tor orderly distribution in the years of famine. 
When that season arrived, its consumpti >11 wa-s 
guarded by the same wise policy that had pre¬ 
served it from being wasted in the years of 
jilenty. The demand was not only from EgyjDt, 
but from the neighboring countries, Canaan, 
and probably parts of Syria, Arabia, and Africa, 
to which the famine extended, and whose corn 
was soon exhausted P. S. 

50-52. Two things here stand out in the 
history of Joseph. The same gracious Hand of 
the Lord, which, during his humiliation, had 
kept him from sin, disbelief, and despair, now 
preserved him in his exaltation from jiride, and 
from lapsing into heathenism, to which his 
close connection with the chief priest of Egypt 
might easily have led him. More than that, he 
considered himself “ a stranger and a pilgrim” 
in Egypt. His heart was in his father’s home, 
with his father’s God, and on his father's prom¬ 
ises. Of both these facts there is abundant evi¬ 
dence. His Egyptian wife bore him two sons 
“ before the years of famine came.” He gave to 
both cf them Hebrew, not Egyptian names. By^ 
the first, Manasseh, or “he that maketh for¬ 
get,” he wished to owm the goodness of God, 
who had made him forget his past sorrow and 
toil. By the second, Ephrann, or “ double fruit¬ 
fulness,” he diotinctly recognized that, although 
Egy^pt was the land in which God had caused 
him “ to be fruitful,” it W'as still, and must ever 
be, not the land of his joy but that of his “ af¬ 
fliction” ! If it be asked why% in his prosper¬ 
ity, Joseph had not informed his father of his 
life and success, w^e answ'er, that in such a his¬ 
tory safety lay in quiet waiting upon God. If 
Joseph had learned the great lesson of his life, 
it was this, that all in the past had been of God. 
Nor would he now interfere with further guid¬ 
ance on his part. The Lord would show the 
way, and lead to the end. But as for him, he 
believed, and therefore made no haste. Thus 
would God be glorified, and thus also would 
Joseph be kept in perfect peace, because he 
trusted in him. A. E. 

But why does no message go from Joseph to 
his mourning father? For many reasons. He 
does not know the state of things at home. He 
may not wush to open up the dark and bloody 
treachery of his brothers to his aged parent, 
He bears in mind those early dreams of his child¬ 
hood. All his subsequent experience has con¬ 
firmed him in the belief that they' will one day 
be fulfilled. He will leave it entirely to the all- 
W’ise providence of his G.^d to bring about that 





510 


ELEVATION OF JOSEPH. 


strange issue. Joseph, therefore, is true to his 
life-long character. He leaves all in the hand 
of God, and awaits in silent hope the days when 

he will see his father and his brethren. M.- 

Joseph was kept tender and humble and domes¬ 
tic and patriotic because he had the faith to 
know and live with his father’s God. This 
conscious relation to God controlled his whole 
heart. Having become almost an Egyptian, y'et 
he kept himself as a sacred thing, and behaved 
himself as a child of the Highest, through the 
most seducing temptations. Mercer. 

For God liatli made me to forget 
all Eliy toil. It is a beautiful circumstance 
in the history of Joseph, that he has God ever 
before his eyes. When tempted to sin, his cry 
is, “ How can 1 do this great wickedness, and 
sin against God ?” When the court officers in 
prison were troubled by their dreams, he said, 
“Do not interpretations belong to God?” 
When the king tells him that he had heard of 
his skill in the interpretation of dreams, he is 
anxious to turn the credit from himself to God 
—“ It is not in me : God shall give Pharaoh an 
answer of i^eace.” When the purport of the 
royal dreams becomes clear to him, he again 
sees God in them—“ God hath showed Pharaoh 
what he is about to do.’’ “ The thing is estab¬ 

lished by God ; and God will shortly bring it to 
pass.” So, when he discloses himself to his 
brethren, he says, “ God sent me before you, to 
save your lives by a great deliverance. So it 
was not you that sent me hither, but God.” 
Again, in the message sent to his father, “ God 
hath made me lord of all Egypt.” Also, in the 
address to his brethren after the death of his 
father, “ Ye thought evil against me, but God 
meant it for good.” At last, he dies in the con¬ 
viction that “ God will surely visit you, and 
bring you out of this land and so assured is 
he of this, that he takes an oath of them that 
they will carry his bones with them to the land 
of their future possession. It was this constant 
reference to God in all things, before all things, 
and for all things, that forms the real charac¬ 
teristic of Joseph’s history, and is the true 
secret to all his glory and success. Kit. 

54-57. Famines in Egyj)! are caused by the 
failure of those periodic rains of the Abyssinian 
highlands which swell the waters c<f tbe Blue 
Nile, and cause the Lower Nile to overflow and 
fertilize the plains of the Egyptian Delta. The 
rise of the water commences at midsummer, 
and continues for three or four months. When 
the water subsides they sow their corn, and reap 
the crop in the following spring. So it is in our 
day, as it was in Joseph’s. And so rarely did a 


drought in the Levant extend to Abyssinia, that 
the Levantine peoples made sure of finding 
corn in Egypt when their own harvests failed. 
This explains the concourse of foreign traders 
of whom we here read : “ All countries came 
into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn ; because 
that the famine was so sore in all lands.” Dur¬ 
ing the first year of the famine, the native Egyp¬ 
tians had the abundant stores of their previous 
harvest : ” in all the land of Egypt there was 
bread.’’ But they seem to have made no pri¬ 
vate provision for more than one year in advance 
as usual—either disbelieving Joseph’s predic¬ 
tion, or tempted to part with their surplus by 
the high prices which it commanded. ISo “ when 
all the land of Egypt was famished, the people 
cried to Pharaoh for bread.’’ J. P. N. 


Well may the Hebrew race be proud of these 
men like Joseph and Daniel, who stood in the 
presence cf foreign monarchs in a spirit of per¬ 
fect fidelity to God, commanding the respect of 
all, and clothed with the dignity and simplicity 
which that fidelity imparted. It matters not 
to Joseph that there may perhaps be none in 
that land who can appreciate his fideliG^ to God 
or understand his motive. There is something 
particulaily noble and worthy of admiration in 
a man thus standing alone and maintaining the 
fullest allegiance to God, without ostentation, 
and with a quiet dignity and naturalness that 
shows he has a great fund of strength behind. 
Influence in the long run belongs to those who 
rid their minds of all private aims, and get close 
to the great centre in which all the race meets 
and is cared for. Men feel themselves safe 
with the unselfish, with persons in whom they 
meet principle, justice, tiuth, love, God. We 
are unattractive, useless, uninfluential, just be¬ 
cause we are still childishly craving a private 
and selfish good. We know that a life which 
does not pour itself freely into the common 
stream of public good is lost in drj^ and sterile 
sands. AVe know that a life spent upon self is 
contemptible, barren, empty, yet how slowly 
do we come to the attitude of Joseph, who 
watched for the fulfilment of God’s purposes 
and found his happiness in forwarding what 
God designed for the people. Dads. 

What a life-like romance is the story of 
Joseph ! In what other narrative have the 
good and evil of the human soul been ever 
blended in such truthful consistency of thought 
and emotion ? been ever painted in such perfect 
harmony with the universal human conscious- 





SECTION 69.—GENESIS 42 : J-3S. 


511 


ness? Take away the dreams, and what has ■ the 


more the air of veritable history, more of that 
uiiniite detail and circumstantial coloring which 


geography and chronology of Egypt could 
alone impart to it, than the story of the plenty 
and the famine ! T. L. 


Section 69. 

JACOB’S SONS GO TO EGYPT (FIRST JOURNEY). 

Genesis 42 : 1-38. 

1 Now Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, and Jacob said unto his sons. Why do ye look 

2 one upon another? And he said,.Behold, 1 have heard that there is corn in Eg^pt : get you 

3 down thither, and buy for us from thence ; that we may live, and not die. And Joseph’s ten 

4 brethren went down to buy corn from Egypt. But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent 

5 not with his brethren ; for he said. Lest peradventure mischief befall him. And the sons of 

6 Israel came to buy among those that came ; for the famine was in the land of Canaan. And 
Joseph was the governor over the land ; he it was that sold to all the people of the land : and 
Josephs brethren came, and bowed down themselves to him with their faces to the earth. 

7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and 
spake roughly with them ; and he said unto them, WTience come je? And they said, From 

8 the land of Canaan to buy food. And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. 

9 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are 

10 spies ; to see the nakedness of the land 3’e are come. And they said unto him, Nay, my 

11 lord, but to buy food are thy servants cou'e. W^'e are all one man’s sons ; we are true men, 

12 th^’’ servants are no spies. And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land 

13 ye are come. And they said, W^e thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in 
the land of Canaan ; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not. 

14 And Joseph said unto them. That is it that I spake unto you, saying. Ye are spies : hereby ye 

15 shall be proved : by the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest 

16 brother come hither. Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall bo 
bound, that j'our words may be proved, whether there be truth in you : or else by the life of 

17 Pharaoh surely ye are spies. And he put them all together into ward three days. And 

18 Joseph said unto them the third day. This do, and live ; for I fear God : if ye be true men, 

19 let one of your brethren be bound in your prison hotise ; but go ye, carry corn for the famine 

20 of yoirr houses : and bring 3’our youngest brother unto me ; so shall your wmrds be verified, 

21 and ye shall not die And they did so. And they said one to another, W’e are verily guilty 
concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress cf his soul, when he besought us, and wo 

22 would not hear ; therefore is this distress come upon us. And Reuben answered them, say¬ 
ing, Spake 1 not unto you, saying. Do not sin against the child ; and ye would not hear? 

23 therefore also, behold, his blood is required. And they knew not that Joseph understood 

24 them ; for there was an interpreter between them. And ho turned himself about from them, 
and wept ; and he returned to them, and spake to them, and took Simeon from among them, 

25 and bound him before their eyes. Then Joseph commanded to fill their vessels with corn, 
and to restore every man’s money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way : and 

26 thus was it done unto them. And they laded their asses with their corn, and departed 

27 thence. And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the lodging place, 

28 he espied his money ; and, behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. And he said unto his 
brethren, My money is restored ; and, lo, it is even in my sack : and their heart failed them, 
and they turned trembling one to another, saying. What is this that God hath done unto us ? 

29 And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that had 

30 befallen them ; saying, The man, the lord of the land, spake roughly with us, and took us for 

31 spies of the country. And we said unto him. We are true men ; we are no spies : we be 

32 twelve brethren, sons of our father ; one is not, and the youngest is this day wdth our father 





512 


JACOB'S SONS GO TO EGYPT. 


33 in the land of Canaan. And the man, the lord of the land, said unto us, Hereby shall I know 
that ye are true men ; leave one of j’our brethren with me, and take corti for the famine of 

34 your houses, and go your way : and bring your youngest brother unto me . then shall I know 
that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men : so will I deliver you your brother, aiid ye shall 

35 tralhck in the land. And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, eveiy 
man’s Ihindle of money was in his sack : and when they and their father saw their bundles (..f 

3G money, they were afraid And Jacob their father said unto them. Me have ye bereaved of my 
children : Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Beniamin away : all these things 

37 are against me. And Keuben spake unto his father, saying. Slay my two sons, if I bring him 

38 not to thee : deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. And he said. My 
son shall not go down with you ; for his brother is dead, and he only is left : if mischief be¬ 
fall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow 
to the grave. 


The use wdiich God made of the sin of 
Joseph’s brethren exemplities his consummate, 
far-reaching ici'idooi. He knew all the future. 
He saw the coming famine ; knew how to ad¬ 
vance Joseph to the lordship of all Egypt, and 
to put him there just in time to garner up the 
surplus of seven years of overflowing abun¬ 
dance, and then dispense »hese stores of corn 
for the sustenance of thousands less provident 
throughout Egypt and all adjacent countries. 
The resources of God’s j^rovidence, guided by 
such wisdom, are simply boundless. The case 
is equally demonstr.itive of his love. Mark how 
he bends the great powers of his infinite being 
to the production of good, to multiply the 
means of happiness. This view of his charac¬ 
ter is infinitely precious when studied in its 
developments in a world, or rather a universe, 
with sin in it. If the Lord were obliged to say 
—I must content myself with the co-operation 
of the good ; as to the wicked, the evil they do 
must be endured as so much dead loss to the 
universe, never to be of any service toward vir¬ 
tue and happiness—the case would be, so far, 
one of unrelieved sadness. We may bless the 
name of our God that his resources of wisdom 
and power and the outgoings of his love are not 
thus limited. Good results will be extorted 
from even those horrible crimes of Joseph’s 
brethren. This story of God’s overruling tiand 
in their case was shedding some rays of light on 
previously dark problems, and therefore was in¬ 
dicating progress in the revelations of God and 
of his ways with sinful men. H. C. 

It was the wdll of God that Jacob should go 
down with his whole family fo the l»nd of 
Egypt, where his seed were to be oppressed till 
the time of their glorious deliverance ; and con¬ 
sidering the patriarch’s great age and his heredi¬ 
tary attachment to the land of promise, we can 
see that under the influence of ordinary motives 
he would not have been induced to leave it. 
But it did not come within the plan of the di¬ 


vine proceedings to exercise any force upon 
Jacob’s will. Whatever he did, he was to do it 
freely and rationally. Precisely such a train of 
events as that here related was adapted, as every 
one can see, with infinite wisdom to bring 

about the designed result. Bush. -Through 

our own free agency^ we are all the time uncon¬ 
sciously working out his purposes ; for, as 
Isaac Taylor remarks, “ This is the very miiacle 
of Providence, that no miracles are needed for 
the carrying out of its designs.” Every actor 
in this life-drama is seen working according to 
his own character, and acting according to his 
own unfettered will. JSo violence is done to 
the free agency of any one of them, and yet, in 
some insctittable way, they all carry' forward 
one great purpose, and the word of God is ful¬ 
filled. Thus God was in and over this history 
from first to last. But he is as really' in each 
of our lives, and we shall miss the great moral 
of the story if we do not come to a clear recog¬ 
nition of that fact. W. M. T. 

1 , 2. The notices we get of Jacob in the lat¬ 
ter part of his history are very characteristic. 
He was one of those old men \vho maintain their 
vigor to the end, the energy of whose age seems 
to shame and overtax the prime of common 
men ; whose minds are still the clearest, their 
advice the safest, their word waited for, their 
perception of the actual state of affairs always 
in advance of their juniors, more modern and 
fully abreast of the times in their ideas than the 
late.st born of their children. Such an old age 
we recognize in Jacob’s half-scornful chiding of 
the helplessness (f his sons even after they had 
heard that there w'as corn in Egypt, “ Why 
look ye one upon another? Behold! I have 
heal’d that there is corn in Egypt ; get ym down 
thither and buy for us from thence.” Jacob, 
the man who had wrestled through life and bent 
all things to his will, cannot put up with the 
helpless dejection of this troop of strong men, 
who have no w'it to devise an escape for them- 





SECTION 69.~GENESIS 42 : 1-38. 


513 


selves, and no resolution to enforce upon the 
others any device that may occur to them. It 
is the old Jacob, full of resources, equal to every 
turn of fortune, and never knowing how to 
yield. Dods. 

3, 1. And Jo§cpSi’s ten 6>retiiren 

went. They are called “ Joseph’s brethren” 
and not Jacob’s sons, because Joseph is at pres¬ 
ent the principal character in the story. But 
Benjamin is called Joseph’s brother in a stricter 
sense. One mother brought them both into the 
world, and Jacob’s fond attachment to Benja¬ 
min was in part the effect of his grief for the 
loss of Joseph. Bush. 

5-7. And now Joseph’s brethren go to buy 
of him whom they Lad sold ; and bow their 
knees to him for relief, who had bowed to them 
before for his own life. His age, his habit, the 
place, the language, kept Joseph from their 
knowledge ; neither had they called off their 
minds from their folds, to inquire of matters of 
foreign state, or to hear that a Hebrew was ad¬ 
vanced to the highest honor of Egypt. But he 
cannot but know them, whom ho left at their 
full growth, whose tongue, and habit, and num¬ 
ber were all one ; whose faces had left so deep 
an impression in his mind, at their unkind 
parting ; it is wisdom sometimes to conceal our 
knowledge, that we may not prejudice truth. 
Bp. II. 

Joseph was seventeen years old at his depart¬ 
ure from Canaan, and had now reached the age 
of at least thirty-seven. His dress of Egyptian 
fashion, and w'hich betokened his distinguished 
rank,—-his conversing with them by an inter- 
jDreter,—his high position and dignity in Egypt, 
of which, in spite of his dreams, none of his 
brethren seem ever to have had tne least idea, 
— all serve to account for their not recognizing 
him ; whereas they, arriving from Canaan, 
speaking their mother tongue, and having all 
reached to man’s estate before his departure, 
were easily recognized by Joseph. C. G. B. 

-6. Bowed down tSaeiiiselvc§. 

Joseph’s dreams were net literally fulfilled, his 
father being absent ; but in spirit they were. 

Alf. -^piike rougSiSy. It is evident from 

the whole narrative, that there was no harsh¬ 
ness or revenge on the part of Joseph ; but 
knowing as he did from personal experience 
what sort of persons his brethren were, and the 
just grounds their former conduct afforded for 
fearing what they might do to Benjamin and 
their old father, his intention was to put them 
effectually to the proof, to bring them to repent¬ 
ance and the confession of their offence, and, 
as the instrument of Divine Providence, to work 
33 


out the good of his family, by making them feel 
in a very sensible way the wrong they had com¬ 
mitted. C. G. B. 

5^. A"c arc fp!e§. It might well be sus¬ 
pected that they were spies, especially if the 
time usually assumed for their visit, that of the 
dynasty of the shepherd kings, be correct. For 
this dynasty'', we are told by Manetho, was ever 
in fear of invasion from the then powerful As¬ 
syrians ; and Josephus says that on that account 
they fortified the Eastern side of Egypt. Hence 
men arriving from Asia, and especially Jacob’s 
sons, who from their Chaldaic origin were more 
like the Eastern Semitic peoples than Caiiaan- 
ites, might well arouse suspicion as to their 
being Assyrian spies. The nakedness of the 
land may well refer to its being easily acces¬ 
sible, having fewer strong places than other 
countries Alf. 

II. Wc are all one man’s sons. We 

do not belong to different tribes, and it is not 
likely that one family would make a hostile at¬ 
tempt upon a kingdom. It is on the pro'^/of 
this that Joseph puts them (ver. 15) in obliging 
them to leave one as a hostage, and insisting on 
their bringing their remaining brother ; so that 
he took exactly the precautions to detect them, 
as if he had had no acquaintance with tlnm 
and had every reason to be suspicious. A. C. 
-No man would send all his sons oii so dan¬ 
gerous an enterprise. Nor was it probable that 
one man could have a design on Egypt but all 
the great men of Canaan must have joined in it; 
and then they would have sent men of different 
families. Patrick. 

13. “ One is not,” so they spoke of Joseph. 
It is simpler to take it not as the repetition of 
their old lie, but as the natural expression of 
what had come to bo their belief. For twenty 
years they had heard nothing of him, and con¬ 
cluded that he was dead. Reuben, further on, 
speaking in all soberness, implies that they 
really thought him dead : “ Therefore, behold, 

also his blood is required.” J. P. N.-Joseph 

has the satisfaction of learning that his father 
is yet alive, and that Benjamin is his favorite, 
as he himself had been. Moreover, that his 
brethren treated their father with the respect 
which he so well deserved, might be inferred 
from the manner in which they spoke of him, 
and from their leaving Benjamin to comfort him 
in their absence. Busk. 

B5. B^ llie life of PSnaraoli. As if ho 
had said, as surely as the king of Egypt lives, so 
surely shall ye not go hence unless your brother 
come hither—here therefore is no oath; it is 
just what they themselves make it in their re- 










514 


JACOB'S SONS GO TO EGYPT. 


port to their father (chap. 43 : 3), ike man did 

solemnly protest unto us. A, C.-Through all 

the details of his conduct here, in the work of 
securing the preservation of his family, Joseph 
has a j)art to play and must play it out consis¬ 
tently. If it is lawful for him to enact the part 
of an Egyptian prince at all, it is frivolous to 
raise questions about the details of his conduct 
—such as his affectation of rudeness toward 
them as suspected spies, his asseverating “ by 
the life of Pharaoh” in the current formula, 
and his putting on the air of an Egyptian sage 
familiar with magic. Admitting that he has 
the right for a time to keep up the disguise in 
personating Pharaoh’s viceroy, as seen from an 
Egyptian standpoint, then this admission car¬ 
ries with it all the details. S. 11. 

3 7. Put llieiii. Hebrew, collected or gath¬ 
ered them. It seems they did not consent to 
the terms proposed. None of them would 
consent to go and bring down Benjamin if all 
the rest, as Joseph proposed, were to be kept 
imprisoned till their return. He therefore, 
with great apparent severity, puts them all into 
custody for three days. All this was with a 
view to the end which he wished to have ac¬ 
complished. Bush. -The severity of God only 

endures till the sinner is brought to recognize 
his guilt ; it is indeed, like Joseph’s harshness 
with his brethren, nothing more than love in 
disguise ; and having done its work, having 
brought him to the acknowledgment of his 
guilt and misery, reappears as grace again, 
granting him more than even he had dared to 
ask or hope, loosing the bands of his sins, and 
letting him go free. Trench. 

All these arrangements and tests on the part 
of Joseph tended toward the humiliation and 
the penitence of his brethren. He might in¬ 
stantly have said, “ I am Joseph !” They could 
not have borne it. At once he might have 
said, Brethren, 1 forgive you all.” He might 
thus have done more harm than good. The 
men required to be tested. They had no right 
to any consideration before they were put to 
scrutiny and criticism. God has a long proc¬ 
ess with some of us. He has to take away the 
firstborn child, and the lastborn, and all be¬ 
tween. He has to smite us with disease, foil 
our purposes, break up our schemes, and con¬ 
found us at every point, until we begin to say, 
What does all this mean ? J. P. 

18, 3 fcsir Oocl. The declaration ex¬ 
presses nothing less than the ruling principle 
of his life. His unfeigned fear of God protects 
him in the hour of severest temptation ; it 
adorns him in the dungeon as well as in the 


seat of the governor in Egypt ; it becomes the 
source of that true wisdom which extends its 
blessing to thousands ; it enables him to show 
that rare magnanimity and spirit of forgive¬ 
ness, the glorious picture of which, after so 
many ages, we never behold without admira¬ 
tion ; it heightens the enjoyment, lightens the 
pressure, brightens the evening of his life, and 
causes him at last, in the firm belief of God’s 
jiromises. to fall asleep in peace. “ God was 
with him this conclusive sentence was 
spoken only of Joseph, but not of his brethren 
(Acts 7 : 9). Van 0. 

19 . Carry g^raici for your laou^es. 

The governor is touched with feeling for their 
famishing households. The brothers had now 
their separate establi-shments. Twelve house¬ 
holds had to be supplied with bread. The 
journey to Egypt was not to be undertaken 
more than once a y’ear if possible, as the dis¬ 
tance from Hebron was upward of two hundred 
miles, Hence the ten brothers had with them 
all their available beasts of burden, with the 
needful retinue of servants. We need not be 
surprised that these are not specially men¬ 
tioned. M- If ye be true iiieki. In 

the first instance he j^roposed that one of their 
number should be sent for Benjamin, and all 
the rest confined till his return. Here he pro¬ 
poses that one should be confined, and all the 
rest dispatched to their father’s house. This 
would naturally give them a little further re¬ 
viving in their bondage. And they did so. That 
is, agreed to do so. Bush. 

21. And tlicy isnid one to another, 
Wc are verily g'liilty. While Joseph, the 
better to conceal himself, speaks and acts like a 
real Egyptian, God employs his affected stern- 
ness and severity’ to aw’aken their slumbering 
consciences. Though they^ w^ere chargeable 
with many other sins, particularly Simeon and 
Levi, yet the treatment to wdrich they w’ere 
subjected brought to remembrance in a special 
manner their sin against their brother. This 
was an atrocious iniquity of which they w’ere 
the most of them equally guilty. Conscience 
with unerring certainty refers their punishment 
to their crime, and charges it upon them with 
fearful distinctness. Their full hearts now 
begin to utter themselves, and as if they read 
in each other’s looks that the same thoughts 
were in all their minds at the same time, no 
sooner does one break silence than they all im¬ 
mediately join in ascribing the evil which had 
befallen them to its true source. Bush. 

Conscience is a remembrancer, to bring to 
mind things long since said and done, to show 








SECT10:N 69.~GENE8IS 42 : 1-38. 


515 


us wherein we have erred though it was long 
ago, as this reflection here was above twenty 
years after the sm was committed. As time 
will not wear out the guilt of sm, so it will not 
blot out the records of conscience ; when the 
guilt of this sin of Joseph’s brethren was fresh 
they made light of it, and sat down to eat 
bread ; but now, long afterward, their con¬ 
sciences reminded them of it. H,- Thehutnau 

so'd itsdf cotiiains within itself all the necessary 
elements of retributive penalty. Here is noth, 
ing but memory, amscience, and reason, yet what 
an exhibition and illustration of the self- 
retributive power of sin ! Memory ; “ We saw 
the anguish.” Conscience; “We are verily 
guilty.” Reason; “Therefore is this distress 
come upon us. ” Let a soul go into the future 
state with a memory to recall, a conscience to 
accuse, and a reason to justify penalty as de¬ 
served, and what more is necessary to hell ! 
Hence Milton ; “ The mind is its own place, 
and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell 
of heaven !” Pierson. 

It is very manifest that, for creatures so con¬ 
stituted, there may be no need of any direct in¬ 
terference of God to punish the evil-doer. The 
life of sin becomes its own punishment as soon 
as the twenty-two years of prosperity and 
thoughtlessness are over, and death leads to the 
prison-houses. You need onlj’ be let alone 
throusthout the endless existence that follows— 
left to the scorpion sting of remorse at the rec¬ 
ollection of sins past, and to all the inborn 
agonies of vice. There is no need of supposing 
that God will take the punishment of sinners 
directly .into his own hands, or commission 
and send forth an avenging train to torment 
and lacerate the wicked. Without any such 
direct and positive infliction, all that the Script¬ 
ures sketch for us by those terrible and ghastly 
images of the unquenched fire and the clank of 
the everlasting chains, may be fulfilled in 
leaving each sinner to be his own tormentor. 
S R. 

25 , 24 . All this, too, was in the hearing of 
Joseph. Joseph heard them say that he was their 
brother. They used to call him “ dreamer.” 
He heard them say “ the child,”—tenderly. 
Once they mocked him. He heard them speak 

in subdued, gentle tones. J. P.-He is deeply 

moved, and his eyes fill with tears as he wit¬ 
nesses their emotion and grief on his account. 
Fain would he relieve them from their remorse 
and apprehension —why% then, does he forbear? 
Why does he not at this juncture disclose him- 
self ? It has been satisfactorily proved that his 
brethren counted their sale of him the great 


crime of their life. But evidence that a man 
is conscious of his sin, and, while suffering 
from its consequences, feels deeply its guilt, is 
not evidence that his character is altered. And 
because we believe men so much more readily 
than God, and think that they do not require, 
for form’s sake, such needless pledges of a 
changed character as God seems to demand, 
it is worth observing that Joseph, moved as he 
was even to tears, felt that common prudence 
forbade him to commit himself to his brethren 
without further evidence of their disposition. 
These men had to give evidence not only that 
thej’^ saw and in some sense repented of their 
sin, but that they had got rid of the evil pas¬ 
sion that led to it. Bods. -The work is not 

yet complete ; so he brushed away the teais 
and “returned to them and took from them 
Simeon and bound him before their eyes.” 
Why he chose Simeon is not indicated. Per¬ 
haps—not to say probably—he was the leading 
spirit in the cruel scenes thirteen years before. 
We remember that Simeon and Levi led off in 
that bloody affray with the men of Shechem. 
However this may be, he was the eldest after 
Reuben ; and Reuben, though a coarse, rough 
nature, was on the side of mercy toward the 
abused Joseph. Simeon, therefore, is chosen 
for the hostage, to be kept in close confinement 
while the rest are dismissed to go home. 
Simeon wdll have abundant time to think over 
the guilty deeds of that dreadful past ! H. C. 

-Reuben, who was the eldest, had resolved 

to save Joseph ; and Judah also was inclined 
to favor him ; had Simeon joined with them, 
their authority might have prevailed for his de¬ 
liverance. Simeon was the eldest of those who 
had proposed to murder him, and was, there¬ 
fore, a fit proxy for the rest; the man, as the 
Hebrews saj^ who put Joseph into the pit and 
w'as now very justly served in his kind. Stack- 
house. 

2S. TSieir heart faile<l them. Their 
guilt made them afraid ; otherwise they would 
have rejoiced. But all things terrify an evil con¬ 
science. Patrick. - What is this tiiat 

God lialh done iiiilo ns ? Overlooking 
second causes, they attribute directly to the 
judgments of God what had now befallen them. 
It seemed to them that he w^as still pursuing 
them in a mysterious way, and with a design to 
require their brother’s blood at their hand. 
Bush. 

The whole narrative shows that, so far from 
being void of fraternal feelingand hard-hearted, 
in fact it tasked his firmness of character to the 
utmost to suppress his emotions sufficiently to 








516 


SECOND JOURNEY TO EGYPT—WITH BENJAMIN. 


curry out his purpose. His main purpose was 
to bring them to thorough repentance. For 
this end he must needs throw their thought 
back upon their great sin and bring the heavy 
pressure of present calamity upon them with 
all its suggestive power to show them that God 
was taking them in band for that wickedness. 
He also wished to see how they felt toward their 
father and toward Benjamin. Their feeling 
toward both the father and his youngest son 
would be an index of their penitence tor their 
great sin toward himself. Joseph was a man of 
consummate wisdom. Few men have ever lived 
who understood human nature better than he, 
or could plan better for a given effect. Conse¬ 
quently we shall not miss greatly if we infer his 
design from the actual effect. When we see 
what he accomplished, we are reasonably safe 
in saying—This is what he aimed to do. H. C. 

36. Ali tiles 151 hi 11 ^;^ are aj^aisist me. 
These things were not against him. They were 
really working for his after good. They were 
onward steps in that process by which he was 
to recover his long-lost son, and was to have 
conferred upon him those years of happiness 
which, as we read the story, we are apt to call 
the Sabbath of his life, with its rest, its thank¬ 
fulness, and its joy. W. M. T.-Instead of 

being a'jainst him, all these things were for- 
him ; and by all these means, was the merciful 
God working for the preservation of himself and 
his family, and tho fulfilment of his ancient 
promise, that the posterity of Abraham should 


he as the stars of heaven for multitude. A. C. 
Notwithstanding all the promises he had re¬ 
ceived from the God of Bethel, Jacob’s heart 
sunk under the weight of this complicated dis¬ 
tress ; and in his infirmity he pronounced 
against himself and against the faitlifulness of 
God, “ All these things are against me.” How 
could any circumstance be against a good man 
to whom it was secured by covenant that all 
things should work together for his good ? Poor 
man, how weak is thy faith ! Is it so much 
against thee that Joseph is taken from thee to 
be the lord of Egypt and the nourisher of thine 
old age? But how glorious did the providence 
of God appear to Jacob when he lay infolded in 
the arms of his Joseph ! What a sufficient ex¬ 
planation was that of the mysterious dealings 
of his heavenly Father ! We shall not all see 
such full explanations in this life, but we shall 
all see them. When the whole skein of provi¬ 
dence is unfolded, all will apj^ear as those mys¬ 
terious events did to Jacob when he met with 
his long-lost son. Love,—the love of God,— 
the love of Jesus, will appear to have animated 
the whole machine of government and to have 
moved every wheel. And ten thousand voices, 
which once pronounced, “ All these things are 
against me,” will shout and sing, Hosanna to 
Him who made my tears to flow. Everlasting 
thanks to a Father’s care for the furnace in 
which I was purified for glory. Alleluia. Bless¬ 
ing and honor and glory to Him who made my 
tears to flow. Grijjin. 


Sectirn 70. 

t 

SECOND JOURNEY TO EGYPT—WITH BENJAMIN. 

Genesis 43 :1-34. 

1 And the famine was sore in the land. And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the 

2 corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a 

3 little fond. And Judah spake unto him, saying. The man did solemnly protest unto us, 

4 saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. If thou wilt send our 

5 brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food : but if thou wilt not send him, we will 
not go down ; for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with 

() you. And Israel said. Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had 

7 yet a brother? And they said, Tbe man asked slraitly concerning ourselves, and concerning 
our kindred, saying. Is your father yet alive? have ye anothn brother? and we told him ac¬ 
cording to the tenor of these words : could we in any wise know that he would say, Bring 

8 your brother down? And Judah said unto Israel his father. Send the lad with me. and w-e 
will arise and go ; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also oui little ones. 









JSECTIOy 70.—GENESIS 43 : 1-34. 


517 


9 1 Vt’ill be surety for him ; of my hand shalt thou require him : if I bring him not unto thee, 

10 and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever : for except we had lingered, 

11 surely we had now returned a second time. And their father Israel said unto them, If it be 
so now, do this ; take of the choice fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry down the man 

12 a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spicery and myirh, nuts, and almonds ; and take 
double money in your band ; and the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks 

13 carry again in }our hand ; peiadventure it was an oversight: take also your brother, and 

11 arise, go again unto the man : and God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may 

release unto you your other brother and Benjamin. And if I be bereaved of luy childien, I 
,am bereaved. 

15 And the men took that present, and they took double monej’ in their hand, and Benjarnia : 

16 and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. And when Joseph saw Ben¬ 
jamin with them, he said to the steward of his house. Bring the men into the house, and slay, 

17 and make ready ; for the men shall diue with me at noon. And the man did as Joseph bade ; 

18 and the man brought the men into Joseph's house. And the men were atiaid, because they 
were brought into Joseph’s house ; and the^'^ said. Because of the money that was returned in 
our sacks at the first time are we brought in ; that he maj’ seek occasion against us, and fall 

19 upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses. And they came near to the steward of 

20 Joseph’s house, and they spake unto him at the door of the house, and said. Oh my lord, we 

21 came indeed down at the first time to buy food : and it came to pass, when we came to the 
lodging place, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man’s money was in the mouth of 

22 his sack, our money in full weight : and we have brought it again in our hand. And other 
money have we brought down in our hand to buj' food : we know not who put our money.in 

23 our sacks. And he said. Peace be to you, fear not ; your God, and the God of your father, 
hath given you treasure in your sacks : I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto 

24 them. And the man brought the men into Joseph’s house, and gave them water, and they 

25 washed their feet ; and he gave their asses provender. And they made ready the present 

26 against Joseph came at noon : for they heard that they should eat bread there. And when 
Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, 

27 and bowed down themselves to him to the earth. And he asked them of their welfare, and 

28 said. Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive? And they said. 
Thy servant our father is well, he is yet alive. And they bow’ed the head, and made obei- 

29 sance. And he lifted up his ej^es, and saw Benjamin his brother, his mother’s son. and said. 
Is this your youngest brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious 

30 unto thee, my son. And Joseph made haste ; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother : 

31 and he sought where to weep ; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there. And he 

32 washed his face, and came out ; and he refrained himself, and said. Set on bread. And they 
set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat 
with him, by themselves : because the Egj'ptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews ; for 

33 that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. And they sat before him, the firstborn according 
to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth : and the men marvelled one with 

34 another. And he took and sent messes unto them from before him : but Benjamin’s mess was 
five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him. 


The careful student of Stephen’s speech can 
hardly fail to see that he had One greater than 
Joseph in his mind, when he lerninded his 
hearers how their fathers, “ moved with env}', 
sold Joseph into Egypt ; but God was with him, 
and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and 
gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of 
Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made him gov. 
ernor over Egypt, and all his house ” Even so 
had they, too, moved with envy, delivered Jesus 
into the hands of Gentiles ; even so had God 
been with Him, and highly exalted Him, and 
given Him a name that was above every name ; 


and even so, though His own nation might re¬ 
ject Him, yet in Him should the Gentiles trust. 

J. P. N.-When the chosen family were in the 

process of assuming the rudimentarj' form of 
that people through whom salvation and bless¬ 
ing were to come to other kindreds of the earth, 
the beginning was rendered prophetic of the 
end ; the operations both of the evil and the 
good in the infancy of the nation were made to 
image the prospective manifestation that was to 
be given of them when the things of the divine 
kingdom should rise to their destined maturity. 
Especially in the history of Joseph, the repre- 




518 


SECOND JOURNEY TO EGYPT—WITH BENJAMIN 


sentative of the covenant in its earlier Kia::^e, 
was there given a wonderful similitude of Him 
in whom its powers and blessings were to be 
concentrated in their entire fulness, and who 
was therefore in all things to obtain the pre¬ 
eminence among His brethren. Like Joseph, 
the Son of Maiy, though born among brethren 
after the flesh, was treated as an alien ; envied 
and persecuted even from His infancy, and 
obliged to find a temporary refuge in the very 
land that shielded Joseph from the fury of his 
kindred. His supernatural and unblemished 
righteousness continually provoked the malice 
of the world, and at the same time received the 
most unequivocal tokens of the divine favor and 
blessing. It was that righteousness, exhibited 
amid the greatest trials and indignities, in the 
deepest debasement, and in worse than prison- 
house attiiction, which procured His elevation 
to the right hand of power and glory, from 
which He was thence^forth to dispense the 
means of salvation to the world. In the dis¬ 
pensation, too, of these blessings, it was the 
hardened and cruel enmity of His immediate 
kindred which opened the door of grace and 
blessing to the heathen ; and the sold, hated, 
and crucified One becomes a Prince and Saviour 
to the nations of the earth, while His famishing 
brethren reap in bitterness of soul the fruit of 
their inexcusable hatred and malice. Nor is 
there a door of escape to be found for them 
until they come to acknowledge, in contrition 
of heart, that they are verily guilty concerning 
their brother. Then, however, looking unto 
Him whom they have pierced, and owning Him 
as, by God’s appointment, the one channel of 
life and blessing, their hatred shall be repaid 
with love, and they shall be admitted to share 
in the inexhaustible fulness that is treasured 
up in Christ. P. F. 

1 - 10 , The pressure of famine is again upon 
the encampment in Hebron ; and Jacob says to 
his sons, “ Go again, buy us a little food.” 
This is what his sons have waited for. Judah 
comes now to the front, and manifests the high¬ 
est wisdom and the greatest consideration for 
all parties concerned. He reminded his father 
that it would be only making matters worse for 
them if they should return to Egypt without 
Benjamin, since that would be interpreted by 
the Egj'ptian lord as an evidence that they had 
spoken untruly on their former visit, and would 
probably end in the imprisonment of them all 
along with Simeon ; so that, as the result, he 
wmuld have neither food nor sons, save Ben¬ 
jamin only. And when his father asked why 
they had told the great man that they had an¬ 


other brother, he defended their conduct by 
describing how the information bad been forced 
out of them by the accusation that they w’ere 
spies, and by the repeated interrogations of 
their questioner, consequent upon their state¬ 
ment that the}’’were all sons of one man. There 
was no resisting the force of his words when he 
asked. “ Could we certainly know that he would 
say. Bring your brother down ?” But the pow’er 
of his ajipeal was strengthened when with a 
noble spirit of self-sacrifice he ottered himself 
as surety for the safety of Benjamin. W M. T. 

8, The lad. The peculiar usage or the He¬ 
brew in regard to “ lad ” is heie to be boine in 
mind. Benjamin vvas now at least thirty years 
of age ; and had children of his own yet he is 
here called “ a lad,” because he was the young¬ 
est of all the sons of Jacob, and, in the lack of 
Joseph, the favorite of his aged father. Bush. 

14. God Almi^flity. El Shadddi Jacob 
here uses that name of the Most High, by which 
He made Himself known to Abraham, and after¬ 
ward renewed His covenant with Jacob himself. 
Hereb}^ he calls to mind the promise of protec¬ 
tion to himself and his house, as w'ell as the 
power of Him who had promised. E. H. B. 

- God Almighty give you mercy before the man, 

that he may send away your other brother, and Ben¬ 
jamin. Yet, if God had otherwise appointed,— 
if He saw fit to take from him his children, his 
faith w'ould rise to this also : “ And I, if I am 
bereaved, I am bereaved !”—good is the will of 
the Lord, and he would bow before it. It is 
touching (vs. 11, 12) to watch his feeble attempts 
to ward off the wrath of the dreaded Egyptian. 
It w^as a famine-year, and there w'onld be scarcity 
of the luxuries which were usually exported 
from the East to Egypt. Let them, then, take 
a present of such dainties to the Egyptian—“ a 
little balm, and a little honey, spices, and 
myrrh, nuts, and almonds.” As for the money’ 
which had been put back into their sacks, it 
might have been an oversight. Let them take 
it again with them, along with the iiriceof what 
corn they were now to purchase. And so let 
them go forth in the name of the God of Israel 
—Benjamin, and all the rest. He would re¬ 
main behind alone, as at the fords of Jabbok, 
—no, not alone ; but in faith and patience 
awaiting the issue. A E. 

18. They were afraid, becausp they were brought 
in'o Joseph's house. The just challenges of 
their owm consciences and Joseph’s suspicions 
of them forbade them to expect any favor, and 
suggested to them that this w’as done with a 
bad design upon them. Those that are guilty 
and timorous are apt to make the worst of 




519 


SECTION lO.-GENESIS 43 : 1 - 34 . 


everything. H.-Their accusing consciences 

represented everything to them through a dis¬ 
heartening medium. Yet according to the pre¬ 
vailing custom of the East, the very fact that 
they had been invited to Joseph’s table was in 
itself an encouraging circumstance. 

IS-26. They imagined that they were to 
be called in question about the money which 
they had found in their sacks on their return 
from their former visit ; therefore they took the 
opportunity, as they were approaching the 
palace, to make the steward acquainted with 
the true state of the case. But he reassured 
them by telling them that he had received their 
money, and by bringing Simeon out to them 
that they might be all united once again One 
cannot but marvel at the spirit manifested by 
thii? servant. He seems, indeed, to have been 
taken by his master into his confidence for the 
occasion, and the words which he uses would 
indicate either that Joseph had told him pre¬ 
cisely what to say, or that he was himself, under 
the influence and example of Joseph, a believer 
in Jehovah ; for thus he speaks : “ Peace be to 
you, fear not ; your God, and the God of your 
father, hath given 3 mu treasure in your sacks; 
I had your money.” Surely now, therefore, 
they would be set at rest, for was not this an 
answer to their father’s prayer, ” God Almighty 
give you mercy before the man” ? That im¬ 
pression would be deepened when they saw 
that the steward treated them as his master’s 
guests, and gave them water for their feet and 
provender for their asses, telling them at the 
same time that they should eat bread there. So 
they got their present read}', and when Joseph 
came they put it into his hands and bowed 
themselves to the earth, thus once again fulfil 
ling the dream of his youth. W. M. T. 

26. Pre§eiit. There was still more in the 
incident than a proof of Jacob’s wish to concili¬ 
ate the lord of Egypt. The giving of costly pres¬ 
ents was and ever has been in that quarter of 
the world, the usual token of homage to superiors. 
As this present came from Jacob by the hand of 
his sons, Joseph’s dream might now be consid¬ 
ered as verified, that the sun, moon, and eleven 
stars did obeisance to him. When his brethren 
bowed down themselves to the earth before 
him, they humbly solicited his favor for their 
father as well as for themselves. Bush. 

27-30. Little could they imagine what 
thoughts passed through his mind, as in true 
Oriental fashion they laid out the humble pres¬ 
ents his father had sent, and lowly “ bowed 
themselves to him to the earth.” His language 
ill concealed his feelings. Again and again he 


inquired for his father, and as they replied ; 

ih}' servant our father is in good health ; he 
is ytt alive,” they again “ bowed down their 
heads, and made obeisance.” But when he 
fastened his e^'eson Benjamin, his own mother’s 
sou, and had faltered it out, so unlike an Egyp¬ 
tian : “ God be gracious unto thee, m}' son,” 
he was obliged hastily to withdraw, “ for his 
bowels did j’earn upon his brother.” Twent}*- 
two years had jjassed since he had been parted 
from his brother Would they who had once 
sacrificed him on account of jealousy, be read}' 
again to abandon his brother for the sake of 
selfishness ? A. E. 

2J>. Ifly son. Benjamin was only seven 
years younger than Joseph—therefore thirty- 
two years old. This term is rather the kind ex¬ 
pression of a superior, than any allusion to Ben¬ 
jamin's youth. The words contain not so much 
a particular blessing, but an usual form of 
friendly salutation in the East. Gerl. 

33. The brothers of Joseph sat before him at 
the table, while according to patriarchal prac¬ 
tice they were accustomed to recline. It ap¬ 
pears from the sculptures that the Egyptians 
also were in the habit of sitting at table, al¬ 
though they had couches. Sofas were used for 
sleeping. In a painting in Bosellini each one 
of the guests sits upon a stool, which, in ac¬ 
cordance with the custom, took the place of the 

couch. Ilengs. - That the brethren of Joseph 

were seated according to their age must have in¬ 
creased the mystery which they felt hanging 
about their relation to him. It must have made 
the impression on them that the man on whom 
their life and happiness depended had more 
than human knowledge ; that he could pene¬ 
trate into the most intimate relations and cir¬ 
cumstances of their family-life. 34. But the 
remarkable distinction bestowed on Benjamin 
must have appeared to them even more strange 
and important. In the family of his father 
Benjamin occupied the position of Joseph, and 
it was soon to appear whether the want of af¬ 
fection which had characterized their conduct 
toward Joseph would also characterize that 
toward Benjamin. For the circumstance that 
Benjamin received a fivefold portion forms 
quite a parallel to the peculiar dress by which 
the atfection of his father had distinguished 
Joseph. At that time only envy, hatred, and 
vengeance had been the consequences of this 
distinction ; it was now to appear whether the 
same would result in the case of Benjamin. K. 

The host appears to become satisfied of one 
thing, that his guests are no longer envious one 
of another. They do not murmur, though the 






520 


THE SILVER CUP. 


representative of Egypt’s monarchy confers es¬ 
pecial favors upon the youngest. Ambition no 
longer sways their nearts as once it did. Malice 
has given place to kindly feelings ; hatred, to 

love. J. S. V.-We may be sure that if they 

had been envious of Benjamin they would have 


revealed it by their remarks upon his proced¬ 
ure. But no such manifestation was made by 
them, and the feast was one of harmonious 
gladness, “ for they drank and were merry with 
him.” W. M. T. 


Section 71. 

THE SILVER CUP. JUDAH’S ELOQUENT PLEA. 

Genesis 44 :1-34. 

1 And he commanded the steward of his house, saying. Fill the men’s sacks with food, as 

2 much as they can carry, and put every man’s money in his sack’s month. And put my cup, 
the silver cup, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did accord- 

3 ing to the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the morning was light, the men were 

4 sent away, they and their asses. And when they were gone out of the city, and were not yet 
far off, Joseph said unto his steward. Up, follow after the men ; and when tbou dost overtake 

5 them, say unto them. Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good ? Is not this it in which my 

6 lord drinketh, and whereby he indeed divineth ? ye have done evil in so doing. And he over- 

7 took them, and he spake unto them these words. And they said unto him, Wherefore speak- 

8 eth my lord such words as these ? God forbid that thy servants should do such a thing. Be¬ 
hold, the money, which we found in our sacks’ mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the 

9 land of Canaan : how then should we steal out of thy lord’s house silver or gold ? With 
whomsoever of thy servants it be found, let him die, and we also will be my lord’s bondmen. 

10 And he said. Now also let it be according unto your words : he with whom it is found shall 

11 be my bondman ; and ye shall be blameless. Then they hasted, and took down every man 

12 his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack. And he searched, and began at the 

13 eldest, and left at the youngest : and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. Then they rent 

14 their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city. And Judah and his 

brethren came to Joseph’s house ; and he was yet there : and they fell before him on the 

15 ground. And Joseph said unto them. What deed is this that ye have done ? know ye not that 

16 such a man as I can indeed divine ? And Judah said. What shall we say unto my lord? what 

shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy 
servants ; behold, we are my lord’s bondmen, both we, and he also in whose hand the cup is 

17 found. And he said, God forbid that I should do so ; the man in whose hand the cup is 
found, he shall be my bondman ; but as for you, get you up in peace unto your father. 

18 Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak 
a word in my lord’s ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant : for thou art even 

19 as Pharaoh. My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, ora brother? And w^e 

20 said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one ; and 

21 his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him. And thou 

22 saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him. And 
we said unto my lord. The lad cannot leave his father : for if he should leave his father, his 

23 father would die. And thou saidst unto thy servants. Except your youngest brother come 

24 down with you, ye shall see my face no more. And it came to pass when we came up unto 

25 thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. And our father said. Go again, buy 

26 us a little food. And we said. We cannot go down ; if our youngest brother be with us, then 
will we go down : for we may not see the man’s face, except our youngest brother be with us. 

27 And thy servant my father said unto us. Ye know that my wife bare me two sons : and the 

28 one went out from me, and I said. Surely he is torn in pieces ; and I have not seen him 








SECTION 71.—GENESIS 44 : 1-84. 


521 


29 since and if ye take this one also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my 

30 gray nairs with sorrow to the grave. Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, 

31 and ihe lad be not with us ; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad’s life ; it shall come to 
pa'.s, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die : and thy servants shall bring 

32 down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to ihe grave. For thy servant be¬ 
came surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then shall I bear 

33 the blame to my father for ever. Now therefore, let thy servant, I pray thee, abide instead of 

34 the lad a bondman to my lord ; and let the lad go up with his brethren For how shall I go 
up to my father, and the lad be not with me ? lest I see the evil that shall come on my father. 


1-5. Joseph has had the satisfaction of see¬ 
ing his brother Benjamin safe and well. He 
has heard his brothers acknovvledging their guilt 
concerning himself. He resolves to put their 
attachment to Benjamin, and the genuineness 
of their change of disposition, to a test that 
will at the same time expose Benjamin to no 

hazard. M.-It is evidently his purpose to 

test the disposition of the ten toward his 
youngest brother and toward his father. At 
former int<^rviews he had sought to awaken con¬ 
science ; now he seeks to ascertain the feelings 
of their hearts. Is their affection for Benjamin 
above the reach of envy ? their love for a father 
'such that partiality shown to Rachel’s son will 
no longer excite malice? Will they cling to a 
brother in adversity ? Will they make sacrifices 
to secure his return to a doting father? J. S. V. 

5. Whereby lie diviiietli. Divining 
by cups, we learn from this, was a common cus¬ 
tom in Egypt. It is here mentioned to enhance 

the value of the cup. M.-The word ren- 

dered divineth [nichesh) means to hiss like a 
serpent {nachash), and hence to murmur incan¬ 
tations. There is no proof that Joseph himself 
really practised this divination : the whole in¬ 
tent is to inspire terror into his brethren, and 
impress them with his supernatural character. 
Alf. 

7-14, The charge of treachery and of theft 
so took the brothers by surprise, that, in their 
conscious innocence, they offered to surrender 
the life of the guilty and the liberty of all the 
others, if the cup were found with any of them. 
But the steward had been otherwise instructed. 
He was to isolate Benjamin from the rest. With 
feigned generosity he now refused their pro¬ 
posal, and declared his purpose only to retain 
the guilty as bondsman. The search w'as made, 
and the cup found in the sack of Benjamin. 
Now the first great trial of their feelings en¬ 
sued. They were all free to go home to their 
own wives and children ; Benjamin alone was 
to be a bondsman : the cup had been found in 
his sack ! Granting that, despite appearances, 
they knew him to be innocent, why should they 
stand by him ? They had formerly got rid of 


one favorite, why hesitate now, when Provi¬ 
dence itself seemed to rid them of another? 
What need, nay, what busiue.ss had the^ to 
identify themselves with him ? Was it not 
enough that he had been put before them every- 
W'here ; must they now destroy tueir whole 
family, and suffer their little ones to perish for 
the sake of one who, to say the best, seemed 
fated to involve them in misery and ruin ? So 
they might have reasoned. But so they did not 
reason, niir, indeed, did they reason at all ; for 
in all matters of duty reasoning is ever danger¬ 
ous, and only absolute, immediate obedience to 
what is right, is safe. “They rent their 
clothes, and laded every man his ass, and re¬ 
turned to the city.’ ’ In the presence of Joseph, 
“ they fell before him on the ground ’’ in mute 
grief. A. E. 

The brothers, recognizing now their brother¬ 
hood, circled round Benjamin, and, to a man, 
resolved to go back with him to Egypt. Thus 
Joseph in seeking to gain one brother found 
eleven—for now there could be no doubt that 
they were very different men from those 
brethren who had so heartlessly sold into slavery 
their father’s favorite—men now with really 
brotherly feelings, by penitence and regard for 
their father so wrought together into one fam¬ 
ily, that this calamity, intended to fall only on 
one of their number, did in falling on him fall 
on them all. So far from wishing now to rid 
themselves of Rachel’s son and their father’s 
favorite, who had been put by their father in so 
prominent a place in his affection, they will not 
even give him up to suffer what seemed the 
just punishment of his theft, do not even re¬ 
proach him with having brought them all into 
disgrace and difficulty, but, as humbled men 
who knew they had greater sins of their own to 
answer for, \yent quietly back to Egypt, deter¬ 
mined to see their younger brother through his 
misfortune or to share his bondage with him. 
Had these men not been thoroughly changed, 
thoroughlj’’ convinced that at all costs upright 
dealing and brotherly love should continue ; 
had they not possessed that first and last of 
Christian virtues, love to their brother, then 





522 


JUDAirS ELOQUENT SPEECU. 


nothing could so certainly have revealed their 
want of it as this apparent theft of Benjamin’s. 
Dods. 

If3. Know yc not tSiat I cnna divine ? 

This pretence of practising divination is in 
keeping with the whole transaction, which was 
a feint throughout. Joseph was supporting the 
character of an Egyptian of rank, and as it was 
known that such a person would daily consult 
his divining cup for the good or evil auguries 
of the day, the prompt detection of the alleged 
theft would be the more readily accounted for. 

Kit. -It is plain that he is merely carrying on 

to its final development the trial which he was 
making of the temper of his brethren. He put 
on a stern aspect, and upbraided them with a 
pretended crime, but it was to give them occa 
sion to show their innocency and their repent 
ance. Bitsh. 

16. Judah comes to the front here ; it is 
“Judah and his brethren” who come to Jo¬ 
seph’s house, and Judah who makes the plea in 
behalf of Benjamin. The historian is careful 
to say again that when they met Joseph “ they 
fell before him on the ground.” He also re¬ 
marks that Joseph was yet in his house, hav¬ 
ing remained there ever since the caravan left 
in the early morning, too full of thought on 
this subject to turn to any other business. Now 
he expects to learn how they feel toward Ben¬ 
jamin and toward their aged father. He must 
be sure they are all right on these points before 
he lifts the vail and shows them himself. They 
are brought as criminals before him. With a. 
sternness that is not at all in his heart but in 
his assumed manner only, he says —What deed 
is this that ye have done ? Were ye not aware 
that I have the power of positive and certain 
divination? Judah is in deep perplexity, but 

he speaks frankly. H. C.-In saying “ God 

hath found out the iniquity of thy servants,” 
he does not mean to plead guilty to the present 
charge, nor make a definite acknowledgment of 
any particular offence, but to say in general, 
that it was in consequence of former misdeeds 
that God had suffered them to fall into this un¬ 
happy predicament, and to express a willing¬ 
ness that he should punish them in this way, 
if he saw fit. They well knew that they had 
sold Joseph for a slave, and filled up many of 
the years of their father’s life with bitter an- 
guish, and they admit that it were a righteous 
thing with God to make them all slaves for 
crimes which their consciences charged upon 
them, but of which they supposed Joseph to 
be profoundly ignorant. Bash. 

l§-34. In mute despair all the brothers 


remain prostrate on the ground ; only Judahf 
equally bold and humble, ventures to come near 
to the severe ruler of Egypt. His heart, full of 
love and sorrow, of repentance and grief, finds 
vent in speech, which, like a pent-uj) stream, 
breaks through the dam—artless and simple, 
but impressive and convincing, eloquent and 
irresistible, as scarce speech had ever flowed 
from man’s lips. The vividness of his descrip¬ 
tion is inimitable. Bapidl}^ he relates the state 
of matters ; he describes the attachment with 
which his father cleaves to the youth, the anx¬ 
ious care with which he had dismissed him, and 
the wretchedness through which, in consequence 
of his loss, his gray hairs would go down to the 
grave with sorrow. Then he adds that himself 
had become surety for the lad, and entreats to 
allow him to remain as slave in his room. K. 

We can imagine nothing more perfect than 
this address of Judah for the object of over¬ 
powering the sensibilities of him to whom it 
was spoken. In simplicity and touching pathos 
it excels every composition I ever met ; nor can 
I figure a combination of traits and circum¬ 
stances more fitted to tell on the heart of 
Joseph, and to operate as a fit precursor for 
the emotions which he could no longer repress. 
The most effective of these references were to 
his father, an old man ; and the child of his 
old age ; and the death of the brother, and the 
love borne by Jacob to the only surviving child 
of his mother, now taken from them. Then 
there was Jacob’s conjecture of him who was 
torn in pieces, and his saying, that if the other 
should be taken from him, his gray hairs would 
be brought with sorrow to the grave. The ex¬ 
pression of these things is varied in the course 
of the address, but so as to give additional in¬ 
tensity and power to the representation ; such 
as Jacob’s life being bound up in the lad’s life ; 
and Judah’s entreaty to be detained instead of 
Benjamin—for he could not look on the evil 
that was to come upon his father. No wonder 
that Joseph, unable longer to contain himself, 
should burst forth into a flood of tenderness at 
the time he did. Estimated a.s a mere literary 
composition, we can see nothing to equal this in 
any of the greatest masters of eloquence and 
poetry. Chatmers. 

Kalisch justly calls this pleading speech of 
Judah’s “ one of the masterpieces of Hebrew 
composition.” Its beauty mainly consists in 
the simple and pathetic statement of facts. 
Luther says, “ I would that I could jn-ay so well 
to our Lord God, as Judah prays here to Joseph, 
for it is a pertVet example of prayer and of the 
earnestness which should be in prayer.” Atfi 







523 


SECTION 72.-GENESIS 45 : 1-24. 


• When one sees such passages related by men 
who att'ect no art, and who lived long of lei' the 
parties who first uttered ihem, we cannot con- 
ceive hdw all particulars could be so naturally 
and fully recorded unless they had been sug¬ 
gested by his Spirit who gives mouths and 
speech unto men ; who, being alike present to 
all successions, is able to communicate the 
secret thoughts of forefathers to their children, 
and put the very words, ne\er registered before, 
into the mouths or pens of their successors for 
many ages after, and that exactly, and dis¬ 
tinctly. For it is plain, that every circumstance 
is here related with such natural specifications 
as if Moses heard them talk. Jackson. 

Jiidah, in honor to the justice of Joseph’s 
sentence, aixd to show his sincerity in this plea, 
otters himself to become a bondman instead of 
Benjamin. Thus the law would be satisfied ; 
Joseph would be no loser ; and Jacob would 


better bear the loss of him than of Benjamin. 
Now, so far was he from grieving at his father’s 
particular fondness for Benjamin, that he is 
himself willing to be a bondman, to indulge it. 
Judah’s faithful adherence to Benjamin, now 
ill his distress, was recompensed long after by 
the constant adherence of the tribe of Benjamin 
to the tribe of Judah, when all the other ten 

tribes had deserted it. H.-As Judah spoke, 

so the rest felt. They could not bring them¬ 
selves to inflict a new sorrow on their aged 
father • neither could they bear to leave their 
young brother in the hands of strangers. There 
is now discernible a common feeling that binds 
them together, and a common object for which 
they willingly sacrifice themselves. They arc, 
therefore, now prepared to pass into that higher 
school to w'hich God called them in Egypt. 
Bods. 


Fection 72. 

JOSEPH DISCLOSES HIMSELF. PHARAOH’S INVITATION TO JACOB. 

Genesis 45 : 1-24. 

1 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him ; and he cried, 
Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made 

2 himself known unto his brethren. And he wept aloud : and the Egyptians heard, and the 

3 house of Pharaoh heard. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph ; doth my father 
3 '^et live? And his brethren could not answer him ; for they were troubled at his presence. 

4 And Joseph said unto his brethren. Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And 

5 he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. And now be not grieved, nor 
angry wdth yourselves, that ye sold me hither : for God did send me before you to preserve 

6 life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land : and there are yet five years, m 

7 the which there shall be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me.before you to pre- 

8 serve you a remnant in the earth, and to save you alive by a great deliverance. So now it was 
not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of 

9 all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Haste ye, and go up to my father, and 
say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt : come dowm 

10 unto me, tarry not : and thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto 
me, thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and 

11 all that thou hast : and there wdll I nourish thee ; for there are yet five years of famine ; lest 

12 thou come to iroverty, thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast. And, behold, your 
eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my month that speaketh unto you. 

13 And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen : and ye 

14 shall haste and bring dowm my father hither. And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, 

15 and wept ; and Benjamin w'ept upon his neck And he kissed all his brethren, and wept 
upon them : and after that his brethren talked with him. 






624 


JOSEPH DISCLOSES HIMSELF. 


16 And the fame thereof was heard in Phnraoh’s house, saying, Joseph’s brethren are come : 

17 and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy 

18 brethren. This do ye ; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan ; and take 
your father and your households, and come unto me : and I will give you the good of the land 

19 of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land. Now thou art commanded, this do ye ; take 
you wagons out of the land of Eg 3 'pt for jmur little ones, and for your wives, and bring your 

20 father, and come. Also regard not jmur stuff ; for the good of all the land of Egj'pt is jmurs. 

21 And the sons of Israel did so : and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment 

22 of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way. To all of them he gave each man changes 
of raiment ; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five chauges of rai- 

23 ment. And to his father he sent after this manner ; ten asses laden with the good things of 

24 Egypt, and ten she-asses laden with corn and bread and victual for his father by the way. So 
he sent his brethren away, and they departed : and he said unto them, See that ye fall not 
out by the way. 


1. The pleading of Judah has conquered, not 
the determination of Joseph, which had no real 
existence, but his power of repressing his feel¬ 
ings. But he will not have the Egyptians know 
the details of his brethren’s crime and his own 
secret history. A/f. 

Joseph could not refrain liiinself. 

The repentance of his brothers and their at¬ 
tachment to Benjamin have been demonstrated 
in the most satisfactory manner. This is all 
that Joseph sought. It is evident throughout 
the whole narrative, that he never aimed at ex¬ 
ercising any sirpremacy over his brothers. As 
soon as he has obtained an affecting proof of 
the right disposition of his brothers, he con¬ 
ceals himself no longer. Judah has painted the 
scene at home to the life ; and Joseph can 

hold out no longer. M.-Joseph could no 

longer constrain himself to act a feigned part 
—all the brother and the son rose up in him at 
once ; he felt for his father —he realized his 
disappointment and agony, and he felt for his 
brethren ; and, that ho might give free and full 
scope to his feelings, he ordered all his attend¬ 
ants to go out, while he made himself knowi to 
his brethren. j 

3-§, The speech of Joseph to his brethren is 
inferior only to that of Judah, in the preceding 
chapter. He saw that his brethren were con¬ 
founded at his presence—that they were struck 
with his present power—and that they keenly 
remembered, and deeply deplored, their own 
guilt. How delicate and finely wrought is the 
apology he makes for them ! the whole heart of 
the pious and affectionate brother is at once 
seen in it— art is confounded, and swallowed up 
bj^ nuture —Be not grieved, nor angry with 
3 ’ourselves—it was not you that sent me hither, 
but God.” What he saj-^s also concerning his 
father, shows the warmest feelings of a filial 
heart. Indeed, the whole chapter is a master¬ 
piece of composition ; and it is the more im¬ 


pressive, because it is evidently a simple relation 
of facts just ns they occurred : for no attempt is 
made to heighten the effect, by rhetorical col¬ 
oring, or jDhilosophical reflections ; it is all 
simple, sheer nature from beginning to end. It 
is a history that has no fellow, crowded with 
incidents as probable as they are true ; where 
every passion is called into action, and where 
every one acts up to its own character. A. C. 

The proof of their love to their aged father 
and to Benjamin i.s unmistakable ; Joseph is 
satisfied. They are penitent for their long past 
crime against him, and he can therefore at 
length break the secret and show himself their 
long-lost brother ! How do their ears tingle as 
they hear him say—“ I am Joseph; Doth my 
father j^et live?” The first shock is almost 
stunning ; they cannot answer him, for they are 
troubled at his presence. More kind words and 
the kindest possible manner are now in place. 
” Joseph said to his brethren. Come near to me, 
I pray you; and the}" came near.” Again he 
saj's—“ I am Joseph, your brother, whom ye 
sold into Egypt.” Then with a turn which 
evinces the exquisite tenderness of his heart, 
he begs them “ not to be grieved nor angry with 
themselves but to think rather of the design 
of God in permitting and providentially shap¬ 
ing this wonderful series of events. “ God did 
send me before you to preserve life. There are 
five more years of famine 3 "et to come ; God 
sent me before you to preserve j^ou a posterity 
in the earth and to save your lives by a great 
deliverance. So now it was not j'ou that sent 
me hither, but God.” The best thing he could 
Fay under just those circumstances to soothe 
their minds and assure them of his full forgive¬ 
ness. H. C. 

Never any word sounded so strangely as this 
in the ears of the patriarchs. Wonder, doubt, 
reverence, joy, fear, hope, guiltiness, .struck 
them at once. It was time for Joseph to say, 





SECTION 72.—GENESIS 45 : 1-24. 


“ Fear not no marvel if they stood with pale¬ 
ness and silence before him ; looking on him, 
and on each other : the more they considered 
they wondered more ; and the more they be¬ 
lieved, the more they feared : for those words, 
“ I am Joseph,” seemed to sound thus much to 
their guilty thoughts ; “ You are murderers, 
ftnd I am a prince in spite of you : mv j^ower 
and this place give me all opportunities of re¬ 
venge ; my glory is your shame, my life your 
danger ; your sin lives together with me.” But 
now the tears and gracious words of Joseph as¬ 
sure them of i^ardon and love. Bp. II. 

A less delicate mind would have talked of 
forgii4.n,g them ; but he entreats them to for¬ 
give themselves, as though his forgiveness was 
not in question. They were not to consider 
their crime too great to be forgiven, either by 
that God or that brother whom they had of¬ 
fended. Indeed his main object seems now to 
be to bring them to eye the hand of an overrul¬ 
ing providence in all that had happened, so as 
to be reconciled to the event, though they might 
weep in secret for the part which they had 
acted. Bash. 

5-8, It might have been an injudicious 
speech to impenitent men ; but no further view 
of sin can lighten its heinousness to a really 
penitent sinner. Prove to him that his sin has 
become the means of untold good, and you only 
humble him the more, and more deeply con¬ 
vince him that while he was recklessly gratify¬ 
ing himself and sacrificing others for his own 
jdeasure, God has been mindful of others, and, 
pardoning him, has blessed them. God does 
not need our sins to work out His good inten¬ 
tions, but we give Him little other material ; 
and the discovery that through our evil pur¬ 
poses and injurious deeds God has worked out 
His beneficent will, is certainly’’ not calculated 
to make us think more lightly of our sin or 
more highly of ourselves. Joseph in thus ad¬ 
dressing his brethren did, in fact, but add to 
their feelings the tenderness that is in all re¬ 
ligious conviction, and that springs out of the 
consciousness that in all our sin there has been 
'With us a holy and loving Father, mindful of 
His children. This is the final stage of peni¬ 
tence. The knowledge that God has prevented 
our sin from doing the harm it might have 
done, does relieve the bitterness and despair 
with which we view our life, but at the same 
time it strengthens the most effectual bulwark 
l)etween us and sin—love to a holy, overruling 
God. Dods. 

When a man is truly penitent, and seems al¬ 
most paralyzed by the pierception of his guilt, 


to show him that God has brought good out of 
his evil will exalt God’s grace and wisdom in 
his eyes, and lead him more implicitly to cling 
to him. It is a comforting thought, that while 
we cannot undo the sin, God has kept it from 
undoing us, and has overruled it for greater 
good to ourselves and greater blessing to others 
than, perhaps, might otherwise have been 
attained. Wo can never be as we were before 
we committed it. Always there will be some 
sadness in our hearts and lives connected wiih 
it, and springing out of it. But still, if we 
really repent of it and return to God, there may 
come to us meat out of the eater, and sweet 
out of the bitter.” It may give us sympathy 
with others, and fit us for being helpful to 
others, so that, though we may be sadly con¬ 
scious of the evil of our course, we may yet see 
that through it all God was preparing us for the 
saving of those who, humanly speaking, but for 
our instrumentality would have gone down to 
perdition. But mark the condition—if we 
truly repent. There is no comfort otherwise. 
W. M. T. 

7 , On every word here a strong emphasis 
may be laid. It is not you, but God —it is not 
you that sold me, but God who sent me -Egypt 
and Canaan must both have perished, had not 
a merciful provision been made —were come 
down hither, and God sent me before you—sent 

me here to pres>rve life. A. C.-To save 

you alive. God’s Israel is the particular 
care of God’s providence. Joseph reckoned that 
his advancement was designed, not so much to 
save a whole kingdom of Egyptians, as to pre¬ 
serve a small family of Israelites : for the Lord's 
portion is his people; whatever goes with others, 
they shall be secured. Providence looks a great 
way forward, and has a long reach ; even long 
before the years of plent}’’. Providence was pre¬ 
paring for the supply of Jacob’s house in the 
jmars of famine. The psalmist praises God for 
this (105 : 17), He sent a man before them, even 
Joseph'. God sees his work from the beginning 
to the end, but we do not. H. 

So far as his brethren were concerned, their 
machinations were malignant ; yet were they 
all threads in that wonderful web of Providence 
which was partially unfolded in the four hun¬ 
dred years’ captivity, and more fully in the for¬ 
tunes of the Jewish nation, and the plan of re¬ 
demption. J. W. A -Joseph’s career is just 

predestination made familiar, and the Provi¬ 
dence of God made palpable. It burns and 
shines with present Deity, and while it says to 
the sinner. Be sure your sins will find you out, 
and tells that what man means for evil God 









52G 


JOSEPH DISCLOSES HIMSELF. 


manages for good, it also i:)roelaims—“ Tho 
counsel of the Lord standeth forever.” Hain- 
ilton. 

§. He liatli iiiadc me u futlier to 
Pliaraoli, and lord and raiier. You 

might have fancied that these words would have 
been uttered first. The dignity seemed so much 
the greater to be lord over a great kingdom, 
than to preserve a little Palestine family. But 
it could not be greater in the mind of Joseph ; 
his human affections made the support of that 
little family a dearer object to him than Pha¬ 
raoh and all Egypt. And his affections did not 
give out a false note, they responded to God’s 
own teaching and inspiration ; the support of 
that family was not only a higher and nearer 
duty to himself, it was a mightier service to 
mankind. He was maintaining, so he believed, 
a seed in which all families of the earth were 
to be blessed ; a witness for the divine order 
upon earth ; a witness against all contradic¬ 
tions and subversions of that order. But 
though this obligation was first, it did not ex¬ 
clude the other. His glory in Egypt had not 
been sought for by himself, it had been thrust 
upon him. God, who had sent him to save his 
own family by a great deliverance, had surely 
just as much proposed that he should be a 
father to Pharaoh and a lord of his land. So 
Joseph ju Iged ; on that faith he acted. Miurice, 
-It was God that brought him to the knowl¬ 
edge of Pharaoh, and gave him favor in his 
sight. It was God that exalted him, and en¬ 
dowed him with knowledge, and wisdom, and 
authorit}’’, to be an eminent benefactor to Pha¬ 
raoh and his kingdom. He looked beyond his 
brethren to God when he thought upon his af¬ 
flictions, and beyond Pharaoh to God when he 
thought of his exaltation. Thus he bears his 
affliction with meekness and his elevation with 
humility. Bush. 

9. There is one quality which runs like a 
thread through Joseph’s whole history, h't.s affec- 
ii'tn for his father. "When his brethren first came 
before him, his question was, “ Is your father 
yet alive?” Again the question was, “ Is your 
father well, the old man of whom ye spake, is he 
yet alive?” Afterward Judah came near unto 
him, and entreated him for his brother, telling 
him how that he had been “ surety to his/a^Aer” 
to bring him back, how that “ hls fother avas an 
old man,” and that this was the child of his 
old age, and that he loved him,”—how it would 
come to pass that if he should not see the lad 
with him he would die, and his gray hairs be 
brought with sorrow to the grave: for “how 
shall I go to my father, and the lad be not with 


me ?—lest, peradventure, I see the evil that 
shall come on my father." Then Joseph’s firm¬ 
ness forsook him—he could not refrain himself 
any longer, and made himself known to his 
brethren. Then, even in the paroxysm which 
came on him (for he wept algud so that the 
Egyptians heard), still his first words uttered 
from the fulness of his heart were, “ Doth my 
father yet live?’’ He now bids them hasten 
and bring the old man down, bearing to him 
tokens of his love and tidings of his glory. He 
goes to meet him-he presents himself unto 
him, and falls on his neck and weeps on his 
neck a good while—he provides for him and his 
household out of the fat of the land—he sets 
him before Pharaoh By and by he hears that 
he is sick, and hastens to visit him—he receives 
his blessing—watches his death-bed. And 
afterward it is the fa'htr's memory which his 
brethren count upon and appeal to, in, their 
fear lest Joseph should requite to them the 
evil they had done. Blunt. 

14, 15. After sending a warm request to 
Jacob to come and see all his glory in Egypt, 
he turned to Benjamin, and fell upon his neck 
and wept. ” Moreover, he kissed all his breth¬ 
ren, and wept upon them, and after that his 
brethren talked with him.” How natural it all 
is ! How exquisitely told ! and how remark¬ 
able that there should be no effort on the part 
of the narrator to describe the surprise of the 
brothers at the unexpected revelation, or to re¬ 
count the conversation which followed on the 

reconciliation ! "NV. IVI. T.-The narrative 

contains no evidence that there was any recital 
of past wrongs. They had been many, and had 
left arrows of anguish within the soul. But 
they are left unrecounted. Their rehearsal 
could effect no good. The past is irreparable. 
Let the waters of oblivion bury the crimes and 
their consequences ; conscience has done its 
work, and now human intermeddling may do 
more injury than good. J. S. V. 

24, Sec tliiit ye fall not o«t toy llie 
way. Chaldee : Do not contend. The brothers 
were in effect forbidden to accuse each other 
with respect to the past. Joseph had seen the 
violent agitation of their minds, both when 
they were put in prison, and when he made him¬ 
self known to them. He had already heard 
from lleuben some severe reflections on his 
brethren, and he was afraid lest they should 
either feel more uneasiness iiian he wished them 
to do, or exasperate one another by reflections 
on their former conduct. In the course of 
their long journey their conversation would 
turn naturally on the remarkable events that 









527 


SECTION 73.—GENESIS 45 : 25-28; 46 : 1-27. 


tticl tfik©!! pl[ic6, flnd. without a strong guard 
both on their hearts and their lips they would 
he in danger of conceiving mutual resentments, 
hurtful to their comfort and their peace. If 


he had forgiven them all, it was highly rea¬ 
sonable that they should forgive one another. 
Joseph therefore was a peacemaker both by pre¬ 
cept and example. Bunk. 


Section 73. 

JACOB EECEEVES TIDINGS. THIRD BLESSING AT BEERSHEBA. 

Genesis 45 ; 25-28 ; 4G : 1-27. 

45 : 25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their 

26 father. And they told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is ruler over all the land 

27 of Egjpt. And his heart fainted, for he believed them not. And they told him all the 
words of Joseph, which he had said unto them : and when he saw the wagons which 

28 Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived : and Israel said. It 
is enough ; Joseph my son is yet alive : I will go and see him before I die. 

46 . 1 And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered 

2 sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. And God spake unto Israel in the visions of 

3 the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said. Here am I. And he said, I am God, the 
God of thy father : fear not to go down into Egypt ; for I wilt there make of thee a great 

4 nation : I will go down with thee into Egypt ; and I will also surely bring thee up again : 
6 and Joseph shall put his hand njion thine ej’es. And Jacob rose up from Beer sheba : 

and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, 

6 in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. And they took their cattle, and 
their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, 

7 and all his seed with him : his sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his 
sons’ daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Eg 3 'pt, 

8 And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and 

9 his sons : Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn. And the sons of Reuben : Hanoch, and Pallu, and 

10 Hezron, and Carmi. And the sons of Simeon ; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Chad, and 

11 Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitisli woman. And the sons of Levi ; 

12 Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, And the sons of Judah ; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and 
Perez, and Zerah : but Er and Onan died in the lard of Canaan. And the sons of Perez 

13 were Hezron and Harnul. And the sons of Issachar ; Tola, and Puvah, and lob, and 

14 Shimron. And the sons of Zebulun ; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel. These are the sons 

15 of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Paddan aram, with his daughter Dinah : all the 

16 souls of his sons and his daughters were thirt}^ and three. And the sons of Gad ; Ziphion, 

17 and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli. And the sons of Asher ; 
Imnah, and Ishvah, and Ishvi, and Beriah, and Serah their sister ; and the sons of 

18 Beriah ; Heber, and Malchiel. These are the sons of Zilpah, which Laban gave to Leah 

19 his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls. The sons of Rachel 

20 Jacob’s wife ; Joseph and Benjamin. And unto Joseph in the land of Egj’pt were born 
Manasseh and EiDhraim, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-phera priest of On bare unto 

21 him. And the sons of Benjamin ; Bela, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, 

22 Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard. These are the sons of Rachel, which 

23 were born to Jacob : all the souls were fourteen. And the sons of Dan ; Hushim. And 

24 the sons of Naphtali ; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem. These are the sons of 

25 Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob : all 

26 the souls were seven. All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of 





528 


BLESSING AT BEERSIIEBA. GOES TO EGYPT. 


27 his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were threescore and six ; and the sons 
of Joseph, which were born to him in Egypt, were two souls : all the souls of the house 
of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten. 


415 : 25-28. Two things his sons told him ; 
that Joseph was alive, and that he was governor 
of Egypt. But for Joseph’s glory and dominion 
Jacob does not rejoice as one greatly affected 
with it. It was his life that gave him the joy ; 
he said, “It is enough ; Joseph my son is yet 
alive.” Bp. Kidder. 

Cll. 4S, The removal of the chosen family 
to Egypt w'as an essential j^art of the great plan 
which God had traced out to their lather Abra¬ 
ham. The promise had now been given two 
hundred years, and they had neither possessions 
nor family alliances in the promised land. But 
they would soon have sought for both ; and the 
character already manifested by Jacob’s sons 
augured ill for their preserving either purity or 
piety amid the Canaanites. Their present re¬ 
lation to Canaan must be broken off, that it 
might be formed anew in due time. They must 
be placed among a people wdth whom they could 
not mix, but from whom they might learn the 
arts of civilization and industry ; and there, 
under the discipline of affliction, the family 

must be consolidated into a nation, P. S.-^- 

The promise God made to Abraham, to give his 
posterity the land of Canaan, could not be per¬ 
formed till that family was grown strong enough 
to take and keep possession of it. In the mean 
time they were necessitated to reside among 
idolaters, and to reside unmixed ; but whoever 
examines their history will see that the Israel¬ 
ites had ever a violent propensity to join them¬ 
selves to Gentile nations, and jiractise their 
manners. God, therefore, in his infinite wis¬ 
dom, brought them into Egypt, and kept them 
there during this period, the only place where 
they could remain for so long a time safe and 
unconfounded with the natives, the ancient 
Egyptians being by numerous institutions for¬ 
bidden all fellowship ivith strangers ; and bear¬ 
ing a particular aversion to the profession of 
the Israelites, who were shepherds. Thus (he 
natural dispositions of the Israelites, which in 
Egypt occasioned their superstitions and in 
consequence the necessity of a burdensome 
ritual, would in anj^ other country have ab- 
sorbed them into genlilism, and confounded 
them with idolaters. From the Israelites going 
into Egypt arises a new occasion to adore the 
footsteps of Eternal Wisdom, in his dispensa¬ 
tions to his chosen people. Warlmrton. -In 

Egypt they could become a great nation with¬ 
out any difficulties or obstructions, and without 


the least interference wuth their national and 
religious peculiarities. Such was the fertility 
and extent of Goshen that there was no occa¬ 
sion for them to be scattered, and no induce¬ 
ment to the members of particular tiibes to 
sepal ate from the general body. There was no 
fear of their mixing w'ith the Egyptians and 
giving ui:> their national and religious integrity. 
As Goshen was just as w’ell fitted for agricul¬ 
ture as it w^as for grazing, it naturally induced 
them to combine the pursuits of farming, gar¬ 
dening, and vine-grow'ing with those of their 
earlier nomad life, and thus fostered a taste for 
that mode of life, v hich was afteiwvard to form 
an essential part of their national existence. In 
the midst of the science, civilization, and in¬ 
dustry of Egypt, Israel was in the best school 
for that general culture, Avhich they would after¬ 
ward require. K,-Egypt w^as the seat of the 

strongest worldly jiower, and therefore furnished 
the best instrumentality for the infliction of 
such severe sufferings as wmuld awaken in the 
minds of the Israelites a longing for deliver¬ 
ance and a readiness to submit to their God ; 
wdiile, at the same time, it offered a splendid 
field for the manifestation of the power and 
justice and mercy of the God of Israel in the 
rescue of his people and the judgment of their 

enemies, llengs. -These two elements are 

expressly mentioned in the revelation which 
was made by God to Abraham (ch. 15 : 13-16). 
Thus Israel obtained ihe character of a redeemed 
people, which wuis of such great importance in 
its future destiny, and Jehovah then show'ed 
himself to be, what he was to continue to be in 
a constantly increasing degree, ihe Iledeemer in 
Israel. K. 

46 : 1. Jacob journeys from Hebron 25 miles 
south-w'est to Beersheba. This place had be¬ 
come memorable by the sojournings there of 
Abraham and Isaac, and himself also, and by 
the many testimonies there received of the favor 
and protection of their covenant God. This 
therefore he selects as the place for the offering 
up of his solemn sacrifices, a place lying on the 
borders of that land of promise wdiich he was 
now^ leaving forever, and w’here so many fa¬ 
miliar objects and sacred recollections would 
aid the devout sentiments of his heart. In his 
approaches to God he did not forget to avail 
himself of the covenant made with his fathers 
and of the promises already on record. 

i 3. 1 am God, the Oocl of tliy father. 









5W 


SECTION 73.~ GENESIS 45 : 25-28; 46 : 1-27. 


As such the patriarch sought Jehovah, and as 
such he found him. ' He well knew that Isaac 
had ever found God faithful to all his gracious 
engagements, and notiiing would yield him 
stronger consolation than to be assured that the 
same loving-kininess anl truth would be ex¬ 
tended to him also. Phis language, accord¬ 
ingly, was a virtual renewal of the covenant of 
Abraham, and would leave nothing to be desired 
on the score of assurance. Bush. 

Fear not to go down into Egypt. 
On several accounts Jacjb might fear to go, 
with his whole family especially, into Egypt. 
Abraham had been injured there ; it had been 
foretold that his seed should be afflicted by the 
Egyptians: Isaac had been warned not to go 
into Egypt ; the Egyptians were men of very 
different usages and manners from the He¬ 
brews : they were also of a different religion, 
and Jacob besides might fear lest by this means 
his posterity should be deprived of the land of 

Canaan. Bp. Kbld^r. -Abraham, Isaac, Jacob 

had all been placed and settled in Canaan with 
a promise that they should in future possess 
the lanJ. M )reover, Egypt was, not only a 
heathen land, but one in which heathenism was 
specially developed and systematized. Jacob 
might therefore naturally fear to find in it dan¬ 
gers both worldly and spiritual. Hence the 
promise of God’s presence and protection was 
signally needed. E. H. B. 

3, 4. Every doubt is dispelled by this divine 
manifestation. He may go down confidently, 
no evil shall befall him. Even in Egypt the 
covenant shall be fulfilled—God will make of i 
him ihcre a great nation. God himself will ac¬ 
company him on his journey, be with him in 
the strange land, and even bring back his bones 
to rest with those of his fathers. He shall see 
Joseph, and this same beloved son shall be with 
him in his last hours, and do the last kind office 
for him : Joseph shall put his hands upon thy eyes. 
A. C.-Such a promise was not only an as¬ 

surance, that God in love to him would order 
the circumstances of his latter end to his own 
satisfaction, but that he and Joseph should not 
be again separated. Long had this dear son 
been lost to him, though still alive, but now he 
learns that Joseph is to survive him, and that 
he should enjoy his society till death. Bush. 

In Beersheba the i^atriarch offered “ sacri¬ 
fices unto the God of his father Isaac,” and 
there the faithful Lord spake to him ” in the 
visions of the night.” His words gave Jacob 
this fourfold assurance, that God was the cove- 
nant-God, and that Jacob need not fear to go 
down into Egypt ; that God would there make 
34 


of him a great nation, in other words, that the 
transformation from the family to the nation 
should take place in Egypt ; that God would go 
down with him ; and, lastly, that he wouJil 
surely briug him up again. And each of these 
four assurances was introduced by an emphatic 
I to indicate the personal and direct source of 
all these blessings. Thus strengthened, Israel 
pursuedhisjourney in confidence of spirit. A. E. 

This document is one that would be 
of the highest importance to the Israelites when 
taking possession of Canaan, being, as it were, 
their title-deed to the land. Accordingly we 
find that it is drawn up in legal manner, repre¬ 
senting as sons some who were really grandsons, 
but who took as heads of families the place 
usually held by sons. We next find that it rep¬ 
resents them all as born in Canaan, not in a 
natural sense, but as the rightful heirs of the 
country. Technically every head of a family 
was born in Canaan, and thus the danger was 
obviated of an objection to the possession of 
this rank being accorded to one born in Egypt. 
B. P. S. 

‘27. All tlie §oiil§ which came into 
were llireeseore aaicl ten. 

There is a remarkable difference between this 
verse and the foregoing ; there those only are 
numbered who came with Jacob into Egypt, 
amounting to no more than threescore and six : 
but here are numbered all that came into Egypt, 
first and last, comprehending Jacob, Joseph, 
and his two sons, and making up threescore and 

ten. Bp. Patrick. -The whole account of 

Jacob’s sons and grandsons, who went along 
with him into Egypt, stands thus : by Leah, 
thirty-two ; by Zilpah, sixteen ; by Bacliel, 
eleven ; by Bilhah, seven : in all sixty-six, ex¬ 
clusive of Jacob himself, and of Joseph and his 
two sons, which make up the seventy : and it 
was necessary that these genealogies should be 
exactly registered, not only to distinguish each 
tribe, and thereby discover the Messiah, Mdien 
he came ; but (as it is in the case before us) to 
make it apparent, that the increase of Israel, 
even under oppression, should bear a fair pro¬ 
portion to the promise made to Abraham, con¬ 
cerning the multiplication of his seed. Stack- 
house. 

At Acts 7 : 14, they are said by Stephen, fol¬ 
lowing the Septuagint, to have been in number 
seventy-five souls, because there, from 1 Chron. 
7 : 14, the five sons of Manasseh and Ephraim 
are comprehended. The great Old Testament 
people sprang from twelve sons and seventy 
souls ; the New Testament people from twelve 
apostles and seventy disciples. C. G. B. 








530 


TliAl^SMISSION OF EVENTS IN PATRIARCIIAL TIMES. 


[Yet another solution.] In this statement 
the wives of Jacob’s sons, who formed part of 
the household, are omitted ; but they amounted 
to nine ; for of the twelve wives of the twelve sons 
of Jacob, Judah’s wife was dead, and Simeon’s 
also, as we may collect from his youngest son 
Shaul by a Canaanitess (ver. 10), and Joseph’s 
wife was already in Egypt. These nine wives 
therefore, added to the sixty-six, give seventy-five 
• souls, the whole amount of Jacob's household 
that went down with him into Egypt : critically 
corresponding with the statement in the New 
Testament, that “ Joseph sent for his father 
Jacob and all his kindred, amounting to seventy- 
five souls.” Hales. 


God’s special revelations in the three successive 
dispensations through which lie has guided His 
Church. First was the Period of Patriarchs, of 

- which we have the description and history in 
: the Book of Genesis. It was adapted to the 

childhood of the race ; but wEen the time came 
for it to give place to a written Law, and an es¬ 
tablished Ritual, not everything in it w^as abol- 
. dshed. The grand central doctrine of one God, 
the duty of religious obedience, the paternal 
Providence that leads men out and in all their 
days., the prophetic appointment of sacrifices 
pointing forward to the Cross of Christ, the 
promise of the Messiah at the Garden of Eden, 
the institution of the Sabbath when God blessed 
the seventh day and hallowed it, the justifying 
faith of Abraham who believed and trusted God 
so that it w^as counted to him for righteousness, 
the covenant by w^hich children are bound up 
in the same family-blessing of Faith with their 
parents,—all these you find in that Book of 
. Genesis, and in that first Biblical dispensation. 
Were they abolished when Moses came, with 
. the Tables of the Law in his hands at Mount 
Sinai ? Not one of them. Very much in that 
Mosaic age was new,—statutes, tabernacles, 
, ordinances, and one national seat of the national 
. worship. But much more was old than new,— 
and of every one of those “ old things” just 
mentioned there remains some memorial and 
. some hereditary power even now in our third 
and Christian age,^—Christ promising, even of 
its final consummation, that His spiritual fol- 
low^ers shall be privileged to sit dowm in the 

- new kingdom above with the old believers and 
patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. There 
is a sublime and majestic unity in these reve¬ 
lations. Moses is, in turn, superseded by 
Christ ; the Law by grace and truth ; Jerusalem 
by the Church universal. The three dispensa¬ 
tions of Holy Scripture are one, because within 


them all is the everlasting Christ, “ the same 
yesterday, to-day and forever. ” F. D. H. 

Transmission of Events in Patriarchal Times, 

We certainly possess among the recovered 
tablets of Chaldea, original inscriptions as old 
as the presumed date ot Abram’s migration 
(somewhere about b.c. 2U00), as well as later 
Ass 3 'riaii translations made from Clialdean orig¬ 
inals whicn must once bave existed. Theie is, 
therefore, no inherent improbaVjility in the con¬ 
jecture that the emigrant carried with him from 
Ur, if not written documents in the shape of 
clay tablets, at least a knowledge of letters and 
the power to use them for library puiposes. 
So that the use of letters may have been imported 
into Canaan by the lamily ( f Abraham, although 
in his negotiations with ihe luitive tribes, luder 
and more primitive methods Lad to be resorted 
to for recording transactions. Assuming, how¬ 
ever, that the incidents (f patiiarchal life, 
which have been jrreserved to us in the Book of 
Genesis, Lad to be, in the fiist place, handed 
down by oral traditicui .‘ lone, it is still jiossible 
to see how they might descend to a moie liter¬ 
ary age with no material (Lange even in their 
form, and no change at all in their substance. 
Such a natural tiansmissioii of family narratives 
is, of course, by no imans necessary to sustain 
the faith of those who, on quite other evidence, 
have received the bonk as pait of .a divine rev¬ 
elation. It is, however, of great lalue to the 
scientific student of Scripture ; while even the 
uninquiring believer, who knovs how sparing 
of needless miracle the divine procedure has al¬ 
ways been, may find satisfaction in seeing that 
the history of the patriarchs might easily c( me 
into the hands of Moses in the shape of wiitten 
mhnoires pour servir, without calling ror any 
supernatural communication of them to his 
mind. 

The total period covered by three lives from 
the birth of Abraham to the death of Jacob is 
315 years. But the three lives overlap each 
other very thoroughly, Isaac was seventy-five 
when he lost his father—tire sole original wit¬ 
ness to all the events which preceded (let us 
say) his own offering up on Mount Moriah. 
During these seventy-five yeais the son had been 
without interruption his father’s companion ; 
so that long before the elder passed away, all 
that he had to tell of his memoraVile life expt li¬ 
enees became, past all risk of being foigoittn, 
the possession of the younger man. The events 
actually recorded are }jrecisely those which it is 
most certain Abraham would repeat over and 
over again to his son. His call and emigration ; 
his successive levelations from heaven ; the 
raid of the Elamites and the fall of Sodom ; the 
covenant with God and the rite of circuni- 
cision : these were things on which both the in¬ 
stincts of an old man and the duty he owed 
posterity would lead him to dwell with un¬ 
wearied repetition. Oft-repeated tales tend to 
become fixed even in their details and modes of 
expression ; and there is no reason to doubt 
that when Abraham died, Isaac remained as ac¬ 
curate and safe a repository for the sacred his¬ 
tory as even the original actor and spectator in 
it all had been. 




SECTION 74.~GENESIS 46 : 28-34; 47 : 1-12. 


531 


IsBin.c s son only outlived him by some five- i 
and-twenty years. For the hrst fifteen years of 
his life, Jacob was brought up on Abraham’s 
knees. F’or the first seventy-eight years he 
kept his father corrrpairy ; so that he carried 
with him rnto exile in Haran a middle-aged 
man s full knowledge of all that his father 
ktrew. Besides thai, he returned again to re¬ 
side with hrs aged father, some twenty years or 
so before the death of the latter. Agaitr, there¬ 
fore, in the ripene.ss of age, wrth his interest in 
the revelations of his house quickerred now 
through his own personal experience and ac- 
kirowiedged position as the herr of proruise, 
Jacob eiijoyeil the amplest opportunity lor thor¬ 
oughly mastering tne story as Abraham had 
taught it to Isaac. Of his own personal adven¬ 
tures, Jacob was of coarse a witness at first 
hand ; and it is noticeable that after he enters 
on the scene as an actor (at the opening of chap¬ 
ter 27), the narrative becomes very much more 
ample and discursive. No longer confined to 
the most essential and memorable incidents, it 
ranges over a wider area, and enters into a 
crowd of subordinate details. 

At the age of one hundred and thirty, there¬ 
fore, when Jacob entered Egypt, he carried 
down to that land of literature the entire stock 
of tradition which had come to him from grand¬ 
father and from father, augmented by those 
fresh reminiscences which he himself had gath¬ 
ered. In Egypt he spent seventeen more years, 
in close and affectionate intercourse with a sou 


whose devout intelligence was very capable of 
measuring the importance to future generations 
of his tribe of all this sacred lore now treasured 
up in one dd man’s memory ; and ^ely well 
qualified, had he so pleased, to find for it a se¬ 
cure literary recoui. It is impossible, of 
course, to irrove that Joseph or any other of his 
family caused to be commuted to vritttii docu- 
menis the traditions of his house, as it is im¬ 
possible to prove that such documents came 
into the hands of Moses. But we are now, at 
any rate, on the him ground of a literary land, 
where such a preservation of the nairative 
was, to say' the least, possible. Joseph was a 
member of the priestly college at On, the most 
lamous seat of Egyptian learning. He pos¬ 
sessed every facility, not only for having the 
story written, but even for securing it a place 
in the government archives ; where Moses, cen¬ 
turies after, had by an equally singular provi¬ 
dence no less facility' and motive for disinter¬ 
ring it. Or, for aught we know, some written 
form of the family tradition may even have 
been current among the .Beni-Israel from the 
days of the Hebrew' Vizier to the days of the 
Hebrew Foundling-Prince. It is sufficient to 
indicate by' w'hat a natural succession of cir¬ 
cumstances the most minute facts recorded of 
Abraham might find a written record after an 
interval of only one hundred and fifteen years 
(from his death till the removal to Egypt), that 
interval being bridged by the single life of 
Jacob. Dykes. 


Section 74. 

JACOB MEETS JOSEPH. PRESENTED TO PHARAOH. ISRAELITES SETTLED IN 

GOSHEN. 

* Genesis 46 : 28-34 ; 47 :1-12. 

46 : 28 And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to shew the w'ay before him unto Goshen ; 

29 and they came into the land of Goshen. And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went 
up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen ; and he presented himself unto him, and fell on 

30 his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me 

31 die, since I have seen thy face, that thou art yet alive. And Joseph said unto his brethren, 
and unto his father’s house, I will go up, and tell Pharaoh, and will say unto him, My 
brethren, and my father’s house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me , 

32 and the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of cattle ; and they have brought 

33 their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have. And it shall come to pass, when 

34 Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation? that ye shall say. Thy 
servants have been keepers of cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and our 
fathers : that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen ; for every shepherd is an abomination 

unto the Egyptians. 

47 : 1 Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said. My father and my brethren, and their 
flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan ; and, 

2 behold, they aj-e in the land of Goshen. And from among his brethren he took five men, 

3 and presented them unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto his brethren. What is your 
occupation ? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and our 





532 


JACOB MEETS JOSEPH. 


4 fathers. And they said unto Pharaoh, To sojourn in the land are we come ; for there Is 
no pasture for thy servants’ flocks ; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan : now 

5 therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen. And Pharaoh 

6 spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: the land 
of Egypt is before thee ; in the best of the land make thy father and thy brethren to 
dwell ; in the land of Goshen let them dwell : and if thou knowest any able men among 

7 them, then make them rulers over my cattle. And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, 

8 and set him before Pharaoh ; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, 

9 How many are the days of the years of thy life ? And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days 
of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years : few and evil have bet-n 
the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained unto the days of the years of 

10 the life of my fathers m the days of their pilgrimage. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and 

11 went out from the presence of Pharaoh. And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, 
and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land ef 

12 Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph nourished his father, and his breth¬ 
ren, and all his father’s household, with bread, according to their families. 


The connection of Egypt with Scripture his¬ 
tory is long and intimate. Abraham and Sarah 
visited it in a time of famine about two hundred 
years before Jacob came into it ; and even then 
it was evidently in a state of high civilization. 
The long residence of the Israelites in it, after 
Joseph brought them to its fertile plains, made 
it in a sense their native land. Their inter¬ 
course with Egypt was suspended for a long 
time after the'Exodus, but was resumed under 
Solomon and Jeroboam. In after years, the 
kings of Egj^pt frequently attacked or passed 
through Palestine : on one of these occasions 
king Josiah was slain. During the struggles of 
Nebuchadnezzar, a body of Jews courted the 
favor of the king of Egypt, and, in spite of all 
the efforts of Jeremiah, went to dwell in it when 
Jerusalem was destro^md. W. G. B. 

From the same valley of the Nile, whence 
flowed the culture of Greece, was to flow also 
the religion of Palestine. That same land of 
ancient learning, which in the schools of Alex¬ 
andria was, ages afterward, the first settled 
home and shelter of the wandering Christian 
Church, was also the first settled home and 
shelter of the wandering Jewish nation. Egypt 
was the meeting-point, geographically and his¬ 
torically, of the three continents of the ancient 
world. It could not but bear its part in the 
nurture of that people which was itself to influ- 
ence and guide them all. A. P. S. 

2§. Iiil4» the land of Oodieii. The 
“ land of Goshen,” also called Goshen simply, 
appears to have borne another name,“the land of 
Rameses” (47 ill). It was between Joseph’s resi¬ 
dence at the time and the frontier of Palestine, 
and apparentlj’' the extreme province toward 
that frontier. Gen. 46 :33, 34, shows that 
Goshen was scarcely regarded as a part of Egypt 
Proper, and was not peopled by Egyptians,— 


characteristics that wmuld positively indicate a 
frontier province. Goshen was a pastoral coun¬ 
try, where some of Pharaoh’s cattle were kept. 
From Ex 13 : 17, 18, we infer that the land of 
Goshen must have in part been near the eastern 
side of the ancient Delta, Rameses lying within 
the valley now called the IVddi-t-Tum^ykU, about 
30 miles in a direct course from the ancient 
western shore of the Arabian Gulf. P. S. 

We gather from the Bible that the “ land of 
Goshen,” or, as it is sometimes called, “ the 
land of Rameses,” was in the eastern portion of 
the Delta, a.s it is nowhere stated that the Israel¬ 
ites crossed the Nile at the time of the exodus ; 
that it was a frontier province not far from the 
residence of the Pharaoh of Joseph, either 
Memphis or Zoan ; that it was between that 
place and Palestine ; and that it was a pastoral 
country, in which Pharaoh’s own cattle were 
pastured, in “ the best of the land.” Wilson. 

-The land of Goshen, in which, or which 

was, ‘‘the land of Rameses” (47:11), is fairly 
well identified. The various references to it in 
the Bible text and on the Egyptian monuments, 
as well as later historical data, all go to fix it as 
including the Wady Toomilat (which sweeps 
from above Cairo, northerly and easterly toward 
Lakes Timsali and Ballah), together with more 
or less of the country on either side of that 
Wady. Ebers outlines this region graphically, 
when he says : “ As far as it is possible to fix 
its ancient limitations, it exhibits the form of 
a cornucopia, bounded toward the east, at the 
widest end or opening of the cornucopia, by the 
water-way [the series of lakes through which 
runs the Suez Canal] that divides Africa from 
Asia, The fresh-water canal which already ex¬ 
isted at the time of the sojourn of the Jews in 
Egypt, and which was reopened by M de Les- 
seps, washes its southern frontier ; the lake of 





533 


SECTION 74.-GENESI8 46 : 28-34; 47 : 1-12. 


Mensaleh lies to the north of it, and to the west I 
the Tanitic arm of the Nile-which has now ! 
dwindled to a narrow water-course.” There 
are many who would not carry the Goshen dis 
trict west of the Pelusiac arm of the Nile, but 
who would extend it southward somewhat be¬ 
low the fresh-water caual. Apart from these 
differences the boundaries indicated by Ebers 
would be generally accepted among scholars. 
Tramhull. 

The ancients knew and made mention of seven 
branches and mouths of the Nile along the 
Southern Mediterranean coast, between the 
present Alexandria on the west and Port Said 
at the mouth of the Suez Canal on the east. 
Thus, beginning at Alexandria and travelling 
eastward toward Southern Palestine, the travel¬ 
ler would pass, in the time of Moses, seven 
bayous (as we would call them) and seven 
mouths of the Nile. First—The Canopic arm or 
bayou, which is now partly merged into the 
canal of Alexandria, and partly is lost in the 
•Lake Elko. Second —The Bolbatine, or R >seila. 
Third—The Sebennyfic probably running into 
Lake Burlos. Fourth —The Bucolic or Phat- 
nitic, atDamietta. Fifth—The Memhsian, emp¬ 
tying into Lake Mensaleh, Sixth—The Tnni ic, 
running into the eastern portion of Lake Men¬ 
saleh. Seventh—The Pelusiac, emptying at the 
Eastern mouth of Lake Mensaleh, and not far 
west of the present Port Said and Suez Canal. 
This last arm of the Nile, now choked up with 
sand, was even in the time of Alexander, a 
thousand years later than Moses, so large and 
deep as to be navigable for Alexan'ier’s war 
fleet ; and through it he actually ascended to 
Memphis and the main trunk of the Nile. We 
may assume then that the eastern border of 
Egvpt at the time of Joseph extended nearly or 
quite to the present line of the Suez Canal. 
S. R. 

29, 30. What a beautiful picture of reunion 
is this ! “ He fell on his neck, and wept on bis 

neck a good while.” See them there ! The old 
m in not speaking, because he cannot speak,— 
speaking most because saying nothing. Joseph 
not speaking for some time. Only weeping 
upon one another ! Then Jacob says, “ Now 
let me die !” It was as old Simeon spake when 
he saw the Child of God, ” Now let thy servant 
depart in peace,” J. P. 

33, 34. Joseph directed his brethren to in¬ 
troduce themselves as shepherds, not only in 
spite of the fact that shepherds were an abom¬ 
ination to the Egyptians, but on that very ac¬ 
count. His reason for doing so is apparent. In 
the occupation of his brethren there was the 


j surest guarantee that their national and relig¬ 
ious peculiarities would not be endangered or 
destroyed, and that they would not be absorbed 
by the Egyptians. The hatred and contempt 
which the Eg^-sptians cherished toward the shep¬ 
herd caste, as existing monuments attest by 
many a characteri.stic sign, maybe traced to the 
fact that agriculture, with its regular and me¬ 
thodical habits, was the sole support of the 
Egyptian state, and that the irregularities of a 
nomad life must have appeared to a pedantic 
Egyptian to be rude and barbarous in the ex¬ 
treme, K, 

Joseph’s anxiety now was to secure to his 
people a separate settlement in Egypt, where 
they would not be mingled with the idolairous 
Egyptians. But for his paramount influence 
with the king this would have been impossible ; 
and at any other epoch of Egypt’s history not 
even Joseph could have effected it. One may 
say with much confidence that, with their strong 
natural antipathy to foreigners, no native king 
could have been easily persuaded to grant the 
concession of territory that Joseph asked for. 
But the reigning Pharaoh was not of Egyptian 
but of Shepherd race. It will be seen at once 
how singularly this favored Joseph’s purpose. 
Not only was the king free from the national 
prejudice, but in this national prejudice Joseph 
found his best argument for a separate allotment 
of land to his people. Hence the care with 
which he instructed his brethren to describe 
themselves as shepherds when introduced to 
Pharaoh : “ When Pharaoh shall call you, and 
shall say. What is your occupation ? ye shall 
say. Thy servants’ trade hath been about cattle 
from our youth even until now, both we and 
also our fathers ; that ye may dwell [apart] in 
the land of Goshen ; for every shrpherd is an 
abomination unto the Egyptians.” These last 
words—otherwise so difficult—become clear at 
once on the supposition that Pharaoh was him¬ 
self of shepherd race. J. P. N. 

47 : 5, 6. The number of those who entered 
Egypt with Jacob has been reasonably calcu¬ 
lated at “ several thousands.” To place such a 
body of foreigners ‘‘in the best of the land,” 
on the eastern frontier, where they could readily 
give admission to others, is what no king of 
either the Old or the New Empire would have 
been likely to have done ; but it is exactly what 
might have been expected of one of the Hyksos. 
G. R. 

It is to secure that Israel grow without let or 
hindrance, that Jacob’s household is removed 
to a land where protection and seclusion would 
at once be secured to them. In the land of 



534 


JACOB PRESENTED TO PIIARAOII. 


Goshen, secured from molestation partly by the 
influence of Joseph, but much more by the 
caste-prejudices of the Egyptians, and their 
hatred of all foreigners and shepherds in par¬ 
ticular, they enjoyed such prosperity and at¬ 
tained so rapidly the magnitude of a nation that 
some, forgetful alike of the promise of God and 
of the natural advantages of Israel’s position, 
have refused to credit the accounts given us of 
the increase in their population. In a land so 
roomy, so fertile, and so secluded as that in 
which they were now settled, they had every 
advantage for making the transition from a 
family to a nation. Here they were preserved 
from all temptation to mingle with neighbors of 
a different race, and so lose their special place 
as a people called out by God to stand alone. 
Bods. 

7 , Brou^^lit 111 Jacob liis fatlier. 

What a picture of life and reality have we here ! 
The feeble patiiarch, leaning upon the arm of his 
recovered son, is led into the presence of the 
courteous monarch, who receives him not as an 
inferior, nor as a dependent even, but with all 
the respect due to his great age, and with a rever¬ 
ent feeling that in this very old man, the repre¬ 
sentative of another age, or of another world, 
there was something of a sacred and prophetical 

character. Lange. - Jacrob bles§cd Pha- 

raoll. We see here the type of the true rela¬ 
tion in which Israel was to stand to heathenism 

in all their future intercourse. K.-“ Beyond 

contradiction, the less is blessed of the better” 
(Heb. 7 : 7), or greater. In one respect Pharaoh 
was greater than Jacob ; but in another Jacob 
was far greater than he. He was a son of Abra¬ 
ham, whose peculiar honor and prerogative it 
was, that he and his posterity should be bless¬ 
ings to mankind. He M^as also himself a man 
who “ as a prince had power with God and men, 
and prevailed.” The blessing of such a man 
was of no small account, for God would not 
suffer his words to fall to the ground. Bush. 
-When Abraham went down to Egypt, un¬ 
sent of the Lofd, he brought trouble on Pharaoh 
and all his house. But when Jacob, guided 
and instructed by the Lord, goes down into 
Egypt, he carries a blessing with him. So when 
we are in the line of duty, in the path that God 
marks out for us, we are sure to carry blessings 
wherever we go. Gibson. 

Throughout this narrative of Joseph, there is 
a life-likeness in the character of Pharaoh that 
shows him to us as one of the most veritable 
objects presented in history. And what an air 
of reality in all these scenes here so exquisitely 
portrayed ! It is no invented tale. The picture 


stands out vividly before us ; age has not dim¬ 
med its colors ; remoteness of scene, and wide 
diversity of life and manners, cannot weaken 
its effect. We see the figures distinctly moving 
on that far-off ancient shore It is brought nign 
to us in such a way that we could almost as 
well doubt our senses as think of calling it in 
question. At all events, no mythical theory can 
explain it. No “ higher criticism,” as it is 
called, can ever make satisfactory to a truly 
thoughtful mind the comparison sometimes 
drawn between these “ Bible stories” and the 
cloudy fables that characterize the .early annals 
of other ancient nations. We may as well doubt 
of Ciesar and Alexander, yea, of Napoleon and 
of Washington, as of Jacob, Joseph, and Pha¬ 
raoh. Lange. 

IIow many are tlic day§ of the 
years €>f thy life ? 9 . Itly pilg^riina^e. 

Pharaoh asked of “ the days of the years of his 
life.” He replies by si^eakingof the days of the 
years of his pilgrimage. The patriarchs spoke of 
life as a pilgrimage or sojourning, because they 
sought another country, that is a heavenly (Heb. 
11 ; 9, 13). Earth was not their home, but their 

journey homeward. E. H. B-If we look 

into the story of those friends of heaven, tho 
ancestors of the Israelitish nation, we find them 
sojourning in a land that was not theirs ; dwell¬ 
ing only in tents, soon j)itche;l and as soon re¬ 
moved again ; having no ground of their own to 
set their foot on save only a possession of a 
burying-place, and that purchased of the inhab¬ 
itants ; where they might rest from their travels, 
till they shall pass at the resurrection of the 
just to their durable inheritance in the kingdom 
of God. Such was Jacob’s notion of human 
life, expressed in his answer to the Egyptian 
monarch who had inquired his age. dip. Horne. 

Few and evil have been the days. 
In the verse days and years are repeated and 
repeated, sounding in the ear like the tolling of 
a time-bell. liife, in Jacob’s estimate—a pil- 
grimage, no stoppage by the way, no home 
along the passage, rough the road often and 
weary the traveller ; but beyond death and the 
grave another and better country, even a heav¬ 
enly. The length of his own life Jacob compares 
with that of his immediate ancestors. Isaac 
had lived one hundred and eighty years ; Abra¬ 
ham one hundred and seventy-five. He had 
reached but one hundred and thirty ; and evil 
as well as few had the days of the years of his 
l^ilgrimage been. Few men have had such a 
series of domestic trials and sufferings to look 
back upon as he had, from the day of that dark 
deed which drove him from Hebron. Exile 










SECTION 74.—GENESIS 46 : 28-34; 47 : 1-12. 


from home ; separation from a mother he was 
never to see again ; seven years of labor for the 
object of his love, and then humiliatingly de¬ 
ceived ; twenty years of toil in the house of a 
selfish uncle, the drought consuming him by 
daj’^, the frost by night, sleep departing from his 
eyes, his wages changed ten times ; sons multi¬ 
plying rapidly around him, the crowded house¬ 
hold bringing but little comfort; a daughter\s 
dishonor, her brothers’ deliberate fraud and 
desperate cruelty ; Rachel’s premature and mel¬ 
ancholy death ; Reuben’s incest ; Judah’s dis¬ 
grace ; the falsehood and malignity of the sale 
of Joseph, the presentation of the bloody coat 
of many colors—a long line of sorrows. How 
often and how strangely the specific form of 
his own early oflience repeated itself and was 
reflected back upon him ; his uncle cheating 
him as he had cheated Isaac ; the very kind of 
sins that he had committed against his father 
and brother, committed in an aggravated form 
by his own children against himself and toward 
one another. But if the discipline was singu¬ 
larly adapted to the subject, and singularly 
protracted and severe, it was as singularly suc¬ 
cessful. He fancied, as he stood before Pharaoh, 
looking back upon the past, that he was stand¬ 
ing on the very border of eternity. He spake as 
one who thought that his days were numbered. 
He was mistaken. There were seventeen years 
still in store for him. These closing years in 
Egypt otter a striking contrast to those which 
preceded them. They were j ears of unruftied 
rest, of unshadow^ed prosperity. Not a single 
disturbing or distressing incident—no diffi¬ 
culty, no sorrow, no death ; things ran on so 
evenlj', so calmly, so brightly, there is nothing 
to record. The first five were years of famine 
in Eg 3 "pt, but the Israelites were not neglected 
in the distribution of the hoarded stores. The 
other twelve were years of plenty, during which 
“Israel dwelt in the land of Goshen, and they 
had possessions therein, and grew and multi¬ 
plied exceedingly.*’ The quiet evening of a 
long, dark, troubled day. it was a period of per¬ 
fect outward rest and enjoyment ; and over its 
close there shines a light which tells us that 
there was an inward peace, and trust, and hope 
of which the outward was an image. W. H. 

All the points in which men differ, health and 
strength, high or low estate, happiness or mis¬ 
ery, vanish before this common lot, mortality. 
Pass a few years, and the longest-lived will be 
gone ; nor will what is passed profit him then, 
except in its consequences. And this sense 
of the nothingness of life, im23ressed on us by 
the very fact that it comes to an end, is much 


53o 

deepened, when we contrast it with the capa¬ 
bilities of us who live it. Had Jacob lived 
Methuselah’s age, he would have called it short.. 
This is wha*t we all feel, thoiigh at first sight it 
seems a contradiction, that even though the, 
days as they go be slow, and be laden with many 
events, or with sorrows or dreariness length¬ 
ening them out and making them tedious, 3 "et 
the year passes quick though the hours tarry, 
and time bygone is as a dream, though wo 
thought it would never go while it was going. 
And the reason seems to be this ; that, when 
we contemplate human life in itself, in however 
small a portion of it, we see implied in it the 
presence of a soul, the energy of a spiritual ex¬ 
istence, of an accountable being ; consciousness 
tells us this concerning it every moment. But 
when we look back on it in memory, we view it 
but externally, as a mere lapse of time, as a 
mere earthly history. And the longest duration 
of this external world is as dust and weighs 
nothing against one moment’s life of the world 
within. Thus we are ever expecting great things 
from life, from our internal consciousness every 
moment of our having souls ; and we are ever 
being disappointed, on considering what wo 
have gained from time past, or can hope from 
time to come. And life is ever promising and 
never fulfilling ; and hence, however long it be, 
our days are few and evil. Newman. 

The holy patriarch who had the name of 
Israel had a life made up largely of sorrows. 
His posterity have afflictions left them for their 
legacy. Egypt, the wilderness, Canaan, Baby¬ 
lon, were the stages of Israel’s tragedies. The 
spiritual Israel is in all the parts and ages of 
the world a distressed member. Witness that 
“ book of martyrs” epitomized (Heb. 11). Of 
all people God would have his Israel holiest, 
and he corrects them to make them partakers 
of his holiness. If he suffers weeds in the 
forest, he endures them not in the garden. 
Affliction is appointed for the consumption of 
sin. It is poison to lust and food to graces. 
The sheep of Christ thrive best in shortest past¬ 
ure. Affliction is God’s touchstone, to differ¬ 
ence between the precious and the vile ; his 
fan, to sever between the wheat and the chaff ; 
his furnace, to separate between the metal and 
the dross. God sees it best for his i^eoj^le (like 
waters) to be in motion : should they stand still 
they would soon putrefy. The rest of the i^eo- 
ple of God remains. It is too much to have 
two heavens. He who said he should never be 
removed, like Peter in the mount, knew not 
what he said. That saints may be always safe,; 
they must never be secure. Of all people those, 





53G 


JOSEPH'S PROCEDURE WIlII THE EGYPTIANS, 


should be least censured who are most correct¬ 
ed : they may be, nay are most like to be, Israel¬ 
ites. The happiness of Israel is not to be judged 
by outward appearances. The Israels, the 
princes of God, are in this world but princes 


under a disguise. This life is but the obscurity 
of their adoption. We see their combats, we see 
not their crowns : we view them in the tents of 
Kedar, not within the curtains of Solomon. 
Jtnkyn, 


Section 75. 

JOSEPH’S PROCEDUKE WITH THE EGYPTIANS. 

Genesis 47 :13-2G. 

13 And there was no bread in all the land ; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of 

14 Egypt and the land of Canaan tainted by reason of the famine. And Joseph gathered up all 
the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which 

15 they bought ; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. And when the money 
was all spent in the land of Egj’pt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto 
Joseph, and said. Give us bread : for why should we die in thy presence V for our money fail- 

16 eth. And Joseph said. Give jmur cattle ; and I will give }ou for your cattle, if money fail. 

17 And they brought their cattle unto Joseph : and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the 
horses, and for the flocks, and for the herds, and for the asses : and he fed them with bread 

18 in exchange for all their cattle for that year. And when that year was ended, they came unto 
him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide from my lord, how that our money 
is all spent ; and the herds of cattle are my lord’s ; there is nought left in the sight of my 

19 lord, but our bodies, and our lands : wherefore should we die before thine eyes, both we and 
our land ? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh : 

20 and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, and that the land be not desolate. So Joseph 
bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh ; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because 

21 the famine was sore upon them : and the land became Pharaoh’s. And as for the people, he 
removed them to the cities from one end of the border of Egypt even to the other end thereof. 

22 Only the land of the priests bought he not : for the priests had a portion from Pharaoh, and 

23 did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them ; wherefore they sold not their land. Then 
Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh ; 

24 lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land. And it shall come to pass at the ingather¬ 
ings, that ye shall give a fifth unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the 
field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones. 

25 And thej^ said, Thou hast saved our lives : let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we 

26 will be Pharaoh’s servants. And Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt unto 
this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth ; only the land of the priests* alone became not 
Pharaoh’s. 


13-20. In the years of scarcity Joseph sold 
corn to the people, first for their money, then 
for their cattle, and, when both were done, for 
their land, which they spontaneously offered 
Having thus gained possession of the whole 
country, he again disposed of it to the people 
on definite princijiles, making them the king’s 
vassals, and obliging them to pay annuallj’^ the 
fifth part of the produce in lieu of ground-rent. 
Only the lands of the priesthood remained un 
touched, since their revenues from the royal 


treasury had protected them from the conse¬ 
quences of the famine. Profane writers and 
the monuments confirm the Biblical account, 
in so far as they distinctly state that the peas¬ 
antry were not the landed proprietors, and that 
the priests possessed real property free of taxa¬ 
tion. K. 

The policy of Joseph was simply to economize 
during the seven years of abundance to such 
an extent that provision might be made against 
the seven years of famine. He calculated that 






SECTIOX 7o.~GEXE8IS 47 : 13-26. 


537 


one fifth of the produce of years so extraordi¬ 
narily plenteous would seiwe for the seven scarce 
years. Phis fifth he bought in the king s name 
from the people. When the years of famine 
came, the people were referred to Joseph ; and, 
till their money was gone, he sold corn to them, 
probably not at famine prices. Next he ac- 
(juired their cattle, and finally, in exchange for 
food, they yielded to him both their lands and 
their persons. So that the result of the whole 
was, that the people who would otherwise have 
perished were preserved, and in return for this 
' i^reservation they paid a tax or rent on their 
fiirm-lands to the amount of one fifth of their 
produce. The people ceased to be proprietors 
of their own farms, but they were not slaves 
with no interest in the soil, but tenants sitting 
at easy rents—a fair enough exchange for being 
preserved in life. This kind of taxation is 
eminently fair in principle, securing, as it does, 
that the wealth of the king and government 
shall vary with the prosperity of the whole 
land. Dads. 

It is somewhat remarkable, that amid the 
vicissitudes to which that country has been sub¬ 
ject, the compact between the ruler and his 
subjects, entered into by Joseph, has always 
subsisted there in principle. To this day the 
fellah, or peasant, in Egypt, cultivates the land 
for his sovereign, and receives a portion of the 
produce for his own wants. But, amid the 
grasping exactions of our own age, and the 
harsh oppressions to which he is subject by the 
government and its officers, he has much reason 
to regret that the moderation of Joseph does 
not actuate its present rulers. Kii. 

This whole transaction, which did not affect 
the Israelites themselves, is here mentioned so 
circumstantially, because afterward among them 
a similar right was introduced in reference to 
their highest King —God Himself. He had 
given and divided the land of Canaan to them. 
They were all His servants. They must pay to 
Him a double tithe. Of this God gave one part 
to the priests and Levites for their maintenance 
(as Pharaoh to the Eg 5 'ptian priests), the other 
was consumed in high feasts at sacrificial meals, 
which were given to the Levites, the widows, 
orphans, and the poor. Those relations of de¬ 
pendence of person and property on the king, 
and of acknowledgment of his supreme right 
over all by the payment of the fifths, was Israel 
to transfer to its invisible King. The main 
principle of the whole outer life of the Israelites 
was always to be in subjection to Him. Gerl. 

16. Cirive me your eatlle. Thiswasthe 
wisest measure that could be adopted, both for 


the preservation of the people, and of the cattle 
also. As the people had not grain for their 
own sustenance, consequently they could have 
none for their cattle. The cattle being bought 
by Joseph, were supported at the royal expense, 
and very likely returned to the people at the 
end of the famine ; for how else could they cul¬ 
tivate their ground, transport their merchan¬ 
dise ? etc. 

iJl. A§ for llic people, lie removed 
tSiem to eilies. Joseph was influenced 
merely by humanity and prudence. As the corn 
was laid up in the cities, it was more conven¬ 
ient to bring them to places where they might 
be within reach of an easy distribution. Thus 
the country, which could afford no sustenance, 
was abandoned for the time being that the'peo- 
ple might be fed in places where the provision 
was deposited. A. C. 

22. Only llic land of tlie prie§t.s 

bought lie liol. The Egyptian priests were 
obliged to provide all sacrifices and to bear all 
the charges of the national religion ; and re¬ 
ligion was in those days a matter of very great 
expense to them. The numerous sacrifices that 
were offered in these times could not be pro¬ 
vided, nor the preparations and ceremonies in 
offering them performed except at a very great 
charge. The priests of Egypt were the king’s 
counsellors and assistants : they were the pro¬ 
fessors and cultivators of astronomy, without 
which even agriculture itself could not have 
proceeded : they were the keepers of the public 
registers, memoirs, and chronicles of the king¬ 
dom : in a word, under the king, they were the 
magistrates, and filled all the prime offices. So 
that Pharaoh might well think that they had not 
too much to support the stations they were to 
act in ; and for that reason he ordered that no 
tax should be laid upon them. Shuckford. 

2tl. ISclinl^, I liavc bouglityou tins 
<lay. The bargain could not be denied : but he 
would not insist upon it strictly. He requires 
only fx fifth part of the increase of their ground 
for the king ; and tells them the rest shall be 
their own. Herein he showed himself both a 
good man and a wise statesman, in taking away 
all matter of complaint from the people. Bp. 
Patrick. 

It fully appears that the kingdom of Egypt 
was, previous to the time of Joseph, a limited 
monarchy. The king had his estates ; the 
priests had their lands ; and the common peo¬ 
ple their patrimony, independently of both. 
We may conclude from those purchases, that 
Pharaoh had no power to levy taxes upon his 
subjects to increase his own revenue, until he 




538 


JOSEPirS PROCEDURE WITH THE EGYPTIANS. 


had bought the original right which each indi¬ 
vidual had in his possessions. 24. And when 
Joseph bought this fur the king, he raised the 
crown an ample revenue (though he restored 
the lands), by obliging each to pay one Jifth of 

the product to the king. A. C.-Long after 

this it was observed by an ancient writer and 
traveller in Egypt (Diodorus), that the kings 
were enabled, by the abundant revenues de¬ 
rived from the crown lands, to defray the ex¬ 
penses of wars and of their own regal state, and 
to reward those who distinguished themselves 
in the public service, without overwhelming 

the common people with taxes. T. J. C.- 

Joseph certainly had in view no less the good 
of the country than the interest of the king ; 
inasmuch as he converted the disproportionate 
division of the landed property into an equable 
leasing of it in small portions, for an annual 
rent. Delit. 

In all these respects, his political measures 
have been strongly vindicated, not only as being 
directed by God, but as being obviously the 
best, everjdhing considered, for the safety, 
honor, and welfare of his sovereign and the 
kingdom. It is true, he bought the lands of 
the people for the king ; but he/armed them to 
the original oqcupiers again, at the moderate 
and fixed crown rent of one-fifth part of the 

produce. A. C.-Thus did he provide for the 

liberty and independence of the people, while he 
strengthened the authority of the king by mak¬ 
ing him sole proprietor of the lands. And to 
secure the people from further exaction, Joseph 
made it a law over all the land of Egypt, that 
Pharaoh (the king) should have only the fifth 
part : which law subsisted to the time of Moses, 
liy this wise regulation the people had four 
fifths of the produce of the lands for their own 
use, and were exempted from any further taxes, 
the king being bound to support his civil and 
military establishment out of the crown rents. 
Hales. 

25. The peculiar nature of the land, its de¬ 
pendence on the overflow of the Nile, and the 
iinthrifty habits of the cultivators, made it de¬ 
sirable to establish a system of centralization, 
I^erhaps to introduce some general principle of 
irrigation ; in modern phraseology, to promote 
the prosperity of the country by great govern¬ 
ment works, in preference to leaving all to the 
uncertainty of individual enterprise. If this 
were so, then the saying “ Thou hast saved our 
lives” was no language of Eastern adulation, 
but the verdict of a grateful people. E. H. B. 

-Besides being indebted to Joseph for their 

preservation, the Egyptians owed to him an ex¬ 


tension of their influence ; for, as all the lands 
round about became dependent on Egypt for 
provision, they must have contracted a respect 
for the EgyiJtian administration. The}’’ must 
also have added greatly to Egypt’s wealth, and 
during these years of constant tiaffic many com¬ 
mercial connections must have been formed 
which in future years would be of untold value 
to Egypt. But above all, from the confidence 
Joseph won with the people, there seems every 
reason to believe that the permanent alterations 
he made on their tenure of land were considered 
as competent as certainly they were bold. Rods. 

25, 26. The result of all this was that at the 
close of the seven years the people and all that 
belonged to them were the property of the 
king. Egy^it under its Shepherd Pharaoh was 
precisely in the condition England would have 
been in under her Norman conquerois, if we 
suppose the barons swept awaj', and no middle 
class left between the Norman king and the 
Saxon serfs, except the i3riests. But Joseph 
was far too enlightened, and too humane, to in¬ 
tend to leave the whole population in a state of 
villenage or serfdom. From the vantage-ground 
of the position in which the famine had left 
him he proposed to restore to the people their 
freedom, and restore to them their lands, only 
on a new tenure. They were not to have them 
as freeholders, but as tenants of the crown, paj'- 
ing one-fifth portion to the king as rent forever. 

Thus Joseph had effected two things ; first, 
he had saved the people from starvation ; and, 
secondly, he had consolidated the power of the 
Pharaohs, and secured to them an ample revenue 
wherewith they might effect important im¬ 
provements in the agriculture of the country. 
For it seems that the sj^stem of artificial irriga¬ 
tion described upon the monuments, supple¬ 
menting most beneficially the natural action of 
the river, dated from this epoch. That the 
people thankfully accepted these changes, and 
fully understood that but for Joseph's measures 
they would have perished, is clear from their 
own words : “ Thou hast saved our lives : let 
us find grace in the sight of my lord, and wo 
will be Pharaoh’s servants.” This willing ac¬ 
ceptance of the Pharaoh as their king seems 
to imply a disaffection in previous years that 
must have been a source of continual danger to 
the country’s peace. All this Joseph’s wisdom 
effected ; and it had a yet further result, far 
more important to the world’s destiny—it en¬ 
abled him, under God’s providence, to preserve 
the Chosen Family, in whose promised seed all 
the nations of the earth were to be blessed. 
J. P. N. 








539 


ssjrny ig.-genesis 47 .• 27-31; 4S .• 1-22. 


According to Herodotus, an ancient king bad 
divided the whole land among' the Egyptians, 
giving to each a square portion ol; equal excel¬ 
lence, and receiving from eacJi a yearly rent in 
leturn. According to Diodorus, all the land in 
Eg 3 'pt belonged either to the kings, or the 
priests, or the military caste. According to 
Strabo, the Eg^'ptians, who were engaged in ag¬ 
riculture, held their laud of the sovereign, and 
paid rent. According to the monuments, as 
we learn from Wilkinson, only kings, priests, 
and the military order were land-owners. All 
these profane authorities concur with holy writ 
in the main fact, viz. : that the cultivators 
were not the owners of the soil. On one point, 
in.leed, there is an apparent disagreement. 
The Pentateuch limits the ownership of land to 
the kings and the priests ; Strabo extends it to 
the military order as well ; and herein his au¬ 
thority is confirmed by the sculptures. But 
Herodotus furnishes a key, whereby' this appar¬ 
ent discrepancy can be reconciled. It is in the 
statement made by him, that the land of the 
soldiers differed from that of the peasants in 
being free of rent ; otherwise, he saj's, it be¬ 
longed to the kings, and was given by them in 
fee to the soldiery. But there is still anothe r 
point of disagreement between the Pentateuch 
and these profane authors. Moses asserts an 
original possession of the soil of Egypt by the 
cultivators, and a transfer of the title to the 
king under extraordinary circumstances ; He¬ 
rodotus knows nothing of this, but represents 
the king as the original proprietor. Now this 
contradiction, so far from invalidating the credi¬ 
bility of the Pentateuch, serves rather to con¬ 
firm it, since it presents in a strong light the 
superior knowledge of the author, which ex¬ 
tends back to a period not even approached by 


the knowledge of profane writers. Here is an 
historical fact, stated by the Pentateuch, and 
vouched in the most ample manner by these 
writers, viz. : the possession by the king of all 
the laud of Egypt not owned by the priests. 
E. C. W. 


If a man only wishes that his own concep¬ 
tions of prosperity be realized, then let him 
keep his land in his own hand and work his 
material irrespective of God’s demands ; for 
certainly if he yields himself to God, his own 
ideas of prosperity will not be realized. But if 
he suspects that God maj'^ have a more liberal 
conception of prosperitj" and may understand 
better than he what is eternally beneficial, let 
him commit himself and all his material of pros¬ 
perity without doubting into God’s hand, and 
let him greedily obey all God’s precepts ; for 
in neglecting one of these, he so far neglects 
and misses what God would have him enter 

into. Dijds. -Joseph showed the Egyptians 

that plenty and famine were themselves sent to 
cultivate self-discipline and providence in men. 
He used the experience of their wants and suf¬ 
ferings as a means of leading them to acquiesce 
in an arrangement which made them for the 
first time conscious that they w'ere under a 
government which was caring for them, and 
Matching over them ; a government not arbi¬ 
trary, not seeking its own ends, but confessing 
obligations to its subjects, while it demanded 
obedience from them. He organized a com¬ 
munity,—he made the king feel that he stood 
in an actual living relation to his subjects, and 
his subjects in an actual relation to him and to 
each other. Scripture represents this as a di¬ 
vine M'ork, for which a man must have a divine 
vocation. Maurice. 


Section 76. 


ADOPTION AND BLESSING OF EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH. 

Genesis 47 :27-31 ; 48 :l-22. 


47 : 27 
28 

29 


And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen ; and they gat them pos¬ 
sessions therein, and were fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly. And Jacob lived in the 
land of Euvpt seventeen years : so the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were an hun¬ 
dred forty”and seven years. And the time drew near that Israel must die : and he called 
his son Joseph, and said unto him. If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray 
thee thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me ; bury me not, I pray 









540 


ADOPTION AND BLESSING OF EPHRAIM AND MANASSEIL 


30 thee, in Egypt : but when I sleep with my fathers, thou shalt carry me out of Egyi3t, and 

31 bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said. And he said, 
Swear unto me : and he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed s head. 

48 : 1 And it came to pass after these things, that one said to Joseph, Behold, thy father is 

2 sick : and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And one told Jacob, 
and said. Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee : and Israel strengtnened himself, and 

3 sat upon the bed. And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz 

4 in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, and said unto me. Behold, I will make thee fruit¬ 
ful, and multij)ly thee, and I will make of thee a company of peoples ; and will give this 

5 land to ihy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. And now thy two sons, w’hich 
w’ere born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are miL,e ; 

6 Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Beuben and Simeon, shall be mine. And thy issue, 
w'hich thou begettest after them, shall be thine ; they shall be called after the name of 

7 their brethren in their inheritance. And as for me, when I came from Paddan, Bachel 
died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when there w’as still some way to come 
unto Ephrath : and I buried her there in the way to Ephrath (the same is Beth-lehem), 

8 And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons, and said, Who are these? And Joseph said unto his 

9 father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me here. And he said. Bring them, I 

10 pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them. Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so 
that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him ; and he kissed them, and 

11 embraced them. And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face : and, 

12 lo, God hath let me see tb}" seed also. And Joseph brought them out from between his 

13 knees ; and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. And Joseph took them both, 
Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward 

14 Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him. And Israel stretched out his right 
hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon 

15 Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly ; for Manasseh was the firstborn. And he 
blessed Joseph, and said. The God before wnom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, 

16 the God which hath fed me all my life long unto this day, the angel which hath redeemed 
me from all evil, bless the lads ; and let my name be named on them, and the name of 
my fathers Abraham and Isaac ; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the 

17 earth. And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, 
it displeased him : and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it 'from Ephraim’s head 

18 unto Manasseh’s head. And Joseph said unto his father. Not so, my father : for this is 

19 the firstborn ; put thy right hand upon his head. And his father refused, and said, I 
know U, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great ; how- 
beit his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of 

20 nations. And he blessed them that day, saying. In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God 

21 make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh ; and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. And 
Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die : but God shall be with you, and bring you again 

22 unto the land of your fathers. Moreover I have given to thee one jiortion above thy 
brethren, w^hich I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and wdth my bow. 


Observe the many incidents and sTiggestive 
topics presented in these 27 verses : Israel’s set¬ 
tlement and great prosperity in Egypt ; Jacob’s 
serene old age ; the approach of his time of de¬ 
parture ; his summons to Joseph in order that 
he might bind him by an oath to bury his re¬ 
mains in the burying place of his fathers ; his 
sickness reported to Joseph ; Joseph’s visit with 
bis two sons to Jacob ; Jacob’s recital of God’s 
covenant with him at Bethel ; his adoption of 
Joseph’s two sons as his own ; his touching 
reminiscence of Rachel’s death and burial ; his 
notice of Joseph’s sons and question respecting 
them, followed by his embrace and blessing of 


both ; the discriminate laying on of his hands, 
so that Ephraim the younger w'as placed before 
the elder, Manasseh ; the special gift to Joseph 
of the region around Shechem, the only land 
on earth of which he claimed the ownership ; 
and last, most beautiful and impressive of all, 
his threefold reference to the God of his fathers, 
who had fed and kept him life-long and deliv¬ 
ered him from evil. Alike full of impressive 
facts and suggestive truths, these few verses 
do but emphasize the richness, breadth and 
helpfulness of this whole inspired History, and 
strongly commend its thoughtful continuous 
study. B. 



541 


SECTION 76.-OE2iESTS 47 : 27-31; 4S : 1-22. 


47 :27, 28, While the Egyptians were irn- ■ 
povenshed in their own land, Jacob was replen¬ 
ished in a strange land. He lived seventeen 
years after he came into Egypt, far beyond his 
own expectation \ seventeen years he had nour¬ 
ished Joseph (for so old he was when he was 
sold from him), and now, by way of requital, 
seventeen years Joseph nourished him. So 
that when he was old and least able to bear care 
and fatigue, he had least occasion for it, being 

well provided for by his son. H.-“ And 

Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt and had pos¬ 
sessions therein, and grew and multiplied ex¬ 
ceedingly. And Jacob lived in the land of 
Egypt seventeen years.” Such is the brief 
statement which sketches for us the delightful 
picture of rest and enjoyment after the long 
years of trouble and sorrow. The intricate plot 
is at last unravelled ; and its tragic acts have 
evolved this beautiful scene of quiet rest to the 
chosen family, secure in their own settled homes 
and possessions, their own institutions of social 
order and worship. These last seventeen years 
of his life w'ere enough to make him forget all 
the trouble of the former days of evil. He be¬ 
gins now to see the fulfilment of the promise 
to Abraham of the posterity innumerable as the 
stars of heaven. And his home is fiappy now, 
for his household is a loving household now. 
Eor we cannot imagine that the lessons of the 
scenes through which they have passed have 
been lost upon them. They have learned 
doubtless “ not to fall out by the way.” Josejjh 
has taught them the lesson of love by showing 
them what true love is. This is to Jacob a 
blessed seventeen years, and to our human view 
it would seem the highest kindness of God to 
allow them to be prolonged indefinitely. Yet 
this is not Jacob’s rest—“ here is no continuing 
city,” as we are all too apt to feel when God, 
in his providence, surrounds us so bountifully 
with these home joys. Just at the height of 
this enjoyment comes the announcement, ‘'The 
time drew near when Israel must die.” It is 
a representative picture which finds its coun¬ 
terpart more or less comj^lete in every Chris¬ 
tian community at this day. S. R. 

29. Israel, as he is here again characteristi¬ 
cally named, was preparing for another great 
act of faith. On his dying bed, he still held 
fast by the promises of God concerning the 
possession of Canaan, and all that was con¬ 
nected with it. (It is most instructive to notice 
in this history the frequent change of the names 
of Jacob and Israel.) A. E-JJO. Jacob’s de¬ 

sire that his body should be laid in Machpelah 
had a deeper root than nature. The land of 


Canaan was his by God’s covenant. He was to 
die without entering on its possession ; but in 
his death he would show that he still believed 
that his children would have its ownership, 
and therefore he made Joseph swear that he 
would bury him in the sepulchre of his fathers. 
W. M. T. 

The Apostle acquaints us with the secret of 
his injunction when he tells us (Heb. 11 : 22), 
that “ by faith Jacob gave commandment con¬ 
cerning his bones.” He believed the promise, 
that the land of Canaan should be given to him 
in the persons of his seed. By having his dead 
body conveyed to that land, he published to his 
seed and to the world that he believed and em¬ 
braced the promise. Bash. 

31. And Israel bowed himself on the head of the 
bed. On receiving the solemn promise of 
Joseph, he turns toward the head of the bed, 
and assumes the posture of adoration, render¬ 
ing thanks to God for all the mercies of his past 
life, and for this closing token of filial duty and 
affection. The Septuagint has the rendering 
“ on the top of his staff,” which is given in the 
Epistle to the Hebrews. This is obtained by a 
mere change in the vowel pointing of the last 

word. M.-The Hebrew word without the 

vowel points means either “ bed” or ” staff.” 
It is impossible to decide with certainty Avhich 
was the original sense of the word. It is pos¬ 
sible that the meaning is, as the Ajrostle quotes 
the passage, that after Joseph had sworn to 
bury him in Canaan, Jacob bowed himself upon 
the staff which had gone with him through 
all his wanderings, and so worshipjred God. 
E. H. B. 

7. There comes into the narrative here a 
touch of nature which is exceedingly affecting. 
He has been putting Ephraim and Manasseh 
into the birthright place forfeited by Reuben, 
because to them, as the sons of Joseph who was 
the firstborn of Rachel, after its forfeiture by 
the firstborn of Leah, it lightfully belonged ; 
and that suggests to him his first, his early, his 
constant, his supreme love for Rachel, so that 
he goes on to speak of her—of the time, j^lace, 
and manner of her death, and of her lonely 
grave, precisely as if the incidents had hap¬ 
pened only a short while before. It is so like 
an old man in the apparent abruptness of the 
transition from his grandsons to Rachel, and in 
the fond circumstantiality of his references to 
his well-beloved. W. M. T. 

14. Israel slrelehed out his ris[lit 
hand. Laying hands on the head was always 
used among the Jews in giving blessings, des¬ 
ignating men to any office, and in the conse- 







642 


ADOPTION AND BLESSING OF EPHRAIM AND MANASSEU. 


oration of solemn sacrifices. This is the first 
time we find it mentioned ; hnt we often read 
of it afterward. But this preference has no 
concern with God's conferring a greater meas¬ 
ure of his love and approbation on one person 
more than another ; for this we are assured can 
arise from nothing but men’s moral characters ; 
3t is the determination of truth that xoilh God 
there is no respect of persons, but in every na¬ 
tion he that feareth him and worketh righteous¬ 
ness is accepted with him (Acts 10 : 34, 35). 
Dodd- 

Tlic yoiliijfcr, Grace observes not the 
order of nature, nor does God prefer those 
whom we think fittest to be preferred, but as it 
pleases him. It is observable, how often God, 
by the distinguishing favors of his covenant, 
advanced the younger above the elder ; Abel 
above Cain, Shem above Japheth, Abraham 
above Nahor and Haran, Isaac above Ishraael, 
Jacob above Esau ; Judah and Joseph were 
preferred before Reuben ; Moses before Aaron ; 
David and Solomon before their elder breth¬ 
ren. He tied the Jews to observe the birthright 
(Deut. 21 : 17), but he never tied himself to ob¬ 
serve it. H. 

There are providences of two sorts, seemingly 
good and seemingly bad ; and those do usually 
as Jacob did when he blessed the sons of Joseph, 
cross hands and lay the blessing where we would 
not. There are providences unto which we 
would have the blessings entailed ; but they are 
not. And there are providences that smile upon 
the flesh, such as cast into the lap health, 
wealth, plenty, ease, friends, and abundance of 
this world’s good : but the great blessing is not 
in them. There are providences again, that take 
away from us whatever is desirable to the flesh ; 
such are sickness, losses, crosses, and afflic¬ 
tion ; and usually in these, though they shock 
us whenever they come upon us, blessing 
coucheth and is ready to help us. For God, as 
the name of Ephraim signifies, makes us fruit¬ 
ful in the land of affliction. He therefore, in 
blessing his people, lays his hands across, guid¬ 
ing them wittingly and laying the chiefest bless¬ 
ing on the head of Ephraim, or in that provi¬ 
dence that sanctifies affliction. He that has 
skill to judge of providences aright, has a great 
ability in him “ to comprehend with other 
saints what is the breadth and length and depth 
and height but he that has no skill as to dis¬ 
cerning them, is but a child in his judgment in 
those high and mysterious things. Bunyan. 

15, 16, “ The God before whose face walked 
my fathers, Abraham and Isaac ; the God who 
pastured me from my existence on unto this 


day ; the Angel who redeemed me from all 
evil, bless the lads ; and let my name, and the 
name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, bo 
named upon them, and let them increase to a 
multitude in the midst of the land.” In this 
threefold reference to God as the covenant God, 
the Shepherd and the Angel-Redeemer, we have 
a distinct anticipation of the truth concerning 
the blessed Trinity. A. E. 

Observe tho beautiful humility of Jacob. He 
does not speak about his own walking before 
God, but, “ God before whom my fathers Abra¬ 
ham and Isaac did walk.” He knows that he 
himself has not walked very closely with God. 
Tlie God wliicli fed me. The word/cd is 
scarcely wide enough to express the meaning. It 
means God who has shepherded me ; who has been 
my shepherd all my life long unto this day ; who 
has been guiding me and restoring me and con¬ 
trolling me, as well as feeding me. The failh 
of the patriarch is seen especially in his ac¬ 
knowledging God as his shepherd through all 
his wanderings, and through all his sorrows 
too. He has recognized at last that all these 
things have worked together for his good. 
Gibson. 

Tlic An§rcl wliicii redeemed me. 

The Angel cannot be a created angel, but the An¬ 
gel of God’s presence ; the Messenger who spake 
with divine authority and as himself divine. Al¬ 
ford. -The God who fed him, and the Angel 

who redeemed him, are but one undivided object 
of his prayers. It is not putting undue stress 
upon Jacob’s words to understand them as im¬ 
plying that Jacob was redeemed by this Angel 
from far worse evils than men had it in their 
power to inflict. He was redeemed from all his 
iniquities and from their consequences. The 
Angel-Jehovah of the Old Testament is the 
Saviour-Christ of the New, and who but he has 
been in every age the Redeemer of lost men 'f 

Bash. -It is impossible that the Angel thus 

identified with God can be a created Angel. 
Jacob alludes to the Angel who wrestled with 
him and whom he called God, the same as the 
Angel of the Covenant (Mai. 3 :1). Luther ob¬ 
serves that tho verb “ bless,” which thus refers 
to the God of his fathers, to the God who had 
been his Shepherd, and to the Angel who re¬ 
deemed him, is in the singular, not in the 
plural, showing that these three are but one 
God, and that the Angel is one with the fathers’ 
God and with the God who fed Jacob like a 
sheep. E. H. B. 

No thought now of his own schemes, his own 
efforts, his own successes. The preservation, 
the support, the provision all through life he 








SECriOK 76 .- GENESIS 47 : 27-31; 48 : 1-22. 


-543 


attributes alone to God —he the source of all his 
strength, he the blesser of all his efforts, he the 
giver of all that he has got or gained—the all- 
providmg G )d. The incidents of the bygone 
life no louger spoicen of as of old—as “ things 
that had been against him” — no longer thought 
of as a series of perils, and trials, and bereave¬ 
ments ; but appearing now to the clear eye of 
faith as so many deliverances commanded and 
wrought out tor him by that Angel of the cove¬ 
nant with whom he had that mysterious struggle 
at Peniel ; over whom, through weakness, he 
had power, and who not merely from the com¬ 
mon ills of life—out of the hands of a Laban 
and an Esau had rescued him—but from all evil 
had delivered him—the redeeming God, whose 
goodness and mercy had followed him all the 
days of his life, and into whose provided house 
and home he had so soon to enter. Such was 
the aspect in which the dying Jacob looked at 
God. W. H. 

19. The ftilite$§ of ilic Biations. Such 
he became, when the tribe of Ephraim was the 
head of the northern kingdom of the ten tribes, 
representing them all (‘‘ the fulness of the na¬ 
tions”) in itself. See the numerous allusions to 
Ephraim, as not only representing, but mainly 
constituting, the kingdom of the ten tribes. 
T. J. C. 

21. And then, at the close, comes this simple 
and pathetic ” Behold, I die,” as short and calm 
ac when, after a long interview, we take each 
other by the hand at parting, and say. We must 
away. “ I die ; but God shall be with you.” 
What a transition, but at the same time what a 
contrast ! I die ; but God ! The creature of a 
day, and the Eternal ; the child of dust, and the 
Father of spirits ; the departing friend, and the 
ever-remaining Guide, cf whom Jacob at this 
moment has nothing more to ask for himself, 
but this alone to assure his successors : “ He 
shall bring you again into the land of your 

fathers.” Van 0. -He left with him the 

promise of their return out of Egypt, as a sacred 
trust. Accordingly, Joseph, when he died, left 
it with his brethren (ch. 50 :24). This assur¬ 
ance was given them and carefully preserved 
among them, that they might neither love Egypt 
too much when it favored'them, nor fear it too 
much when it frowned upon them. These words 
of Jacob furnish us with comfort in reference to 


the death of our friends ; ihey die. But God 
shall be with us, and his gracious presence is 
sufficient to make up the loss. They leave us, 
but he will never fail us. He will brimj us io the 
land of our fathers, the heavenly Canaan, whither 
our godly fathers are gone before us. If God be 
with us while we stay behind in this world, and 
will receive us shortly to be with them that are 
gone before to a better world, we ought not to 
sorrow as those that have no hope. H. 

He died away from the Land of Promise, but 
he “ greeted it from afar,” and on his death-bed 
reaffirmed his faith that his children would pos¬ 
sess it. “ God will be with you yes, and on 
the other side of it “ he would be with God,” in 
the true land of promise, the Canaan of the 
skies ; for that, as the author of the Epistle to 
the Hebrews assures us, was at the moment in 
his desire. But what was seen by him only 
through t 3 'pe becomes a direct object of faith to 
the Christian. Dying he leaves the Lord with 
his friends, and goes himself to be with the 
Lord. So he has calmness and peace. W. M. T. 

22, I have given Io thee one por- 
ti4»n. There is little doubt but that this ren¬ 
dering is correct. The past tense is used by pro¬ 
phetic anticipation, and themeaningis, ” I have 
assigned to thee one portion of that land, which 
my descendants are destined to take out of the 
hands of the Amorites.” The word rendered por¬ 
tion is Shechem, meaning literally ” a shoulder,” 
thence probably a ridge or neck of land, hence 
here rendered by most versions and commenta¬ 
tors “ portion,” Shechem, the city of Samaria, 
was probably named from the fact of its stand¬ 
ing thus on a ridge or shoulder of ground. 
E. H. B. 


The accounts given in Scripture are the his- 
torj^ not so much of the intentions of man, as 
of the plans of God. Especially in the vernal 
sunshine of patriarchal days, we behold God’s 
hand, we feel his presence, we admit his 
agency, at every turn. And all the w'ay through 
the tangled web of Judaic history, it is Jehovah 
who is the planner, it is Jehovah who is the 
hero of the story. Well were it for each of us, 
if we could transfer this spirit of the Bible to 
the explanation of our own lives. It would 
clear up man.y a day of clouds, and solve many 
an enigma. J. W. A. 











544 


JACOB'S PROPUETIC BLESSING OF JUS SONS. 


Section 77. 

JACOB’S PKOPHETIC BLESSING OF HIS SONS. 


Genesis 

1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said : 
Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you 
that which shall befall you in the latter days. 

2 Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of 

Jacob ; 

And hearken unto Israel your father. 

3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, 

and the beginning of my strength ; 
The excellency of dignity, and the excel¬ 
lency of power. 

4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not have the 

excellency ; 

Because thou wentest up to thy father’s 
bed : 

Then defiledst thou it : he went up to my 
* couch. 

5 Simeon and Levi are brethren ; 

Weapons of violence are their swords. 

6 O my soul, come not thou into their coun¬ 

cil ; 

Unto their assembly, my glor}", be not thou 
united ; 

For in their anger they slew a man. 

And in their selfwill they houghed an ox. 

7 Cursed be their auger, for it was fierce ; 
And tfieir wrath, for it was cruel ; 

I will divide them in Jacob, 

And scatter them in Israel. 

8 Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise : 
Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine 

enemies ; 

Thj'^ father's sons shall bow down before 
thee. 

9 Judah is a lion’s whelp ; 

From the prej^ my son, thou art gone up : 
He stooped dovm, he couched as a lion, 
And as a lioness ; who shall rouse him up ? 

10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, 
Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet. 
Until Shiloh come ; 

And unto him shall the obedience of the 
peoples be. 

11 Binding his foal unto the vine. 

And his ass’s colt unto the choice vine ; 

He hatb washed his garments in wine. 

And his vesture in the blood of grapes : 

12 His eyes shall be red vdth wine. 

And his teeth white with milk. 


49 :1-28. 

I 13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the 
sea : 

And he shall be for an haven of ships ; 
And his border shall be upon Zidon. 

14 Issachar is a strong ass. 

Couching down between the sheepfolds : 
j 15 And he saw a resting place that it was good, 
j And the land that it was pleasant ; 

I And he bowed his shoulder to bear, 

! And became a servant under taskwork. 

IG Dan shall judge his people, 

I As one of the tribes of Israel. 

I 17 Dan shall be a serpent in the way, 

An adder in the path. 

That biteth the horse’s heels, 

So that his rider falleth backward. 

18 I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord. 

19 Gad, a trooj) shall press upon him : 

But he shall press upon their heel. 

20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, 

And he shall yield royal dainties. 

21 Naphtali is a hind let loose : 

He giveth goodly words. 

22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, 

A fruitful bough by a fountain ; 

His branches run over the wall. 

23 The archers have sorely grieved him. 

And shot at him, and persecuted him : 

24 But his bow abode in strength, 

And the arms of his hands were made 
strong, 

By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, 
(From thence is the shepherd, the stone 
of Israel,) 

25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall 

help thee. 

And by the Almighty, who shall bless thee, 
■\Vith blessings of heaven above. 

Blessings of the deep that coucheth beneath. 
Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb. 

26 The blessings of thy father 

Have prevailed above the blessings of my 
progenitors 

Unto the utmost bound of the everlasting 
hills : 

They shall be on the head of Joseph, 

And on the crown of the head of him that 
was separate from his brethren. 









SECTION' 77.~CENESrS 49 : 1-28. 


545 


27 Benjamin is a wolf that ravineth : 

In the morning he shall devour 
pre3^ 

And at even he shall divide the spoil. 

The death-scene was sublime. All the sons 
were summoned and stood round the bed. The 
time has arrived to give them all his last bless¬ 
ing. It comes in a series of flitting fragmentary 
visions, in which son after son, tribe after tribe, 
is presented ; the character of each son sketched, 
the after destiny of each tribe dimly and brokenly 
shadowed forth : not a set cf distinct prophe¬ 
cies, as if Jacob had the particular events that 
were to happen actually before his eye, and w^as 
giving so many imaginative descnpticns of them 
—still less a set of prophetic sketches contrived 
by some one long after the events had happened, 
and put into the lips of the dying seer. W. H. 

The w'ords were of mingled hlessinj and pre- 
dicJion, Before him, in prophetic vision, un¬ 
rolled, as it were, pictures of the tribes of which 
his sons w^ere to be the ancestors ; and wdiat he 
saw he sketched in grand outlines. It is utterly 
impossible to regard these prophetic jiictures as 
exact representations of any one definite period 
or even event in the history of I.'rael. They 
are sketches of the tribes in their grand charac¬ 
teristics, rather than predictions, either of 
special events, or of the history of Israel as a 
whole. And to them applies especially the de¬ 
scription which one has given of prophetic 
visions generally, that “ Uiey are plcJures drawn 
lorY/iOw/per.vpec^ire,” — that is, such that you can¬ 
not discern the distance from you of the various 
objects. A. E.-Before Jacob’s mind are gath¬ 

ered in one living picture all the pleasing and 
painful events of which they have been the 
cause. With prophetic vision he traces the 
characters and dispositions of the fathers, as 
they are transmitted, expanded, or modified, 
through the history of their descendants. And 
aided by this insight, he allots to every one, on 
the authority of God, his fitting portion of that 
land in which he himself has led a pilgrim life 
for m('re than a hundred years, and which now 
stands with all its natural diversities and wdth 
its rich and manifolcj productions, as vividly 
and distinctly before his mind as the different 
characters of his own sons. K. 

Looking back into the rude scenes of a very 
distant age, I see a man surrounded by a few 
camels and sheep, whose greatest boon was a 
\vell of spring-water or a pasture. This man 
knew' very few moral rules, and did not always 
obey what he knew ; he had no Ten Command¬ 
ments, no prophets, no Gospel,—yet I see that 
35 


28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel : 
and this is it that their father spake unto 
them and blessed them ; every me according 
to his blessing he blessed them. 

man turning wdth unspeakable aw’e to the One 
invisible ; longing, even unrighteously, tor the 
spiritual birthright. In his distress I see him 
struggling as a w'restler with God the night 
through. As j'ears go on I see him growing and 
rising in spiritual life, and at the end I see him, 
the most secular of the patriarchs, uplifted into 
such faith in God and into such visions as only 
faith can see, so that his lips break into the first 
prophetic song found in the Bible—every sen¬ 
tence filled wfith the fine'^t insight, with a won¬ 
derful condensation of thought, of beauty and 
boldness of imagery, and all standing together 
as a series of great sculptures, in which the 
coming history of the Hebrew tribes is cut as in 
the everlasting rock. Mncer. 

Jacob prophesies the destiny of each of his 
sons, and predicts, in still clearer terms, the 
advent of the Messiah. He is first represented 
in general terms, as “ the seed of the woman.” 
It is predicted that he shall descend from Shem. 
From among the sons of Shem, Abraham is; 
selected ; from the sons of Abraham, Isaac is. 
chosen : of the two sons of Isaac, Jacob obtains 
the blessing : from the twelve sons of Jacob, 
Judah is announced as the ancestor of the De¬ 
liverer of man : and from all the numerous de- 
scendants of Judah, it is at length predicted 
that the Messiah shall spring from the line of 
David. By these gradual revelations the provi¬ 
dence of God perpetually kept up the atten¬ 
tion, and preserved the faith of man in the ex¬ 
pected Mediator ; and the prophecy of Jacob 
w'as eminently useful to strengthen the faith of 
the Israelites in that gloomy season of bondage 
and distress, which began after the death of 
Joseph, and continued till the Exodus. G. T. 

-The prophecy of Jacob sketches generally 

the fortunes of his family ; but all is leading 
up to that which was to be the great consum¬ 
mation, when the promised Seed should come 
and extend the blessings of the Spiritual Israel 
throughout all the world. It is to be carefully 
noted, that the occupation of Canaan by the 
twelve tribes under Joshua was not the point 
to w'hich his expectations pointed as an end, 
but rather that from wdiich his predictions took 
their beginning. The return to Canaan was a 
fact established in the decrees of Providence, 
the certainty of w'hich rested on promises given 
and repeated to the Patriarchs. Jacob there¬ 
fore does not repeat this, further than by the 








54(5 


JACOB'S PROrilETIG BLESSING OF JUS SONS. 


injunction, in the previous chapter, and again 
at the end of this, that he should be buried, not 
in Egypt, but at Machpelah, the burying-place 
of his fathers. E. H. 13. 

2 , Jacob and Israel both apply to the same 
person, and to the race of which he is the head. 
The one refers to the natural, the other to the 
spiritual. The distinction is similar to that 
between Elohim and Jehovah : the former of 
which designates the eternal God, antecedent 
to all creation, and therefore equally related to 
the whole universe ; the latter, the self-existent 
God, subsequent to the creation of intelligent 
beings, and specially related to them, as the 
moral Governor, the Keeper of covenant, and 
the Performer of promise. M. 

2 - 27 , The Spirit of God gives light and life 
to the germ of prophecy in Jacob’s mind. First, 
he sees Reuben stand before him, full of 
strength and gentleness ; but by one act of sin 
and shame he has forfeited his birthright. His 
tribe receives but a small inheritatice in the 
south eastern pastures, between the Jordan and 
Euphrates. This tribe plaj^s an unimportant 
pait in all the after history.—The fierce, undis¬ 
ciplined, fiery natures of Levi and Simeon 
come next into review. They receive now the 
punishment of their cruelty and treachery on 
Haraor and Sichem. As a tribe they could not 
dwell together. Their inheritance is divided 
and dispersed among the rest.—Xaxt comes the 
kingly, haughtj', and powerful Judah. He re¬ 
ceives the biithright of sovereignty taken from 
Reuben. His tribe posse.ssed invincible hero¬ 
ism, certainty of the future royal dignity, riches 
and abundance in their fruitful borders.—Zebu- 
lun seems to have had a disposition for busi¬ 
ness and commerce. It was to settle on the 
sea-shore, and stretch to Sid on.—Issachar is a 
powerful, but lazy, beast of burden. His 
dwelling suits his character. So that he can 
have peace, he is content with subjection.— Dan 
has an independent adventurous spirit, which 
spurs him on to bold and crafty deeds.— Gad 
allows himself to be attacked, but boldly turns 
and defeats the enemy. In his district, on the 
east of Jordan, this tribe was more exposed than 
moat to continual assaults. —Asher is delicate, 
and prepares kingly dainties. — Naphtali is a 
slim hind, with eloquent beautiful language.— 
But all there is of outward blessing and riches 
is heaped on Jo.seph’s house. Fruitful and 
powerful, he spreads himself on all sides. No 
assault can fall on him. In the fulness of his 
possessions he surpasses his brethren. In Ben¬ 
jamin, the youngest son of the beloved wife, is 
only to be seen a S 2 )irit of lawlessness and vio¬ 


lence, which made this tribe dangerous, and 
brought upon it well-deserved humiliations. 
This “ prophetic land-chart ” of Canaan is very 
remarkable ; for, although Jacob is guided by 
the character of his sons in the# description 
which he gives of their future lot, and by their 
past conduct, yet the Spirit of prophecy gives a 
width of meaning to his words, and the result 
turned out very differently from what might 
have been expected. Gerlach. 

3, 4. Reuben, the firstborn, appears in many 
points not to have been by any means the Avorst 
of the brethren. He took no part in the deed 
of violence and treachery against the Shechem- 
ites ; he dissuaded his brethren from the mur¬ 
der of Joseph, and wished to restore him to his 
father ; he offered to become surety for the 
safety of Benjamin. But the dark spot of his 
life, and one which abode upon the mind of his 
father,—so that he disregarded his offered 
suretyship for Benjamin,—was his foul sin with 

Bilbah his father’s concubine. AIJ. -The 

prerogatives of the birthright consisted chiefly 
in a double portion of the father’s estate ; the 
priesthood ; and Iho kingdom, that is, the chief 
authority among his brethren. The first of 
these was given to Joseph ; the second to Levi ; 
and the third to Judah, to descend to their re¬ 
spective tribes ; while the tribe of Reuben, who 
had forfeited his prerogative by his crime, re¬ 
corded before by Moses and now alluded to by 
Jacob, was to continue in obscurit 3 ^ Bp. Patrick. 

In V, 4, the phrase, “ Unstable as W'ater,” 
does not compare water to the solid earth or to 
more solid rock as treacherous to the foot and 
unsafe to stand on ; but rather as bubbling, 
effervescing under heat or applied force—as 
therefore a fit image of ungoverned passion ; 
of "wantonness, impatient of restraint. Reuben 
had no moral stamina, and therefore could not 
hold his natural place of headship as the first¬ 
born—a moral lesson worthy of thoughtful con¬ 
sideration. A young man given to licentious 
indulgence can have no solid bottom to his 
character. The sagacious will never trust him. 

H. C.-Reuben ought, as the firstborn, to 

have been the firmest defender of the honor of 
the family, and it was by him that it had been 
violated. For that reason the crown of dignity 
and might, to which his birthright entitled him, 
was taken from his head. 

5-7. Sbrt'ou. and Lt-vi were the next in order, 
but the dignity, which Reuben had forfeited, 
could not be conferred upon them ; for through 
their treachery toward the Shechemites they 
j had brought disgrace upon the house of Jacob. 

I They had uni'ed for the purpose of crime, there- 




SECTION 77.—GENESIS 49 : 1-28. 


547 


fore thej^ were to be ftmitered in Israel. The 
three elder sons were thus excluded from the 
fights and privileges of the birthright. They 
were not to inhabit the heart of the land, which 
would otherwise have fa'len to their share. 
Ileuben’s inheritance was to be outside the true 
holy land, and therefore was not even men¬ 
tioned. Simeon and Levi were to be scattered 
in fragments among the rest of the tribes, and 
therefore to lose the advantages and indepen¬ 
dence, which only compactness and unity could 

secure. K.-Jacob pronounces a curse upon 

their anger, not because indignation against sin 
is unwarrantable in itself, but because their 
wrath was marked by deeds of fierceness and 
cruelty. He does not cut them off from any 
part in the promised inheritance ; but he divides 

and scatters them. M -Their fault was a 

bad union ; their punishment is a just division. 
Their fault was “ hand-in-hand they were 
too near ; their punishment is, they shall be set 
far enough asunder. So whom the devil hath 
joined God putsinsunder, and a righteous thing 

it is it should be so. Bp. Audi ewes. -The 

tribe of Simeon had not an}' inheritance prop¬ 
erly of their own, but only a portion in the 
midst of the tribe of Judah (Josh. 19 :1-9) ; 
whence several of them afterward went in quest 
of new habitations (1 Chron. 4 : 39, 42), and so 
were divided from the rest of their brethren. 
The tribe of Levi had no inheritance allotted to 
them, but were dispersed among all the tribes, 
having certain cities assigned to them, with a 
little land adjoining. This indeed did not prove 
a curse to them, they having the tenth of all the 
increase of the land : for this curse seems to 
have been taken off by reason of their eminent 
services in falling on the worshippers of the 
golden calf, and so consecrating themselves to 
the Lord (Exod. 32 : 26, 29) ; on which account 
Moses blesses this tribe a little before his death, 
whereas he gives no blessing to the tribe of 
Simeon, but leaves them under the curse here 
pronounced by Jacob. Bp. Patrick. 

8. JiicIhIi, tliee sBiall tUj torellireii 
|>rui§C. The rest of the nation shall be called 
Jews, and their whole country Judea, from 
Judah (Esther 3:6; Matt. 27 : 37). This tribe 
was famous also for their conquests over their 
enemies (Judg. 1 : 2), and the dominion which 
it enjoyed over their brethren. It was famous 
for the kingdom of the house of David ; but 
especially because the Messiah was burn of this 
tribe, whos« kingdom is everlasting. Bp. Kid¬ 
der. 

On the iieek of thine enemies. The 

intrepid and successful bravery of the men of 


Judah was often the subject of admiration. As 
soon as the tribes of Israel sent forth separate 
armies against the Caiiaanites, the tribe of Judah 
gained a high distinction which was well main¬ 
tained in succeeding generations. The fiercest 
giants about the region of Hebron could not 
stand before Caleb and his brave associates. 
David was of the tribe of Judah. I>}' him was 
the kingdom of Israel raised to a pitch of power 
and glory which made his name great in dis¬ 
tant lands. The enemies of Judah were more 
especially oveithrown and brought into com¬ 
plete subjection under David, who. evidently 
referring to this prophecy, says (Ps. 18 :40), 
“ Thou hast also ijiven me the neck oj m ne ene¬ 
mies, that I might destroy them that hate me.” 

-Tliy futlier’s sasis $liall E>«\v dou ii 

l>cfl<»re iBiec. They shall acknowledge thee 
as exalted to the highest dignity among them. 
This prediction began to be accomplished when 
he took precedency of the other tribes in lead¬ 
ing the armies of Israel, afier the death of 
Joshua. It was also still more fully confirmed 
at a subsequent period (1 Chron. 5 : 2), “For 
Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him 
came the chief ruler.” But its complete ac¬ 
complishment was to be realized only in Christ, 
in that transcendent dignity with which he is 
invested as King of kings and Lord of lords. 
Its ultimate spiritual fulfilment is to be seen 
symbolically represented in Bev. 5 : 5-8, where, 
when the Liun of the tribe of Judah takes the 
sealed book, the whole host of heavenly wor¬ 
shippers are tliscovered in prostrate adorations 
at his feet. Bush. 

9, Literally : “ A young lion is Judah ; from 
the prey, my son, art thou gone up : he kneels, 
he couches as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall 
rouse him up ?” Judah is a lion’s whelp : he 
goes forth to the prey, he mounts up with his 
prey triumphantly to the mountain-den ; there 
he couches as a lion, nay, like the still fiercer 
lioness, who shall venture to rouse him ? In 
the description the imagery increases in force, 
perhaps in reference to the continually increas¬ 
ing power of this tribe, which received its con¬ 
summation in the greatest of all Victors, in the 
Lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev. 5 :5). Gerl. 

10 . The meaning of the verse appears to be 
“ The Sceptre (either of royal, or perhaps only 
of tribal, authority) shall not depart from Judah, 
nor a lawgiver (senator or scribe) from before 
him, until Shiloh (i.e. either ‘ the Prince of 
peace,’ or ‘ he whose right it is ’) shall come, 
and to him shall the nations be obedient.” 
There are some ob^cure expressions, but we 
may confidently hold that the above paraphrase 









JACOB'S PliOBllETIO BLESSING OF IIIS SONS. 


r>48 

conveys the true sense of the passage. .E. II. B. 
-S]ia3] IIol I'roiii Jiitlali. 

Shall not pass from him to another, is the mean¬ 
ing. So general an expression should be taken 
in its obvious general import ; namely, that 
Judah should retain the supremacy among the 
tribes of Israel, and should yield it to no other. 
This is verified in its history. For notwith¬ 
standing the revolt of the ten tribes, and the 
seventy years of captivit}^ it (and it alone) 
maintained its nationality to the coming of the 
Messiah, at which time it still had its own na¬ 
tional institutions and laws. At the captivitj', 
the nationality of the rival kingdom of the re¬ 
volted tribes ceased, and was known no more ; 
that of Judah continued to the coming of the 
Messiah, and soon after ceased forever. 
I&iilt5r’< between liis feeJ. As 

often represented in ancient sculptures. 
^!llints ; meaning. Peaceful, or Maker of 
peace. Compare Prince of peace, in Isaiah 
9 : 6. That this refers to the Messiah, was held 
by the oldest Jewi.sh interpretei’s, and there is 
no sufficient ground for dissenting from their 
opinion. T2> lliiis ; referring either to the 
nearest subject, Shiloh, the most obvious gram¬ 
matical reference, or to Judah the leading sub¬ 
ject of the sentence. In the former case, the 
word peoples is to be taken in its widest sense. 
In the latter, it has its more Tisual meaning, 
namely the tribes of Israel ; and the reference 
is to the most brilliant period of Judah’s su- 
jiremacy, when all were united under the sway 

of David and Solomon, T. J. C.-Far moi*e 

probable is the rendering which makes Shiloh a 
proper name, and the subject of the verb, sig¬ 
nifying “ Peace,” or rather, “ the Peace¬ 
maker,” the ‘‘ Prince of peace.” So, with 
slight variations, Luther, Vater, Gesenius, 
Kosenmiiller, Hengstenberg. Knobel, Keil and 
others of the highest authority. The title is 
one most appropriate to Messiah (see Isai, 
9 : 6). The word is legitimately formed from 
tlie verb Sh.olah, to rest, to be at peace ; and if 
tiie received reading be the true reading, there 
need be little doubt that this is its meaning. 
E. H. B. 

This victorious tribe shall maintain its pre¬ 
eminence above the rest until the Prince of 
Peace shall come, to whom, not only the other 
tribes, but all people, shnll yield obedience. 
The triumph which all nations shall enjoj^ in 
Abraham and his seed is to consist in peace, 
which the m'ghty, victorious Leader shall give 
t > them. The “ Prince of Peace,” as says 
Isaiah, carrying out this image, shall erect a 
kingdom in which peace shall have no end. 


Gerl. -This distinctive feature of the Mes¬ 

siah s character and mission is the theme of Ps. 
72 and of many passages in Isaiah, ejj. 9:6, 7, 
and 11 :1-10, and GO : 18-22. These prophecies 
naturally follow the lead of this and therefore 
sustain the construction here given it. More¬ 
over, it is natural and highly probable that 
Jacob, whose twelve sons were to found the 
twelve tribes of Israel and who knew that th») 
Messiah was to come in the line of some < n" of 
his sons, should indicate which. Noah had des 
ignated Shem : God had designated Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob ; now the choice is naturally 
made out of these twelve. H. C. 

As legards the fulfilment of this prophecj', 
it is undoubted that the triba’ authority ami 
the highest place in the nation continued with 
Judah until the destruction of Jerusabin. 
Israel never ceased to be a nation, Judah never 
ceased to be a tribe with at least a tribal sceptre 
and lawgivers, or expositors of the law. San¬ 
hedrim or Senator’s, and with a general pre¬ 
eminence in the land, nor w’as there a foreign 
ruler of the people, till at least the time of 
Herod the Great, just before the birth of the 

Saviour. E. II. B.-We learn from history 

that Judah never losl his irib*>, the greatest care 
having been exercised to preserve distinct this 
tribe and its families. Thus, in the days of 
Saul the men of Judah were numbered opart (1 
Sam. 11 :8) ; the same also was the case in the 
time of David (2 Sam. 24 :9). Prophets also 
Were employed to record the genealogies of this 
tribe under the kings (2 Chron. 12 :15, and 
13 : 22), and the same care appears to have been 
exercised during the captivity in Bab^don, for 
while there was difficulty in making out the 
genealogies of some of the other tribes there 
was none in regard to this (Ez. 2 : G2 *, Neh. 
7 : G4). And while in fact a portion of the other 
ten tribes never returned at all to the land of 
their fathers, Judah, with Benjamin its acces¬ 
sory, returned with its integrity unbroken, and 
so remained till the birth of Christ, the wdiole 
nation as well as the land itself receiving its 
denomination from Judah, the one being called 
” Jews,” the other ‘‘ Judea.” Thus it was that 
the sceptre, or the irih'dh consUlntion, did not 
depart from Judah before the predicted era. It 
is abundantly evident, however, that both the 
sceptre and what is called the lawgiver are long 
since lost in Judah ; that the tribe of Judah has 
lost the record of its genealogies ; and that none 
can discriminate the true descendants of the 
patriarch Judah from the descendants of Ben¬ 
jamin or of the other patriarchs. Either then 
this word of promise to Judah has failed for- 












SECTION 77.-GENESIS 49 : 1-28. 


549 


evermore, or Shiloh is come, and it is vain to 
look lor another Messiah. Bmk. 

The second king of Israel wan of the tribe of 
Jadah ; and from that time to the Babylonish 
captivity Judah had not only the sceptre of a 
tribe, but the scejjtre of a kingdom. When it 
was promised that the sceptre should not de¬ 


part from Judah, it was implied that it should 


depart from the other tribes : accordingly the 
tribe of Btujaniin became an appendage to the 
kingdom of Judah, and the other ten tribes were 
carried into Assyria, whence [as tribes] they 
never returned. The Jews also were carried 
captive to Babylon, but returned after seventy 


years. During their captivity they had lived as 
u distinct people ; had lulers and governors of 
their own ; and a “ prince of Judah” (Ez. 1 :8). 
These princes and rulers managed their return 
and settlement afterward. Alter the Babylonish 
captivity they lived under the dominion of the 
Persians, Greeks, and Bomans, not so frie as 
before ; but still as a distinct people under their 
own laws. The authority of their rulers and 
governors subsisted under these foreign mas¬ 
ters ; afterward under the Asmonean princes ; 
and even in our Saviour's time. Their power 
indeed in capital causes, esiiecially those relat¬ 
ing to the state, was abridged. The scejitre was 
then departing ; and in about forty years it 
totally departed. Their city was taken ; their 
temple was destroyed ; and they’^ themst''.ves 
were either slain with the sword, or sold for 
slaves. And from that time to this, they have 
never formed one body or society', but have been 
dispersed among all ntitions ; their tribes and 
genealogies have been all confounded ; and they 
have lived without a ruler, without a lawgiver, 
and without supreme authority and government 
in any part of the earth. And this a captivity 
not for seventy years, but for seventeen hun¬ 
dred.- Uiil€> liiiii §liall tlie iBeriit;; 

tile people l>C. That is, of the Gentiles. 
This is foretold in many other 8criptureSi It 
began to be fultilled in Cornelius the centurion, 
and in a few years the Gospel was disseminated 
in the most considerable parts of the then 
known world. We ourselves were of the Gen¬ 
tiles, but are now (jathered unto Christ. Bp. 
Newton. 

We now see the excellency' of the blessing 
given to Judah. He was to be the father of the 
Shiloh ; and till the Shiloh came, this tribe was 
to be the most glorious of all the tribes of Israel. 
The great burden of Judah’s blessing w'as the 

promise of the Messiah, Bush -He is the Lion 

of the tribe of Judah, who having spoiled princi¬ 
palities and powers went up a Conqueror, and 


I 


I 


couched so as none can stir him up when he sat 
down on the right hand of the Father, To him 
belongs the sceptre ; to him shad the (jathtrimj tf 
the peupte be, as the Desire of all nations (Hag. 
2 : 7), who being lifted up from the earth shouhl 
draw all men unto him, and in w'hom the chil¬ 
dren of God that are scattered abroad should 
meet, as the centre of their unity'. H. 

£1, D15, The image of Judah, given in an¬ 
tique poetic speech, is in the highest degree 
picturesque. We see him binding his beast to 
the vine, which is the blessing of his land. The 
choice red sap flows for him in such abundance 
that he has washed his garments in it, which 
therefore show the royal purple. We only need 
look at him to see the profuse abundance 
yielded by his land. The dark Are peculiar to 
wine streams from his ey'es, the dazzling w'hite 
of milk from his teeth ; so that we see with 
what his land overflows. As the land designed 
for him brings forth the noblest and richest 
fruit, the royal vine, so he himself is compar¬ 
able in lofty energy' to the royal lion, and as 
such he will bear the sceptre. Here jilainly 
two stages are distinguished in Judah’s future, 
a stage of conflict and one of peace. In the* 
conflict for the attainment of his high destiny 
he will be the lesistless conqueror, in peace the 
ruler unsurpassed in glory. History has brought 
the fulfilment. Not only W'as Judah in the van 
on the desert-march, not only was he the un¬ 
wearied champion in the conquest of the land, 
but in other ways he showed his lion-like superi¬ 
ority'. The age of greatest triumph and glory 
was ushered in by David wheir he assumed the 
sceptre and staff, no more to depart from his 
house. And under Solomon, the calmly' couch¬ 
ing lion, followed the most peaceful eijoch of 
abundant prosperity', as under a true Prince of 
Peace. This was the climax of Israelitish na¬ 
tional life. But the ideal was not reached then, 
still less afterward. On this account prophecy 
speaks again and again of a new setting up of 
the tabernacle of David (Amos 9 :11), of a future 
David to whom it belongs to administer the 
law (Ezek. 34 ; 23), who wdl subjugate all na¬ 
tions and bring in eternal peace. This king 
will enter Zion riding on the animal of peace 
(Zech. 9:9); under him men w'ill enjoy the 
abundance of the land undisturbed (Joel 4 :18 ; 
Miciih 4 : 4). The final fulfilment of this patri¬ 
archal blessing we can only find with the apos¬ 
tolic Church in Christ, w'ho has overcome as 
“ the lion of the tribe of Judah,” and now ex¬ 
tends his kingdom in undisturbed peace, and 
rejoices in its glory. Orelli. 

The whole description here is full of Messi- 








550 


JAGOirS PROPHETIC BLESSING OF IIlS SOJSS. 


nnic allusions, which were afterward taken uj;) 
in the prophecy of Balaam ; then applied to 
David (Ps. 81^) ; and from him carried forward 
in prophecy, through Ps. 72, Isa, 9 :11, to Ezek. 
21 :27, and Zech, 9 : 9, till they were finally re¬ 
alized in Jesus Christ, “ sprung out of Juda,” 
“ our peace, who hath made both one,” and who 
“ must reign till He hath put all enemies under 
His feet,” “the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the 
Boot of David,” who ” hath prevailed,” A. E. 

-Through the Old Testament Scriptures we 

find the conception of a kingdom to be set up 
in the latter days held forth continually both as 
the hope of Israel, and as the consummation of 
(rod’s purposes of grace for mankind. We go 
back to that primitive scene of the patriarch of 
the twelve tribes, dying in a strange land, his 
sons gathered around him as he braces himself 
upon the edge of his couch, and leans upon the 
top of his staff and worships the God before 
whom his fathers “ Abraham and Isaac did 
walk,” and as his dimmed eyes brighten with 
the vision of the future, we hear him say, with 
the confidence of a Seer to whom that vision is 
reality,—“ The sceptre shall not depart from 
•Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his 
feet, until Shiloh—the Peace shall come ; and 
unto him shall the obedience of the Peoples 
be.” Hardly is David seated upon his throne 
in Judah, and the ark that had rested in Shiloh 
brought up to Zion, when, as if to disclaim the 
fulfilment of Jacob’s prediction in himself, the 
Psalmist prophesied anew the coming of the 
Lord’s anointed, who should have “ the heathen 
for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of 
the earth for his possession’' (Ps. 2). 

But though Judah in the time of her prosper¬ 
ity must still wait for the consummation of her 
kingdom, yet in her times of depression and 
fear the promise is renewed to revive her hope. 
Isaiah then lifts up his voice like a trumpet, 
rallying the discomfited and despairing people : 
“ Unto U.S a child is born, unto us a son is given : 
and the government shall be upon his shoulder ; 
and his name shall be called Wonderful, Coun¬ 
sellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, 
the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his 
government and peace there shall be no end, 
upon the throne of David, and upon his king¬ 
dom to order it and to establish it with jndg- 
nient and with justice from henceforth even 
forever” (Isa. 9 : G, 7). And Zechariah, making 
the hills of Palestine vocal with the welcome to 
IMessiah, sing-^, “ Bejoice gieatly, O daughter of 
Zion : shout, O daughter of Jernsalem ; behold 
thy king cometh unto Thee” (Zech. 9 : 9) ; and 
Ulicah reaches forth the prophetic benediction 


to Bethlehem—“ Though least among the thou¬ 
sands of Judah, yet out of her shall he come 
forth that is to be Buler in Israel, whose goings 
forth have been from of old, from everlasting” 
(Micah 5 : 2). 

And all the history of the ages is brought to 
crystallize about this single thread of the prom¬ 
ised kingdom of the Messiah. It is wonderful 
with what tenacity of assertion the Bible holds 
to this concejrtion of the kingdom of God ; it is 
amazing with what majesty of purpose, what 
stateliness of march the Providence of God 
moves ever toward the consummation of that 
kingdom in the coming of Christ. Men, kings, 
people.s, dynastie.s, empires, as brought within 
the contemplation of this Book, are nothing, 
save as they touch upon this kingdom, and are 
the agents or opponents of its progress. Egypt, 
Arabia and Tyre, Assyria, Babylon and Persia, 
the later Macedonian and Boman empires—all 
are of no account save as they help or hinder 
the unfolding of the kingdom of God. The 
covenant with Abraham posVed that kingdom in 
the oath of Jehovah as the guarantee of its uni¬ 
versality and its perpetuity ; the constitution 
of Israel under a Theocracy erected before the 
world a symbol of this divine kingdom, and 
provided within itself the means of its spiritual 
development : and when the fulness of time 
had arrived for the spiritual to burst its shell 
and stand forth in the beauty of Bighteousness, 
the majesty of Truth, the powder of Love, then 
the polity like the ritual fell away, and symbol, 
prophecy, and history met and were fulfilled in 
Christ. J. P. T. 

13, The lot of God's providence exactly 
agrees with the plan of God’s counsel, like a 
true copy with the original. If prophecy says, 
Zthulnn shall be a haven of ships. Providence will 
so plant him. God appoints the bounds of our 
habitation. It is our wdsdom and duty to ac¬ 
commodate ourselves to our lot, and to improve 
it. If Zebulun dwell at the haven of the sea, 
let him be for a haven cf ships. H. 

E4, B5, The principal portion of the great 
plain of Esdraelon fell to the lot of the tribe of 
Iss'ichar. And for the sake of securing himself 
in so desirable a portion, Issachar appears to 
liave become at times humbly subservient to 
the Canaanites of the adjacent fortified towns, 
and to the proud country of Phoenicia on the 
near sea-coast. The people of Issachar—in the 
language of Bitter—“ assumed a i^osition of 
almost slavish servitude in relation to the Phoe¬ 
nicians, becoming their common carriers, mule- 
drivers, and St rvants of all w'ork.” Such hu¬ 
miliation of this tribe the d^ing Jacob must 





551 


SECTION 77,—GENESIS 49 : 1-28. 


have foreseen, when he spake this of Issachar 
N. C. B. 

16 , 17 , I>an. We have only to consult the 
history of Samson’s warfare with the Philistines 
to see how strikingly this predicted character 

was then realized. Bush. - 1 §. That the long- 

promised Seed was in Jacob’s thought is for¬ 
cibly and beautifully suggested in the midst of 
these dying benedictions by the words—“ I 
have waited for thy salvation, 0 Lord.” In the 
sustaining hope of a coming Saviour he had 
waited and trusted through many long years ; 
for these words express the precious experi¬ 
ences of a life. As Jesus himself testified of 
Abraham, “ He rejoiced to see my day,” hailing 
it joyously from afar, so Jacob witnesses of 
himself, ” 1 have waited for thy s-ahation, O 

Lord.” H. C.-Nothing can be more natural 

tnan to suppose that the dying patriarch, at the 
moment when he was formally transmitting to 
his children the theocratic blessing, had his 
thoughts lifted up toward that great salvation, 
of which all these material and temporal bene¬ 
dictions pronounced upon his sons were but 
the shadows and the types, and of which per¬ 
haps he had been incidentally reminded by the 
mention of the biting serpent, to which he had 
just likened Dan. It is noticeable that this is 
the first occurrence of the term salvation. T. W. 

The salvation he w’aited for was Christ, the 
promised Seed, whom he had spoken of (v. 10). 
Now that he was going to be gathered to his 
people, he breathes after him to whom the 
gathering of the people shall be. Now that he 
is going to enjoy the salvation, he comforts 
himself with this, that he had waited for the 
salvation. It is the comfort of a dying saint thus 
to have waited for the salvation of the Lord ; 
for then he shall have what he has been V'ait- 

ing for : long-looked-for will come. PI.-Our 

.Lord appears as the chief, the central object of 
prophecy ; the light that illuminates its obscu¬ 
rity. Even in the early period of the patriarchs, 
he was the principal object of desiring expecta¬ 
tion to holy men. All the ancient saints were 
Avaiting for him, down to Simeon, who could 
depart in peace, because his eyes had seen the 
Saviour. li. Hall. 

lf>. Gael. The language refers to attacks of 
nomadic tribes which would harass and annoy 
the Gadites, but which they would successfully 
repel. 20. Aslicr. The import of the bless¬ 
ing is that Asher should possess a specially pro¬ 
ductive soil. Whiielaw. 

22-26. There is here a fulness of paternal 
feeling, a richness and prodigality of blessing, 
such as would naturally be poured forth on the 


lost and recovered child of the object of early 
love, and child of old age. These natural affec¬ 
tions, under divine guidance, often become, a.s 
here, the fittest instruments for the expression 

of the divine will. T. J. C.-The blessing on 

Joseph forms the climax of the father’s fondnes.s 
and the prophet's fervor. Taking his name 
{addnuj or increase) as a sign both of his past 
abundance and his future enlargement, he com- 
l^ares him to a fruitful vine, or rather a branch 
of the vine of Israel, throwing its shoots over 
the wall of the cistern by which it is planted ; 
and he promises his favorite son every form of 
blessing that man could desire or enjoy. As in 
all his history, so in this prophecy especially, 
Joseph is one of the most eminent types of 
Christ, r. S. 

22. A friiilfuQ botigh. Joseph is fitly 
compared to a fruitful bough by reason of his 
numerous offspring. He w'as the head cf two 
tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh, and they were 
both very numerous. 23. Joseph was aimed 
and shot at and greatly oppressed by his ene¬ 
mies. His own brethren reviled him, shooting 
at him with the arrows of bitter words : they 
contrived his death. He was sold into Egjpt 
through envy, and imprisoned by a lie. 24. 
But lii§ bow abode iu The 

Divine help and mercy did not forsake him : 
he was preserved and relieved bj' the mighty 
God of Israel. By him he was kept alive, when 
his death was designed ; joreserved chaste, when 
he was greatly tempted ; rendered prosperous 
in his lowest circumstances ; and from them 
advanced to great dignity, and made an instru¬ 
ment of very great good to others. From thence, 
that is, from the same Divine power and mercy, 
Joseph, who had been sold, tempted, maligned, 
and imprisoned, and greatly oppressed, became 
the feeder, and stay and support (called here 
stone, compare Gen. 28 :11), or rock of d'f^nce 
of his father and his family. “ Neither was 
there a man born like unto Joseph, a governor 
of his brethren, a stay of the people” (Ecclus. 
49 :15). Bp. Kiddtr. 

25, 26. These two thoughts—the peaceful 
abundance of his old age, which he owed to 
Joseph, and the persecutions his beloved son 
had endured—stir the fountains of his affec¬ 
tions until they overflow with blessings. Bless¬ 
ings of heaven above ,—tho air, the rain, and the 
sun. Blessings of the deep ,—the springs and 
streams, as well as the fertile soil. Blessings oj 
the breasts and the wowffi, — the children of the 
home and the young of the flocks and herds. 
The benedictions pronounced upon Joseph ex¬ 
ceed those that came upon Jacob himself from 








552 


JACOB'S PROPHETIC BLESSING OF HIS SONS. 


his fathers. To Joseph is given a double por¬ 
tion, with a double measure of affection from a 
father’s heart. M. 

27. ISeiiJsiiiiill. As Judah is likened to a 
lion, Issachar to a strong ass, Dan to a serpent, 
Naphtali to an hind let loose, Joseph to a fruit¬ 
ful bough, or tree planted by the waters ; so 
Benjamin is fitly compared to a ravenous wolf, 
for his warlike courage and success against his 

enemies. Kiddtr. -It was a fierce and warlike 

tribe, as appears from several instances, and 
especially in the case of the Levite’s wife (Judg. 
20), when they alone waged war against all 
the other tribes, and overcame them in two 
battles. Ill llic 111 or 11 iIIg*. The mornivg 
and nUihl here are the morning and night of 
the Jewish state, which is the subject of all* 
Jacob’s prophecy : as in Moses’s j)rophecy, 
which is an exposition of this of Jacob, “ Ben¬ 
jamin shall dwell in safety ; the Lord shall 
cover him all the day long.” This imports that 
Benjamin should continue longer than the other 
tribes, even to the very last times of the Jewish 
state. And this was most exactly fulfilled. As 
the tribe of Benjamin annexed itself to the tribe 
of Judah as its head, so it ran the same fortune 
with it : they went tosether into captivity ; they 
returned home together ; and were both in 
being when Shiloh came. Bp. Newton. 

SS, 29. The concluding words (v. 29) show 
that this was a formal appointment of Jacob’s 
twelve sons to be the twelve heads of the chosen 
race, now becoming a nation, instead of its 
h iving one head as hitherto ; and also that the 
blessings and prophecies of the drying jjatriarch 
had respect rather to the tribes than’ to their 
individual ancestors ; and henceforth the tribes 
are continually spoken of as if they were per¬ 
sons. 1*. S. 


The Jews, without reference to their religious 
belief, are among the most remarkable people 
in the annals of mankind. Sprung from one 
stock, they pass the infancy of their nation in 
a state of servitude in a foreign country, where, 
nevertheless, thej^ increase so rapidly, as to ap¬ 
pear on a sudden the fierce and irresistible con- 
ipierors of their native valleys in Palestine, 
There they settle down under a form cf govern¬ 
ment and code of laws totally unlike those of 
any other rude or civilized community. They 
sustain a long and doubtful conflict, sometimes 
enslaved, sometimes victorious, with the neigh 
boring tribes. At length, united under one 
monarchy, they gradually rise to the rank of a 
j)Owerful, opulent, and commercial people. 
Subsequently weakened by internal discord, 


they are overwhelmed by the vast monarchies 
which arose on the banks of the Euphrates, and 

I 

transplanted into a foreign region. They are 
partially restoied, by the generosity pr policy 
of the Eastern sovereigns, to their native land. 
They are engaged in wars of the most romantic 
gallantry', in assertion of their independence, 
against the Syro Grecian successors of Alexan¬ 
der. Under Herod, they rise to a second era of 
splendor, as a dejieudent kingdom of Borne : 
finally, they make the last desperate resistance 
to the universal dominion of the Csesars. Scat¬ 
tered from that jieriod over the face of the earth 
—hated, scorned, and oppressed, they subsist, 
a numerous and often a thriving people; and 
in all the changes of manners and opinions re¬ 
tain their ancient institutions, their national 
character, and their indelible hope of restora¬ 
tion to grandeur and happiness in their native 
land. Thus the history of this, jrerhaps the 
only unmingled race, which can boast of high 
antiquity, leads us through everj^ gradation of 
society, and brings us into contact with almost 
every nation which ccmmands our interest in 
the ancient world ; the migrator}^ pastoral pop¬ 
ulation of Asia ; Egypt, the mysterious parent 
of arts, science, and legislation ; the Arabian 
Desert ; the Hebrew theocracy under the form 
of a federative agricultural republic, their king¬ 
dom powerful in war and splendid in peace ; 
Babylon, in its magnificence and downfall ; 
Grecian arts and luxury endeavoring to force an 
unnatural refinement within the pale of the 
rigid Mosaic institutions ; Boman arms waging 
an exterminating war with the independence 
even of the smallest states ; it descends, at 
length, to all the changes in the social state of 
the modern European and Asiatic nations. 

The religious history of this people is no less 
singular. In the narrow slip of land inhabited 
by their tribes the worship of one Almighty 
Creator of the Universe subsisted, as in its only 
sanctuary. In every stage of society, under the 
pastoral tent of Abraham, and in the sumjjtuous 
temple of Solomon, the same creed maintains 
its inviolable simplicity. During their long in¬ 
tercourse with foreign nations in Egypt and 
Babylon, though the primitive habits and char¬ 
acter of the Hebrew nation were greatly modi¬ 
fied, and perhaps some theological notions en¬ 
grafted on their original tenets, this primary 
distinction still remains ; after several periods 
of almost total apostasy, it revives in ail its 
vigor. Nor is this merely a sublime speculative 
tenet, it is the basis of their civil constitution, 
and their national character. As there is but 
one Almighty God, so there is but one people 









553 


SECTION 78.-GENESIS 49 : 29-83; 50 : 1-13. 


under Lis especial protection, tlie descendants 
of ALiaiiain. Hence tLeir civil and religious 
history is inseparable. The God of the chosen 
people is their temporal as well as spiritual 
sovereign ; he is not merely their legislator, but 
also the administrator of their laws. Their 
land is his gift, held from him, as from a feudal 
liege-lord, on certain conditions. He is their 
leader in war, their counsellor in peace. Their 
happiness or adversity, national as well as indi¬ 
vidual, depends solely and immediately on their 
maintenance or neglect of the divine institu¬ 


tions, Such was the common popular religion 
of the Jews, as it appears in all their records, in 
their law, their history, their poetry, and their 
moral philosophy. Hence, to the mere specu¬ 
lative inquirer, the study of the human race 
presents no phenomenon so singular as the 
character of this extraordinary people ; to the 
Christian, no chapter in the history of mankind 
can be more instructive or important than that 
which contains the rise, progress, and downfall 
of his religious ancestors. Milman. 


Section 78. 


DEATH AND FUNEKAL OF JACOB. 
Genesis 49 : 29-33 ; 50 ; 1-13, 


49 : 29 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people : bury 

30 me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave that 
is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abra¬ 
ham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace : 

31 there they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife ; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his 

32 wife ; and there I buried Leah : the field and the cave that is therein, which was pur- 

33 chased from the children of Pleth. And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, he 
gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his 
people. 

50 : 1 And Joseph fell upon his father’s face, and wept upon him, and kissed him. And 

2 Joseph commanded his servants the phj/sicians to embalm his father : and the physicians 

3 embalmed Israel. And forty days were fulfilled for him ; for so are fulfilled the days of 
embalming : and the Egyptians wept for hiiu threescore and ten daj’s. 

4 And when the days of weeping- for him were past, Joseph spake unto the house of 
Pharaoh, saying. If now I have found grace in your ejms, speak, I pray you, in the ears of 

5 Pharaoh, saying. My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die ; in my grave which I have 
digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go 

6 up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again. And Pharaoh said. Go up, 

7 and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear. And Joseph went up to bury his 
father : and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and 

8 all the elders of the land of Egypt, and all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his 
father’s house : only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the 

9 land of Goshen. And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen : and it was a 

10 very great company. And they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, which is beyond 
Jordan, and there they lamented Mutli a very great and sore lamentation : and he made a 

11 mourning for his father seven da 5 ^s. And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaan- 
ites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said. This is a grievous mourning to the 
Egyptians : wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan. 

12 And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them ; for his sons carried him 

13 into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which 
Abraham bought with the field, for a possession of a buryingplace, of Ephron the Hittite, 
before Mamre. 


The life of Jacob is a most striking illustra¬ 
tion of the difficult sort of natural material 
which the grace of God often has to work upon. 


Jacob was not by nature a noble character. 
But the grace of God made him noble in the 
hour of trial. Of all men, Jacob might have 






DEATH AND FUNERAL OF JACOB. 


applied himself to the language of the great 
apostle two thousand years after: “ By the 
grace of God I am what 1 am.” Hence, next to 
David’s life, this checkered, troubled life of 
Jacob is the most instructive on the subject of 
Curistian experience of any of the biographies 
of holy scripture. Nor is there a place of spirit¬ 
ual history into which sin and sorrow can cast | 
the believiijg soul which may not directly or 1 
indirectly find its illustration in the story of 
Jacob’s experience. This account of the last 
hours and the death of such a man is beauti¬ 
fully presented here. When “ the time drew 
near that Israel must die,” as we have already 
seen, he at onne proceeded with the greatest 
self-possession to set his house in order. He 
has now announced the prophetic oracles con¬ 
cerning his posterity in the ” afterhood of 
days,” and has given solemn charge to laj' his 
dead body with Abraham and Sarah and Isaac, 
in the land of the inheritance. And his work 
being all done, he lies down to await his last 
summons. Calmly he yielded up his spirit to 
Him who gave it, and is “ gathered to his 
fathers.” S. E. 

Abraham had testified his faith in 
the divine promises by the purchase of the 
burying-place of Machpelah, and Jacob would 
show that he had the same confidence. His 
command to his sons was a public profession 
that he had lived and was now dying in the 
same faith by which his progenitors had em¬ 
braced the promise. What was said by Paul of 
Joseph may be said of Jacob, that “ by faith he 
gave commandment concerning his bones.” 
Bush. 

33. Jacob is the only one of the Old Testa¬ 
ment patriarchs whom we are able to accom¬ 
pany to his very last hour. And here we see 
how the Old Testament death-bed was sur¬ 
rounded by brightness and peace, thfe fear of 
death being swallowed up in the certain hope 
of the rest that remaineth for the people of God. 

Baum. -He rather appears to have conquered 

death than to have suffered it. Who, seeing the 
end of this illustrious patriarch, can help ex¬ 
claiming, There is none like the God of Jeshu- 
run ! Let Jacob’s God be my God ! Let me 
die the death of the righteous, and let my last 

end be like his ! A. C.-Death was no new 

subject to him ; salvation not an untried 
theme ; the grave no strange country ; heaven 
not an unlooked-for home. He had waited for 
the Angel of the Covenant, who had redeemed 
him from all evil, and the summons, when it 
came, found him ready and willing to enter into 
the eternal presence. His work was done ; his 


last blessings and behests had been pro- 
nounced ; his last accents of prayer and praise 
breathed out ; and he had now nothing to do 
but ” to gather up his feet into his bed,” and 
cheerfully to lesign his spirit into the hand of 
his Father and his God. He was gathered to 
his people according to his own expectation and 
his hope. Bush. 

Here is more than quiet hope, here is full 
certainty of salvation : Uere is a waiting, an ex¬ 
pectation which can afford to be patient because 
it is certain, and can in no case be mistaken. 
No remorse for the past disturbs him ; the sin¬ 
ner has become the favored of God, the heir of 
the promise. No fear of the future concerns 
him ; assured of God’s salvation, his soul is 
thus set free from everything that might even 
at the last trouble his peace, and it surrenders 
all unconditionally with the words, ” Lo, I die, 
but God shall be with you, ’ and he falls asleep 
like a child on the faithful bosom of its mother. 
Glorious fruits of the hope of salvation in the 
glimmering twilight of the ancient covenant! 
If they could thus depart who have not seen the 
promises fulfilled, but merely beholding them 
from atar have believed and embraced them, 
what should be the life, what at last the death, 
of those who walk at noonday, and rejoice in 
an accomplished salvation ! Van 0. 

His yielding up the ghost and being gathered 
unto his people -as if these two events were m 
close juxtaposition—and the latter previous to 
the funeral which took place many days after— 
indicate another sort of gathering with his an¬ 
cestors than merely being buried with them ; 
as if his spirit in returning to God joined Abra¬ 
ham and Isaac—standing before him who is the 
God, not of the dead but of the living. T. C. 

“ Many shall come from the east and the west, 
and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, 
and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” This 
declaration of Christ, while it anticipates the 
vocation of the Gentiles as fellow-heirs with 
Israel of spiritual and celestial blessings, refer.s 
us in its full and final accomplishment to the 
grand eternal assembly of the redeemed : it. 
points the eye of faith and hope to a prospect 
before which all others fade into littleness and 
darkness. What a multitude must that be 
which embraces the saved of all ages, from the 
beginning to the end of time ! “ a multitude,” 
indeed, “ which none can number innumer¬ 
able as the leaves of autumn which moulder 
into earth, types of the buried bodies of the 
saints ; innumerable as the leaves of spring 
which reappear in vernal beauty, types of those 
bodies destined to reappear in the beauty of the 






SEOriON 7 S.-GENESIS 40 ; 29-331 50 ; 1-13. 


resurrection. Every dispensation, Patriarchal, 
Mosaic, Christian, will meet and mingle there. 
And not those only who walked with God in the 
shadowy moonlight of Judaism, and those M ho 
followed Christ in the bright sunshine of the 
gospel; but those also who “felt after their 
Maker, if happily they might find hmi,’’ in the 
glimmering gloom of natural reason, may swell 
that immense host of the redeemed. Let us be 
followers of those mIio through faith and pa¬ 
tience now inherit the promises ; followers of 
those devout patriarchs who sought a better 
country ; children of Abraham, Israelites in¬ 
deed ! Ji. Hall. 

50: I. In full accordance Muth the promise 
made to Jacob by Jehovah at Beersheba, Joseph 
is present to clone his eyes, and that done the 
great Egyptian jirince gives vent to his uncon¬ 
trollable sorrow. It is a lieautiful exhibition of 
nature asserting her rights m spite of all official 
grandeur and etiquette. Joseph the man, the 
son, is above Joseph the prince. In all the 
glories of his exaltation he is not ashamed of 
his connection, by birth and sympathy, M'ith 
this tribe of shepherds from Canaan. He sees 
by faith, as Moses did afterward, that it is bet¬ 
ter to be Jacob’s son than prince of the Empire 
of Egypt. S. R. 

2-4. Eiiibalmccl Israel. Great num¬ 
bers of embalmed bodies (“mummies”) have 
been found in Egj'^ptian tombs within the pres¬ 
ent century, in perfect preservation. On this 
point the coincidences between sacred and pro¬ 
fane histoiy are striking. The practice was 
very ancient, some mummies bearing the date 
of the oldest kings. It was performed by a 
special class of physicians. In harmonj’’ with 
Moses, Herodotus and Diodorus state that the 
embalming process occupied forty days ; the 
entire period of mourning seventy. Classic au¬ 
thorities give accounts similar to this of great 
mourning for the dead. The monuments con¬ 
tain representations to the same effect. Funeral 
trains and processions are represented abun¬ 
dantly in the oldest tombs at Elithias, also at 
Sagguarah, at Gizeh, and at Thebes. A coinci¬ 
dence so minute as this is noticed ; that mourn¬ 
ers forbore to shave their hair or beard ; but 
none might appear before the king unshorn. 
Consequently we observe that Joseph does not 
come before the king in person but “ spake 
unto the house of Pharaoh” requesting them to 
speak in his behalf to the king. H. C. 

7-13. Of the funerals of the kings of Judah 
usually no more is said than this, They wire 
hnried ijui'h their fathers in the city (f David; but 
the funeral of the patriarch Jacob is more 


^ 

000 

largely and fully described. He had spoken 
more than once of dying for grief and going to 
the grave bereaved of his children, but he dies 
in honor, and is followed to the grave by all his 
I children. His orders concerning his burial 
were given and observed in faith, and in ex¬ 
pectation both of the earthly and of the heav- 

i enly Canaan. H.-9, Avery great eoiii- 

paiiy. This must have been a very grand 
funeral procession —and that for more than two 
hundred miles—such as the world has seldom 
seen. Theie were not only the family of Israel 
—and not only the officers of the court, “ the 
servants of Pharaoh” -but “the elders of 
^SypC” or the grandees of the empire. There 
were also chariots and horsemen, so that, with 
the attendantsdaken with them liy so many high 
persons, the camp was very great, as the text 

states. Kit. -The splendor and magnificence 

of our Patriarch’s funeral seem to be without a 
parallel in history. The noble obsequies of 
Marcellus come nearest in comparison. But how 
do even these fall short of the simple narrative 
before us ! For what are the six hundred beds, 
for Mdiich the Roman solemnities on this occa¬ 
sion Mmre so famous, when compared to that 
national itinerant multitude which swelled like a 
flood and moved like a river ; to “ all Pharaoh’s 
servants, to the elders of his house, and all the 
elders of the land of Egypt,” that is, to the oflff- 
cers of his household, and deputies of his prov¬ 
inces ; with “all the house” of Joseph, and 
his “ brethren,” and his “ father’s house,” con¬ 
ducting their solemn sorrow for two hundred 
miles into a distant country ? Stackhouse. 

10. Atad, beyond Jordan. The vast 
cavalcade which left Egypt with the corpse of 
Jacob did not move directly by the shortest 
route to Canaan, but around on the eastern side 
of the Dead Sea to the Jordan. This was prob¬ 
ably to avoid collision with the people of the 
thickly-settled country of South Canaan, or 
from unfriendly relations between Egypt and 

I 

that region. 

Scriptural meaning and use of the term “ Elder." 
It is worthy of special note that in this enumer¬ 
ation of the great personages that attended the 
funeral we have mentioned “ all the servants of 
i Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the 
ciders of the land of Egypt.” The first men¬ 
tion we have of the “ elder,” as a title of olfice, 
is in the case of Eliezer, the servant and elder 
of Abraham’s house in Gen. 24 ; 2. It is obvi¬ 
ous, from that place and this, that the title de¬ 
noted from the first a ministerial agenc 3 % and 
therefore the term servant connected with it de- 












55G 


JOSEPH'S KINDNESS TO HIS BRETHREN 


noted nothing servile, but simply that the office 
was ministerial and under the direction of a 
higher authority. This is precisely the irse 
made of the term in the New Testament. The 
apostles denominated themselves stewards, 
or upper servants of the Church of God. It is 
a very striking illustration of the perpetuity of 
usage in certain terms as conveying the same 
general ideas from age to age. "Why should the 
name “ elder” have been given to ministerial 
agents, whether civil or religious? Doubtless 
from the first form of government on earth—the 
patriarchy—the government of the “ old man” 
of the tribe. So long as human life extended 
to near a thousand years there could be no 
other government either in state or church than 
that of the family. The list of patriarchs from 
Adam to Abraham is doubtless a list of the suc¬ 
cession of ruling heads over the people “ that 
called on the name of Jehovah.” When hu¬ 
man life was shortened to a little more than a 
century this system of natural rulers or elders 
must, in the nature of the case, give way to the 
system of cko.sen rulers from among several of 
the same age. The term “ elder” was trans¬ 
ferred from the patriarchs to the appointed rulers, 
and hence, both in state and church, we find 
the Z'lkan (Hebrew), Presbuteros (Greek), elder 
(English) applied, as here, to the public minis¬ 
ters of Egypt, and subsequently to the magis¬ 
trates of Moab and to both the civil and ecclesi¬ 
astical rulers in Israel. The same idea of nam¬ 
ing the officer from a term denoting age has run 
through all history since. Thus the Greek 
councillors were “ Patres” (fathers^', the Homan 


Senators (from Sentx, an old man), a.id from the 
Latin was derived the Spanish Signor and the 
French Signtur. Then the German '"Aider- 
man,''' or older man, the same which we still 
apply to the councillors of a .city. In the church 
of God that has continued to be the term prop¬ 
erly denoting rule and ministerial authority in 
every age, through both the Old and New Tes¬ 
tament. For, while other terms are applied to 
the ministers of religion in the New Testament, 
it will be found that they are used only inci¬ 
dentally. The term ""Apostle," as describing 
men “ sent ” out by Christ as his witnesses — 
the term “ ephcopos" —occuiring only half a 
dozen times, and always in speaking to Greeks 
—is manifestly only a Greek explanation of the 
old ecclesiastical term “Presbyter”—“elder,” 
which Greeks had not yet grown familiar with. 
“ Presbyter” is the fundamental title of office 
in the church throughout the history ; and so 
in the prophetic visions of the church of the 
future as the Apostle John saw it in the Apoc¬ 
alypse, it still continues under the same organ¬ 
ization. For he saw "" four-and-ticenty eldei's "— 
twelve representatives of the Old Testament 
church and twelve of the New—leading on the 
redeemed church, and casting their crowns at 
the feet of the Lamb, that sat upon the throne. 
It is a singular fact that on the monuments of 
Egypt the same peculiarity of “ elder” as the 
name for a nobleman is found. The symbol in 
hieroglyphics, denoting a head man, or noble, 
is the figure of an old man with a long staff in 
hand. As a title of honor this is said to occur 
constantly on the monuments. S. R. 


Section 79. 

JOSEPH’S KINDNESS TO HIS BRETHREN. HIS DEATH. POINTS OF CHARACTER. 

Genesis 50 : 14-2G. 

14 And Joseph returned into Egyjit, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to 

15 bury his father, after he had buried his father. And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their 
father was dead, they said, It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully requite us all the 

16 evil which we did unto him. And they sent a message unto Joseph, saying. Thy father did 

17 command before he died, saying. So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the 
transgression of thy brethren, and their sin, for that they did unto thee evil ; and now, we 
pray thee, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of thy father And Joseph 

18 wept when they spake unto him And his brethren also went and fell dowm before his face ; 

19 and they said. Behold, we be thy servants. And Joseph said unto them. Fear not ; for am I 

20 in the place of God ? And as for you, ye meant evil against me ; but God meant it for good, 






557 


SECTION 79.—GENESIS 50 : 14-26. 

21 to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not • I 

o > 1 TT ri'* comforted them, and spake kindly unto them. 

osep c we t in Egypt, he, and his father’s house ; and Joseph lived an hundred and 
2.3 ten years And Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third gtneraiion : the children also of 
- X achir the son of Manasseh were born upon Joseph’s knees. And Joseph said unto his breth- 

or T- r . ' of this land unto the land 

o^ sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the children 

-b of Israel sayino, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry my bones from hence. So 

Joseph died, .leing an hundred and ten years old : and they embalmed him, and ho was put in 
a coffin in Egypt. 


If Joseph had been rancorous, this 
deprecation had charmed him ; but now it re¬ 
solves him into tears : they are not so ready to 
acknowledge their old offence, as he to protest 
his love ; and if he chide them for anything, it 
is for that they thought they needed to entreat ; 
since they might know it could not stand with 
the fellow-servant of their father’s God, to 
harbor maliciousness, to purpose revenge ; “ x\m 
not I under God ?” And, fully to secure them 
he turns their eyes from themselves to the de¬ 
cree of God ; from the action to the event ; as 
one that would have them think there was no 
cause to repent of that which proved so suc¬ 
cessful. Bp. 11. -iiO. Yc llioiig^lit cviB 

uj;ain§l me, l>iii Ciiod meant it unto 
|;€>od. In using this language Joseph by no 
means intended to upbraid his brethren with 
what they had thought against him. His men¬ 
tion of their intentions was only designed as a 
contrast to the gracious intentions of God. 
What he had told them seventeen years before, 
he still adhered to, and the same considerations 
which induced him to pass by their offence 
then, induced him to do it still. Bush. 

The true Christian forgiveness, as here in 
Joseph’s example, is unconditional. It w'as a 
frank, full, free remission—consoling them— 
trying to make them forget -neither by look 
nor word showing memory, unless the fault had 
been repeated. It was unconditional, with no 
reserve behind. That was forgiving and for¬ 
getting. No mere maxims got by heart about 
forgiveness of injuries—no texts jierpetually on 
the tongue will do this—God alone can teach 
it : By experience ; by a sense of human 
frailty ; by a perception of the soul of good¬ 
ness in things evil by a cheerful trust in 
human ‘nature ; by a sti’ong sense of God’s 
love ; by long and disciplined realization of the 
atoning love of Christ : only thus can we get 
that free, manly, large, princely spirit which the 
best and purest of all the patriarchs, Joseph, 
exhibited in his matured manhood. F. W. B. 

Ye thought evil against me ; but God meant 
it unto good”—that is the golden lesson that 


comes out of this whole history. The Provi¬ 
dence of God was in and over every incident in 
it, making them all co-opeiate for the bringing 
about of the great design which he had for the 
deliverance of the people in famine, for the 
education of the children of Israel in Egypt, 
and for the unification of them at length into a 
nation capable of taking possession of the Land 
of Promise. W. M. T. 

When God makes use of men’s agency for the 
performance of his counsels, it is common for 
him to mean one thing, and them another, even 
the quite contrary ; but God’s counsels shall 
stand (see Is. 10 ; 7). God often brings good 
out of evil and serves the designs of his provi¬ 
dence, even by the sins of men ; not that he is 
the Author of sin, but his infinite wisdom so 
overrules events and directs the chain of them, 
that in the issue that ends in his praise wdiich 
in its own nature had a direct tendency to his 
dishonor ; as the putting of Christ to death 
(Acts 2 :23). This does not make sin the less 
sinful, nor sinners the less puni.shable, but it 
redounds greatly to the glory of God’s wdsdom, 

II.-God does not hinder evil by force ; but 

even the abuse of human freedom to evil. He 
takes as a link in the chain of His adorable 
scheme of providence. Man is judged, not by 
the results, but by the motives and aim of his 
conduct ; and moral evil remains evil, although 
higher wisdom interfere and from it bring forth 
good. Men w'ere but instruments ; but the 
counsel of God is fulfilled, and the fulfilment is 
nothing less than the deliverance of an entire 

nation. Van 0. -At the end w‘e see the wds- 

dom and goodness of the design ; while at the 
beginning, or at the middle, we see nothing but 
darkness. Thus it was dark w’hen Joseph was 
thrown into the pit ; when he was sold into 
Egypt ; when by a false accusation he was cast 
into prison. The lingering days of that im¬ 
prisonment were dark ; but they lasted not one 
moment too long. Had one of the links in Ihe 
chain of Providence been omitted, Joseph might 
never have been ruler in Egypt, nor his father 
and his father’s house been kept alive from 








558 


JOSEPH 8 DEATH, 


famine. Joseph’s faith must have been sorely 
tried, as he could not foresee the end of the 
Lord, nor the reason of these dealings. Yet 
that trial and chastening might have been neces¬ 
sary to fit him for his subsequent advancement 
to power ; and without them his exaltation 
might have been his ruin for time and eternity. 
God meant it all for good. And see how the 
subordinate purposes of God entwine together, 
and interweave themselves with the great pur¬ 
pose of the main scheme. Joseph was blessed, 
his father’s house was saved ; but God was also 
preparing a history by which men ma}' believe 
his goodness while as yet they are unable to 
perceive it. The benefits conferred upon 
Joseph and his family’’ were, perhaps, as noth¬ 
ing, compared with the greater and more en¬ 
during benefits to them who read his history’. 
An. 

22. Josepli dwelt in Egypt. A.t the 

death of his father Joseph’s age was 5G, and ho 
lived after that event 54 years more. The rec¬ 
ords of Egyptian history show that Apophis, the 
I^atron of Joseph, reigned alone 61 years. It was 
about the 51st or 54th year of his reign that 
Jacob and his family came into Egypt ; so that 
he died about seven or ten years after that event, 
and consequently before the decease of Jacob. 
Joseph, then, survived Apophis many years, and 
was minister to his successors on the throne. 
According to Manetho, the successor of Apophis 
was named Jannes. He associated with him¬ 
self his son Asses, wdio, according to the mon¬ 
uments, was “ a most munificent and prosper¬ 
ous monarch.” It is highly probable, then, 
that Jannes and Asses were the monarchs of 
Egypt during the latter period of the life of 
Joseph ; and so valuable a servant had he 
proved to Apophis, that they retained him in 
the office which he held. 'The benefits he had 
conferred on Egypt were of the greatest value 
and importance, and they were not forgotten 
when he became infirm. He was had in esteem 
to the end of his days. M. 

.f j»sepli lived uii iHiiidrcd and ten 
yea!*§. Eighty of which he spent in great 
prosperit.y, being but thirty years old when he 

first stood before Pharaoh. Bp. Patrick. - 

The life of Joseph was very different from that 
of his fathers. He lived in a sumptuous palace, 
honored by the whole nation of Egypt, and by 
the surrounding nations, as the wisest and one 
of the greatest of men. Y'et he lived in his 
palace by faith, as his fathers had done in their 
tents. Not surely for the sake of the honors 
and pleasures which the court of Egypt could 
afford him, but rather because it was the will of 


God that he should dwell there to be a father 
to Pharaoh, and to be the shepherd of Israel. 
Bash. 

23-26. Joseph had the joy of seeing his 
father’s blessing commence to be fulfilled. 
Ephraim’s children of the third generation and 
Manasseh’s grandchildren were brought up 
upon his knees.” As he felt death approaching 
he gathered “ his brethren’ ’ about him. Joseph 
was full of honors m Egypt ; he had founded a 
family' than which none was more highly placed. 
Yet his last act was to disown Egypt, and to 
choose the lot of Israel, to renounce the pres¬ 
ent in order to cleave unto the future. It Avas 
a noble act of faith, true like that of his 
fathers ! His last words were these : “I die : 
and God will surely visit you, and bring you 
out of this land unto the land which he sware 
to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” And his 
last deed was to take a solemn oath of the chil¬ 
dren of Israel, to carry up his bones with them 
into the land of promise. In obedience to his 
wi.shes they embalmed his bodj’, and laid it in 
one of those Egyptian coffins, generally made 
of sycamore wood, which resembled the shape 
of the human body. And there, through ages 
of suffering and bondage, stood the figure-like 
coffin of Joseph, ready to be lifted and carried 
thence when the sure hour of deliverance had 
come. Thus Joseph, being dead, yet spake to 
Israel, telling them that they were only tempo¬ 
rary sojourners in Egypt, that their eyes must be 
turned away from Egypt unto the land of prom¬ 
ise, and that in patience of faith they must wait 
for that hour when God would certainly and 
graciously fulfil his own promise. A. E. 

For a confession of his own faith, and a con¬ 
firmation of theirs, ho charges them to keep 
him unburied till that day should come, when 
they should be settled in the land of promise. 
He makes them promise him with an oath, that 
they would bury him in Canaan. Joseph pre¬ 
fers a significant buiial in Canaan, before a 
magnificent one in Egypt. Thus Joseph, by 
faith in the doctrine of the resurrection and 
the promise of Canaan, gave commandment con¬ 
cerning his hones (Heb. 11 :22). He dies in 
Egypt ; but lays his bones at stake, that God 
will surely visit Israel and bring them to 

Canaan. H.-The most remarkable of all 

features in the character of Joseph is that which 
comes out in his dying charge, “ God will surely 
visit you—bury me not in Egypt—carry my 
bones hence.” So the Apostle evidently re¬ 
garded it, since in looking over the whole life 
of Joseph for an instance best illustrating his 
heroic faith in God, he passes by his wonderful 






559 


SECTION 79.-GENESIS bO : 14-26. 


faith in prison, his faith in the warnings of God 
of the approaching famine—his faith that could 
comfort brethren with the assurance “ it was 
not you that did it but God ” — and selects this 
dying charge as the most wonderful instance of 
all—“ 13y faith Joseph when he died made men¬ 
tion of the departing of the children of Israel 
and gave commandment concerning his bones.” 
Instead of desiring the Egypt of coming ages to 
remember their obligation to the son of Jacob, 
he desires no part or lot there, even a monu¬ 
ment for himself, nor desires his brethren to 
settle permanently there, evinces most wonder¬ 
ful faith, and shows that the word of the God 
of Abraham and his promise were of infinitely 
more value in Joseph’s view than all the glory 
of Egypt. And even though that promise 
reached forward into a far distant future, his 
faith gave it realit 3 % as the substance of a thing 
hoped for. It is saying, in effect, do not per¬ 
mit yourselves to be led astray from the cove¬ 
nant by your present prosperity. Eemember, 
this is not your rest. Be ever on the alert, 
watching for the signal of your departure. You 
are pilgrims and strangers now, as all your 
fathers were. Thus the dying saint aims to win 
them away from that very glory to which he 
had attained, and from that prosperity to which 
he had brought them. And well, therefore, 
might the AjDOstle cite it as an illustrious in¬ 
stance of faith. S. B.-This man, sur¬ 

rounded by an ancient civilization, and dwell¬ 
ing among granite temples and solid pyramids, 
and firm-based sphinxes, the very emblems of 
eternity, confessed that here he had no continu¬ 
ing city, but sought one to come. As truly as 
his ancestors who dwelt in tabernacles ; like 
Abrahaui journeying with his camels and herds, 
and pitching his tent outside the walls of He¬ 
bron ; like Isaac in the grassy plains of the 
South country ; like Jacob keeping himself 
apart from the families of the land, their de¬ 
scendant, an heir with them of the same prom¬ 
ise, showed that he too regarded himself as a 
“stranger and a sojourner.” Djdng, he said, 
“ Carry my bones up from hence.” Therefore 
we may be sure that, living, the hope of the in¬ 
heritance must have burned in his heart as a 
hidden light, and made him an alien everj^- 
where but on its blessed soil. And faith will 
alwa^'^s produce just such effects. In exact pro¬ 
portion to its strength, that living trust in God 
will direct our thoughts and desires to the 
“ King in his beauty, and the land that is very 
far off.” A. M. 

When we are called to leave the earth, the 
work in which we delighted shall not be lost. 


We die, but God lives ; and we may be sure 
that under his care it will flourish. And the 
same thing holds true of the loved ones whom 
we are called to leave on earth. God remains 
to take care of theiu, so that we may say to 
them as Joseph did to his kinsmen, “ I die, 
but God will surely visit you.” Though he 
have no other legacy to leave them, the d 3 dng 
Christian can leave his God to his (diildren, and 
is not that enough ? Therefore when we are in 
departing, we ma,y take comfort in the thought 
that the covenant of Jehovah is with us and 
with our children, and that he lemains to keep 
that covenant with those whom we leave behind 
us. W. M. T. 

The faith of the dying Jacob dwells upon the 
memories of the past wdth all its hereditary 
associations. It was natural enougli, for he 
had recently left Canaan, an old man, and he 
longs that his dust shall mingle with that of 
those he loved. But the dying Joseph's request 
has reference to the future rather than to the 
past. As Jacob belongs to the generations that 
have lived and died in Canaan, so Joseph be¬ 
longs to the new generations of young Israel 
that are to spring up in Egypt from him as the 
fountain-head. Hence it is that while Jacob 
commanded, take me back to Canaan, and bury 
me beside my father and 1113 ’^ wife, Joseph’s 
command is, “ Keep me among 3 ^ 11 , for after 
death I would be one of you, and return along 
with 3’’OU.” And while this is the principle that 
animated the faith of Joseph, there was also a 
profound reason of expediency for his course. 
He desires though dead to be yet speaking, and 
teaching his people perpetually the lesson so 
likely to be forgotten by them, wdiicli he now 
seeks to impress 113 ' his dying words. Joseph 
knew how likel 3 ’ the 3 " would be amid all this 
wmrldly prosperity to suffer God’s great truths 
to drop out of their consciousness. He will 
therefore stand among them as a peipetual 
monitor. He wull have his embalmed corpse 
remain unsepulchred, because his people are 
waiting to return to Canaan, and Joseph, so 
far as his dead body can represent him, desires 
to go wMth them. His corpse shall stand as a 
perpetual symbol of a family waiting to go 
when the Lord God of Abraham shall call them. 
A mysterious but eloquent preacher—the more 
eloquent as silence is greater than speech— 
shall be this skeleton preacher, standing in the 
great banqueting hall of Ephraim’s house or 
Manasseh’s to keep Israel in perpetual remem¬ 
brance. In solemn funeral tones it seemed to 
say even in the midst of festal gayeties, “ This 
is not your rest, you have another home secured 








5G0 


JOSEPH'S CUAUACTER. 


to j'ou by the covenant of God. Egypt is not 
our home. Let not its smiles deceive you, 
nor its after frowns frighten you. Set not your 
hearts upon it. lieniember the promises are all 
bound up in Canaan. Let the habit of your 
life be fashioned not after Egypt’s license, but 
after the holy covenant of Canaan. And when 
sorrows come, as tliey will come, be assured, as 
you look irpon my uusepulchred body, that the 
tribulations of Egypt are to end in the joy and 
peace of Canaan.” And that Joseph judged 
wisely in this heroic act of faith their subse¬ 
quent history testifies. Amid all the hurry of 
leaving Egypt on that memorable passover night 
we are expressly told (Ex. 13:19): “Moses 
took the bones of Joseph with him.” And that 
the cherished remains w’ere faithfully carried 
through all the forty years of rebellion and 
wandering in the wdlderness, we know from the 
second in Joshua 24 : 32. “ And the bones of 

Joseph which the children of Israel brought up 
out of Egypt buried they at Shechem, in a parcel 
of ground which Jacob bought from the sons of 
Ham or the father of Shechem for an hundred 
pieces of silver, and it became the inheritance 
of the children of Joseph.’’ As this case of 
Joseph is a beautiful, practical example of what 
life believers should live, so is this death-bed 
scene a striking example of what should be a 
Christian’s dying concern. As in life—whether 
in great prosperity or in the depths of adversity 
—you should strive, like him, to keep a steady 
eye on the promised inheritance, so in the ar¬ 
rangements for dying it should be a chief concern 
that children and friends shall be more effect¬ 
ually admonished, after you are gone, to fix 
their hearts, not on the transitory glories of 
Egypt, but upon the enduring pleasures of the 
Canaan wdiich is promised to the household of 
faith. S. R. 

With the magnanimity of a great and pure 
soul, he passed uncontaminated through the 
flatteries and temptations of court-life ; and, 
like Moses, “ esteemed the reproach of Christ 
greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.” He 
has not indulged in any affectation of simplic¬ 
ity, nor has he, in the pride that apes humilitj', 
declined the ordinary honors due to a man in 
his position. He has lived in a region in which 
such honors make no deep impression ; and in 
his death he shows where his heart has been. 
The small voice of God, spoken centuries ago to 
his forefathers, deafens him to the loud acclaim 
with which the people do him homage. By later 
generations this dying request of Joseph’s was 
looked upon as one of the most remarkable in¬ 
stances of faith. And through all the terrible 


bondage they were destined to suffer, the em¬ 
balmed body of Joseph stood as the most elo¬ 
quent advocate of God’s faithfulness, ceaselessly 
I reminding the despondent generations of the 
oath which God would yet enable them to ful¬ 
fil. And tlim, as Joseph had been their pioneer 
who broke out a way for them into Egypt, so 
did he continue to hold open the gale and 
point the way back to Canaan Jacob had been 
carried up to Canaan as soon as he was dead : 
Joseph declines this exceptional treatment, and 
prefers to share the fortunes of his brethren, 
and will then onlj' enter on the promised land 
when all his people can go with him As in 
life, so in death, he took a huge view of things, 
and had no feeling that the world ended in him. 
His career had taught him to consider national 
interests ; and now, on his death-bed, it is 
from the point of view of his jieople that he 
looks at the future. Pods. 

The pennon of Joseph, is not mentioned in the 
Old or the New Testament as a type of Christ. 
The facts of his life in their bearing on the 

future were unquestionably typical. A. E.- 

It is a fundamental law of the whole of the 
sacred history, till its ultimate completion, that 
the way of salvation leads through abasement 
to exaltation, through serving to ruling, through 
sacrifice to ])ossession, through suffering to 
glory. And this fundamental law, of which the 
highest and moot perfect manifestation is seen 
m the life of the R< deemer, was first displayed 
in a definite and concrete form in the life of 
Joseph. The typical character of the life of 
Joseph consists in this, that he, the first tem¬ 
porary deliverer of Israel, who brought the first 
stage of its history to a close, like the perfect 
Saviour of Israel in whom its entire history 
terminated, was slighted, despised, persecuted, 
and betrayed by “ his own that like Him he 
passed through abasement, service, and suffer 
ing, to exaltation and glory, and also that like- 
Him he succeeded at length in softening theii 
hardened hearts by the fulness of his forgiv. 
ing love, and in raising his own to the enjoy 
ment of the benefits which he- had secured for 
them. 1C. 

In the four great patriarchs, faith showed it¬ 
self under different phases or modes of opera¬ 
tion. [n Abraham we admire the firm, un¬ 
shaken confidence, and the unhesitating obedi¬ 
ence of faith, in all its imwer and fulness. In 
Isaac, faith is exercised in patient endurance 
and suffering, in quietness and waiting. In 
Jacob, it has to wrestle hard with flesh and 
blood, — with the corruptions of the heart within, 
as well as with the ills of the world without. In 







5G1 


SECTION 79.~GENE8IS 50 : 14-26. 


Joseph, it is seen both enduring patiently and 
working laboriously, and is crowned at last with 

signal victory. W. G. B.-Joseph, indeed, 

seemed to inherit and happily combine the 
highest qualities of his ancestors. He had 
Abraham’s dignity and capacity, Isaac's parity 
and power of self-devotion, Jacob’s cleverness, 
buoyancy and tenacity. Doda. 

The last of the patriarchs, as Joseph has been 
called, his character is almost without a flaw, 
and there are in it some of the most admirable 
traits ever exhibited to the world. Jehovah 
was with him ; and therefore, as a modern 
writer Has said, “ he was a slave, and yet a free 
man ; unfortunate, and yet a child of fortune ; 
abandoned, yet still standing firm in the fierc¬ 
est temptations ; forlorn, yet still in the pres¬ 
ence of God ; an object of impending wrath, yet 
still preserved alive ; a state prisoner, and yet 
a prison-keeper ; every way subdued, yet ever 
again superior to his condition.” The Lord 
was with Joseph to the last. He was always 
great, and always through faith victorious over 
evil and sin. His trials were such as few men 
are called to bear ; but he rose superior to 
them,—the trials of adversity, and the still 
greater trials of prosperity, only serving to 
bring out the noble qualities of his mind. In 
his self-sacrificing spirit, in his love for his 
brethren, in his readiness to forgive, in his 
providing for the necessities of a numerous 
people, in his elevation to the government of a 
mighty nation, and in the wisdom with which 
he administered its affairs, we can now see set 
forth the greatness of the Bedeemer of the 
world ; but, as the antitype is always superior to 
the type, so Christ is in every respect far above 
Joseph, and to him, therefore, every knee must 
bow, and every tongue confess. Thornley SmUh. 

We mark m Joseph a constant recognition of 
the presence of God with him. That seems to 
be the one great, all-dominating consciousness 
of his life. His history was a constant “walk 
with God.” His faith had almost the strength 
of sight. He felt that the Lord was round 
about him, and whatever men might intend he 
knew that God always “ meant it unto good.” 
This faith in the constant presence of God with 
him kept him from being either very much de¬ 
pressed by adversity, or exceedingly elated by 
prosperity. God was with him in the dungeon, 
and that kept him from over-estimating its 
hardships ; God was with him in the chariot, 
and that kept him from over-estimating its 
honor, W. M. T. 


book (chs. 12-50) containing the history of the 
Patriarchs. The groundwork is now fally laid 
for the history of the people of Israel, and for 
all the historical allusions necessary for the il¬ 
lustration of their histoiy, and of the purpose 
of God in selecting and setting them apart as 
his chosen people. T. J. C. 

The sacred writer here takes leave of the 
chosen family, and closes the bible of the sons 
of Israel. It is truly a wonderful book. It lifts 
the veil of mystery that hangs over the present 
condition of the human race. It records the 
origin and fall of man, and thus explains the 
coexistence of moral evil and a moral sense of 
God and judgment in the soul of man. It re¬ 
cords the cause and mode of the confusion of 
tongues, and thus explains the concomitance of 
the unity of the race and the specific diversity 
of mode or form in human speech. It records 
the call of Abraham, and thus accounts for the 
preservation of the knowledge of God and his 
mercy in one section of the human race, and 
the corruption or loss of it in all the rest. It 
solves the fundamentid questions of physics, 
ethics, philology, and theology for the race of 
Adam. It notes the primitive lelation of man 
to God, and marks the three great stages of hu¬ 
man development that came in with Adam, 
Noah, and Abraham. It points out the three 
forms of sin that usher in these stages, — the 
fall of Adam, the intermarriage of the sons of 
God with the daughters of men, and the build¬ 
ing of the tower of Babel. It gradually unfolds 
the purpose and method of grace to the return¬ 
ing penitent through a Deliverer who is succes¬ 
sively announced as the seed of the woman, of 
Shem, of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah. 
Hence the Lord establishes his covenant suc¬ 
cessively with Adam, Noah, and Abraham ; with. 
Adam after the fall tacitlj', with Noah expresslj', 
and with both generally as the representatives 
of the race descending from them ; with Abra¬ 
ham specially and instrumentally as the chan¬ 
nel through which the blessings of salvation 
might be at length extended to all the families 
of the earth. M. 

Pateiakchai, Dispensation Pkototypicae. 

The Law and the Prophets of the next Dis¬ 
pensation had their prototyjies in that of the 
Patriarchfi. Among these the distinction of 
clean and unclean is already known, as much 
in detail as under the Levitical Law, every ani¬ 
mal being arranged by Noah in one class or the 
other ; and the clean being exclusively used by 
him for sacrifice. The blood, which is the life 


Here ends the fourth and last division of the 
36 







5G2 


PATRIABGHAL DISPENSATION PROTOTYPICAL. 


of the animal, is withheld as food. Murder is 
denounced as demanding death for its punish¬ 
ment. Adultery is forbidden, as we learn from 
the cases of Pharaoh and Abimelech, of Reuben, 
and Joseph. Oaths are binding. Fornication 
is condemned, as in the case of Shechem, who 
is said “ to have wrought foil}' in Israel, which 
thing ought not to be done.” Marriage with 
the uncircumcised or idolater is prohibited. A 
curse is denounced on him that setteth light by 
liis father or his mother. Purifications are en¬ 
joined those who approach a holy place, for 
Jacob bids his people “ be clean and change 
their garments” before they present themselves 
at Bethel. The brother is already commanded 
to marry the brother’s widow, and to raise up 
seed unto his brother. These laws, afterward 
incorporated in the Levitical, drop out inci¬ 
dentally in the book of Genesis, as the course 
of the narrative happens to turn them up. They 
are therefore to be reckoned fragments of a 
more full and complete code which was the 
groundwork in all probability of the Levitical 
(Code itself ; for it is difficult to suppose that 
where there were these there were not others 
like to them. But this is not all—the Patri¬ 
archs had their sacrifices, that great and leading 
rite of the Church of Aaron ; the subjects of 
those sacrifices fixed ; useless without the shed¬ 
ding of blood ; for what but the violation of an 
express command full of meaning could have 
constituted the sin of Cain? It is impossible 
to read the particulars of Abraham’s offering of 
the heifer, the goat, the ram, the turtle-dove, 
and the pigeon—their ages, their sex, the cir¬ 
cumspection with which he dissects and dis¬ 
poses them —without feeling assured that very 
minute directions upon all these points were 
vouchsafed to the Patriarchal Church. She had 
her Sacraments; for sacrifice was one, and cir¬ 
cumcision was the other. Then as she had her 
sacrifices and sacraments, so had she her types — 
types which in number scarcely yield to those 
of the Levitical Law, in precision and interest 
perhaps exceed them. For we meet with them 
in the names and fortunes of individuals whom 
the Almighty Disposer of events, without doing 
violence to the natural order of things, exhibits 
as pages of a living book in which the Promise 
is to be read—as characters expressing his 
counsels and covenants writ by his own finger 
— as actors, whereby he holds up to a world, 
not yet prepared for less gross and sensible im¬ 
pressions, scenes to come. Indeed I see the 
Promise all Genesis through, so that our Lord 


might well begin with Moses in expounding the 
things concerning himself ; and well might 
Philiji say, “We have found him of 'W'hom 
Moses in the Law did write.” I see the Promise 
all Genesis through, and if we construct a rude 
and imperfect Temple of Patriarchal Worship 
out of the fragments which otter themselves to 
our hands in that history, the Messiah to come 
is the spirit that must fill that Temple with his 
all-pervading presence ; none other than he 
must be tho Shekinah of the Tabernacle wo 
have reared. Couple it with this consideration, 
and the scheme of Revelation, like the physical 
scheme, proceeds with beautiful uniformity —a 
unity of jolan connecting the meanest accidents 
of a household with the most illustrious visions 
of a projjhet. Abstracted from this considera¬ 
tion, it jiresents details of actions, some trifling, 
some even oft'ensive, pursued at a length (when 
compared with the whole) singularly dispro¬ 
portionate ; while things which the angels 
would desire to look into are passed over and 
forgotten. But this principle once admitted, 
and all is consecrated —all assumes a new as¬ 
pect —trifles that seem at first not bigger than a 
man’s hand, occupy the heavens. It is upon 
this principle of interpretation that we may put 
to silence the ignorance of foolish men, who 
have made those parts of the Mosaic History a 
stumbling-block to many, which, if rightly un¬ 
derstood, are the very testimony of the cove¬ 
nant ; and a principle, which is thus extensive 
in its application and successful in its results, 
which explains so much that is difficult, and 
answers so much that is objected against, has, 
from this circumstance aloue, strong presump¬ 
tion in its favor, strong claims upon our sober 
regard. Such is the structure that appears to 
unfold itself, if we do but bring together tho 
scattered materials of which it is composed. 
The place of worship-the priest to minister— 
the sacerdotal dress—the ceremonial/orjus-the 
appointed seasons for holy ihixios—preachers — 
prophets—a code of laws — sacrifices—sacraments 
—types —and a Messiah in prospect, as leading 
a feature of the whole scheme, as He now is in 
retrospect of a scheme which has succeeded it. 
Complete the building is not, but still there is 
symmetry in its component parts, and unity in 
its whole. Yet Moses was certainly not con¬ 
templating any description of a Patriarchal 
Church. He had other matters in his thoughts : 
he was the mediator not of this system, but of 
another, which he was now to set forth in all 
its details, even of the Levitical. Blunt. 



SECTION 80.—EXODUS 1 : 1-7. 


5G3 


Section 80. 

INTRODUCTORY TO EXODUS AND ITS HISTORY. FURTHER NOTICES OF EGYPT. 

' Exodus 1 :1-7. 

1 Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, which came into Egypt ; every man and his 

2 household came with Jacob. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah : Issachar, Zebulun, and 
3, 4 Benjamin , Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. And all the souls that came out of the loins 

o of Jacob were seventy souls : and Joseph was in Egypt already. And Joseph died, and all his 
G brethren, and all that generation. And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased 
4 abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty ; and the land was filled with them. 


The manner in which the last four of the five 
books of Moses are made up is peculiar and 
should have special attention. Their striking 
peculiarity is the blending of matters pertain¬ 
ing to the religious system, to the civil code, 
and to the national history, with no well-defined 
order or method—the historic facts taking their 
place probably as they occurred and came be¬ 
fore the writer, and the other topics being ar¬ 
ranged quite miscellaneously. For the most part 
the record in these four books pertains to the 
first two years after Moses entered upon his 
great mission and the last two years before his 
death There was a long interval between 
these periods of w^hich nothing (special is said. 
Passing the first twentj^ chapters of Exodus, 
which are history and follow the natural order 
of the events ; and passing also the thrilling 
and solemn scenes of Sinai—the great work of 
Moses was to receive and record the statutes of 
the civil code, and the directions respecting 
their religious system, including the construc¬ 
tion of the tabernacle ; the services of the 
priests and Levites ; the sacred festivals, and 
the whole ritual of worship. H. C. 

Moses (the Servant of the Lord in writing for 
him, as well as in acUng for him—with the pea 
as well as with the rod of God in bis hand), 
having in the first book of his history preserved 
and transmitted the records of the church, 
while it existed in private families, comes in 
this second book to give us an account of its 
growth into a great nation. The beginning of 
the former book shows us how God formed the 
world for himself ; the beginning <'f this shows 
us how he formed Israel for himself, an 1 both 
to show forth his praise (Is. 43 :21). There we 
have the creation of the w’orld in histor,y, here 
the redemption of the world in type. The 
Greek translators called this book Exodus (which 
signifies a departure, or going out), because it be¬ 


gins with the story of the going out of the chil¬ 
dren of Israel from Egypt. Some observe that 
immediately after Genesis, which signifies the 
beginning, or original, follows Exodus, wdiich sig¬ 
nifies a departure; for a time to he horn is im¬ 
mediately succeeded by a time to die. H. 

The general scope of the book is plainly to 
preserve the memorial of the great facts of the 
national history of Israel in its earlier periods, 
to wit, their deliverance from Egypt, the kind¬ 
ness and faithfulness of God in their subse¬ 
quent preservation in the wilderness, the deliv¬ 
ery of the Law, and the establishment of a new 
and peculiar system of worship. There is no 
book in the Bible that records such an illustri¬ 
ous series of miracles, or that keeps the divine 
agency so constantly before the mind’s eye. 
Nor are its moral lessons less prominent and 
striking. Adverting to the course of Israel’s 
experience as a nation, Paul adds, “ Now all 
these things happened unto them for en- 
samples ; and they are written for our admoni¬ 
tion, ui^on whom the ends of the world are 
come.” No sooner had he adverted to their 
privileges than he describes their chastisements, 
as inflicted to the intent that we should not so 
imitate their sin, as to provoke a visitation of 
the same vengeance. Their wRole history forms 
one grand prediction and outline of human re¬ 
demption, and of the lot of the church. In the 
servitude of Israel wm behold a lively image of 
man’s natural bondage to sin and Satan. In 
the deliverance from Egypt is foreshown re¬ 
demption from this thraldom ; and the journey 
through the wilderness is a graphic programme 
of a Christian’s journey through life to his final 
inheritance in the heavenly Canaan. So also, 
without minute specification, the manna of 
which the Israelites ate and the rock of which 
they drank, as well as the brazen serpent by 
which they were healed, were severally typical 





5G4 


INTRODUCTORY TO EXODUS AND ITS HISTORY. 


of corresponding particulars under the Chris¬ 
tian economy. Add to this, that under the 
sacritices and ceremonial service of the Mosaic 
institute, were described the distinguishing 
features of the more spiritual worship of the 
Gospel. Bush. 

It may seem strange that we have so consid¬ 
erable a Uank in ike history between Genesis ami 
Ejcndus, and that the long period of time from 
Jacob’s going down into Egypt and his death, 
and until Moses’ birth, is passed silently over. 
But Israel has no history except so far as it is 
the organ of revelation. How full of blanks is 
the historical account of the centuries in the 
time of the Judges, on account of the broken 
state of the theocratic life ! and how little do 
we know of the exile, which yet belongs en¬ 
tirely to the historical time ! or of the centuries 
from Ezra to the Maccabees, and beyond them ! 
It is the peculiarity of Israel to possess history 
and historical literature in the full sense of the 
words only in proportion as it realizes its voca¬ 
tion in the history of the world. O.-As the 

express design of the work embraced merely 
the relation of Israel to Jehovah, the writer was 
content to pass over the whole interval daring 
which the chosen people were growing into a 
great people according to the x^rophecies in the 
book of Genesis, and simx3ly state that those 
X^rophecies were fulfilled. This was all that the 
centuries in question contributed to the devel- 
oxement of the theocratic x^lan, and in this re¬ 
spect they stood far behind the few day^s, in 
which Jehovah magnified himself in his x^eoxele 

before the eyes of the Egyptians. Rinke. - 

There is no historical work in which the selec¬ 
tion and arrangement of the events narrated are 
so exclusively and unmistakably regulated by 
one idea as in the historical books of the Old 
Testament. Every^thing is looked at from one 
Xmint of view ; prosperity and misfortune, 
slavery and redemption, joy and sorrow, are all 
regarded as operations of God on behalf of his 
X:)eople. Tnere is noihiny mentioned which does 
not adin't of being easily and intelligibly dfscribed 
from this point of view. This will explain the 
fact that nothing is said of the lengthened 
Xierioi during which the Israelites were in 
Egypt, and so little of the period of the Judges. 
The historical writings of the Hebrews are as 
difterent as they ijossibly can be from chron¬ 
icles and annals, or a mere recital of naked 
facts. Berthean. 

Ex, I : 1-T. The first seven verses are in¬ 
troductory to the whole book. In accordance 
with the almost invariable custom of the writer, 
we find a brief recaxoitulation of preceding 


events, and a statement of the actual condition 
of affairs. The names of the Patriarchs and 
the number of distinct families at the time of 
the immigration into Egyx^t are stated in six 
verses : a single paragrax^h thtn records the 
rax^id and continuous increase of the Israelites 
after the death of Joseph and his contempo¬ 
raries. Cook. 

The closing ymars of the three and <a half cen¬ 
turies since their entrance into Egypt found 
Israel x^e^^ceful, prosperous, and x^robably', in 
many resx^ects, assimilated to the Egyq^tians 
around. “ The fathers” had fallen asleep, but 
their children still held undisturbed possession 
of the district originally granted them. The 
land of Goshen, in which they were located, is 
to this day considered the richest x^rovince of 
Egypt, and could, even now, easily^ suppoit a 
million more inhabitants than it numbers. 
Goshen extended between the most eastern of 
the ancient seven mouths of the Nile and Pal¬ 
estine. The border-land was x>robably occupied 
by the more nomadic branches of tlte family of 
Israel, to whose flocks its wide tracts would 
afford excellent x^asturage ; while the rich banks 
along the Nile and its canals were the chosen 
residence of those who pursued agriculture. 
Most likely such would also soon swarm across 
to the western banks of the Nile, where we find 
traces of them in various cities of the land. 
There they would acquire a knowledge of the 
arts and industries of the Egyptians. The 
simple x^atriarchal forms of worshqi would suit 
the circumstances in Egyqrt much better than 
those which the religion of Israel afterward re¬ 
ceived. Three great observances here stand out 
prominently. Around them the faith and the 
worship alike of the ancient x^atriarchs, and 
afterward of Israel, may be said to have clus¬ 
tered. They are : circumcision, sacrifices, and 
the Sal)baih. We have direct testimony that 
the rite of circumcision was observed by Israel 
in Egypt (Ex. 4 :24-26). As to sacr'Jices, even 
the proposal to celebrate a great sacrificial feast 
in the wilderness implies that sacrificial wor¬ 
ship had maintained its hold upon the peox^le. 
The direction to gather on the Friday two days’ 
provision of manna, and the introduction of the 
Sabbath command by the word “ Ptemember, ” 
convey the impression of previous Sabbath ob¬ 
servance on the x^art of Israel. Indeed, the man¬ 
ner in which many things, as, for example, the 
X^ractice of vows, are spoken of in the law, 
seems to point back to previous religious rites 
among Israel. These outward observances in¬ 
dicate how, even during those centuries of 
silence and loneliness in Egypt, Israel still 





SECriON so.— EXODUS 1 : 1-7. 


565 


cherished the fandamental truths of their an¬ 
cestral religion. A. E. 

As God had chosen the peoj)le of Israel as 
conser^^ators of his Unity and Providence, and 
of his slowly brightening promises of Uedemp- 
tion, so he perpetually interferes to keep alive 
the renieinbrance of these great truths, the ob¬ 
ject of their selection from luankiud ; and which 
nothing less, it should seem, could have pre¬ 
served through so many ages. In other respects 
the chosen people appear to have been left to 
themselves to pass through the or dinary stages 
of the social state. Mdina>i. -llightly to esti¬ 

mate even the ethnical position and character 
of the Israelites, it is indispensable that we 
keep in mind the peculiar work for which, both 
by prophecy and history, they were specially 
set apart by God. It is the more necessary to 
keep their true mission and aim in view, be¬ 
cause there are no results beyond those con¬ 
nected with that mission and aim, tj justify 
their claim to be regarded as the peculiar people 
of God, dealt with as God never dealt with any 
other nation. Apart from their relation to the 
spiritual kingdom of Christ, they never made 
any great figure in the world's history. They 
had the same pursuits as their neighbors ; they 
were animated by the same pride of race, the 
same patriotism, the same ambition for national 
greatness. They had no higher aims, and as a 
rule only reached much lower attainments than 
many other nations. For a brief period, in the 
reigns of David and of Solomon, worldly glory 
appeared to be wdthin their reach. The mo¬ 
mentary splendor faded amid the troubles of 
the disruption of the kingdom which followed 
the death of Solomon. Upon the whole, many 
other nations have been more prosperous ; 
have, by policy or force of arms, acquired 
greater power and wider territories ; have, 
within the sphere of action common to them 
all, exercised more influence on the world s 
history. Other nations have done more to 
promote intellectual culture ; to advance the 
physical sciences ; to extend commerce ; to 
j^erfect the useful arts, as well a.s what are called 
the fine arts ; to further the progress of philos- 
oph 3 % jurisprudence, political economy ; and to 
enrich the world with masterpieces in architect¬ 
ure, painting, sculpture, and some departments 
of literature. As a nation, the only distinction 
which can be claimed for Israel is that already 
noticed. Nor, according to the Bible, was any 
other distinction ever contemplated. Temporal 
blessings were conditionally promised, the con¬ 
dition being fidelity on their part in carrying 
out their true destiny ; but even with this lim¬ 


itation mere worldly greatness was not an 
achievement which they were at an}" time en¬ 
couraged to hope for. Any promises which ap¬ 
pear at first sight to point to such a result will 
be found, on investigation, to require to be in¬ 
terpreted figuratively as looking forward to a 
kingdom which is not of this world —the king¬ 
dom of Him who was a greater even than Solo¬ 
mon, and in whom there is neither Jew nor 
Greek, for all are one in Him. Nor, let it bo 
added, is any other reason for even the most 
extraordinary of the instances of God’s distin¬ 
guishing favor to the chosen seed required. 
Lee. 

In the rich and fruitful land of Egypt, and 
especially in the country of Goshen, had the 
descendants of Israel become a great, powerful 
peojile, amounting to more than two million 
souls. We here behold the first instance of 
that remarkable phenomenon, which afterward 
is often presented to our view,—that God’s 
covenanted people are placed beside and in the 
midst of the most cultivated and powerful na¬ 
tions of antiquity in order to enjoy the advan¬ 
tages of their worldly civilization ; at the same 
time, by their marked severance from the idol¬ 
atry of these nations, and by their permanence 
(while one people after another beside them 
decayed and passed away), to bear witness to 
their own Divine origin. Egypt is that ancient 
kinglom which has erected monuments of its 
grandeur surpassing those of any eaily state, 
which still remain and astonish us by the mag¬ 
nificence of their design and by the degree of 
cultivation displayed in them. Gerl. 

One important result of late Egyptian re¬ 
searches is the establishment of a complete sys¬ 
tem of transcription of Hebrew and Egyptian 
characters. At present no doubt remains as to 
the exact correspondence of the Hebrew letters 
with phonetic signs, or groups of common oc¬ 
currence in papyri and monumental inscrip¬ 
tions. Cook. -The Egyptian monuments fur¬ 

nish the most striking proofs of the veracity of 
the Biblical narratives. Any one must be blind 
who refuses to see the flood of light which the 
papyri and other Egyptian monuments are 
throwing upon the venerable records of Holy 
Scripture. Brugseh. 

We may conclude from the words of Joseph 
(Gen. 4G ; 31, 32) that the Israelites pursued in 
Eg\pt—in the pasture lands of Goshen, on the 
borders of the wilderness—that patnarchaJ, 
pastoral mode of life which their fathers had 
done in Canaan. But we^are expressly told that 
they likewise followed field tillage and garden¬ 
ing. They sowed and watered after the manner 





566 


INTllODUCTORY TO EXODUS AX'D IIS HISTORY. 


of the Egyptians (Dent. 11 :10, 11). Tliere 
were “ cunning” artificers among them, who 
could work in cutting precious stones, in gold 
and in silver (Exod. 35 :32, 33), They learned 
the arts of weaving, spinning, the preparation 
of leather, from the people, the most celebrated 
in the ancient world as the inventors of such 
arts. They made the bricks for the fortresses, 
Pithom and Raineses. Even when living 
among the dominant peojile, they were gov¬ 
erned by the heads of their own tribes, who had 
gradually sprung up from out of the original 

family government of the patriarchs, Gerl. - 

As the tribes had their princes, so these clans, 
families, or thousands had their respective 
chiefs, who were called heads of houses of 
fathers, heads of thousands, and sometimes 
simply heads. Harrington denominates these 
two classes of officers phylarchs, or governors 
of.tribes, and patriarchs, or governors of fam¬ 
ilies. Both, while the Israelites were yet in 
Egypt, were comprehended under the general 
name of elders. That the tribes were governed, 
each by its own prince, that they were subdi¬ 
vided into clans, or groups of related families, 
having also their respective chiefs, and that 
these princes of tribes and chiefs of clans re¬ 
ceived the common appellation of “elders of 
Israel,” will be evident to any one who will com¬ 
pare the first chapter of Numbers with Exod, 
3 : IG ; 4 : 29, and 6 : 14, 15. These princes 
of tribes and heads of thousands, the elders 
of Israel, were the rulers of the people, while 
the}^ remained still subject to the power of the 
Pharaohs, and constituted a kind of “ imjjerium 
in imperio.” E. C. W. 

Kitto regards the Israelites, at the period of 
their descent into Egj'pt, as distinguished by 
all the characteristics of the wandering and bar¬ 
barous shepherd tribes, and not improbably 
giving occasion at first, by some overt acts of 
plunder, to the Egyptian government to adopt 
harsh measures toward them. Hengstenberg, 
on the other ha:^, maintains that the rough¬ 
ness and barbarity properly distinguishing the 
shepherd tribes never belonged to the Hebrews, 

■—that their possessing the character of sht p- 
herds at all, arose chiefly from the circumstances 
in which they were placed during their eaily 
sojourn in Canaan,—that they were glad to 
abandon their wandering life and dwell in set¬ 
tled habitations, whenever an opportunity af¬ 
forded,— that, set down, as they afterward 
were, in one of the most fertile and cultivated 
regions of Egypt, which they held from the first 
as a settled possession, their manner of life was 
throughout different from the nomadic, was dis¬ 


tinguished by possessions in lands and houses, 
and by the various employments and comforts 
peculiar to Egyptian society. This view must 
be adopted with some modification as to the 
earlier jjeriods of their history ; for though the 
Israelites never entered fully into the habits 
of the nomad tribes, yet they were manifestly 
tending more and more in that direction toward 
the time of their descent into Egypt. The 
tendency was there gradually cheeked, and the 
opposite extreme at last reached, — as it appears 
that at the time of the Exodus they had all 
houses with door jjosts (Ex. 12 : 4, 7, etc ), lived 
to a considerable extenc intermingled with the 
Egyptians in their citit s’(Ex. 3 :20-22 ; 11 :1-3 ; 
12 : 35, 36), were accustomed to the agricultural 
occupations peculiar to the country, took part 
even in its finest manufactures, such as were 
prepared for the king (1 Chron. 4 : 21-23), and 
enjoyed the best productions both of the river 
and the land (Num. 11 :5 ; 20 :5). It is but 
natural to suppose, however, that some com¬ 
pulsion was requisite to bring them to this state 
of civilization and refinement ; and as it was a 
state necessary to fit them for setting up the 
tabernacle and occupying aright the land of 
Canaan, we see the overruling hand of God in 
the very compulsion that was exercised. P. F, 

-It is a mistake to regard the Israelites at 

their exodus from Eg 3 'pt as a rude race of nom¬ 
ads, in whom we may not presuppose even the 
smallest beginnings of culture. They appear 
in the Pentateuch as an wmanageable, but not 
as an unculiivated joeople. While, for example, 
to take a single illustration, the Pentateuch 
gives no trace of the art of writing in the time 
of the patriarchs, this is presuppo.-ed as em¬ 
ployed among the people when they went oi^t of 
Egypt, as the name of their functionaries which 
were taken from the j^eople shows —they' were 

Shoterim, or writers. 0.-The ait of writing, 

in Babylon as in Egypt, goes back to the most 
ancient period. On the bricks of the oldest 
cities we find letters in use, and that not in their 
first stage ; that is, not hieroglyphic. South- 

all,. -That the Israelites possessed an alphabet 

and knew the art of writing in the Mosaic age 
is not subject to reasonable doubt, aivd is now 

almost universally admitted. Kaer,eri. -We 

need not scruple to assume that Israel knew and 
used an alphabet in Egypt before Moses. Eimkl. 

Europe has learned from Egypt its earliest 
lessons of geometry^ chemistry, medicine, archi¬ 
tecture, and sculpture. We are beginning more 
and more to understand this, as we learn that 
much of the discovery in science and the arts 
heretofore attributed to the Greeks and the 









SECTION 80.—EXODUS 1 : 1-7. 


567 


Arabians existed long previously in Egyptian 
papyri. It is very wonderful to find in these 
ancient documents, chemical facts, arithmetical 
formula, and medical recipes, almost in the 
identical forms in which they were copied by 
Greeks and Arabc, heretofore believed to be 
their authors. Independently of this we can 
discern in the great works of the early Egyp¬ 
tians more of knowledge both of nature and of 
practical science, than we can gather from the 
scanty remains of their writings. Early Egyp¬ 
tian art has also in it the germs of all that has 
succeeded it. Dawson. 

7. On the boundary of the Holy Land the 
Lord had encouraged Israel : “ Fear not to go 
down into Egypt ; for I will there make of thee 
a great nation.” And the Book of Exodus 
opens with the record that this promise had 
been fulfilled, for “ the children of Israel were 
fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multi¬ 
plied, and waxed exceeding mighty ; and the 
land was filled, with them.” A. E. 

Each of the twelve patriarchs, when they 
went down into Egypt, would probably carry 
wuth him a household of herdsmen and retain¬ 
ers ; and all the males born in the house being 
circumcised, their descendants would be reck¬ 
oned as “ children of Israel.” Thus the orig¬ 
inal number that multiplied into 2,000,000 was 
not seventy, but more probably some 2000 or 
3000. And with this agrees the narrative, 
which tells us how they brought all their flocks 
and their herds with them, implying a very large 
number of servants and herdsmen, and how a 
large tract of country was at once assigned 
them. J. P. N. 

How long a period elapsed between the mi¬ 
gration into Egypt under Jacob, and the Ex¬ 
odus, or departure, under Moses, has been a 
question debated from the earliest ages by Jew¬ 
ish, no less than Christian writers. While some 
assign the whole duration of 430 years to the 
captivity in Egypt, others include the residence 
of the patriarchs, 215 years, within this jDeriod. 
The vestiges of this controversy appear in all 
the earlier writings. The Hebrew and Samari¬ 
tan texts, the different copies of the Greek ver¬ 
sion of the Scriptures, differ. Stephen, in the 
Acts, seems to have followed one opinion. 
Paul, in his epistle to the Galatians, the other. 
Josephus contradicts himself repeatedly. The 
great body of English divines follow the latter 
hypothesis ; the great modern scholars of Ger¬ 
many generally prefer the former. The follow¬ 
ing brief statement may throw some light on 
this intricate subject. The Jews were firmly 
and religiously persuaded that their genealogies 


were not merely accurate, but complete. As 
then only two names appeared betvveen Levi 
and Moses, those of Kohath and Amram, imd 
the date of life assigned to these two seemed ir¬ 
reconcilable with the longer period of 430 j^ears, 
they adopted very generally the notion that 
only 215 years were passed in Egypt. They 
overlooked, or left to miraculous intervention 
to account for a still greater difficulty, the pro¬ 
digious increase in one family during one gener¬ 
ation. In the desert the males of the descend¬ 
ants of Kohath are reckoned at 8G09. Kohath 
had four sons, from each son then, in one een- 
eration, must have sprung on the average 2150 
males. On this hypothesis the alternative re¬ 
mains, either that some names have been lose 
from the genealogies between Kohath and Am¬ 
ram, or between Amram and Moses, a notion 
confirmed by the fact that in the genealogy of 
Joshua in the book of Chronicles, he stands 
twelfth in descent from Joseph, while Moses is 
the fourth from Levi : or, as there are certain 
grounds for suspecting, some general error runs 
through the whole numbering of the Israelites 
in the desert. . . . Some curious particulars 
of this period may be gleaned from the geneal¬ 
ogies (1 Chron. 7 : 21, 22). Some intercourse 
with the native country was kept up for a 
time. Certain sons of Ephraim were slain in a 
freebooting expedition to drive the cattle of 
the inhabitants of Gath. Another became ruler 
of the tribe of Moab. Some became celebrated 
in Egypt as potters, and manufacturers in cotton 
(byssus). Milman. (See p. 325.) 

Egypt. 

The scriptural name ” Ham” seems to be 
identical with the indigenous name of Egypt, 
as it appears in hieroglyphics, “ Khemmi,” 
and refers to the black color of the soil. The 
special name in scriptural geography was 
” Mizraim,” a noun in the dual number, signi¬ 
fying the two (i.e., the Ujoper and Lower) Misr 
the name by which Egypt is still designated by 
the Arabs : it means “ red mud.” The Nile is 
occasionally named “ Shihor” (Is. 23 :3) ; but 
more commonly “ Yeor” (Gen. 41 : 1 ; Ex. 

1 :22), after the Coptic iaro, “river the He¬ 
brews also applied to it sometimes the term 
yym, “ sea” (Is. 19 :5 ; Ez. 32 ;2). The ancient 
history of Eg 3 'pt may be divided into three por¬ 
tions :—the old monarchy, extending from the 
foundation of the kingdom to the invasion of 
the Hyksos ; the middle, from the entrance to 
the expulsion of the Ilyksos ; and the new, from 
the re-establishment of the native monarchy by 
Amosis to the Persian conquest. Of the middle 







5G8 


EGYPT. 


monarcli}’^ we only know that a nomadic horde 
called llyksos for several centuries occupied 
and made Egypt tributary ; that their capital 
was Memphis ; that in the Sethroite name they 
constructed an immense earth-camp, which 
they called Abaris , that at a certain period of 
their occupation tv\o independent kingdoms 
were formed in Egypt, one in the Thebaid, 
which held intimate relations with Ethiopia ; 
another at Xois, among the marshes of the 
Nile ; and that, finally, the Egyptians regained' 
their independence, and expelled the llyksos, 
who thereupon retired into Palestine. The 
Hyksos form the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seven¬ 
teenth dynasties. Manetho says they were Arabs, 
but he calls the six kings of the fifteenth dynasty 
Phoenicians. The New Monarchy extends from 
the commencement of the eighteenth to the end 
of the thirtieth ds nasty. The kingdom was con¬ 
solidated by Amosis, who succeeded in expelling 
the Hyksos, and thus prepared the way for the 
foreign expeditions which his successors carried 
on in Asia and Africa, extending from Mesopo¬ 
tamia in the former to Ethiopia in the latter 
continent. The glorious era of Egyptian history 
was under the nineteenth djmasty, when Sethi I., 
B.c. 1322, and his grandson, Eameses the Great; 
B.c. 1311, both of whom represent the Sesostris 
of the Greek historians, carried their arms over 
the whole of Western Asia and southward into 
Soudan, and amassed vast treasures, which were 
expended on public works. Under the later 
kings of the nineteenth dynasty the power of 
Egj^pt faded : the twentieth nndi twenty-firstdynn^. 
ties achieved nothing woithy of record ; but 
with the twenty-second we enter upon a period 
that is interesting from its associations with 
biblical history, the first of this dynasty, Shes- 
honk I. (Seconchis) b c. 990, being the Shishak 
who invaded Judea in Itehoboam’s reign and 
pillaged the Temple (1 Kings 14 :25). Of this 
event and of the subsequent history of Egypt, 
we shall have further occasion to speak. P. S. 

The land of Egypt has well been called ‘ ‘ the 
land of wonders.” The nature of the country 
and the history of its people are equally extraor¬ 
dinary. For the most part, the land of Egypt 
is just a narrow strip, extending to the breadth 
of a few miles on each side of the river Nile, 
but expanding, toward the mouths of that river, 
into an extensive plain, called, from its resem¬ 
blance to the Greek letter A, a Delta. Its total 
length is about 500 miles ; so that, with Pales¬ 
tine, Greece, Home, and Britain, it ranks among 
the very small countries that have had a 
wonderful influence on the rest of the world. 
W. G. B. 


There has piobably been little change in the 
physical aspect of Egypt since the days when 
Joseph was made “ruler over all the land of 
Egypt,” or since those in which Moses led the 
Israelites from the land of their bondage. The 
Valley of the Nile, or Upper Egypt, must al- 
w'ays have presented the same general appear¬ 
ance ; the mysterious river rolling silently north¬ 
ward between two, almost unbroken, table- 
topped walls of limestone, which here approach 
the water, there retire from it, leaving largo 
plains of the lichest soil, to which now life is 
given each year by the fertilizing waters of the 
great river. Over these flats is spread a carpet 
of luxuriant vegetation of the brightest green, 
which is in striking and not unpleasing con¬ 
trast to the yellow hills of the barren desert on 
either side. Si^, too, the Delta must alwa;\ s 
have been a great jjlain, intersected by the 
many arms of the liver and by innumerable 
canals, which irrigated the country and spread 
the life-giving waters over an area far gieater 
than that which is now cultivated. The sands 
of the desert have been allowed to em-roach and 
swallow up large tracts, such as the *• land of 
Goshen,” which was formeily the “ best of the 
land,” but is now little better than the sur¬ 
rounding desert ; and many of the canals and 
lakes, once well stocked with fish, have dried 
up, and no longer fertilize the land ; such is 
especially the case with the great canal that 
connected the Nile with the Gulf of Suez, and 
gave life to the Wady Tumeilat, which is now 
covered with sand. The Delta is triangular in 
form, its eastern and western faces being 
bounded by branches of the river, and its ba.-e 
by the sea ; its fertility was surprising, and is 
alluded to in several passages of the Bible, as in 
Gen. 13 :10, where the Jordan valley is said to 
have been ” like a garden of the Lord, like the 
land of Egypt.” The rainfall is so slight that 
it has no influence on the cultivation, a jreculi- 
arity noticed by Zechariah (14 :18) ; and the 
necessity for irrigation is mentioned in Deut, 
11 : 10, 11, where a contrast is drawn between 
the land of bondage and the Promised Land, 
which was to be “ a land of hills and valleys,” 
that “ drinketh water of the rain of heaven.” 

Witson. 

Egypt in that age .stood at the summit of the 
world’s civilization, a fully organized kingdom, 
a great and highly cultured people. There is 
most ample proof that Egypt was then eminent 
above any other nation in learning, wisdom, 
science, and art ; in jurisprudence, and in the 
administration of law ; in industry and in 
wealth ; in short, in all the main appliances 




SECTION SC.-EXODUS 1 : 1 - 7 . 


5G9 


and results of a high civilization. The antiqui¬ 
ties of Ancient Egypt are the marvel of our 
times. Her temples, pyramids, and obelisks ; 
her paintings and works of art, have come down 
to our age in most wonderful preservation, liv¬ 
ing witnesses to her ancient greatness. There 
was no other kingdom on the face of the earth 
where a man like Moses could have been edu¬ 
cated and trained to become the law-giver of 
the Hebrew nation, or where such a system of 
civil law as God gave his people by the hand 
of Moses could have taken its rise and could 
have been understood, accepted, appreciated, 
and ultimately wrought into established usage 
and into the national life. H. C. 

The temples reared by the Egyptians to their 
gods were exceedingly magnificent. The re¬ 
mains of some of them are still among the won¬ 
ders of the world. The priesthood was a large, 
wealthy, and highly privileged class, with the 
Ling himself, as high priest, at their head. 
Their sacred rites were numerous and varied, 
and included much that was fitted to dazzle the 
senses of the multitude. Prominent in their 
religious belief was the doctrine of future retri¬ 
bution. This was frequently depicted in paint¬ 
ings. W. G. B.-Where could Clio write 

their history so appropriately as on the walls of 
their temples ? And never were pages more 
graphic. The gathering, the march, the melee 
—the Pharaoh’s prowess, standing erect as he 
always does in his car, no charioteer, the reins 
attached to his waist, the arrow drawn to his 
ear, his horses all fire, springing into the air 
like Pegasuses,—and then the agony of the 
d^dng, transfixed by his dart, the relaxed limbs 
of the slain,—Homer’s truth itself ; and lastly, 
the triumphant return, the welcome home, and 
the offerings of thanksgiving to ximunre—the 
fire, the discrimination with which these ideas 
are bodied forth, they must be seen to judge of 
it. Lord Lindsay. 

All hereabout is full of deepest interest— 
sepulchres, monuments, historical records, and 
sites of ancient cities. We are in a land of 
dreams, and all the surroundings bear dreamy 
outlines ; gigantic in their proportions, and 
rendered even more gigantic by the manner in 
which they are disposed. Probably the most 
magnificent of these monuments in Upper 
Egypt—the Pathros of Scripture-are those of 
its capital, Thebes, the No, or No Amon of the 
Bible. It were impossible in brief space to de¬ 
scribe its temple. The sanctuary itself was 
small, but opposite to it a court opened upon a 
hall into which the great cathedral of Paris 
might be placed, without touching the walls on 


either side ! One hundred and forty columns 
support this hall, the central pillars being sixty- 
six feet high, and so wide that it would take 
six men with extended arms to embrace one of 
them. The mind gets almost bewildered by 
such proportions. All around, the walls bear 
representations, inscriptions, and records — 
among others, those of Shishak, who captured 
Jerusalem during the reign of Behoboam. But 
the temple itself is almost insignificant when 
compared with the approach to it, which was 
through a double row of sixty or seventy ram¬ 
headed sphinxes, placed about eleven feet apart 
from each other. Another avenue led to a 
temple which enclosed a lake for funeral rites ; 
and yet a third avenue of sphinxes extended a 
distance of GOOU feet to a palace. A. E. 

The incidental confirmations of the Bible 
from the tombs are numerous and striking. It 
seems, as one goes from tomb to tomb, that ho 
is visiting the picture galleries, the manufac¬ 
tories, and the private houses of the old Egyp¬ 
tians, and mingling familiarly in their every¬ 
day scenes. It is not death, but life, one here 
beholds ; or, rather, as at Pompeii, life ex¬ 
humed from the chambers of the dead. In the 
eloqiient language of Cardinal Wiseman, 
“ When, after so many ages of darkness and un¬ 
certainty, we see the lost history of this people 
revive, and take its stand beside that of other 
ancient empires ; when we read the inscriptions 
of its k-ings, recording their mighty exploits 
and regal qualities, and gaze upon their monu¬ 
ments, with the full understanding of the events 
which they commemorate, the impression is 
scarcely less striking to an enlightened mind 
than what the traveller would feel, if, when 
silently pacing the catacombs at Thebes, he 
should see those corpses, which the embalmer’s 
skill has for so many ages rescued from decay, 
on a sudden burst their cerements, and start 
resuscitated from their niches.” 

These old Egyptians, whose tombs and tem¬ 
ples are now open to our inspection, and whose 
social, commercial, religious, and political his¬ 
tory is written upon the imperishable rock, 
where all may read it—these ancients, over 
whom we of this nineteenth century are wont to 
boast in all the ” improvements” and the ma¬ 
terial comforts of life, had wealth beyond all 
computation ; commerce in all the “ precious 
things” of Arabia, of Persia, and the Indies, in 
gold, and jewels, and spices, and silks, and 
aromatics ; manufactures of fine linen and em¬ 
broidered work, of vases of porcelain and pot¬ 
tery, of oil, of chariots, of baskets and wicker¬ 
work, of glass ornaments and utensils, and of 









570 


PERSECUTION OF ISR'AEL IN EGYPT. 


many other articles of comfort and of luxury ; 
(lasbandry that made Egypt the granary of 
the world, and once and again the support of 
neighboring nations in time of famine ; civil- 
izition that well supplied the comforts of do¬ 
mestic life, that furnished their houses with 
chairs, sofas, and couches for their parlors, as 
well as with copper utensils, caldrons, tri¬ 
pods, mortars, pallets, ovens for their kitchens ; 
mechanic arts to fabricate various and formida¬ 
ble weapons of war, and to erect buildings and 
monuments that would now exhaust the com¬ 
bined strength and treasures of all the nations 
of Europe ; an art that could excavate from the 
quarry a block of sienite weighing nearly nine 
hundred tons, that could trausport it more than 
a hundred miles,—the distance of the nearest 
quarry,—and that could erect this block, when 
carved into a statue, upon a pedestal prepared 
for it at the gateway of a temple whose porch 
was lined with similar, though smaller fig¬ 
ures ; an art that could arrange in perfect 
order a double row of fourteen pillars, each up¬ 
ward of seventy feet high by thirty-six in cir¬ 
cumference, and raise to the top of these stones 
thirty feet in length by six feet in breadth, and 
the same in thickness, and then dispose about 
this central avenue other avenues formed by a 
hundred and twenty-two majestic pillars, in like 
manner capped with gigantic stones, until the 
roofed temple covered an acre and a half, and 
with its surroundings ten times that surface, 
and this centuries before Solomon built the 
inferior temple at Jerusalem ; an art, in short, 
that could build Karnac and the pyramids : fine 
arts also ; sculpture, which if it be less delicate 


than that of Greece, is more grand and spirited, 
which at times unites beauty with grandeur, 
but wdiich in majesty or conception is rivalled 
onl^^ by the conternjjorary sculptures of Nineveh ; 
painting, which after four thousand years re¬ 
tains the freshness of its colors ; music, which 
invented both wind and stringed instruments ; 
mathematical science, that could arrange with 
precision and skill all architectural lines and 
forms ; astronomical science, that decorated the 
ceilings of temples with celestial signs ; geologi¬ 
cal science, so far as this relates to the selection 
of different qualities of stone tor different quali¬ 
ties of soil ; philosophy, that evolved the great 
idea of a judgment and a future state and 
the soul’s immortality, though in the form of 
metempsymhosis, or the transmigration of souls, 
a philosophy that Moses and Plato studied, and 
that gave wisdom to the world ; and all these 
under the guardianship of a physical force that 
w’as for centuries victorious upon every field, 
that subdued Ethiopia and Judea, and swept 
Syria to the Euphrates, and that was shielded 
at home upon three sides by the mountains 
and the desert, and on the fourth side by the 
sea. And yet with all its wealth, and com¬ 
merce, and manufactures, and agriculture, and 
civilization, and art, and science, and philoso¬ 
phy, and material force, and natural barriers, 
Egypt has perished, utterly and forever per¬ 
ished. The mighty conquerors of Egypt, too, 
have perished. The Persian empire, the Mace¬ 
donian, the Roman, are fallen to rise no more. 
J. P. T. 

[For other notices of Egypt, see Sections 39 
and 67.] 


Section 81. 

PERSECUTION OF ISRAEL IN EGYPT. 

Exodus 1 :8-22, 

8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his 

9 people. Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we : come, 

10 let us deal wisely with them ; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth 
out any war. they also join themselves unto our enemies, and fight against us, and get them 

11 up out of the land. Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their 

12 burdens. And they built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithnm and Raamses. But the more they 
afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad And they' were 

13 grieved because of the children of Israel. And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to 






571 


SECTION SL—EXODUS 1 ; 8-22. 

ami m all manner o£ serv.ee m the flehl, all their service, wherein they made them serve wi.h 

16 Shtphrah*ai!d®th!f® ‘’^ «>« name of the one was 

to he Heblw w " ° v" ^ 

17 hh . ImMf 1 r’ '’‘“‘■"‘“O' : if if '>« =* «on, then ye shall kill 

Js a he Wnl ‘ “i*^ ‘^'‘“‘i “ve. But the midwives feared God. and did not 

F them, but saved the men children alive. And the king < £ 

19 .7 . m “i^ nnto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have 

19 saved the ...en children alive ? A.id the n.idwives said unto Pharaoh. Because the Hebrew 

women are not as the Egyptian women ; for they are lively, and ate delivered ere the midwife 

20 come unto them. And God dealt well with the midwives : and the people multiplied, and 
if waxed very mighty. And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made 
2- them house.s. And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying. Every son that is born ye shall 

cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive. 


§-34. T/ie oppression of Israel by the EjypUans. 
The new king who arose appears not to have 
been merely a’loiher king, in ordinary succes¬ 
sion, but a king of a new dynasty, foreign to 
the traditions and maxims of his predecessors. 

-The first persecutor of the Israelites 

may be distinguished as the Pharaoh of the 
tOppression, especially as he commenced, and 
jjrobably lung carried on, the persecution. The 
general view is that he was an Egyptian, a king 
of the nineteenth dynasty. The chief points 
in favor of this are the name of the city Kaam- 
ses, whence it has been argued that one of the 
oppressors was a king liameses, and the prob¬ 
able change of line. The first king of this 
name known was nead of the hineteenth dynasty. 
Manetho says the Israelites left EgyjJt in the 
reign of Menptah, who was great-grandson of 
the first Kameses, and son and successor of the 
second. Dio. B. 

From the beginning of the eighteenth dynasty, 
when the Hyksos were expelled by Aahmes I., 
the monumental history of Eg 3 ’’pt is tolerably 
complete ; the succession of nearly all the 
Pharaohs and the principal events in the reigns 
of the most di.stinguished are distinctly re¬ 
corded. The chronology, however, is uncer¬ 
tain. 

18th D\masty.—Aahmes I. (Nefertari Queen), 
Amenhotep I., Thotmes I. (fVahmes Regent), 
Thotmes II., Thotmes III, Amenhotep II., 
Thotmes IV, Amenhotep III , Amenhotep IV. 
(who took the name Khun-Aten), three other 
kings not recognized as legitimate, HoreTiiheb. 

19th Dynasty.^—Raineses I., Seti I , Rameses 
II, Meneplah /., Seti II. or Meneptah II., Amem- 
meses, Siptah, and Tauser. Cook. 

The period of the sojourn reckoned at 430 
years, the administration of Joseph would fall 
in the time of the Shepherd Kings, while their 
successors of the XVIIIth D^masty would mark 


the beginning of the period of oppression. All 
Eg.vptologists now hold Ramses II. and his son 
Menephtah to be the great oppressor and the 
Pharaoh of the Exodus respectivel 3 \ Their 
combined reigns correspond with the length of 
the persecution in the Bible, and their charac¬ 
ters in their own records are the counterparts 
of the Biblical portraits of the inflexible tyrant 
and his vacillating successor. The evidence of 
Manetho and the researches of Lepsius and 
Brugsch have placed this beyond doubt, R. 8. 
Poole. [See Sections 84, 90, close.] 

That Ramses II. was the Pharaoh of the op¬ 
pression, has long been suspected by Egyptian 
scholars. The accounts of the wars of himself 
and his predecessors in Canaan show that up 
to the date of his death that countr}^ was not 
3 ’et inhabited by the Israelites. But the ques¬ 
tion as to the date of the Exodus, and conse¬ 
quently as to the Pharaoh of the oppression, 
has now been finally set at rest by the excava¬ 
tions recently' undertaken at Tel-el-Maskhuta. 
This is the name of some large mounds near 
Tel-el-Kebir and other places which were the 
scene of the late war ; and M. Naville, who has 
excavated them for the Egyptian Exploration 
Fund, has found inscriptions in them which 
show not only that they represent an ancient 
city whose religious name was Pithom, while 
its civil name was Succoth, but' also th?it the 
founder of the city was Ramses II. In Greek 
times the citj' was called Heroopolls, or Ero, 
from the Egj'ptlan word ara, “a storehouse,” 
reminding us that Pithom and Raamses, which 
the Israelites built for the Pharaoh, were 
“ treasure-cities” (v. 11). M. Naville has even 
discovered the treasure-chambers themselves. 
They are very strongly constructed, and divided 
by brick partitions from eight to ten feet thick, 
the bricks being sun-baked, and made some 
with and some without straw. In these straw- 








572 


rERSECUTION OF ISRAEL US' EGYPT. 


less bricks we may see the work of the oppressed 
people when the order came : Thus saith the 
Pharaoh, 1 will not give you straw. ’ The 
treasure chambers occupy almost the whole 
area of the old city, the walls of which are 
about G50 feet square and 22 feet thick. Its 
name Pithom—in Egyptian Pa-Tum —signifies 
the city of the Setting Sun ; and since it had 
another name, Succoth, we can now understand 
how it was that the Israelites started on their 
march not from Goshen, but from Succoth (Ex. 
13 : 20), that is, from the very place where they 
had been working. Sayce. 

11, The iasicm tsters were Egyptian bailiffs or 
general managers ; the officers (5 ; G) were He¬ 
brews, and had each the charge of a certain 
number, of whom and their work they had to 
keep account (hence called Sliolerini or [Vriters). 
When recently in Egypt, 1 saw this very sys¬ 
tem still in operation on a road which the Vice¬ 
roy was constructing. W. L. A.-The Israel¬ 

ites were employed in forced labors, probably 
in detachments, each under an Egyptian “ task¬ 
master but they were not reduced to slavery, 
properly speaking, nor treated as captives of 
war. They continued to occupy and cultivate 
their own district, and they retained posses¬ 
sion of their houses, flocks, herds, and other 
property until they emigrated from Egypt. 

Cook. -The ancient monuments of Egypt 

confirm the statements of sacred history, show¬ 
ing that the Egyptians employed national bond- 
men in the construction of their vast national 
works ; that they placed over them taskmasters ; 
that when the workmen fell short of the re¬ 
quired tale of brick, their masters put them to 
more severe labors, and in some cases to labors 
of other sort. It should be noted that this 
bondage differed from the slavery of modern 
times in this one respect —that the bondmen 
were held by the king and the nation in their 
national capacity and not by individuals. The 
Hebrews were not held as private but as public 
jiroperty. The king and the nation as such 
bore therefore the responsibility and guilt of 
this oppression, and God let his judgments 
smite them for the most part in such a way as 
to indicate their sin. H. C. 

11 , 14 . The construction of “ store-cities” 
at the required period has received recent illus¬ 
tration of the most remarkable kind. The ex¬ 
plorers have uncovered near Tel-el-Kebir an 
ancient city, which the inscriptions found on 
the spot show to have been built, in part at any 
rate, by Raineses II., and which is of so pecul¬ 
iar a construction as to suggest at once to those 
engaged in the work the idea that it was built 


for a “ store-city.” The town is altogether a 
square, enclosed by a brick Avail. The area 
contained within the wall is estimated at about 
ten acres. Nearly the Avhole of this space is 
occupied by solidly built square chambers, di¬ 
vided one from the other by brick walls from 
eight to ten feet thick, Avhich are unpierced by 
window or door, or opening of any kind. It 
further appears, from seveiul short insciiptions, 
tlmt the name of the city Avas Pa-Tum, or 
Pithom ; and there is thus no reasonable doubt 
that one of the two cities built by the Israelites 
has been laid bare, and answers completely to 
the description given of it. Of the twin city, 
Rameses, the remains have not yet been identi¬ 
fied. Wo know, however, from the inscriptions, 
that it Avas in the immediate A’icinity of Tanis, 
and that it was built perhaps in part by Seti I , 
but mainly by his son Rameses II. It lends ad- 
ditionfil interest to the discovery of Pithom that 
the city is found to be built almost entirely of 
brick. It was in brick-making that the Israel¬ 
ites are here said (Exodus ch. 1:14; 5 : 7-19) to 
haA'e been employed. G. R. 

The disC ‘Very of Pithom by Naville is of in¬ 
comparable value : 1. In attesting the truth of 
the sacred narrative in the Hebrew (“ treasure” 
or “ store” city) and Septuagint (“ fortified ”) 
versions, and in its local coloring of bricks Avith 
or without straw, with stubble, and of the tiso 
of mortar. 2. In identifying Rameses II., 
“ the Pharaoh of the oppression,” as tho 
builder of Pithom. 3. In disclosing valuable 
monumental records, especially the ” Stone of 
Pithom,” relating to its subsequent history. 
4. In identifying the site with Heroopolis and 
Ero, the Greek and Roman towns. 5. In mon¬ 
umentally showing Succoth to have been the 
civil name of Pithom, and that Pithom-Succoth 
was the capital of the district, which Avas Suc¬ 
coth. G. In its relation to the geography of the 
Exodus route and “the land of Goshen.” 
Brugsch and Ebers representing German, Revil- 
lout French, Pleyte Dutch opinion, have ac¬ 
cepted the site disclosed by Naville as that of 
Pithom. So have Maspero, Rawlinson, Poole, 
Miss Edwards, Tomkins, Sayce, and the Ameri¬ 
cans, J. A. Paine,^ A. H. Kellogg, and H. C. 
Trumbull. The exphrafions of San Tanis (tho 
biblical Zoan) by Petrie, although in compara¬ 
tive incipiency, have proved Avaris, the long- 
lost capital of the Shepherd Kings, to have been 
there ; haA^e disclosed the “colossusof colossi,” 
the most gigantic of all statues known to man 
(that of Rameses II.), and the Avail of the great 
temple ; statues, pylons, sphinxes, tablets, 
Ptolemaic and other household and sacred 





SECTION ^2.—EXODUS 2 : 1-22. 


573 


relics ; articles in glass, bronze, porcelain, ala¬ 
baster, etc. ; silver and gold, and even thiit rare 
metal in Egypt, iron. W. C. Winsloco. 

The new Pharaoh o^ipresses them 
cruelly ; they are a prey to the miseries of slav¬ 
ery, the contagion of idolatry, to all the evils, 
all the perils, physical and moral, which can 
afflict a nation numerically weak, fallen under 
the yoke of one powerful and civilized. The 
Hebrews nevertheless persist in their religious 
faith, cling to their national reminiscences ; 
they do not suffer their nationality to be lost in 
and confounded with that of their masters ; 
they endure without offering any active resist¬ 
ance ; they await their Deliverer. Guizot. 

21. Made them lioii§es. They married 

Hebrews and became mothers in Israel, The 
expression is proverbial (see 2 Sam. 7 ; 11, 27). 
Cook. -As the^' preserved the people and pro¬ 

moted their increase, therefore God blessed 
them in the preservation and increase of their 

families. Geii, -Scripture has preserved the 

names of these courageous women, and told us 
that their motive was “fear of God ” (in the 
Hebrew with the article, “ the God,” as denoting 
the living and true God). And as they were the 
means of ‘‘making’’ or upbuilding the houses 
of Israel, so God ‘‘ made them houses.” It is 
true that, when challenged by the king, they 
failed to speak out their true motive ; but, as 
Augustine remarks, “ God forgave the evil on 
account of the good, and rewarded their piety, 
though not their deceit.” A. E. 

22. In the whole of this history, as in so 
many in the Old Testament, sin and its punish¬ 
ment are shown to us in a close relation to each 
other. As the children of the Israelites were 
thrown into the water, so do we find that the 
Egyptians themselves perish in the water, Gerl. 
-All these plans of Pharaoh are destined to 


come to naught. Persecution and death cannot 
damage the Church of God. The Christian is 
not weakened thereby ; but the Church ever 
increases under the Cross, under the tyranny 
of the world and of the Devil : as an old doctor 
of the Church, Tertullian, hath said, “The 
Church is watered by the blood of Christians.’’ 

Luiker. -The church was lying on the burning 

coals of persecution—a hard duty ; but great 
good must ever have its birth in the house of 
great sorrows. Then followed the school-days, 
when the church sat down before Sinai, received 
the Law, and the rites and ceremonies embody¬ 
ing great principles and great truths. The Le- 
vitical was the material age, when the child must 
be instructed by pictures, disciplined and cor¬ 
rected till ripe for something better. Tvdd. 

It is no new thing for Egypt to be unkind and 
cruel to Israel. Israelites and Egyptians are of 
contrary dispositions and inclinations ; the de¬ 
light of one is the abomination of the other. 
Besides, it is the duty of Israel to depart out of 
Egypt. Israel is in Egypt in respect of abode, 
not of desire, Egypt is not Israel’s rest. If 
Egypt were an House of hospitality, it would 
more dangerously and strongly detain the Israel¬ 
ites, than in being an house of bondage. The 
thoughts of Canaan would be but slight and 
seldom, if Egypt were pleasant. It is good that 
Egyptians should hate us, that so they may not 
hurt us. When the world is most kind, it is 
most corrupting ; and when it smiles most, it 
seduceth most. Were it not for the bondage in 
Egypt, the food and idols of Egypt would be 
too much beloved. Blessed be God, who will 
by the former wean us from the latter ; and 
will not let us have the one without the other : 
far. better that Egypt should oppress us, than 
we oppose God. Jenkyn. 


Section 82. 

BIRTH AND TRAINING OF MOSES, IN EGYPT AND MIDIAN. 

Exodus 2 :1-22. 

1 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the 

2 woman conceived, and bare a son : and when she saw him that he was u goodly child, she hid 

3 him three months And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bul¬ 
rushes and daubed it with slime and with pitch ; and she put the child therein, and laid it 

4 in the ’flags by the river’s brink. And his sister stood afar off, to know what wonlu he done 








674 


BIRTH AND TRAINING OF MOSES. 


6 to him. And tho daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river ; and her maidens 
walked along by the river side ; and she saw the ark among the flags, and sent her handmaid 

6 to fetch it. And she opened it, and saw the child : and, behold, the babe wept. And she 

7 had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children. Then said his sister 
to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may 

8 nurse the cnild for thee? And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and 

9 called the child’s mother. And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her. Take this child away, and 
nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed 

10 it. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her 
son. And she called his name Moses, and said, Because I drew him out of the water. 

11 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown up, that he went oat unto his 
brethren, and looked on their burdens : and he saw an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his 

12 brethren. And he looked this way and that waj^ and when he saw that there was no man, he 

13 smote the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. And he u^ent out the second day, and, be¬ 
hold, two men of the Hebrews strove together : and he said to him that did the wrong, 

14 Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? And he said,- Who made thee a })rince and a judge over 
us ? thinkest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian ? And Moses feared, and said, 

15 Surely the thing is known. Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. 
But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dvvelt in the land of Midian : and he sat down 

16 by a well. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters : and they came and drew water, 

17 and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. And the shepherds came and drove them 

18 away : but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. And when they came 

19 to Reuel their father, he said. How is it that ye are come so soon to-day ? And they said. 
An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and moreover he drew water for 

20 us, and watered the flock. And he said unto his daughters. And where is he? why is it that 

21 ye have left the man ? call him, that he may eat bread. And Moses was content to dwell with 

22 the man : and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. And she bare a son, and he called his 
name Gershom : fur he said, I have been a sojourner in a strange land. 


1-iO. By the cruel edict which required the | 
Hebrews to cast all their male children into the 
river Nile, Pharaoh intended to check the grow¬ 
ing greatness of a nation whose numbers he be¬ 
gan to dread. But God designed it as the occa¬ 
sion of the adoption of Moses by no less a per¬ 
sonage than the daughter of the reigning sover¬ 
eign ; and this to the intent that the future 
leader and lawgiver of the Hebrew people might 
be educated for his responsible office. E. C. W. 

-The decree designed by Pharaoh to inflict 

the death-blovr on Israel’s hopes of honor and 
enlargement, was made to prepare and fashion 
the living instrument through whom these 
hopes were soon to be carried forth into victoiy 
and fruition. Forced by the very urgency of 
the danger on the notice of Pharaoh’s daughter, 
and thereafter received under her care and 
patronage into Pharaoh’s house, the child Moses 
possessed in the highest degree the opi^ortunity 
of becoming “ learned in all the wisdom of the 
Egyptians,” and grew up to manhood in the 
familiar use of .every advantage which it was 
possible for the world at that time to confer. 

P. F.-Divine Providence had determined to 

raise up that man who was to release this op¬ 
pressed people, and after having seen and in¬ 
timately known the civil and religious institu¬ 


tions of this famous country was deliberately to 
reject them, to found a polity on totally differ- 
' ent principles, and establish a religion the most 
opposite to the mysterious polytheism of Egypt ; 
a polity and a religion which were to survive 
the dynasty of the Pharaohs and the deities of 
their vast temples, and exercise an unbounded 
influence on the civil and religious history of 
the most remote ages, Milman. 

Everything here is strictly Egyjrtian ; even 
some of the terms used in the Hebrew are de¬ 
rived from the Egyptian. The papyrus no 
longer grows below Nubia, but the Egyptian 
monuments exhibit many such “ arks” and 
boats made of the plant, and similarly pre¬ 
pared. The “ flags” were a smaller species of 
papyrus. A. E.-The stor}" of Moses repro¬ 

duces the country and the times. The branches 
of the Nile were anciently lined with reeds. 
The papyrus was woven into baskets, mats, and 
even little boats, which were made water-tight 
with the resin, or bitumen, in common use for 
mummy-wrappings. The sanitary customs of 
the Egyptians united with their religious feel¬ 
ing to recommend bathing in the sacred river ; 
and the monuments show, that, in ancient 
Egypt, women had much greater freedom than 
is now accorded them in Oriental countries. 











575 


SECTION 82.—EXODUS 2 ; U22. 


Thus everything is here pictured to the life 
J. P. T. 

No romance could have been more skilfully 
framed for the purpose of setting all the affec¬ 
tions in play, than this simple and beautiful 
story—the placing of the babe by the river side 
—the watching of hiin by his sister—the ap¬ 
proach of Pharaoh’s daughter to the spot—the 
crying of the child nnd its influence on the sen¬ 
sibilities of a woman’s heart-the offer of the 
sister to call a nurse, and thus the restoration 
of the babe to its own mother again. In the 
epistle to the Hebrews this act of Moses’ par¬ 
ents is said to have been by faith : and we 
cannot doubt that all was overruled by the 
providence of God, even to the very suggestion 
which prompted the measure they took with 
their child. Whether they had in any degree 
the light of a revelation for what they did, they 
must at least have elt a certain confidence in 
the protection of Him who is invisible, else they 
would not have been remarked by the Apostle 
among the Old Testament worthies who through 
faith obtained a good report. T. C. 

We shall study the history of Moses without 
the key if we overlook the point made by the 
writer to the Hebrews (11:23): “ faith 
Moses when he was born was hid three months 
because they saw that he was a proper child, 
and they were not afraid of the king’s com¬ 
mandment.” Faith in God made them fearless 
of Egypt’s cruel king. It may sometimes hap¬ 
pen that profound interest in a babe of ap- 
parently rare promise shall run in a very low 
and selfish channel, suggesting how much he 
may do to comfort their own hearts, or to build 
up the glory of their house or of their name ;— 
but when by a heavenly faith it takes hbld of 
useful work for God, when it prompts to a 
special consecration of all the possibilities of 
his future to the kingdom of Christ, it is morally 
sublime. Such seems to have been the faith of 
the parents of the child Moses. How their faith 
prompted ingenious methods of concealment ; 
how it wrought in harmony with God’s wise 
providence, not only to preserve the life of this 
consecrated child, but to give him a place in 
the heart of Pharaoh’s daughter, and thus open 
to his growing mind all the wealth of Egypt’s 
culture and wisdom, we learn somewhat from 
this story. H. C. 

I. A daii^lilcr of L.evi. The idiom 
which calls even a remote descendant the son 
or daughter is common to the Old and New 
Testament, and this passage may be understood 
to mean that both parents of Moses were of the 
house and lineage of Levi. Thus the Vulgate 


renders the verse, “ and he took a wife of his 
own family the LXX. has “a wife of the 
daughters of Levi.” 

iJ. Bare a $$oil. Not her firstborn, Aaron 
and Miriam were older than Moses. The ob¬ 
ject of the wrifer is simply to narrate the events 
which led to the E.xodus, and, as usual, he omits 
to notice what had no direct bearing upon that 
object. E. H B. 

Slic look for him an ark of bnl- 
rusBlCS. The bulrush is the papyrus or paper- 
reed of the ancieuts. It grows in marshy 
places, and was once most abundant on the 
banks of the Nile ; but now that the river has 
been opened to commerce it has disappeared, 
save in a few unfrequented spots. It is de¬ 
scribed as having “ an angular stem from three 
to six feet high, though occasionally it grows to 
the height of fourteen feet ; it has no leaves ; 
the flowers are in very small spikelets, which 
grow in thread-like, flowering branchlets, which 
form a bushy crown tc each stem.” It was 
used for many purposes by the Egyptians ; for 
shoes, baskets, vessels of different sorts, and 
boats ; but it was especially valuable as furnish¬ 
ing the material corresponding to our paper, 
on which written communications could be 
made. To obtain this last fibre, the coarse ex¬ 
terior rind was taken off, and then with a needle 
the thin concentric layers of the inner cuticle, 
sometimes to the number of twenty in a single 
plant, were removed. These were afterward 
joined together with a mixture of flour, paste, 
and glue ; and a similar layer of strips being 
laid crosswise in order to strengthen the fabric, 
the whole sheet was subjected to pressure, dried 
in the sun, beaten with a mallet, and polished 
with ivory. When completed and written over, 
the sheets were united into one, and rolled on 
a slender wooden c^dinder. Thus was formed 
a book, and the description of the process gives 
the etymology and primal significance of our 
own word “ volume.” W. M. T. 

L<ai<B H ia iBic The nmther of 

Moses laid the ark hy the river's hrink. She 
could not have laid it so courageously upon the 
Nile, if she had not first devoutly laid it upon 
the care and love of God We are often sur¬ 
prised at the outward calmness of men who are 
called upon to do unpleasant and most trying 
deeds ; but could we have seen them in secret 
we should have known the moral preparation 
which they underwent before coming out to be 
seen of men. Be right in the sanctuary, if you 
would be right in the market-place. Be stead¬ 
fast in prayer, if you would be calm in afflic¬ 
tion, J. P. 





57G 


BIRTH AND TRAINING OF M08E8. 


1 , The mother has done her part. The 
rushes, the slime, and the pitch were her i^ru- 
dent and necessary preparations ; and the great 
God has been at the same time preparing h s 
materials, and arranging his instruments. He 
causes everything to concur, not by miraculous 
influence, but by the simple and natural oper¬ 
ation of second causes, to bring about the issue 
designed in his counsels from everlasting. 
Bush. 

5, Daii^Iitcroi*PSiariiolB. God fetches 
lier thither, to deliver the deliverer of his peo¬ 
ple. His designs go beyond ours. We know 
not, when we set our foot over our threshold, 
what he hath to do with us. This event seemed 
casual to this princess, but predetermined and 
jDrovided by God, before she was : how wisely 
and sweetly God brings to pass his own pur¬ 
poses, in our ignorance and regardlessness ! 
She saw the ark, opens it, finds the child weep¬ 
ing ; his beauty and his tears had God provided 
for the strong persuasions of merc 3 ^ This 
young and lively oratory prevailed. Her heart 
is struck with compassion, and yet her tongue 

could say, “ It is a Hebrew child.” Bp. 11. - 

6 . The princess “ saw the child.” That single 
sentence contains an argument. It was an ap¬ 
peal to the woman’s heart. It mattered not 
that she was a princess, nor that she belonged 
to the proudest class of the mo.st exclusive na¬ 
tion in the world. Kank, caste, nationality, all 
melted before the great fact of womanhood. 
She was a woman, and before her lay an outcast 
child. F. W. K. 

In the fact that the deliverer of Israel from 
the power of Egypt was himself first delivered 
by the daughter of the king of Egypt, we find 
the same interweaving of the history of Israel 
with that of the Gentiles already observed in 
the history of Joseph ; and we ma}’^ now regard 
it as a law, that the preference shown to Israel 
when it was selected as the chosen seed on 
whom the blessings were first bestowed, was to 
be counterbalanced by the fact that the salva¬ 
tion of Israel could not be fully effected wuth- 
out the intervention of the Gentiles. This was 
the opinion of Cyril of Alexandria, which he ex¬ 
pressed in his usual allegorical style by saying ; 
“ the daughter of Pharaoh is the community of 

the Gentiles.” Baum. -Thereby he meant to 

illustrate this great truth, which we trace 
throughout history, that somehow the salvation 
of Israel was always connected with the instru¬ 
mentality of the Gentiles. It was so in the his¬ 
tory of Joseph and even before that ; and it 
will continue so till at the last, through their 
mercy, Israel shall obtain mercy. A. E. 


The phrase ” special providence” is liable to 
be misunderstood. The teaching of this book 
is, not that God overrules some things more 
than others, but iliat he is in all alike, and is as 
really in the falling of a sparrow as the revolu¬ 
tion of an empire. God was as truly in the re¬ 
moval of the little ones that were taken away, 
as he was in the saving of Amram’s son ; and 
there were lessons of love and warning from the 
one, no less than of love and encouragement 
from the other. Nay, more, God is in the daily 
events of our households precisely as he was in 
those of the family of the tribe of Levi long 
ago. The births and the bereavements ; the 
prosperitv and the adversity ; the joys and the 
sorrows of our homes, are all under his super¬ 
vision. He is girding us when we know it not ; 
and his plan of our lives, if we will only yield 
ourselves to his guidance, will one day round 
itself into completeness and beauty. Every 
one of us here has as really been preserved 
from childhood to this hour by the providence 
of God, as Moses was delivered on the occasion 
before us. It is not only when one is snalolied 
out of visible danger, that we should speak of 
God’s care. The protection is as real, though 
we may not be so conscious of it when no dan¬ 
ger is seen. W. M. T. 

§. So, by a merciful arrangement 

of God’s providence, the mother received her 
child back again, and kept it with her until its 
third year, when children were wont to be 

weaned. Geri. -There is a higher destiny for 

Jochebed than that she should be merely nurse 
to her own child, for she is also to become the 
early guide of him who shall be Israel’s guide. 
Nor will he leave her ere the grand traditions 
of God’s covenant with his friend, of Jacob’s 
death, and Joseph’s last command, of Canaan 
as the land destined for Israel, and of the great 
deliverance that has been promised for the 
world, have all been impressed upon his mind. 
And can we Christians doubt that the relation¬ 
ships of early life must have conduced to bring 
us where God’s hand has afterward conducted 
us ; that every one of us has his own special 
destiny, for which, like Moses, we are fretpiently 
prepared, though all unconsciously, throughout 
a series of y^ears ; that even our first imjDres- 
sions, like the later lessons we receive, are all 
appointed and arranged by higher wisdom than 

our own? Fc/n 0. -The seeds of his world- 

conquering faith must have been dropped early 
into his tender mind. This hired Hebrew 
nurse, permitted to come into the royal palaoe 
by some back-way, was indulged this privilege 
freely, we know not precisely how long , but let 











SECTIOJS' 82.—EXODUS 2 : 1-22. 


577 


us prGSuiiiG tliilt tliG saniG fixith. and. prayer kept 
this door open, at least for her occasional visits 
in his future years. How many testimonies of 
God’s love to the fathers of their nation she 
dropped into his youthful ear ; how much she 
told him of God as “ the exceeding great re¬ 
ward ” of his believing people ; how well she 
put the contrast between “ the treasures of 
Egypt” and the treasures laid up for God’s 
then persecuted peoi)le these points are 
rather left to our inference than definitely 
stated ; but we may be very sure that the faith 
of Moses took hold of these grand truths ( f then 
extant revelation ; fixed its hold early ; and 
held fast through all his future life. H. C. 

lie became lier soa. Her adopted son. 
Accordingly she gave him a princely education ; 
and caused him to be instructed “ in all the 
wisdom of the Egyptians” (Acts 7 : 22). Bp. 

Patrick. -Thus did he find an asylum in the 

very palace of his intended destroyer ; while 
his intercourse with his own family and nation 
was still most naturally maintained. And while 
he was instructed “ in all the wisdom of the 
Egyptians,” and bred up in the midst of a lux¬ 
urious court, he acquired the knowledge of the 
promised Redernption of Israel : and, ” by faith 
in the Hedeemer Christ,” refused to be called 
the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Hales. 

Those whom God designs for great services, 
he finds out ways to qualify and prepare before¬ 
hand. Moses, by having his education in a 
court, is the fitter to be a prince and king in 
Jeshurun; by having his education in a Earned 
court (for such the Egyptian then was), is the 
fitter to be an historian; and by having his edu¬ 
cation in the court of Egypt, is the fitter to be 
employed, in the name of God, as an ambassa¬ 
dor to that court. H.-The adopted son of 

the daughter of an Egyptian king must have 
been trained in all the wisdom of Egypt. This 
is also in harmony with the tradition reported 
by Manetho, which makes Moses a priest of 
Heliopolis, and therefore presupposes a priestly 
education. It was precisely this education in 
the wisdom of the Egxqiiians, which was the 
ultimate design of God in all the leadings of his 
providence, not only with reference to the boy, 
but, we might say, to the whole of Israel. For 
it was in order to appropriate the wisdom and 
culture of Egypt, and to take possession of 
them as a human basis for divine instruction 
and direction, that Jacob’s family left the land 
of their fathers’ pilgrimage, and their descend¬ 
ants’ hope and promise. But the guidance and 
fate of the whole of Israel were at this time con¬ 
centrated in Moses. “ As Joseph s elevation to 
37 


the post of grand-vizier of Egypt placed him in 
a position to provide for his father's house in 
the time of famine, so wa-i Moses fitted by the 
training received at Pharaoh’s couit 
to become the leader and lawgiver of his peo¬ 
ple.” {Baum.) -There can be no doubt that 

the foster-son of the king’s daughter, the 

well-educated youth, had the 
most brilliant cource open before him in the 
^gyP^'^n. state. Had he desired it, he would 
most likely have been able to rise like Joseph 
to the highest honors. But affairs were very 
different now. Moses could not enter on such 
a course as this without sacrificing his nation, 
his convictions, his hopes, his faith, and his 
vocation. But that he neither would, nor durst, 
nor could. And hence it is with perfect truth 
that the author of the epistle to the Hebrews, 
when tracing the course of the history, says 
(ch. 11 ; 24-26) : ” B}^ faith Moses, when he was 
come to years, refused to be called the son of 
Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suft’er 
affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy 
the pleasures of sin for a season ; esteeming the- 
reproach of Christ greater riches than the treas¬ 
ures of Egypt ; for he had respect unto the rec¬ 
ompense of the reward.” K. 

Faith breaks the force of opposite propensi¬ 
ties and attractions. If the world stand in the 
way of duty, “ faith overcometh the world 
partly by bringing Christ into the combat for 
us, partly by spiritual replies and arguments. 
Reason urges “we must be for ourselves Faith 
tells us “ we must be for God.” Reason says,. 
“ If I take this course I shall Undo myself 
Faith, by looking within the veil, declares it is 
the only way to be saved. Reason presents the 
treasures of Egypt, Faith the recompense of re¬ 
ward. Manton. -It is not a question of ra¬ 

tionality, as between the conduct of the Chris¬ 
tian and other men. It is a question, rather, as 
to the relative value of the things which ho 
gives up and those which he is seeking to attain. 
Moses thought the reproach of Christ was 
greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. If 
he was right in so thinking, his choice was 
every way rational. But was he right? Lee 
the nobleness of his character, the influence of 
his writings, and, more especially, his appear^ 
ance in glory by the side of Jesus on the Mount 
of Transfiguration, answer. He was right in 
his estimate ; he was justified in acting on it ; 
and this decision was the first step in that as¬ 
cending ladder of which the other rounds were 
Horeb, Sinai, Pisgah, Heaven. W. M. T. 

“ Christ” is the Greek word corresponding to 
the Hebrew “ Messiah.” If we inquire whether 








578 


M08E8 m EGTPT AED MIDIAE'. 


the Hebrews in the age of Moses knew of a 
promised Messiah, we answer in the affirma¬ 
tive. Indeed it may be assumed and defended 
that they knew far more than the current opin¬ 
ion of this nineteenth century gives them credit 
for. To Abraham, God gave new forms of Mes¬ 
sianic promise. The lips of the dying Jacob 
made yet another fresh addition under the 
name “ Shiloh,” Who should “ come" (Gen. 
49 :10), We have seen that a wealth of promise 
lay garnered in the birihrigkt oi the sons in Abra¬ 
ham’s line. A promised Messiah was no incon¬ 
siderable element of that wealth. At this late 
hour of the Christian centuries men are begin¬ 
ning to learn that “ all the wisdom of Egypt” 
had a larger significance than had been dreamed 
of for ages, and that it behooves us to be more 
reserved in fixing limitations upon the extent of 
their knowledge. The idea of a divine incarna¬ 
tion—some form of God, taking upon himself 
human flesh—has been current ever since the 
world began, wherever human thought has 
reached any considerable culture ; and it seems 
more philosophical to find the origin of this 
idea in the fact of revealed promise than in the 
fancy of uninspired minds. H. C. 

1 i-15. Moses records no incident of his life 
during the following years. His object, as 
Ranke observes, was not to write his own biog¬ 
raphy, but to describe God’s dealings with his 
people. Later tradition would have been full 
of details. At the end of 40 years, when, accord¬ 
ing to Stephen, Moses visited his brethren, the 
princess was probably dead, as Syncellus re¬ 
lates, and the events which follow took place 
under another Pharaoh. Cook. 

We have three co-ordinate narratives of the 
early years of Moses ; that given in Heb. 
11:24-27, very brief, and touching only its 
specially religious side ; while that of Stephen 
(Acts 7 : 20-29) is full, even somewhat more full 
than the narrative here. Particularly Stephen 
adds that Moses was “ learned in all the wis¬ 
dom of the Egyptians and mighty in words and 
in deeds”--a man like Joseph of immense effi¬ 
ciency :—also that he was “full forty years 
old ” when it came into his heart to visit his 
brethren the children of Israel—a statement 
which shows that he distinctly recognized this 
relationship of brethren. Seeing a brother He¬ 
brew abused by an Egyptian he interposed, 
smote the Egyptian dead, and buried him in 
the sand, Stephen’s words suggest that this 
was not merely one of those quick, spontaneous 
impulses felt by noble souls in view’ of Wtrage- 
ous wuong, but was a first step toward a con- 
temi)lated career of interposed force for the 


rescue of his people from their oppression. 
” For he supposed his brethren would have 
understood how that God by his hand w’ouhl 
deliver them ; but they understood not” (Acts 

7:25). H. C.-The attachment to his own 

people and to their God must have accompanied 
him throughout and have matured his final 
resolve. Even so we may infer had his patriot¬ 
ism been growing and coming to a In^ad, before 
the incident here related could have taken 
place. As Ste[)hen shows, he must have in his 
mind matured his vi^w of himself as the future 
deliverer and judge of Israel, before he under¬ 
took thus first to deliver and then to judge be¬ 
tween his brethren. Faith wois throughout his 
guiding principle, dependence on his divine 
mission, and on God, who called him to it. 
Observe the stress laid on the word his breth¬ 
ren. It was this feeling which was uppermost 
in his mind, the tie which bound him to Israel, 
and his mission of deliverance, Alf. 

Oppressions ma)’’ not be righted by violence, 
but b 3 " law. The redress of evil by a person 
unw'arranted, is evil. Moses knew that God 
had called him ; he knew that Pharaoh knew it 
not: therefore he hides the Egyptian in the 
sand. Those actions which may be approved 
unto God are not alwavs safe wdth men ; as 
contraril 3 ’’, too many things go current wdth 
men, which are not approved of God. Bp. II. 

-While w’e cannot approve of the rashness 

of Moses, we must admire his decision ; for now 
he fully and conclusively gave up all the advan¬ 
tages of an Egyptian prince, and cast in his lot 

wMth the people of God. W. M. T.-By his 

” refusing to be called the son of Pharaoh’s 
daughter,” we are to understand that he posL 
tivety declined all the honor and aggrandizement 
implied in that relation. This was his deliber¬ 
ate choice, and no man was ever called to make 
a choice under circumstances more trying, or 
made one which redounded more to his credit. 
It is to be remembered that Moses was at this 
time of mature age, “full forty 3 ’ears old,” 
says Stephen. It was a decision formed under 
circumstances in which deep principle must have 
been the ruling motive ; for while in a worldly 
sense he had nothing to hope from a transfer of 
himself, he had everything to lose. Bush. 

13, 14. The same fire of patriotism which 
thus roused him as a deliverer from the oppres- 
sois, turns him into the peacemaker of the op¬ 
pressed It is characteristic of the faithfulness 
of the Sacred records that his flight is occa¬ 
sioned rather by the malignit}’’ of his country¬ 
men than by the enmity of the Egyptians. And 
in Stephen’s speech it is this part of the story 






SECTION 82.--EX0DUS 2 : 1-22 


which is drawn out at greater length than in 
the original, evidently with the view of showing 
tbe identity of the narrow spirit which had thus 
displayed itself equally against their first and 
the last Deliverer. A P. S. 

15. t:> Slay I?I© 3 cs. This was 

perhaps not sy much with a vie^^ to avenge the 
death of a single individual of the Egyptian 
race, as because Moses had by this act discov¬ 
ered himself to be a friend and favorer of the 
oppressed Israelites, an I given the king reason 
to suspect that he was secretly cherishing the 
purpose of one day attempting to effect their 
liberation His only safety therefore was in. 
flight. Bush. 

Hoses fled from tlie face of Pha¬ 
raoh. Though he could satisfy his own con¬ 
science in having killed the Eg^'ptian, j’et he 
had not received a commission from God to act 
publicly as the deliverer of the Israelites, and 
so could not justify his action to Pharaoh : nor 
had he reason to expect that God would protect 
him in an extraordinary manner since his safety 
could be provided for by ordinary means ; 
namely, by wnthdrawing from Egyjjt. Dr. 
Wdls. 

The time for deliverance was not yet come. 
The Israelites as a whole were not sufficiently 
prepared for it ; and Moses himself also was 
far from being ready for his peculiar task. Be¬ 
fore he was qualified to take the government of 
such a people, and be a fit instrument for ex¬ 
ecuting his difficult and complicated part, he 
needed to have trial of an altogether different 
kind of life ; amid the desolation and solitudes 
of the desert to become habituated to solemn 
converse with God, and formed to the requisite 
gravity, meekness, patience, and subduedness 
of spirit. Thus God overruled his rash inter¬ 
ference with the affairs of his kindred to the 
proper completion of his own preparatory train¬ 
ing, and provided for him the advantage of as 
long a sojourn in the wdlderness to learn divine 
wisdom, as he had already spent in learning 
human wisdom in Eg 3 ’pt. P. F. 

15. Midian was the son of Abraham, and 
half-brother of Isaac. The Midianites were, 
therefore, the kinsfolk of Moses. A great part 
of Arabia, indeed, was occupied with descend¬ 
ants of Heber, the ancestor of Abraham and the 
Israelites. Thither it was natural for Moses to 

flee. M.-We should look for the settlements 

of this tribe of Midianites somewhere to the 
east or north-east of Sinai, but still on the 
western side of the gulf. But we must at all 
event.^ regard the Midianitish tribe of which 
Eeuel was the head as a nomadic branch, 


which had separated from the main body of the 
nation, and never united with the rest again ; 
for while the great mass of the Midianites a!- 
waj^s maintained a hostile position toward 
Israel, the descendants of Beuel continued 
friendly to the last. K. 

18, Reucl tlieir father. The name of 
the priest of Midian was Jethro (ch. 3:1): so 
that either Beuel was his name as well as 
Jethro ; or else Beuel was the father of Jethro, 
and grandfather of these young women. Bp. 

Patrick. -It appears probable that Eeuel was 

the grandfather, Jethro the father, and Hobab 
the brother, of Zipporah. Hence, after forty 

years, Beuel is no more spoken of. Walter. -- 

Beuel, here called “ father,” was the grand¬ 
father, and probably the hereditary office of the 
priesthood was exercised by Jethro in conjunc¬ 
tion with his father ; or, perhaps, before the 
events mentioned (ch. 3), Beuel was dead and 

Jethro had succeeded to his office. Gerl. -- 

The treatment of Jethro and Hobab by Moses 
perfectly accords with the above view, which 
recognizes the former as his father-in-law, and 
the latter as his brother-in-law. B. 

18-20, Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, 
is described in general terms as the priest and 
prince of Midian—combines in himself, there¬ 
fore, both sacerdotal and royal functions. More 
particularly, he is the chief of the Kenites, a 
clan of the vast tribe of Midian, dwelling on 
the shores of the Gulf of Akaba. He is the very 
t 3 ^pe of the Arab chief, such as he remains to 
the present day. His numerous flocks feed 
round the well of Midian, tended by the-seven 
daughters for whom, when the rough shepherds 
would have driven them from the w'ell, Moses 
stood up. He is very grateful to “ the Egyp¬ 
tian" who “ delivered his daughters out of the 
hand of the shepherds, and drew water, and 
watered their flocks.” He treats him wdth the 
princely hospitality and courtesy which are still 
to be found in the Arabian tents, and gives him 
one of the seven daughters to wdfe. Cox. 

21. Was coiitesit to dwell witla llic 
Itlclll. This conveys the true sense of the 
Hebrew. It implies that Moses recognized in 
Beuel a man in whom he could confide ; and in 
his family a fitting home. So (piietl 3 % and 3 'et 
so impressivelv, Moses records the entrance 
upon a long period, extending over forty 3 'ears 
of mature life. Cook. 

21. He g'iive Moses Zipporah his 

daughter. The sacred authors do not relate 
all the particulars of a stor 3 % but such 01113 ' as 
are material. We may therefore suppose that a 
great many things intervened between Moses’ 













580 


CALL AND COMMISSION OF MOSES. 


entrance into Jethro’s family, and his marriage 
to his dangUter ; especially considering that 
his children were so young at his return into 
Egypt after an absence of forty years. Stack- 
house. 

Moses was certainly not yet ripe for the ardu¬ 
ous contests which awaited him ; having been 
brought up in the Court, he was not prepared 
for the great and continual anxieties of which 
the sequel of the history will show him the con¬ 
queror. Therefore God withdrew him that He 
might gradually render him fit and equal to 
undertake so difficult a task. For the experi¬ 
ence of forty years in a laborious and ascetic 
mode of life did not a little avail to prepare him 
for enduring any hardships ; so that the Desert 
ma)'- well be called the school in which he was 
taught, until he was invited to his more diffi¬ 
cult charge. G'llv. -Egypt accomplished him 

for a scholar, a statesman, a soldier, all which 
accomplishments would be afterward of use to 
him ; but yet lacketh he one thing. He that 
was to do all by divine revelation, must know, 
by a long experience, what it was to live a life 
of communion with God ; and in this he would 
be greatly furthered by the solitude and retire¬ 
ment of a shepherd’s life in Midian. By the 
former he was prepared to rule in Jeshurun, 
but by the latter he was prepared to converse 
W'ith God in Mount Horeb, near which mount 
he had spent much of his time. Those that 
know what it is to be alone with God in holy 
exercises, are acquainted with better delights 
than ever Moses tasted in the court of Pharaoh. 
H.-It is in solitude that the heroic soul must 


be matured for its gi'and destinj' ; God’s friends 
are always formed in such a way. It is just in 
the stillness of that same Arabian desert that 
Paul ripens into the Moses ol! the New Cove¬ 
nant, whose it shall be to lead out Christianity 

from the hard bondage of the law. The train- 

» 

ing-time of Moses is a long one, — just as long as 
his life-task. But that which is mo.st excellent, 
both in the natural and moral v\oiid, is alwa 3 ’s 
slowest in attaining full maturity, lit'specijul 
silence, careful choice, complete ohedieu'e, - snch are 
the leading lessons taught by his experience in 
his training-time. Van 0. 

Little did Moses dream that in the very prac¬ 
tice of this art of waiting he was ])reparing for 
a life the reverse of asceticism. "While through 
these forty \"ears “ he endured as seeing him 
who is invisible, he imagined that he was being 
trained for separation from the world ; in truth, 
he was being tr ined for life in the world, not 
the life of the world-worshipper, but the career 
of the world-reformer. Endurance, was to be, 
indeed, the very key-note of his destio}". IIis 
life was to be one long waiting, onl^' not the 
waiting for an invisible but for a visible glory, 
the glory of God in the world. In the wilder¬ 
ness of Midian he was enduring silence, soli¬ 
tude, the sense of spiritual elevation above the 
brotherhood of humanity. But the object which 
God was preparing him to endure was the 
brotherhood of humanity itself ; this, and not 
the study of the invisible, was the yoke which 
was to try his meekness ; it was for this he was 
being exercised in the long practice of waiting. 
Matheson. 


Section 83. 

CALL AND COMMISSION OF MOSES, AT THE BURNING BUSH ON HOREB. 

Exodus 2 : 23-25 ; 3 :1-22 ; 4 :1-17, 

: 23 And it came to pass in the course of those many da,ys, that the king of Egypt died : and 
the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came 

24 up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God re- 

25 membered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God saw' the 
children of Israel, and God took knowledge of them. 

3 : 1 Now Moses wms keeping the flock of Jethro his father in law% the priest of Midian : and 
he led the flock to the back of the wdlderness, and came to the mountain of God, unto 

2 Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst 
of a bush : and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not 

3 consumed. And Moses said, I will turn aside now, and see this great sight, why the bush 








581 


^EUl'IOJy S3.-EX0DUS 2 : 23-25', 


3 : 1-22; 4 : 1-17. 


r to see, God called unto him 

o out ot the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said. Here am I. And he 

said. Draw not nigh hither : put olf thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon 
G thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of 
A raham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face ; for he was 

7 afraid to look upon God. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my 
people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by leason of their taskmasters ; for 

8 I know their sorrows ; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyp¬ 
tians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good laud and a large, unto a land 
flowing with milk and honey ; unto the place of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the 

9 Amoiite, and the Penzzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. And now, behold, the cry 
of the children of Isiael is come unto me : moreover I have seen the oppression where- 

10 with the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto 
Pharaoh, that thou niayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. 

11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should 

12 bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt ? And he said. Certainly I will be with 
thee , and this shall be the token unto thee, that I have sent thee : w'hen thou hast 


13 brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. And Moses 
said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say’’ unto them. 
The God of your fathers hath sent me unto y’ou ; and they’ shall say to me. What is his 

14 name ? wfflat shall I say unto them ? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM : and he 

15 said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto ymu. And 
God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The 
Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of 
Jacob, hath sent me unto y’^ou : this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto 

16 all generations. Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them. The 
Lord, the God of y our fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, hath appeared 
unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that wdiich is done to you in Egypt : 

17 and I have said, I wu'll bring ymu up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the 
Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the 

18 Jebusite, unto a land flowing wdth milk and honey. And they shall hearken to thy voice : 
and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall 
say unto him, The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, hath met with us : and now let us go, 
we pray thee, three days’ journey’^ into the wdlderness, that w’e may sacrifice to the Lord 

19 our God. And I know that the king of Egypt will not give you leave to go, no, not by a 

20 mighty hand. And I will put f.u’th my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which 

21 I will do in the midst thereof : and after that he will let you go. And I wull give this 
people favour in the sight of the Egyptians : and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, 

22 ye shall not go emp»y ; but every woman shall ask of her neighbour, and of her that 
sojourneth in her hou-e, jevvels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment : and ye shall 
put them upon ymur sons, and upon your daughters ; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians. 

4 : 1 And Moses answered and said. But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto 

2 ray voice : for they wall say. The Lord hath not appeared unto thee. And the Lord said 

3 unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said. Cast it on 

the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent ; and Moses fled from 

4 before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail : 

5 (and he put forth his hand, and laid hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand ;) that 
they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God 

6 of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. And the liORD said further¬ 
more unto him. Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his 

7 bosom : and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, as whVe as snow. And 
he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. (And he put his hand into his bosom again ; 
and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.) 

8 And it shall come to pass, if they wall not belieye thee, neither hearken to the yoice of the 

9 first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. And it shall come to pass, 
if they will not believe even these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou 
shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land : and the water which 


582 


CjILL and commission of MOSES. 


10 thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land. And Moses said unto 
the Lord, Oh Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto 

11 thy servant : fori am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the Lord said unto him, 
"Who hath made man’s mouth ? or who maketh a man dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind ? 

12 is it nut I the Lord? Now therefore go. and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee 

13 what thou shalt speak. And he said. Oh Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him 

14 whom thou wilt send. And the anger of the Lord was kindled again.'.! Moses, and he 

said. Is there not Aaron thy brother the Levite ? 1 know that he can speak M'^ell And 

also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee : and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in 

15 his heart. And thou shalt speak unto him, and put the words in his mouth : and I will 

16 be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. And ho 
shall be thy spokesman unto the people : and it shall come to pass, that he shall be to 

17 thee a mouth, and thou shalt be to him as God. And thou shalt take in thine hand this 
rod, wherewith thou shalt do the signs. 


2 : 24, 2*5, The whole history of Israel is 
foreshadowed in these words. The accumula¬ 
tion of so-called anthropomorphic terms in this 
passage is remarkable. God heard, remembered, 
looked upon, and knew them. It evidently indi¬ 
cates the beginning of a crisis marked by a per¬ 
sonal intervention of God. Cook. -OoU 

liearcl. The name of God is here emphatically 
l)retixed to four different expressions of a kind 
intention toward them. Tlieir groaning. 
He took notice of their complaints. The groans 
of the oppressed cry loud in the ears of the 
righteous God, to whom vengeance belongs ; 
especially the groans of God's spiritual Israel. 
Cvod reineinbcrecl his covenant. 
Which he seemed to have forgotten, but of 
which he is ever mindful. Ood looked 
upon the children of Israel. Mof^es 
looked upon them and pitied them (v. 11) ; but 
now God looked upon them and helped them. 
Ood had re.speet unto them. A favor¬ 
able respect unto them as his own. Now w'e 
are to expect something great. Opm Deo dig- 
num—A work worthy of God. His eyes which 
run to and fro through the earth, are now fixed 
upon Israel, to show himself strong, to show 
himself a God in their behalf. H. 

God heard their groaning. He hears all groan- 
ings. He also remembered his covenant with 
their fathers. He not only heard, but saw the 
sons of Israel under the oppressor. He not 
only observed with the outward senses, but 
knew with the inward mind, took knowledge, and 
acknowledged them to be the seed of the 
covenant. Such is the manner in which the 
narrator hiys emphasis on the earnest attention 
with which the Lord regards the affliction of 

his people. M.-The bondage of the Israelites 

was wisely permitted, that they might with less 
reluctance leave a country where they had suf¬ 
fered the greatest oppression and indignities. 
Had they not suffered severely, no inducements 


j could have been sufficient to have prevailed on 
them to leave it. And yet their leaving it was 
of infinite consequence in the order both of 
grace and providence, as it was indispensably 
necessary that they should be a people separated 
from all the rest of the world, that they might 
see the promises of God fulfilled under their 
own eyes, and thus have the fullest persuasion 
that their law was divine, their prophets in¬ 
spired by the Most High, and that the Messiah 
came according to the prophecies before de¬ 
livered concerning him. A. 0. 

C2l. {{: Forty j'ears were spent by Moses in 
the land of Midian. To Moses it was the mid¬ 
dle period of life, ordinarily the period of 
strongest action, of sternest realities. Yet this 
was the period in which he lived in seclusion 
and quiet, preferring the humble duties of pas¬ 
toral life. He married ; he had two sons ; he 
led his flock to the pastures and the waters. 
These few acts form, as far as regards him, the 
history of that period of life which is to other 
men the time of the most vehement action. 

Kit. -A mind so active as that of Moses could 

not want occupation these forty years. It 
would be employed partly in devotional 
thoughts, in communing with that God whose 
works he now beheld; and partly in digesting 
the learning, and the knowledge of the ways and 
workings of mankind acquired in Egypt, and in 
considering how these might be turned to prac¬ 
tical account. Unconsciously to himself, Moses 
would thus be prep iring for the arduous task of 
judging and governing his people, when he 
should have led them out of Egypt. W. G. B. 

The years of the life of Moses are remarkably 
divided into three forties ; the first forty he 
spent as a prince in Pharaoh’s court, the second 
a shepherd in Midian, the third a king in Jesh- 
urun. He had now finished the second forty, 
when he received his commission to bring Israel 
out of Egypt. Sometimes it is long before God 








583 


SECTIOIT 83.—EXODUS 2 

calls his servants out to that work which he de¬ 
signed them for, and has been graciously pre¬ 
paring them for. Moses was born to be Israel’s 
deliverer, and yet not a word is said of it to 
him till he is eighty years of age. H. 

3:1. Of the second forty-year period in the 
life of Moses, little is reported save its fir.^t 
scenes and its last. This verse opens the latter. 
Moses is keeping the flock of his father-in-law, 
the priest of Midian. He has “ led them to the 
back side of the desert”— i.e. to the west side of 
it, for in designating the points of compass the 
Hebrews always turned the face toward the 
east. The east is in front— hf'J’orB ,* and of 
course the west is behind. Horeb and Sinai lay 
on the western margin of the great Arabian des¬ 
ert. H. C.-The jieninsula of Sinai is about 

150 miles in greatest breadth, and in greatest 
length 200. Its more northern part is hilly, 
rather than mountainous ; but toward the 
southern angle the mountains are crowded 
together with bewildering profusion ; and some 
of them rise to the height of 9000 feet. The 

two great characteristics of the region are,_ 

majesty and desolation. W. G. B. 

The iiiouiitaiii of Ood, Horeb. A 
proof that the call of Moses took place on the 
very same spot which was afterward to be the 
scene of the calling of the people, the conclu¬ 
sion of the covenant, and the giving of the law. 
Even now it was holy ground ; so that when 
Israel departed from Egypt to offer sacrifice to 
the Lord in the desert, they had a definite spot 
in view and one which had been already ap¬ 
pointed by God. K. 

The southern end of the peninsula of Sinai 
consists of a confused mass of peaks, some of 
dark green porphyry, but mostly red granite of 
different hues, broken by strips of sand or 
gravel, intersected by wadies or glens, which are 
the beds of winter torrerfts, and dotted here 
and there with green spots, chiefly due to pe¬ 
rennial fountains. The great central group 
among these mountains is that of Iloreh, and 
one special height in it Sinai, the “ mount of 
Ood.” Here amid this awful desolateness the 
most fertile places in “ the wilderness” are 
* found. Even in our days part of this plateau 
is quite green. Fruit-trees grow in rich luxuri¬ 
ance in its valleys, and “the neighborhood is 
the best watered in the whole peninsula, run¬ 
ning streams being found in no less than four 
of the adjacent valleys.” It was thither that 
Moses, probably in the early summer, drove 
Keuel’s flock for pasturage and water. Behind 
him, to the east, lay the desert ; before him 
rose in awful grandeur the mountain of God. 


: 23-25 f 3 : 1-22; 4 : 1-17. 

The stillness of this place is unbroken ; its 
desolateness only relieved by the varietv of 
coloring in the dark green or the red mountain 
peaks, ij, 3, All at once truly a “ strange 
sight jjresented itself. On a solitary crag, or 
i.i some sequestered valley, one of those spiked, 
gnarled, thorny acacia trees, which form so 
conspicuous a feature in the wadies of “ the des¬ 
ert, ’ of which indeed they are “ the only tim¬ 
ber tree of any size,” stood enwrapped in fire, 
and yet “the bush was not consumed.’’ At 
view of this, Moses turned aside “ to see this 
great sight.” A. E. 

<Coil!«iiiiied. The lire which lights up 
but does not consume points, on the one hand, 
to the tribulations which then visited the people 
of Israel ; on the other hand, light and fire are 
constant emblems of the Divine glory. The 
figures combined represent that the affliction is 
sent from God ; that by means of it God will 
reveal himself to his people, but not consume 
them. The emblem of the Scottish Church is a 
burning bush, with the words, “ nec tamen con- 
sumebatur,” “and j’^et was not consumed.” 
Gerl. 

From this time the chosen people of God are 
frequently and variously referred to under the 
figure of a bush or tree. The Fiee is always 
used in the Scriptures as a symbol of divine 
holiness. And this is the case here ; for the 
record expressly says that the presence of God 
was made known in the fire : “the angel (f the 
Lord appeared to him in the flame of fire out of 
the midst of a bush God spake “ out of the 
midst of the bush Moses had to take off his 
shoes, because the place on which he stood wa.s 
rendered holy by this appearance ; he “ hid his 
face, for he was afraid to look upon God." The 
burning brier, therefore, was a symbol of the 
community of God, in which the holiness of 
God had its abode. The brier was in the fire, 
and it was a miracle that it was not consumed. 
And thus was it also a miracle of mercy, that 
the holiness of God could dwell in a sinful com¬ 
munity without consuming it. There was also 
another fact of great importance represented by 
this symbol, viz., that the fire of divine holi¬ 
ness, which burned in Israel without consuming 
it, served also as an outward defence. “ I will 
be unto her a voaH of fire round ahovJ," said the 
Lord by the prophet Zechariah (2 : 4), “ and 
will show my glory in the nvdsi of her.'' Pharaoh 
was soon to find this out. K. 

5, (r. That the angel here spoken of was no 
created being is plain from the whole context, 
and especially from his saying, “ I am the Lord 
God, the Jehovah.” No angel, without bias- 








o84 


CALL AND C0MM188L0N OF :i08E8. 


pliemy, could take these titles ; and since 
neither God the Father nor God the IloJy 
Ghost is called an angel, that is, a messenger ; 
wliereas God the Son is called “ the Angel of 
the Covenant” (Mai. 3 : 1), it seems to follow 
that this was God the Son, who might properly 
be called an Angel because, m the fulness of 
time, he was to be sent into the ■world in our 
ll3sh as a messenger from God. Stackhouse. 

-The ancient teachers of the Church have 

rightly understood that the Eternal Son of God 
is so called in respect to his office as Mediator, 
which he figuratively bore from the beginning, 
although he really took it upon him only at his 
Incarnation. And Paul expounds this mystery 
to us when he plainly asserts that Christ was 
the leader of his people in the Desert (1 Cor. 
10 : 4). Nor had the saints ever any communi¬ 
cation with God except through the promised 
Mediator It is not then to be wondered at if 
the Eternal Word of God, of one Godhead and 
essence with the Father, assumed the name of 
” the Angel” on the ground of his future mis¬ 
sion. Calc. -That the Messiah, the Angel of 

the Covenant, was present with the Church of 
the Fathers, and that his upholding power was 
manifested in miraculous interferences for their 
welfare, was a truth acknowledged no less by 
the Jew than by the Christian. Alf. 

5. Holy ground. The place was holy 
b}'^ reason of God’s special presence and of his 
intention to select it in the future ns the spot 
for prochaiming his holy law. But the soles of 
Moses’ sandals had come into contact with 
much that was polluted, and were too impure 
to tread upon consecrated ground. In thus 
commanding, God speaks not of a holiness 
belonging to the spot which lay in his own 
mind, but accommodates himself to the appre¬ 
hension of the finite mind. To a creature like 
man one spot might be more holy than another, 
because it suggested to his thoughts some 
special manifestation of the divine presence ; 
and Moses, in order to show his sense of this 
holiness or his reverence for God, might with 
reason be called upon to perform a symbolical 
act which was suited to the genius of the age, 
was the natural language of the sentiment, and 
without which the sentiment would be chilled 
or stifled. Woolsey. 

6. Hid Iii'i face. The respect due from 
the feet to the clean place, represented the rev¬ 
erence with which the inward man should ap¬ 
proach the Holy One. As soon as Moses per¬ 
ceived that God was in the fire, he hid his face; 
a sinful man cannot look openly and freely at 
the self-revealing holiness of God, and therefore 


he shuts or hides his ej'es. K.-This was his 

first meeting with God ; further acquaintance 
makes him familiar, and familiarity makes him 
bold . frequence of conversation gives us free¬ 
dom of access to God ; and makes us pour out 
our hearts to him, as fully and as fearlessly as 
to our friends. But now at first he made not 
so much haste to see as to hide his eyes. And 
if Moses cannot abide to look upon God’s glory 
when he descends to us in mercy, how shall 
wicked ones abide to see his fearful presence 
when he sets upon vengeance ! In this fire he 
flamed, and consumed not, but in his revenge 
“ our God is a con.suming fire.” i?p. II. 

The signs of God’s presence do not now force 
themselves upon our eyes ; so that we may, if 
we choose, walk on our own way, without turn¬ 
ing aside to see and observe them. And thus 
we do not see God, and do not, therefore, hide 
our faces for fear of him, but go on, and feel no 
fear, till the time when we cannot help seeing 
him. And it may be, that this time will never 
come till our life, and with it our space of trial, 
is gone forever. Here, then, is our state, that 
God will manifest himself no more to us in such 
a way as that we cannot help seeing him. The 
burning bush will be no more given us as a 
sign ; Christ will no more manifest himself unto 
the world. And yet, unless we do see him, un¬ 
less we learn to fear him while he is yet an un¬ 
consuming fire, unless we know that he is near 
and that the place whereon we stand is holy 
ground, we shall most certainly see him when 
he will be a consuming fire, and when we shall 
join in crying to the mountains to fall on us, 
and to the hills to cover us. 

Every person who thinks at all must be satis¬ 
fied that our great want, the great need of our 
condition, is this one thing - to realize to our¬ 
selves the presence of God. Thoughtfulness, 
in one sense, is inrTeed likely to come with ad¬ 
vancing years : we are more apt,to think at forty 
than at fifteen ; but it by no means follows 
that we are more apt to think about God. In 
this matter we are nearly at a level at all times 
of our life : it is with all of us our one great 
want, to bring the idea of God, with a living 
and abiding power, home to our minds. 
Arnold. 

6. I am tlie God of thy father. In 

this, the first revelation that had been made for 
400 years, God announced himself as the God 
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jac h. All that God had 
effected and promised during the first stage of 
the covenant, was summed up in the name, 
“the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” 
This name was now inscribed on the portal ol 








585 


SECTION 83.—EXODUS 2 

the further historical development of the cove¬ 
nant (in the form of a nation), and it continued 
to be the seal of that covenant, till the Old 
Testament expanded into the New. till the 
covenant with one nation gave place to the 
covenant with all, and the God of Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob became the God and Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ ; until the time ar¬ 
rived in which the new Israel found m Christ 
the author and finisher of faith, and in the 

Spirit of God the fountain of life. K._ 

Those favored men of old were happy in being 
permitted to enjoy such immediate intercourse 
with God ; but happier we who enjoy the full 
revelatiiin of the gospel. Whatever the prom¬ 
ises given to them, we are in possession of 
better. Whatever the covenant made with the 
fathers, a better one has been established with 
us, their spiritual descendants. Whatever the 
encouragement granted to them, we have still 
greater afforded to us in every part of the work 
which we have to do, in every trial and danger 
to which we may be exposed. We do not now- 
draw nigh unto a burning bush or a flaming 
mount, but to a mercy-seat to which we are 
commanded to come with filial boldness to ob¬ 
tain all needed grace. Bush. 

God doth not say, “ I was the God of Abra¬ 
ham, Isaac, Jacob but, “ I am." The patri¬ 
archs still live, after so many thousand years of 
dissolution. No length of time can separate 
the souls of the just from their Maker. Bp. II. 
-For God to be one's God necessarily im¬ 
plies a present relation that God hath to him ; 
and no relation can continue when either of the 
parties ceases and is taken away ; whence it 
clearly follows that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob 
were alive, and did subsist (that is, in their 
spirits) when God spake these words to Moses, 
that is, many ages after the death of their 
bodies. Bp. Bull. -According to the author¬ 

itative interpretation of our Saviour, the doc¬ 
trine not only of a future life, but even of a 
resurrection from the dead, is taught in this 
passage. It must therefore be regarded as con¬ 
taining something more than a mere hint of an¬ 
other life. It is a distinct revelation of it. 

E. C. W.-God calls himself the “ God of 

Abraham ’ and Christ tells us (Luke 20 : 37) 
that in this simple announcement was contained 
the promise that Abraham should rise again 
from the dead. God did not say the God of 
Abraham’s soul, but simply of Abraham. He 
blessed Abraham, and he gave him eternal life ; 
not to his soul only without his body, but to 
Abraham as one man. Newman. 

When Jesus argues from the fact that God 


: 23-25 ; 3 : 1-22; 4 : 1-17. 

calls himself the God of Abraham and Isaac and 
Jacob, that the patriarchs and their true seed 
shall rise again, because God is not a God of 
the dead but of the living (Matt. 22 : 31), we 
may all the more certainly conclude that these 
men during their earthly life were in com¬ 
munion with God, and must have attained to a 
high degree of faith. God would not otherwise 
have taken them into his august title —as it 
were, into liis own name. With this name 
which God gives himself, the Mosaic revelation 
properly begins. And it is thus expressly and 
fundamentally connected with the Patriarchal. 
Even Ewald admits there is a connection be¬ 
tween the religion of these great patriarchs and 
Mosaisra. “ Among all the reminiscences, even 
the oldest, of the Mosaic religion,” he says now, 
“ none stand more sure than this, that the God 
to the worship of whom Moses summoned the 
people is the same God who was once the God 
of the fathers, different from the gods of the 
other nations, but essentially the same that the 
great ancestors of this one people worshipped. ’ 
Auberlen. 

II. Wlio am I? These words indicate 
humility, not fear. Among the grounds which 
he alleges for his hesitation, in no instance is 
there any allusion to personal danger ; what he 
feared was failure owing to incompetency, 
especially in the power of expression. This 
shrinking from self-assertion is the quality 
which seems to be specially intimated by the 
word rendered “ meek” in Numbers 12 : 3. 
Cook. 

Why did God select Moses to be the lawgiver 
and guide of his people during their forty years’ 
pilgrimage ? Why did he confer on one man, 
for nearly half a century, powers almost abso¬ 
lute ? Not because the Levite was slow of 
speech ; not because he was a meek man, any 
further than his meekness was a qualification 
for his work. Moses was learned in all the wis¬ 
dom of the Egyptians, as well as in that prac¬ 
tical experience which he had acquired in his 
long sojourn in the deserts of Arabia. A man 
was demanded for the service, of great powers 
of mind, ready to meet emergencies, whose ac¬ 
knowledged talents would overawe the fractious 
multitude, whose clear intellect, co-operating 
with the Divine teaching, could frame a wise 
system of laws, and also enable him to act as 
the only historian of the world for almost one 
half of its duration thus far. God did not 
alight upon Moses by accident. He selected him 
as probably the only man in the nation compe¬ 
tent to the work. Again, why were the prin¬ 
cipal writers of the Old Testament taken from 









58G 


CALL AND COMMISSION OF MOSES. 


the most intelligent men of their times, some 
of them priests, who were required to be edu¬ 
cated ? Moses, David, Solomon, Isaiali, Ezekiel, 
Daniel, the writer of the book of Job, consid¬ 
ered merely in an intellectual i^oint of view, 
would have been the glory of any age. B B. E. 

13. What is liis name? The meaning 
of this question is evidently : By which name 
shall I tell them the promise is confirmed ? 
Each name of the Deity represented some 
aspect or manifestation of his attributes. El, 
Elohim, or Shaddai would speak of majesty or 
might. What Moses needed M^as not a new 
name, but direction to use that Name which 
would bear in itself a pledge of accomplish¬ 
ment. Cook. 

14, 15. It is clear from the whole interview 
at which Moses received his commission, that 
the difficulties and discouragements which 
pressed most upon his mind were those con¬ 
nected with the sunk and degenerate condition 
of the covenant people themselves, who ap¬ 
peared to have lost heart in regard to the prom¬ 
ise of the covenant, and even to have become 
well-nigh estranged from the God of their 
fathers. His concerij on the latter point led 
him to ask what he should say to them when 
they inquired for the name of the God of their 
fathers, at whose command he was to go to 
them. His question was met with the sublime 
reply, “ I am that I am . thus shalt thou say to 
the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto 
you. And God said moreover unto Moses, 
Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, 
Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of 
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of 
Jacob, hath sent me unto you : this is my name 
forever, and this is my memorial unto all gener¬ 
ations.” P. E. 

I AM THAT I AM. The margin of the Kevised i 
Old Testament reads thus : “Or, I am, because I 
AM ; or, I AM WHO I AM ; or, I wiul be that I 
WILL BE.” What Moses needed to sustain him 
in his great commission and also to encourage 
the people was a deeper and more intimate | 
knowledge of the true name and character of I 
the God of their fathers. What they needed 
was a firm hold on the Divine perfections ; and 
to this the message corresponds. It is grand, 
simple, majestic, worthy of the living God to 
reveal, and to place as the very foundation of 
his written messages of truth and holiness. 
Dirks. 

The word “ I am ” in Hebrew is equivalent in 
meaning to Jehovah, and differs from it very 
slightly in form. This is much obscured by 
our substitution of Lokd for Jehovah. The 


name, which Moses was thus commissioned to 
use, was at once new and old ; old in its con¬ 
nection with previous revelations ; new in its 
full interpretation, and in its beariug upon the 
covenant of which Moses was the destined 
mediator. Cook. 

my name forever. This name is to be 
the enduiiug appellation of God to the Jewish 
people. The Jews do not, and have not for 
ages, pronounced this name, and the very 
vowels with which it is to be enunciated are 
matter of dispute, having been lost and leplaccd 
by others from the word Adonai, Lord, which 
they use instead of this name. Our English 
version, by following that example, has occa¬ 
sioned much confusion and loss of foice in pas¬ 
sages like the present, where it is of importance. 
Observe, that this saying of God to Moses 
stamps for all ages the Unity and Personalitj' of 
God as the centre of belief respecting him. 
A If. 

This name asserts the self-existence, the 
eternit}', and immutability of the Deity. Only 
God can say I Am. His creatures are not, ex¬ 
cept as he gives them life and keeps them liv¬ 
ing. We are what God has made us, what he 
enables us to be. He is that he is, the only 
self-existing, self-upholding Being, God over all 
and in all. I Am expresses also the eternity of 
the Godhead—that was, and is, and is to come. 
Past and future are included in this name ; or, 
rather, there can be no past nor future in re¬ 
spect of God. His years are not spent, as ours 
are, like a tale that is told. In his existence 
there is neither beginning nor end ; nothing 
transitory or successive ; nothing bygone or to 
come. Before his sight all things, past, present, 
and to come, are constantly outspread. God 
“ inhabiteth eternity ’ as he fills all space and 
is everywhere present, so he fills all time, not 
passing through it, but dwelling in every part 
of it. Before all worlds he Is ; now while we 
speak of him he Is ; and hereafter, in that eter¬ 
nity on which we all shall enter, he already Is. 
By this name the immutability of the Godhead 
likewise is declared, ” I Am that I Am.” What 
God is now he has always been, and always will 
be. With him is no variableness, neither 
shadow of turning. Change is a consequence 
of imperfection. God can never be greater or 
less than he is. I Am includes all that God 
can be. It sums up all the attributes of perfect¬ 
ness ; it is the standard from which there can 
be no departure and no change. T 8. MUUrqton. 

The God of the Bible is no sterile abstraction ; 
he is the one God at the present time as in the 
origin of all things, the personal God, living, 






587 


SECTION 88.—EXODUS 2 

acting, and presiding efficiently over the des¬ 
tinies of the world that he has created. The 
God of the Bible has no biography, neither has 
he any personal adventures. Nothing occurs to 
him, and nothing changes in him ; he is alwaj’s 
and invariably the same, a Being real and per¬ 
sonal, absolutely distinct from the finite world 
and from humanity, identical and immutable in 
the bosom of the universal diversity and move¬ 
ment. “ I Am That I Am,” is the sole defi¬ 
nition that he vouchsafes of himself, and the 
constant expression of what he is in all the 
course of the history of the Hebrews, to which 
he is present and over which he presides with¬ 
out ever receiving from it any reflex of infiu- 
ence. Such is the God of the Bible, in evident 
and permanent contrast with aJl the gods of 
polytheism, still more distinct and more solitary 
by his nature than by his Unity. Amid all the 
vicissitudes and errors of the people of the 
Bible, the God of the Bible remains invariably 
the same, without any alteration in the idea 
which the Hebrews conceive of his nature, 
either during their fidelity or disobedience to 
his Commandments. It is always the God who 
has said, “ I Am That I Am,” of whom his peo- 
jile demand no other explanation of himself, 
and who, ever present and sovereign, pursues 
the designs of his providence with men, who 
either use or abuse the liberty of action which 
that God had accorded to them at their creation. 
GaizoK 

“ Jesus said to the Jews, Before Abraham 
was, 1 am.” In these tremendous words the 
sjieaker institutes a double contrast, in respect 
both of the duration and of the mode of his ex¬ 
istence, between himself and the great ancestor 
of Israel. Abraham had come into existence at 
a given point of time. He did not exist until 
his parents gave him birth. But, 1 am. Here 
is simple existence, with no note of beginning 
or end. He claims pre-existence, but not 
merely pre-existence ; he unveils a conscious¬ 
ness of eternal Being. He speaks as one on 
whom time has no effect and for whom it has 
no meaning. He is the I am of ancient Israel ; 
he knows no past as he knows no future ; he is 
unbeginning, unending Being ; he is the eter¬ 
nal “ Now.” This the plain sense of his lan¬ 
guage. H. P. L.-We know not how to resist 

the conclusion that there was a real identity in 
the essential nature of the two speakers, so that 
whatever was meant by Jehovah in saying to 
Moses, “ I Am hath sent me to you,” the same 
was meant by the saying of Jesus, ‘ Before 
Abraham was, I Am ” And thus the Jews would 
appear to have understood it, for they immedi¬ 


: 23-25; 3 : 1-22; 4 : 1-17. 

ately took up stones to cast at him, as being 
guilty of the highest blasphemy in thus appro¬ 
priating to himself the incommunicable name 
of God. 

15. TIii§ is my memorial unto all 
;;^eiieratioiis. The name or character by 
which I will be remembered, celebrated, and 
invoked in all time to come. Accordingl_y, in 
allusion to this declaration, we have Hos. 12 : 5, 
“ Even the Lord (Jehovah) God of Hosts ; the 
Lord (Jehovah) is his mt-morial." Ps. 135, 
“ Thy niime, 0 Lord (Jehovah), endureth for¬ 
ever ; and thy memorial, 0 Lord (Jehovah), unto 
all generations.” The words were evidently 
adapted, as they were intended, to bring the 
chosen people to a devout recognition of God 
as emphatically and pre-eminently the God of 
their race, and to wake up to more lively actings 
that faith which had become dormant under 
the pressure of long-continued affliction. Their 
protracted bondage, though it had not utteily 
extinguished the light of the great truth re¬ 
specting the divine Being and his perfections, 
yet had no doubt very mm h obscured it. They 
had lost the practical sense of their covenant 
relation to Jehovah. Bush. 

The vision of Horeb was the birth-hour of the 
Jewish nation. Out 5f the lurid flame there 
flashed before the eyes of the future lawgiver 
the spectacle of a kingdom of God on earth. 
That spectacle was Judea’s pillar of fire. 
Through the long night of her national history 
it led her people on. It conducted them over 
the desert and through the waters of Jordan. 
It lighted them to the possession of the throne 
of David. It pointed them to the hope of a 
higher throne than David's,—the Messianic em¬ 
pire of the world. It was the light that illu¬ 
mined all hearts ; it was the vision of the king, 
of the priest, and of the prophet ; bequeathed 
from spiritual sire to son until it found at once 
its culmination and its new beginning in the 
visible embodiment of him who was the p^rophet 
like unto Moses. Judea has passed away, but 
the vision has not faded : we still look for tho 
church in the world. G. Matheson. 

1§. Three days’journey. A journey 
which would occupy three days in going and re¬ 
turning. The request which the Israelites were 
instructed to make was therefore most probably 
not a permission to go beyond the frontier, but 
into the part of the desert adjoining Goshen. 
In this there was no deception. The Israel’tes 
were to ask what could not reasonably be re¬ 
fused, being a demand quite in accordance with 

Egyptian customs. Cook. -The Israelites 

were not lawfully his bondmen, and owed him 








588 


CALL AND COMMISSION OF MOSES. 


no service whicli was incompatible with this 
demand. By refusing this trilling petition, and 
thereby intimating that he designed to perpetu¬ 
ate their servitude among a heathen people, he 
justly fell under the Divine judgment. God 
designed from the first to lead out the people of 
Isniel, but he would not put any force on 
Pharaoh’s will. His unrighteous tyranny in re¬ 
fusing a just demand must first be brought to 
light, ere God would show in him his might. 

Qerl. -The presentation of the demand in this 

mild form, so far from being a piece of cunning 
policy, was in reality a merciful probation given 
by God to Pharaoh ; and if he had possessed 
the wisdom to improve it by granting the favor 
asked, no plagues had been sent to waste his 
land, but the richest blessings which the Lord 
could bestow would have descended on him and 
on his people. W. M. T. 

21, 22, The Israelites are not to go out 
empty-handed. The sojourn of Joseph in 
Egypt as a bond-slave had been the means of 
preserving the inhabitants of that country from 
extermination by a seven years’ famine The 
residence of his kindred in Goshen had always 
been a benefit and not a burden to Egypt. And 
for the last two or three generations the Israel¬ 
ites had been bond-slaves, toiling for the pros- 
l^erity and aggrandisement of the nation. They 
had, therefore, an undoubted right to ask, and 
the Egyptians were eventually glad to give them 
some aid for their journey. Shall a^k, as a gift, 
if not a compensation for long unrequited ser¬ 
vices. M.--The Hebrew word, which our 

translators have rendered harrow, does not sig¬ 
nify to borrow, but to ask one io give. It is the 
very word used in Ps. 2 : 8, “ ask of me, and I 
shall give thee the heathen.” When they were 
leaving Egypt, the Children of Israel asked the 
Egyptians for “jewels of silver, and jewels of 
gold, and raiment and the Lord gave the 
people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so 
that they gave them what they asked for freely. 
Shuckford. 

The abundant use of personal ornaments by 
the Egyptians, and especially of ornaments in 
silver and gold, implied in the direction given 
to the Israelites to “ ask” such things of their 
neighbors and lodgers before their departure 
from Egypt, and in the “spoil” which they 
thus acquired (ch. 12 : 3G), is among the facts 
most copiously attested bj’^ the extant remains. 
Ornaments in gold and silver have been found 
in the tombs, not only of the great and opulent, 
but even of comparatively poor persons ; they 
were frequently worn by the men, and probably 
few women were without them. Among the 


articles obtained from the tombs are “ rings, 
bracelets, armlets, necklaces, ear-rings, and 
numerous trinkets belonging to the toilet.” 
Most of these articles were common to the two 
sexes ; but earrings were affected esjiecially, if 

not exclusively, by the women. G. R.-No 

traveller up the Nile will have failed to see in 
the tombs of the twelfth dynasty at Beni Hassan 
—where the fluted Doric columns antedate by 
one or two thousand years those of Greece—the 
picture of the whole process of washing the ore, 
fusing the metal with the help of the blow-pipe, 
making it into ornament^, weighing it in scales 
peculiar to this use, together with the various 
operations of the goldsmith. But this, though 
older far than the Exodus, is not the earliest 
indication. “ The same mode of washing and 
working it is figured on monuments of the 
fourth dypasty.” Any one who has seen but a 
part of the Egyptian jewelry that is scattered 
in the museums of the world, and especially the 
superb collection in the Boulak Museum, largely 
from the tomb of queen Ah-hotep, the mother 
of Aahmes, will need no commendation of the 
Egyptian jeweller’s skill, even to the art of imi¬ 
tating the emerald, amethyst and lapis-lazuli in 
glass. S. C. B. 

Cliap. 4. Moses relates in this chapter how 
hesitatingly he obeyed God, not from stubborn¬ 
ness but from timidity, for he does not shake 
off the yoke, but shrinks away that it may not 
be placed upon him. We must carefully distin¬ 
guish between the .timiditv which delays our 
progress and the bold refusal which is allied to 
contempt. Moses seems, indeed, to murmur 
and to enter into altercation with God ; but he 
knew that his countrymen were depraved and 
almost intractable ; disburdening himself of 
this anxiety into the bosom of God, he desires 

to be confirmed by a fresh promise. Calv. - 

Moses knew that One was sending him who had 
a right to send him and w'hom he ought to 
obej'. He felt in himself an utter incapacity 
for the work which was laid upon him ; he had 
a desire to shrink from it, and to bury himself 
in the earth, rather than undertake, it. And 
with this cowardice he had the courage to speak 
it out ; he believed that the Being who was 
holding converse with him desired truth in his 
inward parts, and would bear no prevarication. 
He could tell all that was in him, because he 
was sure that there was One near who under¬ 
stood him, and could set him right ; of all as¬ 
surances the most helpful to a man who craves 
to be right himself ; the most indispensable to 
one who has a great task to fulfil for hia 
brethren. Maurice. 











589 


SECTION S3.—EXODUS 2 : 

With this chapter begins the series of miracles 
which resulted in the deliverance of Israel. It 
is clear that unless a spiritual miracle tran¬ 
scending outward marvels had been wrought in 
the hearts both of the Israelites and of their op- 
pressois, some special manifestations of divine 
power were indispensable. The first miracle 
was wrought to remove the first obstacle, viz. 
the reluctance of Moses, conscious of his own 
W'eakness, and of the enormous power with 
which he would have to contend. Cook. 

1-9. God had said (ch. 3 : 18), They shall 
hearken to thy voice. It God says, They will, does 
it become Moses to say. They will not? Surely, 
he means, “ Perhaps, they will not at first,” or 
“ Some of them will not.” If there should be 
some gainsayers among them who would ques. 
tion his couimi>sion, how should he deal with 
them ? And wbat course should ho take to con¬ 
vince them ? He remembered how they had 
once rejected him, and feared it would be so 

again. H.-The future is made known to him 

in its details, that he may be even now prepared 
for the first disappointment. And three signs 
are given him, just like credential letters, so 
that every doubt, even the most obstinate, may 
finally give way. Here are the first recorded 
miracles of sacred history ; and these first mir- 
acles were medicines applied to the dejected 
soul of the great prophet of the Old Economy. 
False confidence in his own strength has been 
destroyed in Moses’ heart ; but now the real 
confidence of faith has yet to be stirred up and 
strengthened, and to this great work the Lord 
here turns, employing types and sacred symbols 

to express his promises. Van 0. -The gift of 

miracles was communicated with especial refer¬ 
ence to Moses himself. His doubts and in¬ 
credulity were to be overcome by the conscious¬ 
ness that he was the possessor of such powers ; 
and the miracles themselves were of such a 
nature as to furnish a tj^pe and guarantee of | 
the jirogress and success of his mission. K. 

Tliese miracles were intended to be like a 
voice” from heaven, bearing direct testimony to 
the truth of Moses’ commission. But while 
this was the general purpose of the three signs 
now disjilaj’ed—first to Mcses himself—each 
Lad also its special reference : the first to 
Pharaoh, the second to Israel, and the third to j 
the might of Egypt. In the first sign Mo«es was I 
bidden to look at the rod in his hand. It was 
but an ordinary shepherd's staff. At God’s 
command he was to cast it on the ground, when 
presently it was changed into a serpent, from 
which Moses fled in terror. Again God com¬ 
mands, and as Moses seized the serpent by the 


23-25 ; 3 : 1-22; 4 : 1-17. 

tail, it once more “ became a rod in his hand.” 
The meaning of this was plain. The shep¬ 
herd s staff should be the wonder-working “ rod 
of God,” and the humble shepherd, who would 
have fled from Pharaoh, should, through Divine 
strength, overcome all the might of Eg 3 'pt. 
The second sign shown to Moses bore direct 
leference to Israel. The hand which Moses was 
directed to put in his bosom became covered 
with leprosy ; but the same hand, when a 
second time he thrust it in, was restored whole. 
This miraculous power of inflicting and remov¬ 
ing a plague, universally admitted to come from 
God, showed that Moses could inflict and re¬ 
move the severest judgments of God. The third 
sign given to Moses, in which the water from 
the Nile when poured upon the ground was to 
become blood, bore special reference to the land 
of The Nile, on which its whole fruit¬ 

fulness depended, and which the Egyptians 
worshipped as divine, was to be changed into 
blood. Egypt and its gods were to be brought 
low before the absolute power which God would 
manifest. A. E. 

§. The voice of the first sig^ii. By a 

beautiful figure these signs are described as 
having a voice, because they speak to the peo¬ 
ple of the presence and power of God with his 
messenger. M. 

10. Formerly he had burned with eager de¬ 
sire to appear as the deliverer of his people, and 
had offered to effect it of his own accord ; but 
now he sought in every way to excuse himself 
from the divine command, by which he was 
called and equipjoed for the task. The dis¬ 
cipline of his desert-school had taught him 
liumilitjq and had made him conscious of his 
utter weakness. But he still wanted that true 
and proper confidence in the power and wisdom 
of God, by which the weak can be made strong. 
Not that he had any doubt as to the power of 
God ; but he doubted his own fitness to serve as 
the organ of this power, although God himself 
had called him. With inexhaustible patience 
God follows the windings of his false humilih’’, 
meeting his difficulties with promises and as¬ 
surances of strength, and his refusals with 
mildness, but w'ith firmness also. 

II-B3. Jehovah has an answer to every 
doubt, a promise for every fear, an inexhausti¬ 
ble supplj' for everj’ want, and divine strength 
for every human weakness, which he lays in the 
scale. We look with heartfelt joy at the man¬ 
ner in which one fear after another is taken 
away from the trembling Moses. And when at 
length his fears are all exhausted, and he has 
no more excuses left, wo expect to find him 









590 


GALL AND COMMISSION OF MOSES. 


3 'ield, and to hear at length his “ yea and 
Amen.” But no, hitherto his refusal has been 
conditional, but now it is unconditional. All 
that God has spoken, and promised, and done, 
appears to be thrown away, and to have been 
utterly in vain. K. —“ 0 Lord, send, I pray 
thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt 
send.” But he was the man appointed for that 
task ; for this he had been born ; for this pre¬ 
served ; for this trained ; and there was no 
escape for him. God knew his fitness better 
than Moses knew himself, and the command 
became imperative upon him. Kd. 

14. Tlic iiiig^cr of the Lord was 
Kindled. But this anger was still attended 
by the love which assists the weak. Moses was 
told that Aaron, his brother, should be sent by 
Jehovah to meet him, and should stand by his 
side to assist him in his arduous task. The 
eloquence of Aaron would thus hide his brother’s 
want of the gift of speech, and suppl}'^ the de¬ 
ficiency. “ He shall be thy mouth, and thou 
shalt be his God ” We may see how necessary’’ 
^it was that all the weakness and faint-hearted- 
nes.s, the incredulity and unbelief which Moses 
displayed, should be brought out and overcome 
before he entered upon his mission, when we 
consider how serious and dangerous the slight¬ 
est manifestation o£ it at a later period would 
have been, whether in the presence of Pharaoh 
or of the people. Then the rejiroach of Moses 
would have been the reproach of God, and his 
fall would have ruined his work. It was neces¬ 
sary that he should stand before God weak and 
fainthearted, despairing and of little faith, in 
order that he might be strengthened by God to 
stand firm before Pharaoh and the people, as a 
divine hero possessed of undaunted courage 

and unshaken confidence. K.-It is clear 

that distrust was at the bottom of the extreme 
reluctance shown by Moses to accept of the 
commission to rescue the Israelites ; for after¬ 
ward, when he found himself supported and 
backed by that Being under whom he acted, his 
proceedings were prompt, and his courage and 
zeal never failed. Forsylh. 

He c<iiiictfii f.»rf|j to meet tlice. 
Among the most confirming signs given by God 
to Moses, we must reckon the interview with his 
brother Aaron ; which, being predicted by God 
and diredly happening, was very convincing to 
Moses. Aaron would not have taken a long 
3 ourney from Egypt to Mount Sinai unless he 
had been well assured of the authority which 
sent him. Neither could he have expected to 
find Moses where he did find him, unless by 
Divine direction ; since the place, afterward 


called “ the Mount of God,” was then unfre¬ 
quented. Inasmuch as Aaron w'as a sign to 
Moses by meeting him there, so Moses w^as a 
sign to Aaron. Aaron joined Moses after the 
affair of Zipporah ; no doubt, he related to 
Moses the events in Egypt and the death of the 
former Pharaoh. Cabnet. 

1(1. And lie §liall l>c tliy !spoke§niaii. 
God destroj^s the pretext for his exemption by 
assigning to his brother the office of spokesman, 
and yet does he not put the other in his place ; 
nay, while he yields to his servant’s prayer, he 
yet confers honor upon him in spite of himself. 
The offices are thus divided—Moses is to have 
the authority, Aaron is to be the interpreter. 
Calv. -According to the foregoing appoint¬ 

ment, when the people and ciders of Israel were 
assembled, it was Aaron ” w’ho spake all the 
words which the Lord had spoken unto Moses, 
and did all the signs in the sight of the people” 
(ver. 30). And in every subsequent conference 
with Pharaoh and the whole deliverance from 
Egypt, Aaron is the inseparable companion of 
Moses, and alw^ays acts the same subordinate but 
necessary and important part. Graves. 


Inspiration apart, Moses possessed all those 
endowments and qualities which form the con¬ 
summate statesman and chief magistrate an 
intellect of the highest order : a perfect master 
of all the civil wisdom of the age : a penetrat¬ 
ing, comi^rehensive, and sagacious judgment : 
great promptness and energy in action : patriot¬ 
ism, which neither ingratitude, ill-treatment, 
nor rebellion could quench, or even cool : a 
commanding and persuasive eloquence : a 
hearty love of truth : an incorruptible virtue : 
an entire freedom from selfish ambition : an in¬ 
vincible hatred of tyranny and injustice : a 
patient endurance of toil : a courageous con¬ 
tempt of danger : and a greatness of soul, in 
which he has never been surpassed by the most 
admired heroes of ancient or modern times. 
E. C. W 

If God called any one man to special work, 
w’^e are entitled to reason that God has a special 
W'ork for every man to do. It is impossible 
that God has called us into existence without 
having some purpose for us to w^ork at within 
the limit of time. To be here at all is to be in 
possession of a destiny. It is an awTul power 
w’ith which we are endow'ed, that we can shut 
our eyes to destiny beckoning us to dutj^ and 
can so pervert and misinterpret circumstances 
as to press them into a justification of self-w'ill 
and apostasy. To know that my life may be 
called to a unique vocation excites me with very 








591 


SECTION 84~EX0DU8 4 

anxious emotion. What if I have mistaken the 
Divine will ? What if I am pursuing the wrong 
road ? What if I have been judging by appear"^ 
ances and neglecting the teaching of reality? 
Has self-interest determined my action ? Has 
self-indulgence wrought its unholy spell upon 
my energies and affections ? Have I been ear¬ 
nestly listening to hear the voice which teaches 
the way of duty and the path of sacrifice? 
Spirit of the Living God, reveal my destiny to 
me, though it mean pain or loss, continual 
discipline of fear, or the blessed experience of 
j^y. If I may but know thy purpose, 
such knowledge shall itself be inspiration and 
defence. 

Moses fell back upon his own unworthiness. 
He forgot the promise, “ Certainly I will be with 
thee.” The moment we get away from Divine 
promise and forget great principles, we degrade 
all service. Self-consciousness is the ruin of all 
vocations. Let a man look into himself and 
measure his work by himself, and the move¬ 
ment of his life will be downward and exhaus¬ 
tive. Let him look away from himself to the 


.* lS-31 ; 5 : 1-23; 6 : 1. 

Inspirer of his life and the Divine reward of his 
labors, and he will not so much as see the diffi¬ 
culties which may stand ever so thickly in the 
way. J. P. 

Would that there were no Christians who, 
like Moses, we might almost say, delight in 
heaping up objections, and in answering that 
grand, irrevocable “Yea” of Gods word with 
an everlasting “But!” This was forgiven 
Moses , he M'as, moreover, wholly cured of it. 
The Lord will bear with this in you too, ye who 
are upright in heart. God gives complete solu¬ 
tion of the trifling difficulties and objections 
which we raise ; but after that, we must ad¬ 
vance at his appointed time. Then, in God’s 
name, advance I from faith to stronger faith, 
and straightway, too, from light to greater light, 
from strength to strength, from victory to vic- 
^o^^y> still on I Even in the darkest night, 
only let that name shine on you as if it were in¬ 
scribed with stars, the name which God gives 
himself, I Am. He lives, and he abides ; then, 
whether it be here on earth or up in heaven, we 
must all live by him, for him, with him ! Van 0. 


Section 84. 

MOSES EETURNS, WITH AAEON, TO EGYPT. GOD’S MESSAGE TO PHARAOH. 

RESULTS TO ISRAEL. 

Exodus 4 : 18-31 ; 5 : 1-23 ; G : 1. 

18 And Mosee went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him. Let me go, 
I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet 

19 alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace. And the Loed said unto Moses in Midian, 

20 Go, return into Egypt : for all the men are dead which sought thy life. And Moses took 
his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt : and 

21 Moses took the rod of God in his hand. And the Loed said unto Moses, When thou goest 
back into Egypt, see that thou do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in thine 

22 hand : but I will harden his heart, and he will not let the people go.. And thou shalt say 

23 unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Loed, Israel is my son, my firstborn : and I have said unto 
thee. Let my son go, that he may serve me ; and thou hast refused to let him go : behold, I 

24 will slay thy son, thy firstborn. And it came to pass on the way at the lodging place, that 

25 the Loed met him, and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the fore¬ 
skin of her son, and cast it at his feet ; and she sairl, Surely a bridegroom of blood art 

26 thou to me. So he let him alone. Then she said, A bridegroom of blood art thou, because 
of the circumcision. 

27 And the Loed said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and 

28 met him in the mountain of God, and kissed him. And Moses told Aaron all the words of 
the Loed wherewith he had sent him, and all the signs wherewith he had charged him. 

29 And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel : 

30 and Aaron spake all the words which the Lord had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs 







592 


MOSES RETURNS, WELTI AARON, TO EGYPT. 


31 in the sight of the people. And the people believed : and when they heard that the Loed 
had visited the children of Israel, and that he had seen their affliction, then they bowed 
their heads and worshipped. 

5 : 1 And afterward Moses and Aaron came, and said nnto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, the 

God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast nnto me in the wilderness. 

2 And Piiaraoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should hearken unto his voice to let Israel go? 

3 I know not the Lord, and moreover I will not let Israel go. And they said, The God of the 
Hebrews hath met with us : let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the wilder¬ 
ness, and sacrifice unto the Lord our God ; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the 

4 sword. And the king of Egypt said unto them. Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, loose 

5 the people from their works ? get you unto your burdens. And Phai'aoh said. Behold, the 

6 people of the land are now many, and ye make them rest from their burdens. And the 

7 same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people, and their offlcers, saving, Yo 
shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore : let them go and gather 

8 straw for themselves. And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall 
lay upon them ; ye shall not diminish aught thereof : for they be idle ; therefore they cry, 

9 saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. Let heavier work be laid upon the men, that 

10 they may labour therein ; and let them not regard lying words. And the taskmasters of the 
people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying. Thus saith Pha- 

11 raoh, I Nvill not give you straw. Go yourselves, get you straw where ye can find it : for 

12 nought of your work shall be diminished. So the people were scattered abroad throughout 

13 all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. And the taskmasters were urgent, saying, 

14 Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw. And the officers of the chil¬ 
dren of Israel, which Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded. 
Wherefore have yo not fulfilled your task both yesterday and to-day, in making brick as 

15 heretofore ? Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, say- 

16 ing, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants ? There is no straw given unto thy ser¬ 
vants, and they say to us. Make brick : and, behold, thy servants are beaten ; but the fault 

17 is in thine own people. But he said. Ye are idle, j’e are idle : therefore ye sa}’. Let us go 

18 and sacrifice to the Lord. Go therefore now, and work ; for there shall no straw be given 

19 you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks. And the officers of the children of Israel did see 
that they were in evil case, when it was said, Ye shall not minish aught from your bricks, 

20 your daily tasks. And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth 

21 from Pharaoh : and they said unto them. The Lord look upon you, and judge ; because 
ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the ej'^es of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his ser- 

22 vants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us. And Moses returned unto the Lord, and 
said. Lord, wherefore hast thou evil entreated this people ? why is it that thou hast sent 

23 me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath evil entreated this people ; 

6 : 1 neither hast thou delivered thy people at all. And the Lord said unto Moses, Now shalt 

thou see what I will do to Pharaoh : for by a strong hand shall he let them go, and by a 
strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. 


20. It pleased God, who could have wrought 
his wonders without any visible signs, that 
Moses should use the rod in external demon¬ 
stration of the divine power ; yet the Lord 
uses such means as have no power of them¬ 
selves, or likelihood to effect that which is 
W'rought, that the work should not be ascribed 
to the means. Willel. 

21, I will harden lii§ heart. The 

hardening of Pharaoh’s heart is in this narra¬ 
tive ten times ascribed to the Lord. But it is 
also twice ascribed to Pharaoh himself. In 
seven other passages it is stated simply as a 
fact, without assigning any cause. It is evi¬ 
dent of itself that this fact is ascribed to God 


and to Pharaoh in different respects ; so that 
the two assertions are consistent with each other. 
It is equally plain that the act in question be¬ 
longs to Pharaoh, as the moral agent by wdiose 
intention it was performed. It belongs to God 
as tlie Designer, Creator, and Sujjreme Gov¬ 
ernor of the existing universe, of which free 
agents and their voluntary actings form a part. 

M.-Calamities wffiich do not subdue Ihe heart 

harden it ; and the effects of God's judgments 
being foreknown are wdlled by him. We should 
not therefore adopt a forced interpretation of 
this expression in order to explain away its ap¬ 
parent harshness. The hardening itself is 
judicial, and just, when it is a consequence of 





593 


SECTION 84.-EXODUS 4 : 18-31; 5 : 1-23; 6 : 1. 


planation cf the passage is that Moses had 


previously formed habits ; in the case of Pha¬ 
raoh it was at once a righteous judgment, and a 
natural result of a long series of oppressions 
and cruelties. Theodoret thus deals with the 
question: “The sun by the action of heat 
makes wax moist, and mud dry, hardening the 
one while it softens the other, by the same 
operation producing exactly opposite results ; 
thus from the long-suffering of God some derive 
benefit and others harm, some are softened 
while others are hardened. * The reason w'by 
the action of God rather than the character of 
Pharaoh is dw^elt on in this passage would seem 
to be that it w^as necessary to sustain the spirit 
of Moses and the people during the process of 
events, which they were thus taught were al¬ 
together foreseen and predetermined by God. 
Cook. [See Section 85.] 

22. God had promised him (v. 12), 1 will 
(each Ihee what thou shall say ; and here he does 
teach him. He must deliver his message in the 
name of the great Jehovah, Thus sailh the Lord; 
this is the first time that preface is used by anv 
man, which afterward is used so frequently by 
all the prophets : w^hether Pharaoh will hear 
or whether he wdll forbear, Moses must tell 
him, Thus sailh the Lord. H. 

My §oii, Illy firs I born. By calling Is¬ 
rael His .sou, God claims liberty for him. By 
calling him His firstborn. He prefers him to the 
other nations ; as though He had said that he 
was raised to the primogeniture and was su¬ 
perior to all the w’orld. Calv. -Only those 

who are begotten according to the counsel of 
salvation can be called sons of Jehovah. Israel 
was not called a son of Jehovah merelj’’, but the 
firstborn son, M^ho would be foliow'ed by other 
sons, begotten in the same manner. The elec¬ 
tion of Abraham, with all the consequent lead¬ 
ings and promises, the blessings and chastise¬ 
ments, had made Israel a son. K. 

2 1-26. This surprising occurrence must be 
accounted for by remembering that Moses was 
an Israelite, bound to God by the covenant of 
circumcision, and that he was bringing his 
family to Egypt uncircumcised, having appar¬ 
ently conceded this point to the national habits 
of his wife. God had attached to the neglect of 
circumcision the penalty of death (Gen. 17 :14). 
How God met with him we are left to surmise : 
possibly in a dangerous stroke of illness or sud¬ 
den incapacity, as would appear from his in¬ 
ability to circumcise his own child. This took 
place not in the inn (A. V.), for there were not 
and are not in the East any buildings corre¬ 
sponding to our inns, but at the resting-place 

for the night. Af. -The most obvious ex¬ 

38 


omitted the circumcision of his son -his eldest 
son, it seems—probably because Zipporah, the 
mother, objected to the dangerous operation. 
For this he is punished ; for, as Knobtl well 
observes, “ he who is to bring Pharaoh to do 
his duty to God’s firstborn must fulfil his own 
duty to the firstborn son who is under him, but 
belongs to God.” To save her husband, Zip¬ 
porah performs the circumcision, but tells him 
that she is united (o him in a marriage the chil¬ 
dren of which must be bought with blood. O. 

Omissions are sins, and must come into 
judgment, and particularly the contempt and 
neglect of the seals of the covenant ; for it is a 
sign that we undervalue the promises of the 
covenant. God takes notice of, and is much 
displeased with, the sins of his own people ; if 
they neglect their duty, let them expect to hear 
of it by their consciences, and perhaps to feel 
from it by cross providences. H. 

After this transaction and the developments 
attending i,t, we must suppose that Moses (pru¬ 
dently) sent back his wife and the two children 
to remain with her father until the redeemed 
Israelites should reach the home of Jethro. 
We hear no more of her and her children till 
the narrative in Ex. 18 brings them to view 
thus : “ When Jethro had heard all that the 
Lord had done for Moses and Israel, he took 
Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sen>. her hack, 
and her two sons and brought them to Moses.” 
H. C. 

27. The I^ord said to Aaron. By 

some secret movement on Aaron’s mind or by 
some voice, he was now directed to go and meet 
his brother Moses, and so correctly was the in¬ 
formation given to both that they arrived at the 

same time' on the sacred mountain. A. C- 

Aaron, although the elder, not only paid honor 
to his brother, whom he knew to be a Prophet 
of the Lord ; but willingly submitted himself to 
him as to an angel. The kiss is mentioned as 
a sign of recognition, by which he testified the 

firmness of his faith. Calv. -28. Moses w'as 

met by Aaron, as God had foretold, on the very 
spot where he had received the revelation, 
which he rehearsed to his brother, with its at¬ 
tendant miracles, in the mount of God. P. S. 

-29. Elders of Israel. Their existence 

and office seems to infer an organization in 
Israel, which must have arisen in Egypt before 
the days of their oppression began. Af. 

5:1. The Pharaoh under whom the Exodus 
actually took place could not have been Bameses 
II. himself, but his son and successor, Meneptah 
II. His reign lasted but a short time, and it 










594 


FIRST MESSAGE TO PIIAIIAOIL RESULTS. 


was disturbed not only by the flight of the 
Children of Israel, but also by a great invasion 
of Northern Egypt by the Libyans, which was 
with difficulty repulsed. This took place in his 
fifth year. Sayce. 

Came unto PIuiraoBi. The kings of 
Egypt probably held that sort of open court or 
divan, usual in oriental monarchies, in which 
anj' one may appear who would claim justice or 
petition for favor. Moses and Aaron stand be¬ 
fore this throne, and solicit the temporary re¬ 
lease of all their people, that they may offer 
sacrifice to their God. Milman. 

2. Wlio is tlie Lord. Bather, “ Who is 
Jehovah? I know not Jehovah.” This title 
should here be rendered verbatim, “ Jehovah,” 
rather than “Lord,” since it is mentioned as 
the pecAiliar name of the God of Israel ; whereas 
the title “ Lord” was common to the heathen 
deities, many of them being called ” Baalim,’’ 
“ Lords” This makes Pharaoh’s answer 
more emphatic, “Who is Jehovah?”—a name 
of which he had never before heard. From the 
despised character of the people of Israel, he 
formed his estimate of the God whom they pro¬ 
fessed to serve. Their God was no more en¬ 
titled to reverence as a deity than they were to 

respect as a people. Bush. -Egypt was then 

the most powerful nation of the world. Ex- 
])Osed on either side to the invasion of nomadic 
hordes, it had of necessity its standing army, 
and its kings, in consequence, were haughty and 
boastful. No other nation at that era could 
have produced the Pharaoh of Moses’ age. And 
in this Pharaoh was represented—nay, as it 
were, concentrated - the spirit of the people. 
S. K. 

He says he does not know Jehovah ; he does 
not recognize his authority or admit his claims. 
His soul is full of practical unbelief in God—a 
fact which commonly lies at the bottom of all 
the hardening of sinners’ hearts in every age. 
Pharaoh did not at first contemplate crossing 
swords and measuring strong arms with Ihe Al¬ 
mighty God. If he had taken this view of the 
case, he might have paused awhile to consider. 
So it usually is with sinners. Unbelief in God 
conduces to launch them upon this terrible con¬ 
flict. Once committed, they become more hard¬ 
ened ; one sin leads on to more sinning till sin 
becomes incurable—shall we say it? —an uncon¬ 
trollable madness. H. C. 

Jl. Lii‘St lie fall upon us. Lest he send 
a plague upon us for our neglect of him. They 
neither wrought any miracle nor threatened 
any punishment upon Pharaoh on their first 
application to him, but told him the danger to 


which they were themselves exposed, if they 

did not obey their God. Patrick. -All that 

Moses was instructed to ask for was permission 
to go into a part of the desert where the people 
might offer sacrifices without interruption from 
the Egyptians. It is evident from Pharaoh’s 
answer that he did not see in the request any 
indication of an intention to escaire from Egypt. 
Cook. -The request lor a three days’ pilgrim¬ 

age into the wilderness to sacrifice unto God 
was all the more reasonable, that Israel’s sacri¬ 
fices would have been “ an abomination” to the 
Eg 3 ^ptians, and might have led to disturbances. 
It w'as infinite condescension to Pharaoh’s 
weakness, on the part of God, not to insist from 
the first ujDon the immediate and entire dis¬ 
missal of Israel. Less cotdd not have been asked 
than was demanded of Pharaoh, nor could obe¬ 
dience have been made more easy. Only the 
most tyrannical determination to crush the 
rights and convictions of the people, and the 
most daring defiance of Jehovah, could have 
prompted him to refuse such a request, and 
that in face of all the signs and wonders by 
which the mission of Moses was accredited. 
Thus at the first his submission was to be tried 
where it was easiest to render it. A. E. 

4-519, Instead of completing at one blow 
what he had promised his people and threat¬ 
ened Pharaoh, the Lord commences with this 
refusal of the king a series of trials for Israel 
and chastisements for Pharaoh. He irurposes 
neither to subdue the king by the mere exercise 
of power, nor to assist the people without the 
trial of their faith. The immediate consequence 
of the first appeal to Pharaoh is that their con¬ 
dition becomes worse, and their belief in the 
word of promise is contradicted by the present 
appearance of affairs. Gtrl. 

4 , 5 . Pharaoh takes no notice of wffiat Moses 
and Aaron had said to him respecting the liber¬ 
ation of the people, but treats them merely as 
the disturbers of the jieace of his kingdom. 
(>. The 1 siskin asters smd their afli- 
cers. These “ taskmasters,” lit. “ exactors,” 
constituting the highest grade of officers, w'ere 
Egyptians appointed to exact labor of the Israel¬ 
ites. But those termed “ officers” appear (vs. 
14-16) to have been Israelites set over their 
brethren, under the taskmasters. Bush. 

One of the most interesting tombs at Thebes 
is that of Rochscere, “ the overseer of public 
buildings,” under Thotmes III. On the walls 
of this tomb the monarch is seen presenting 
obelisks to the divinity, and these obelisks are 
found at this day in the temple of Karnac. 
Here, too, is depicted the whole process of brick- 







SECTION S4.-EXODUS 4 : 18-31; 5 : 1-23; 6:1. 


50o 


making the slaves of the king shaping the mud 
of the Nile into crude brick, just as the fellahs 
are seen doing at this da 3 \ Taskmasters with 
whips are stationed at intervals among the 
workmen, a pictorial representation of the scenes 
tJiat daily occurred among the Israelites in their 
cruel bondage. In this picture some of the 
laborers are employed in transporting the clay 
in vessels ; some in working it up with the 
straw ; others are taking the bricks but of the 
moulds and setting them in rows to dry ; while 
others, by means of a yoke upon their shoul¬ 
ders, from which ropes are suspended at each 
end, are seen carrying away the bricks already 
dried. 

I'1-17. The result was, that the taskmasters, 
who were responsible to the government for the 
production of the bricks, reprimanded and even 
beat the Hebrew overseers (officers), who were 
accountable to them. The beating is character¬ 
istic of the people ; for one needs only to look 
into a book of Egyptian antiquities to see how 
freely the stick was administered to people of all 
ages, and of either sex. In fact, from the evi¬ 
dence this people have themselves left to the 
world in their monuments, it would seem as if 
Egypt was, as much as China at the present 
day, ruled by the rod. The overseers were at 
length urged to carry their complaints to the 
king. But the stern answer was, “ Ye are idle, 
ye are idle ; therefore ye say, let us go and do 
sacrifice to Jehovah. Go therefore now and 
work,” Kit. 

22. Moses could not reconcile the adverse 
providence with the promise and commission 
he had received. He had indeed been taught 
to anticipate Pharaoh’s refusal to let the people 
go, but he was taken by surprise on finding 
their burdens increased. It seemed that his 
mission was utterly abortive, and that thus far 
rot one step had been taken toward their deliv¬ 
erance. But ?fe can put a more correct con¬ 
struction upon this apparently mysterious 
style of dispensation. To us it is not a strange 
spectacle to see the most merciful counsels of 
God ushered in by a tram of events apparently 
the most disastrous ; to see his dearest servants 
reduced to the utmost straits just when he is 
ready to appear for their deliverance. This re¬ 
sult is suffered to take place that we may learn 
to cease from man. and that the divine interpo¬ 
sitions may be more endeared to the hearts of 

those that wait for them. Bush. -If Moses 

did amiss in repining, he did well in ‘ returning 
unto the Lord, ’ and making his complaint, not 
to others, but to him. So did David, the man 
after God’s own heart : “ When I am in heavi¬ 


ness,” saith he, “ I will think upon God ; w’hen 
my heart is vexed, I will complain” (Ps. 77 : 3). 
So did Paul, when bulfeted by the messenger 
of Satan he applied himself to God for relief, 
and besought the Lord thrice that it might de¬ 
part from him ; but the answer was (and he ac¬ 
quiesced in it), ” My grace is sufiicient for 

thee.” Wogan. -With every fresh movement 

of God’s grace in the inner life, fresh difficulties 
and questions are raised. If we will bring these 
before the Lord, though it should be with the 
expression of trembling and grief, yet are they 
not to be regarded as signs of unbelief, but 
rather of the struggles and contests of faith ; 
and the Lord is patient toward the doubtings 
of human shortsightedness. Gerl. 

6 : 1 . To the almost reproachful utterance 
of Moses, God answers patiently, saying that it 
is his glory to see that what he has promised 
and predicted will come to pass. It is not 
ours to question that God will fulfil his prom¬ 
ises ; it is curs always and everywhere to fulfil 
the obligations that he has laid upon us. God 
says, that, so far from Pharaoh succeeding, he 
will be glad to let these poor brickmakers and 
slaves go forth from his land. There is some¬ 
thing very encouraging in this ; that God, in¬ 
stead of rebuking strongly the unbelief of his 
servants, gives another manifestation of his 
greatness to ttrbir senses, in order to overcome 
by love, instead of repressing by rebuke, their 
unbelief and suspicions. J. O. 

The first interview of Moses with Pharaoh 
served to determine the relationship of all par¬ 
ties in reference to the Divine command. It had 
brought out the enmity of Pharaoh, ripening 
for judgment ; the unbelief of Israel, needing 
much discipline ; and even the weakness of 
Moses. A. E. 

The Three Pharaohs of the Exodus. 

The period now commonly assigned to the 
Exodus is the reign of Meneptah, son of Eameses 
H. The father, Eameses (the great “ Sesos- 
tris”), would thus have been on the throne at 
Moses’ birth, and in his long reign of sixty-six 
years would have been the great oppressor. 
His policy and sceptre passing into the hands 
cf his feebler son, brought on the crisis and 
the deliverance. This is the view of Eouge, 
Mariette, Lenormant, Maspero, Ebers, Brugsch, 
Bunsen, Birch, and Poole. The name of the 
stronghold, ‘‘Eameses,” points at once to a 
monarch of that name ; and there is nothing 
to connect the only previous monarch of that 
name, Eameses I. (the grandfather of Eameses 
II.), obscure and short-lived, with the enter¬ 
prise. But the long reign of Eameses II.. his 
boastful spirit, his foreign wars, his vast public 
works, including numerous temples, the canal, 
and a line of fortresses on his eastern frontier 








59G 


THE THREE PHARAOHS OF THE EXODUS. 


(a oircnmstanee which coincides with the fears 
expressed in Ex. 1 : lU), and the air of op- 
]>ression which the monuments ascribe to his 
reign, all furnish a strong basis for the theory. 
No name is so boastfully and ubiquitously 
spread over tlia buildings of Egypt as that of 
liuiieses n. Of his son Meneptah’s reign, the 
notices are exceedingly slight. No monumental 
record of his bears date later than his second 
year, although a tablet describing a victory over 
the Libyans is referred to his eighth year, soon 
after which the Exodus is supposed to have 
taken place. In the time of Meneptah Egypt 
was a mighty empire of ancient civilization. 
Most of her huge edifices, including nearly all 
the vast structures of Thebes, were in exist¬ 
ence. The complication of her social life, even 
to the elaborate cuisine, may be read in the 
tombs of the kings and men of wealth. The 
skill of her jewellers in the eighteenth dynast}’ 
may be admii'ed in the museum at Boulak. 
The processes of her goldsmiths in tlni twelfth 
dynasty are seen delineated at Beni-Hassan. 
The temper of her cutting tools may be wit¬ 
nessed in the multitudinous and deep inscrip¬ 
tions on her granite obelisks. The greatness of 
her revenues is exhibited in the recbrds of 
Thotmes III. Her military resources in the 
time of Meneptah s father are boastfully set forth 
in the poem of the Pentaur, S. C. B. 

If Msneptah I., the son and successor of 
R ameses II., was the Pharaoh of the Exodus, it 
follows necessarily that his father, the gvKit 
Raineses, was the king of Ex. 2, from whom 
Moses fl ed, and after wdiose death he was di- 
■fe^ed to'^qiiit Midian and return into Egypt for 
the purpose of delivering his brethren (ch. 
2 :23 ; 4 : 19). But as Moses W’as eighty years 
old at this time (ch. 7 : 7), it is evident that the 
Pharaoh from w^hom he fled cannot be the same 
with the one who, more than eighty years jore- 
viously, gave the order for the destruction of 
the Hebrew male children (ch. 1 :22). The 
nirrative of Exodus must speak of three Pha¬ 
raohs, of the first in ch. 1, of the second in ch. 
2, an I of the third in chs. 5-14. If the second 
of these is Runeses II., the father of Meneptah 
I., the first must be Seti I., the father of Rarno- 
K 0 3 II. Now, it happens that Seti I. and Raine¬ 
ses II. are among the most distinguished of all 
the Egyptian monarchs, great wairriors, great 
builders, setters-up of numerous inscriptions. 
We kn.)W them almo.st better than any other 
Egvptian kings, are familiar Avith their very 
c luntenances, have ample means of forming an 
estimate of their characters from their own 
wtirds. Seti I, may w'ell be the “ new king, 
which knew not Joseph.” 

Raineses II. was associated on the throne by 
his father when he was ten or eleven years of 
age. The tvvo kings then reigned conjointly for 
about twenty years. Raineses outlived his father 
forty-seven years, and proliably had the real 
direction of the government for abont sixty 
years. There is no other reign in the New Em- 
jiire which reaidies nearly to the length of his. 
lie was less of a warrior than his father, and 
m n-e of a builder. Among his principal works 
wis the completion of the city of Raineses (Pi¬ 
ll imesu), begun by his father, and made by 
Raineses the residence of the court, and one of 
the chief cities of the empire. He appears also 


to have completed Pithom [Pi-Tum), and to 
have entirely built many other important towns. 
All his works were raised by means of forced 
labor ; and for the purpose of their construction 
he required an enormous mass of human ma¬ 
terial, which had to be constantly employed 
under taskmasters in the most severe and ex- 
hausting toil. Besides his suitability in char¬ 
acter to be the Pharaoh who continued iho 
severe oppression begun by Seti I., Rameses II., 
by the great length of his reign, exactly fits into 
the requirements of the Biblical narrative. Ho 
alone verges upon the time at w Inch the severe 
oppression must necessarily be j^laced. It can 
scarcely’ be a coincidence that Egy’ptian tradi¬ 
tion should point out Meneptah I. as the Pha¬ 
raoh of the Exodus, and that, the Biblical nar¬ 
rative assigning to his predecessor an exceptirn- 
ally long reign, the monuments and Manetho 
should agree in giving to that predecessor the 
exceptionally long reign of sixty-six cr sixty’- 
.seven years. 

The portraits of the first and second Pharaohs 
mentioned in the Book of Exodus are only 
faintly and slightly sketched. That of the 
third monarch — ” the Pharaoh of the Exodas,” 
as he’is commonly termed—is. on the contiaryg 
presented to us with much clearness and dis¬ 
tinctness, though without effort (.r conscious 
elaboration. He is an oppressor as merciless 
as either of his predecessors, as deaf to pilyg as 
determined to crush the aspirations of the He¬ 
brews by hard labor. To him belongs the in¬ 
genious device for aggravating suffering, which 
has passed into the proverbial phraseclogy’ of 
modern Europe, the requirement of ” biicks 
without straw.” He disregards the afflictions 
of his oM'ii countrymen as completely as those 
of his foreign slaves, and continues fixed in his 
determination not to ” let Israel go,” until he 
suffers the loss of his own firstborn. When 
finally he has been induced to allow the He¬ 
brews to withdraw themselves from his land, he 
suddenly repents of his concession, pursues 
after them, and seeks, not so much to prevent 
their escape, as to destroy them to the last man 
(15 : 9). To this harshness and cruelty’ of tem- 
])er he adds a remarkable weakness and vacilla¬ 
tion—he will and he will not ; he makes prom¬ 
ises and retracts them ; he ” thrusts the Israel¬ 
ites oat ” (11 :1 ; 12 : 31), and then rushes after 
them attheheadcf all the troops that he can 
muster (14:5-9). Fuither —ancl this is most 
remaikable—unlike the generality of Egyptian 
monarchs, he seems to be deficient in jiersonal 
courage ; at any rate, there is no appearance of 
hishaving imperilled himself intheattack made 
on the Israelites at the Red Sea,— ” the Egyp¬ 
tians pursued, and went in after them to the 
midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s hoises, his 
chariots, and his horsemen” (14 :23) ; but not, 
so far as appears. Pharaoh himself. Neither 
the narrative in Exod. 14 nor the song of re¬ 
joicing in the following chapter contains the 
slightest allusion to the Pharaoh’s death, an 
omission almost inconceivable if he really per¬ 
ished with his warriors. Further the Pharaoh 
of the Exodus seems to have been grossly’ and 
abnormally’ superstitious, one who put trust in 
magicians and sorcerers, and turned to them in 
times of difficulty’. 

What, then, does profane history tell us of 


4 




597 


SECTION 85.-EXODUS 6 • 2-30; 7 : 1-18. 


the Meneptah whom we have shown to be at 
once the traditional “ Pharaoh of the Exodus” 
and the king pointed out by chronological con 
siderafions as the ruler of Egypt at the period ? 
M. Lenormant begins his account of him by ob¬ 
serving, “ He was neither a soldier nor an ad¬ 
ministrator, but one whose mind was turned 
almost exclusively toward the chimeras of sor¬ 
cery and magic.” ” The Book of Exodus,” he 
adds, ” is in the most exact agreement with his¬ 
torical truth when it depicts him as surrounded 
by priest-magicians, with w hom Moses contends 
in working prodigies, in order to affect the mind 
of the Pharaoh.” Later on in his history of 
Meneptah, M. Lenormant has the following 
]»assage, referring to his repulse of the great 
Libyan invasion in his fifth year. “ Sending 
forward in advance, first of all, his chariot-torce 
and his light-armed auxiliaries, the Pharaoh 
piomi.^ed to Join, (he bottle array w'ith the bulk of 
his troops ai the end of fourteen days But he was 
tiot peisomdly Jond (f actual Jiyht, and dislihd ex- 
posiny himsef to the chance of defeat. An appari¬ 
tion of the god Phthah, which he saw in a 
dream, warned him that his lofty rank required 


him not to cross the river. He therefore sent 
his army to the combat under the command of 
some of his father's generals, who w^ere still liv¬ 
ing.” The dream is clearlj^ a convenient fic¬ 
tion, by means of which he might at once con 
ceal his cowardice and excuse the forfeiture of 
his word. The Egyptian monuments thus con¬ 
firm three leading features in the tharacter 
of Meneptah,—his superstitiousness, his want 
of courage, and his w'eak, shifty, false tem¬ 
per. 

It was not to be expected that the general 
series of events related in the first fourteen 
chapters of Exodus should obtain any direct 
mention in the historical records of Eg.>pt. As 
M. Chabas remarks, ” events of this kind were 
not entitled to be inscribed on the public monu¬ 
ments, w'here nothing was ever registered ex¬ 
cept successes and triumphs ” The court his- 
loriogiaphers would naturally refrain from all 
mention of the terrible plagues from wdiicli 
Egypt suffered during a whole year, as well as 
from any record of the disaster ot the Eed Sea ; 
and the monarch would certainly not inscribe 
any account of them upon his edifices. G. B. 


Section 85. 


PLEDGES KEKEWED TO ISKAEL. CHARGE TO MOSES AND AARON. HEADS OF 

HOUSES. HARDENING OF PHARAOH’S HEART. 


8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 


14 

15 

16 

17 

18 


Exodus G ; 2-30 ; 7 :1-13. 

And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am Jehovah : and I appeared unto 
Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as God Almighty, but by ray name Jehovah I was not 
known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land 
of Canaan, the land of their sojournings, wherein they sojourned. And moreover I have 
heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage ; and I 
have remembered my covenant. Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am Jehovah, 
and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of 
their bondage, and I will redeem you wdth a stretched-out arm, and w'ith great judgments . 
and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God : and ye shall know that 
I am Jehovah your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 
And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning which I lifted up ray hand to give it to 
Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob ; and I will give it you for an heritage : I am Jehovah. 
And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel : but they hearkened not unto Moses tor 

anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage. . t. , 

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying. Go m, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, 

that he let the children of Israel go out of his land. And Moses spake before t re orm, 
sivincr Behold the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me ; how then shall Pharaoh 
hear rue who am of uncircumcised lips ? And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, 
and gav; them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king ot Egypt, to 
Virincr the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. 

^ ^ 1 nf their fathers' houses : the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel ; 

These are the heads f families of Reuben And the sons of 

Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron . > Jacliin and Zohar. and Sliaul the son of a 

Simeon ; Jemuel, "^d Jamm, an Ohad. an^ immes of the 

Canaamtish woman- Gershon, and Kolmth, and Jlorari : and the 

sons 1;®" "“"j Led were an hundred thirty and seven years The sons ot Gershon 

LIbS Ld Shlmel aceording to their fan.,lies. And the sons of Kohath ; An.ran., and 






598 - PLEDGES RENEWED TO ISRAEL. 


Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel : and tlie years of llie life of Kobath were an hundred thirty 

19 and three years. And the sous of Merari ; Mahli and Mnshi. These are the families of the 

20 Levites according to tbeir generations. And Amraui took him Jochebed his father s sister 
to wife ; and she bare him Aaron and Moses : and the years of the life of Ainram were an 

21 hundred and thirty and seven years. And the sons of Izhar ; Koiah, and Nepheg, and 

22 Zichri. And the sons of Uzziel ; Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Sithri And Aaron took htin 
28 Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon, to wife ; and she bare him 

24 Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. And the sons of Korah ; Assir, and Elkanah, and 

25 Abiasaph ; these are the families of the Kt»rahites. And Eieazar Aaion’s son took him oiie 
of the daughters of Putiel to wife ; and she bare him Phinehas. These are the heads of the 

2C fathers’ houses of the Levites according to their families. T hese are that Aaroii and Moses, 
to whom the Lord said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according 

27 to their hosts. These are they which spake to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the 
children of Israel from Egypt : these are that Moses and Aaron. 

28 And it came to pass on the day when the Lord spake unto Moses in the land of Egypt, 

29 that the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, I am the Lord : speak thou unto Pharaoh king of 

30 Egypt all that I speak unto thee. And Moses said before the Lord, Behold, I am of uncir- 
7 : 1 cumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me? And the Lord said unto Moses, 

See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh : and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. 

2 Thou shalt speak all that 1 command thee : and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pha- 

3 raoh, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land. And I will harden Pharaoh’s 

4 heart, and multiply my signs and mj’- wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh will not 
hearken unto you, and I will lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth my hosts, my people 

5 the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgements. And the Egyptians 
shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out 

6 the children of Israel from among them. And Moses and Aaron did so ; as the Lord com- 

7 manded them, so did they. And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and 
three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh. 

8 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying. When Pharaoh shall speak unto 

9 you, saying. Shew a wonder for you : then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take tin’ lod, and 
10 cast it down before Pharaoh, that it become a serpent And Moses and Aaron went in unto 

Pharaoh, and they did so, as the Lord had commanded : and Aaron cast down his rod be¬ 
ll fore Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called 
for the wise men and the sorcerers ; and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did in like man- 

12 ner with their enchantments. For they cast down every man his rod, and they became 

13 serpents : but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. And Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, 
and he hearkened not unto them ; as the Lord had spoken. 


6 : 2 - 13 , The oppression of the people, 
Moses’ call and going down into Egypt, his first 
announcement of the Divine will to Pharaoh, 
the refusal of the king, the still harder servitude 
of Israel,—all this combined had extorted from 
Moses the almost despairing cry of complaint 
(ch. 5 :22, 23). Now commences properly the 
history of the deliverance. In another appear¬ 
ance and address, God renews the former dec¬ 
larations and promises. He explains more 
fully the name by which it was his wish to be 
known to Israel. Even this fresh and solemn 
declaration of his gracious piirposes makes no 
impression on the people under their hard 
burdens, and Moses repeats his complaints. 
Henceforth begin the deeds of the Lord—his 
wonders in Eg 5 ’pt. Gerl. 

3. I appeared unto Abrafiam, 
iMaae, and Jacob a§ God Alini^lity 
(Hebrew El-Shod dal), blit by iiiy name Je- 
liovali was 1 not known to tliein. 
It was not the name, but the true depth of its 


significance which was unknown to and uncom¬ 
prehended by the patriarchs. They had known 
God as the omnipotent, El Shaddai, the ruler of 
the physical universe, and of man as one of his 
creatures ; as a God eternal, immutable, and 
true to his promises he was yet to be revealed. 

Die. B. -The meaning is, not that the name 

Jehovah was never used b}' them or given of 
God to them ; but that its special significance 
had not been manifested to them as he was now 
about to make it manifest. His power God had 
revealed—his power to protect them in their 
perils, his power to fulfil to Abraham the prom¬ 
ise of a son ; but such a glorious testimony to 
his faithfulness in fulfilling promise as was now 
to be given, the patriarchs had never seen. 
The redemption of Israel from Egyptian bond¬ 
age was destined to stand thtough all the ages 
of their history as the crowning manifestation 
of God’s faithfulness—the standard and unsur¬ 
passed testimony to the significance of his most 
honored name Jehovah. By this shall ye know 




599 


SECTION 85.~EX0DU8 6 : 2-30 ; 7 : ].I3. 


thilt I am Jehovali your God when I bring you 
out from under the burdens of the Egyptians 
and bring you into the land given by solemn 
oath to your fathers and to their posterity for a 
heritage (vs. 7, 8). H. C. 

El-Shaddai is the Almighty God, who by his 
creative omnipotence prepared the natural con¬ 
ditions and vital agencies required for the de¬ 
velopment of salvation, and hence the word sets 
forth one view of the Elohistic existence o£ God, 
on which it was necessary that peculiar stress 
should be laid. Jehovah is the God engaged in 
the development of salvation, who enters into 
it himself, manifests himself in it and with it, 
and therefore conducts it with absolute cer¬ 
tainty to the desired result. All that Jehovah 
had performed in connection with the patri¬ 
archal history was limited to the election and call 
of individuals, to the communication of directions 
and promises, and the fostering of faith in the direc¬ 
tions and promises given. Hitherto there had 
been no embodiment in/uc<; there had been 
merely the introduction of an idea, which was 
to be realized and embodied for the first time 
at Sinai. Hence the patriarchs could only grasp 
the operations of Jehovfdi in faith and hope ; they 
could not see them ; they did not feel and know 
them as .something actually accomplished and ful¬ 
filled. This was reserved for their descendants, 
to whom Moses was sent with the message that 
it was now about to happen. This then, and 
this alone, is the meaning of the words of God : 
“ They have known me, my nature, and my 
operations, as El-Shaddai, but not as Jehovah ; 
you shall soon know me as Jehovah also. K. 

-The time was now come when God was to 

be known by his name “ Jehovah,” in the doing 
of what he had before decreed, and the fulfilling 
of what he had before promised. Accordingly 
in the words immediately following (vs. 4-8), 
God goes on to assure them that he will make 
good his promise by establishing his covenant. 
Bush. 

The name Jehovah tors (or rather became) un- 
doubtedl}'' a new one then, but only in the sense 
in which Christ said, “ A new commandment 
give I unto you,” whereas he merely repeated 
one of the primary commandments, which we 
find in the Old Testament and meet with on 
every hand in the laws of Moses. It was a 
commandment, however, the fulness and depth, 
the meaning, force, and value of which were 
first unfolded by the gospel And just as the 
greatest act of love which the world ever wit¬ 
nessed provided a nevv field for the exemplifi¬ 
cation of this command in greater glory than 
was possible under the law, and thus the old 


commandment became a new one ; so did the 
new act of God in the redemption of Israel 
from Egypt, furnish a new field in which the 
ancient name of God struck fresh and deeper 
roots, and thus the ancient name became a new 
one. K. 

The Divine Being who appeared to these 
ancient saints many times in various visible 
forms and covenanted with them, did never 
assume the name Jehovah to himself in the aji- 
pearances, nor covenant with them by this name. 
He appeared unto Abraham, entering into cove¬ 
nant with him as El-Shaddai, “ God Almighty.” 
Isaac in transferring the blessings of the cove¬ 
nant to Jacob used the same covenant title, 
“ God Almighty bless thee.” So when God 
appeared to Jacob, again the title El-Shaddai 
was the covenant name used. God might say, 
“ I am Jehovah, and I appeared unto Abraham, 
unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name God 
Almighty (El-Shaddai), but by my name, Je¬ 
hovah, was I not made known to them.” Ob¬ 
serve, it is not “ I was not known,” but “ not 
made known" —that is, did not reveal myself by 
that name in any theophany to covenant with 
them. And not only is this statement in pre¬ 
cise harmony with the facts of the previous 
history, but is itself the key to the singular 
fact, that though so often spoken of as Jehovah 
in other relations, God had not announced him¬ 
self as such in any of the many covenants with 
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This term Jeho¬ 
vah, while it is applied to the invisible God, is 
applied in the narration also to the visible God 
manifest in the flesh and in the shadowy forms 
of the ancient theophanies which foreshadowed 
the incarnation. Not without abundant reason 
in the history might Jesus assume to himself 
the title “Ehjeh,” saying, “ Before Abraham 
was I AM.” And if it was Jesus in his x)re-exist- 
ing nature, the second j3erson of the Godhead, 
that in this patriarchal history made these af>- 
pearances to Abraham and entered into the 
covenant with him—and this is Jesus Christ the 
second person of the Godhead who appears in 
the burning bush and speaks to Moses—then 
have we found the clew of the somewhat singu¬ 
lar application of the titles of God found in the 
patriarchal history. If Jesus is the Jehovah in 
the revelation of the burning bush, then he is 
also, for he declares he is, the El-Shaddai —Al¬ 
mighty God—who covenanted with Abraham— 
and the Angel of the covenant so often men¬ 
tioned in the history of the patriarch. And he 
is called the vVngel beciiuse, as mediator and 
messenger of the Infinite, invisible God, he 
is sent on these missions to earth. Now, 




coo 


CHARGE TO MOSES. HEADS OF HOUSES. 


Ihoiigh the name Jehovah was from the begin¬ 
ning well known as the title of the eternal, in¬ 
visible and incomprehensible God, it was not 
Icnown as a name also belonging to the “ God 
vuuvfesl," the visible representative Angel o£ 
God, until the secret is revealed to M)ses at the 
burning bush. And the fact that Moses wrote 
the book of Genesis o/ifer this revelation explains 
why he represents the Angel who appears to 
make these covenants, and to execute the ful- 
tilinent of them, as also the Jehovah whom the 
patriarch conceived of only as the invisible and 
incomprehensible God. S. 11. 

4, 5. Two reasons are assigned for the prom¬ 
ise that follows, viz. the old covenant with the 
patriarchs, and the divine compassion for the 

sufferings of Israel. Cook. - 6 - 8 . Here is 

line upon line to assure them, that they should 
be brought triumphantly out of Egypt, and 
should be put in possession of the land of 
Canaan ; I will bring you out. I will rid you. I 
will redeem you. I will bring you into the land of 
Canaan, and I will lake you to me for a people, and 

1 will be to you a God. H.-8, I am Je- 

iiavail. The continual repetition of the cove¬ 
nant promise in connection with the name 
Jehovah marks forcibly the inauguration of that 
sacred name as the future appellation of the 

God of Israel. Alf. -In the dawn of Hebrew 

history God gives his people a memorial name, 
by which he should be known forever,—Je¬ 
hovah,—a seal upon his covenant with them, a 
name of promise, pointing to a deliverance to 
come, a Saviour, a Messiah ; and that mighty 
name stood, on the lips and in the mind of the 
chosen tribes, through centuries of trial and ex- 
))ectation, an impregnable defence, an inex¬ 
haustible hope, an unfailing herald of redemp¬ 
tion to come. F. D. H. 

9. Tliey lienrkciicd not unto ]?Io§es. 
Ah, how trail is poor human nature ! How 
weak is the faith of this long-oppressed people ! 
Hut God's compassions are a great deep and 
he does not frown severely upon them, broken 
down though they were in their manhood and in 
tlieir religious trust. Moses too seems to falter 
before this stern reception from Pharaoh and 
this disheartening attitude of Israel (v. 12) ; but 
the loving-kindness of the Lord endures, de¬ 
spite of these sad imperfections in his servants. 
For the glory of his own name and not for the 
worthiness or virtue of his people, he has en¬ 
tered upon this redeeming work and he will 

carry it through. H. C.-Insurmountable, to 

liuman apprehension, are the difficulties which 
surround the Hebrew leader ; and the most 
fearful of them are those which he has to con¬ 


tend with in his own countrymen. There is 
neither union nor confidence among them. 
There is neither courage nor self-respect. Long 
endurance of slavery and misery has extin¬ 
guished such sentiments. From this people he 
can expect nothing. Yet without this people 
he can do nothing. What remains to him ? 
Before he gives them freedom, he must make 
them capable of freedom. He must restore to 
them those elements of humanity which they 
have lost. He must give back to them the qual¬ 
ities which a long persecution has smothered. 
He must rekindle in them hope, courage, gen¬ 
erosity, self-respect, and enthusiasm. E. C. W. 

10, II. God still moved forward in his meas¬ 
ures for their relief, as if he heard not or heeded 
not their unbelieving complaints. But the 
punishment which is ripening even for Pharaoh 
is not to be inflicted without further warnings. 
When the Lord is about to visit with judgments, 
we see him advancing as Muth slow and reluc¬ 
tant steps. When misery is to be relieved, 
benefits conferred, or sins forgiven, the bless¬ 
ing makes haste to spend itself upon its objects. 
But when the wicked are to be dealt with, jus¬ 
tice seems to regret the necessity under which 
it is laid to maintain itself, and the sinner is 
not destroyed till the equity of his condemna¬ 
tion is manifest, and everything around him 
calls for vengeance. Bush. 

11. Go out of lii§ land. There is now 
a change in the demand ; the first of a series of 
changes. Moses is now bidden to demand not 
a permission for a three days’ journey, which 
might be within the boundaries of Egypt, but 
for departure from the land. 

13. Unto ]Tlosc.§ and unto Aaron. 
The final and formal charge to the two brothers 
is given, as might be expected, before the 
plagues are denounced. With this verse begins 
a new section of the history, and as in the book 
of Genesis “ there is in every such case a brief 
repetition of so much of the previous account 
as is needed to make it an intelligible narrative 
in itself ; a peculiarity which extends to the 
lesser subdivisions also.” Cook. 

14-ii7. The occasion of this solemn inau¬ 
guration of the mission of Moses and Aaron is 
taken to insert the genealogical notice of the 
heads of the houses of the tribes until Levi, 
from whom the descent of Moses and Aaron is 
given. The whole of this portion is remarkably 
illustrative of the fragmentary and compound 
character of this part of the history. Alf. 

We have here a genealogy of those two great 
patriots, Moses and Aaron, to show that they 
were Israelites, bone of their bone and flesh of 








GOl 


SECTION 85.-EXODUS 6 : 2-30; 7 : 1-18. 


their flesh, whom they were sent to deliver, 
raised up unto them of their brethren, as Christ 
also should be, who was to be the Prophet and 
Priest, the lledeemer and Lawgiver, of the peo¬ 
ple of Israel, and whose genealogy also was to 
be carefully preserved. The heads of the houses 
of three of the tribes are here named. Peuben, 
Simeon, and Levi are thus dignified here be¬ 
cause they three were left under marks of in¬ 
famy by their dying father, Keuben for his in¬ 
cest, and Simeon and Levi for their murder of 
the Shechemites ; and therefore Moses would 
put this particular honor ujDon them to magnify 
God's mercy in their repentance and remission, 
as a pattern to them that should afterward be- 
liev'e : the two first seem to be mentioned only 
for the sake of Levi, from whom Moses and 
Aaron descended, and all the priests of the Jew¬ 
ish church. H.-It is easily seen that he es 

pecially refers to the tribe of Levi. This is the 
jjoint to be observed, that the minister of their 
deliverance, by whose hand God would ratify 
the truth of his promise, was chosen from the 
race of Abraham. Galv. 

Be 3 'ond all question some links have been 
omitted in tracing the line of Moses’ descent. 
The genealogies of the Bible are frequently ab¬ 
breviated by the omission of important names. 
In fact, abridgment is the general rule. W. H. G. 

20, Aiiira.111. This can scarcely be the 
same person who is mentioned in v. 18, but his 
descendant and representative in the generation 
immediately preceding that of Moses. The in¬ 
tervening links are omitted, as is the rule where 
they are not needed for some special purpose, 
and do not bear upon the history. Between the 
death of Amram and the birth of Moses was an 
interval which can scarcely be brought within 
the limits assigned by any system of chronology 
t) the sojourn in Egypt. Thus Tiele, quoted 
by Keil : “ According to Numbers 3 :27, in the 
time of Moses the Eohathites were divided into 
four branches, that of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, 
and Uzziel : their number amounted to 8600 
males ; of these the Amramites were about one 
fourth, i.e. more than 2000 males. This would 
be impossible were Amram the son of Kohath 
identical with Amram the father of Moses. We 
must therefore admit an omission of several 
links between the two.” Cook. 

Elishel>a. E'izabeth, of the tribe of 
Judah, sister to Nahshon, prince of that tribe. 
While making prominent this high connection 
of Aaron, and recording the names of his sons, 
Moses makes no reference to his own family. B. 

*27. This emphatic repetition shows the 
reason for inserting the genealogy. The names 


of Moses and Aaron are given twice and in a 
different order ; in the 26th verse probably to 
mark Aaron as the elder in the genealogy, and 
in the 27th to denote the leadership of Moses. 
Cook. 

7:1. Made tlice ag^ocl lo PliaraoKi. 

Moses was to be God’s representative in this 
affair, as magistrates are called (jods because 
they are God’s vicegerents, authorized to speak 
and act in his name. Aaron was to be to Moses 
what Moses himself was to God'. The Most 
High does not scruple to clothe his humblest 
servants with a kind of divinity when he would 
make them oracles to his people or instruments 
of w^rath to his enemies. Bash. 

3. And 1 will liardcii Pliaraoli’t^ 
licart. We have seen the process already be¬ 
gun. The very patience and moderation w'hich 
W'ere calculated to subdue a will amenable to 
reason, only aroused the resistance and ven¬ 
geance of Pharaoh. Every succeeding step in 
the procedure of God is dictated by a like con¬ 
sideration and forbearance. Though it be true, 
therefore, that God did harden Pharaoh's heart, 
yet it was by mea.sures that would have disarmed 
the opposition, and commanded the acqui¬ 
escence of an upright mind. M. [See close of 
this Section.] 

5. The Egyptians were to be convinced that 
Jehovah w^as the true God by their owm false 
gods falling before him : but this was a knowd- 
edge of discomfiture, not of conversion ; Israel 
w^as by the same series of judgments to acquire 
the same knowledge ; but this was to be a 
knowledge of conversion and attachment. 
God’s sword is two-edged. A^f. 

6. So did they. All unwillingness to 
obey, arising from unbelief or fear on their 
parts, had now ceased forever. 7, Old. In 
this great turning-point of the history their 
age is mentioned (as before, their descent), in 
order to throw light on the narrative. The 
longevity of the human race still continued 
dowm to this time, though it becomes less and 
less. We are to regard Moses as in the full 
possession of vigor and energy. Gerl. 

9, It is taken for granted that Pharaoh would 
demand a mirarulous testimony in proof of their 
commission from God. The Scriptures go all 
along on the admitted principle that the per¬ 
formance of miracles is the iruC seal of a divine 
commission. Bash. 

Moses was the first teacher of religion to 
whom the powder of w'orking miracles w^as 
granted. Miracles were not necessary to Adam 
or to Noah, as they each possessed sufficient 
evidence of the truths they'taught : they were 






002 


CREDENTIAL MIRACLES OF MOSES. 


not necessary to Abraham, as he was the re¬ 
former only of the religion of Noah. Moses was 
empowered to work miracles for the j)urpose of 
establishing a new dispensation. In the same 
manner, Christ, the prophet “ like unto Moses,” 
wrought his wonderful miracles to convince the 
world of the dissolution of the Levitical dis¬ 
pensation in favor of the Christian covenant. 
Ilorce Mosaicce. 

10 , The command to Moses and Aaron to 
work the miracle was predicated on the con¬ 
tingency of Pharaoh’s asking it, and we must 
presume that this condition occurred. But the 
sacred writers study the extremest brevity upon 
all points that do not positively require specifi¬ 
cation. Up to this point Moses and Aaron had 
simply delivered their message, their insirudions, 
to Pharaoh ; the time had come for them to 
produce their credentials. Bush. 

11, 12, And now commenced a contest, un¬ 

equal it would at first appear, between two in¬ 
dividuals of an enslaved people, and the whole 
skill, knowledge, or artifice of the Egyptian 
priesthood, whose sacred authority" was univer¬ 
sally acknowledged ; their intimate acquaint¬ 
ance with all the secrets of nature extensive, 
their reputation for magical powers firmly es¬ 
tablished with the vulgar. The names of the 
principal opponents of Moses, Jannes and Jam- 
bres, are reported by Paul from Jewish tradi¬ 
tion. Mibnan. -It was not to the secular 

power of the Egyptian monarch, but to his 
gods, that the gauntlet was thrown down. It 
was in the domain of miracles that the battle 
was to be fought —a domain in which Egypt re¬ 
garded itself as peculiarly strong—for it was in 
Egypt, the land of conjurors and magicians, of 
interj^reters of dreams and signs, that magic, 
that mysterious life-blood of heathenism, had 
put forth its marvellous power in its most fully 

developed forms. K.-From the nature of 

the case, the conflict could only be one of mir¬ 
acles ; which, also from the nature of the case, 
must increasingly become miracles of judgment. 

Kit. -Since the pride, the madness and the 

obstinac}^ of the king were indomitable, ever}^ 
door was closed until broken down miraculousl}', 
and by various means. In employing these 
miraculous means God chose more clearly to 
lay open his power. He wished this monument 
to exist of his singular love to his elect people. 
He wished to accustom his servants in all ages 
to patience, lest they should faint in their 
minds if he does not immediately answer their 
prayers and relieve their distresses. He wished 
to show that against all the strivings and de¬ 
vices of Satan, against the madness of the un¬ 


godly and all worldly hindrances. His hand 
must always prevail ; and to leave no room to 
doubt that whatever we see oi^posing us will at 
length be overcome by Him. By detecting the 
illusions of Satan and the magicians, he would 
render his Church more wary, that she might 
carefully watch against such devices, and that 
her faith might continue invincible against all 
the machinations of error. These things must 
be attentively observed in the course of the 
narrative, if we desire to profit by it. Calv. 

II. Magician.^. “As there is no nation 
W'ithout religion, so there is also none without 
magic, which clings like a shadow to religion in 
all its forms.” Magic, according to the notions 
prevalent among those who placed implicit con¬ 
fidence in it, is a power, acquired or inherited, 
which enables the possessor, by means of some 
secret art or science, to employ at will the forces 
of a supernatural world of spirits or deities, 
either for the purpose of finding cut what is 
naturally hidden from human knowledge {au¬ 
gury), or of performing things, beyond the nat¬ 
ural power of the human will {magic). K.- 

The Egyptians were famous for legerdemain 
and for charming serpents ; and the magicians 
having had notice of the miracle which they 
were expected to imitate, they might make pro¬ 
vision accordingly, and bring live serpents, 
which they might have substituted for their 
rods. And though Aaron’s serpent swallowed 
up their serpents, showing the superiority of 
the true miracle over the false, it might only 
lead the king to conclude that Moses and Aaron 
were more expert jugglers than Jannes and 
Jambres, who opposed them (2 Tim. 3 :8). 

Hales. -It was necessary that these magicians 

should be suffered to exert the utmost of their 
power against Moses, in order to clear him from 
the imputation of magic or sorcery ; for, as the 
notion of such an extraordinary art was rife not 
only among the Egyptians but all other na¬ 
tions, if they had not entered into this compe¬ 
tition with him and been at length overcome by 
him, both Hebrews and Egyptians would have 
been apter to have attributed all his miracles 
to his skill in magic, than to the divine power. 

It was necessary, too, to confirm the faith of the * 
wavering and desponding Israelites ; by making 
them see the difference between Moses’ acting 
by the joower of God, and the sorcerers by the 
arts of jugglery. And it was necessary, in order 
to preserve them afterward from being seduced 
by any false miracles from the worship of the 
true God. It may be added : God permitted 
this in mercy to the Egyptians, that they might 
see that the gods in whom they trusted were 










603 


SECTION 85.—EXODUS G : 2-30; 7 : 1-13. 


utterly incapable of saving them ; that they \ 
could not undo or counteract one of the plagues | 
sent upon them. A. C. 

Scripture not only regards magicians with ab¬ 
horrence ; but brands their miracles as “ lying 
wonders and makes the teaching of false 
doctrine a test of the false pretence of super¬ 
natural power. And, when we pass from prin¬ 
ciples to facts, there is not a well-authenticated 
case of an apparent miracle, wrought by others 
than the Scrij)ture witnesses for God, which ex¬ 
cludes the possibility of imposture and leaves 
no room for doubt. In the case of the Egyp¬ 
tian magicians, their own exclamation, “ This 
is the linger of God,” involves the confession 
that they had been aided by no divine power, 
not even by their own supposed deities. P. S. 
-Their power stopped where that of all deal¬ 
ers in legerdemain must stop—at the failure of 
proper materials with which to work. Egypt I 
abounds with serpents ; blood could be easily 
procured in a quantity equal to the water that 
coitld then be found, on which the experiment 
was to be made ; and without difficulty they 
might have frogs in abundance from the river or 
the canals. But when Moses produced lice 
from the dust of the ground, the magicians, who 
had it not in their power to collect a sufficient 
number of these insects, were compelled to own 
this to be the fingt-r of God. In our translation 
it is, indeed, said, that when Aaron had cast 
down his rod, and it became a serpent, the 
magicians also did in like manner with their en¬ 
chantments ; but the words translated, d d in 
Wee manner, and did .so, may indicate nothing 
more than the attempt; for the very same words 
are employed to denote what they did in the 
case of the lice, in which they confessed that they 
had failed. It is to be observed, too, that the { 
original term, rendered their enchardmetds, being 
derived from a root which signifies to hide or 
cover, fitly expresses the secret deceptions of 
legerdemain or .deight of hand to impose on the 
.spectators. There is, therefore, no necessity for 
calling in the aid of supernatural agency to the 
magicians on this occasion, nor is it probable 
that they laid claim to such aid. Bp. Gleig. 

On the jjosition of magic at the court of the 
Pharaohs, M. Maspero makes the following 
statement : “ Magic was in Egypt a science, 
and the magician one of the most esteemed of 
learned men. The nobles themselves, the 
prince Khamuas and his brother, were adepts 
in supernatural arts, and decipherers of magic 
formularies, in which they had an entire belief. 
A prince who was a sorcerer would nowadays 
inspire a very moderate sentiment of esteem. 


' Egypt the profession of magic w^as not in¬ 
compatible with royalty, and the sorcerers of a 
Pharaoh had not uncommonly the Pharaoh him¬ 
self for their pupil.” The magical texts form a 
considerable proportion of the MSS. which have 
come down to us from ancient times, particu¬ 
larly from the nineteenth dynasty ; and the 
composition of some of them was ascribed to a 
Divine source. G. R. 

12. Aaron’s rod swallowed up 
iBieir rods. We do not read that they either 
attempted to prevent this, or to follow it by an 
imitation. By this, and by the serpent revert¬ 
ing to a rod when Aaron took hold of it, the 
superior nature of the power he exercised, and 
that it was far above all delusive art, was 
shown. Kit. 

13. It should be, And the heart of Pharaoh 
voas hardened, so that “ he hearkened not unto 

I them, as the Lord had said,” or foretold. The 
original is so rendered by all the ancient ver¬ 
sions without exception, and by the most judi¬ 
cious modern translations. Our translators in¬ 
correctly render, “ And he hardened Pharaoh's 
heart,” inconsistently with their rendering of 
the same phrase, and of a phrase with the same 
construction afterward (7 :22 ; 8 :19 ; 9:7), 
for Pharaoh hardened his heart several times 
before God began to harden it. They seem to 
have been led into this error by the expression, 

” as the Lord had said,” referring to the fore¬ 
going, ” But I will harden his heart ” (4 : 21), 
and “1 will harden Pharaoh’s heart” (7 :3). 
But this did not take place till Pharaoh became 

obdurate and incorrigible (9 :12). Hales. - 

There is not in any of these three verses, the 
13th, the 14th, and the 22d of this chapter, the 
least mention of any person by whom his heart 
j was hardened. Nor is there any other harden- 
1 ing implied than what proceeded from his own 
settled resolution not to lose the service of the 
Israelites. Bp. Patrick. 

The Hakdening of Phaeaoh’s Heaet. 

Before Moses had returned into Egypt (Ex. 
4 ; 21), God had declared of Pharaoh, “ I will 
harden his heart,” placing this phase in the 
foreground, that Moses might be assured of 
God’s overruling will in the matter. Eor a 
similar purpose, only much more fully express¬ 
ed, God again announced to Moses, before the 
comm.ericnneht of the ten plagues (7 ; 3), ” 1 will 
harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs 
and my wonders in the land of Egypt.” These 
are the first two statements about the harden¬ 
ing of Pharaoh’s heart. In both cases the agency 
is ascribed to God ; but in both cases the event 












■G04 


THE IIARDEHma OF PHARAOHS HEART. 


is yet future, and the announcement is only 
made in order to explain to Moses what his 
faith almost needed to know. Trnce ten times 
in the course of this history does the ex¬ 
pression hardming occur in connection with 
Pharaoh. Although in our English version 
only the word “ harden” is used, in the Hebrew 
original three different terms are employed, of 
which one literally means to make hard or insen¬ 
sible, the other to make heavy, that is, unim¬ 
pressionable, and the third, to make firm or 
stiff, so as to be immovable. Now it is re¬ 
markable, that of the twenty passages which 
speak of Pharaoh’s hardening, exactly ten ascribe 
it to Pharaoh himself, and ten to God, and that 
in both cases precisely the same three terms are 
used. The ten passages in which the harden¬ 
ing is traced to Pharaoh himself are : Ex. 7 ; 13 
(“ the heart of Pharaoh was firm” or “ stiff”) ; 
ver. 14 (“ was heavy”) ; ver. 22 (“ firm”) ; 8 : 15 
(“made heavy”) ; ver. 19 (was “ firm”) ; ver. 
32 ; 9 : 7, 34 (“ heavj^ ’) ; ver. 35 (“ firm”) ; 
13 : 15 (“ Pharaoh made hard,” viz., his heart). 
The ten passages in which it is traced to the 
agency of God are : Ex. 4 : 21 ; 7 : 3 ; 9 : 12 ; 
10 :1, 20, 27 ; 11 :10 ; 14 :4, 8, 17. 

With the exception of the two passages in 
which the Divine agency in hardening is before¬ 
hand announced to Moses for his instruction, 
the hardening process is during the course of 
the actual history, in the first place, traced 
only to Pharaoh himself. Thus, before the ten 
plagues, and when Aaron first proved his Divine 
mission by converting the rod into a serpent, 
” the heart of Pharaoh was hardened,” that is, 
by himself (7 : 13, 14). Similarly, after each 
of the first five plagues (7 :22 ; 8 : 15, 19, 32 ; 
9 : 7), the hardening is also expressly attrib¬ 
uted to Pharaoh himself. Only when still 
resisting after the sixth plague do we read for 
the first time, that “ the Lord made firm the 
heart of Pharaoh” (9 :12). But even sn, space 
for repentance must have been left, for after the 
seventh plague we read again (9 ; 34) that 
” Pharaoh made heavy his heart ;” and it is 
only after the eighth plague that the agency is 
exclusively ascribed to God. 

Moreover, we have to consider the progress of 
this hardening on the part of Pharaoh, by 
which at last his sin became ripe for judgment. 
It was not only that he resisted the demand 
of Moses, even in view of the miraculous signs 
by which his mission was attested ; but that, 
step by step, the hand of God became more 
clearly manifest, till at last he was, by his own 
confession, “ inexcusable.” If the first sign of 
converting the rod into a serpent could in a 


certain manner be counterfeited by the Egyp. 
tian magicians, yet Aaron’s rod swallowed up 
theirs. But after the third jilague, the magi¬ 
cians themselves confessed* their inabilitv' to 
carry on the contest, declaring : “ This is the 
finger of God.” If any doubt had still been 
left upon his mind, it must have been removed 
by the evidence presented after the fifth 
plague, when “ Pharaoh sent, and, behold, 
there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites 
dead.” Some of the Egyptians, at least, had 
profited by this lesson, and on the announce¬ 
ment of the seventh plague housed their cattle 
from the predicted hail and fire (9 ; 20, 21). 
Lastly, after that seventh plague. Pharaoh him¬ 
self acknowledged his sin and wrong (9 : 27), and 
promised to let Israel go (ver. 28). Yet after 
all, on its removal, he once more hardened his 
heart (ver. 35) ! Can we wonder that such high- 
hande;! and inexcusable rebellion should have 
been ripe for the judgment which appeared in 
the Divine hardening of his heart V A. E. 

From the various uses of the three Hebrew 
root-forms, the sullen stubbornness of Pharaoh 
appears attributable to himself directly', while 
in the expressions referring to God’s action tho 
main thought appears to be of encouragement 
and emboldenment. How this agrees with 
Pharaoh’s renewed confidence following each 
release from judgment is obvious. The conclu¬ 
sions to be drawn ma 3 % perhaps, follow this 
train ; 1. As seen in Egyptian History, Meneptah, 
the senile and obstinate Pharaoh, appears the 
man to play a weak and vacillating part in a 
critical time. 2. That God, tiesigning to wcik 
mightily, predetermined to harden Pharaoh’s 
heart, and that this design was carried into 
effect. 3. That the rnsult was accomplished, 
not b}’’ an irresistible pressure cf Divine Will 
upon Pharaoh's mind, of which there is no 
mention, as by the emplojunent of wonders and 
signs, which, acting upon a better heart, would 
have wrought obedience and submission, but 
with the haught}' spirit of Pharaoh, produced 
baldness and hardness of heart. 4. That in the 
hardening of his heart the responsibility rests 
upon the king. But for his own sullen obsti¬ 
nacy his calamities might have softened him, his 
reliefs have conquered him. But his stubborn¬ 
ness impelled him to extremities, and so, though 
God gave the occasion. Pharaoh himself was re¬ 
sponsible for the fact. 5. And, finall}^ that no 
charge can be laid to the Almighty. As Dr. 
Hodge wisely says, “ Some things He purposes 
to do, others he decrees to permit to be done. 
He effects good, he permits evil. He is the author 
of the one, but not of the other.” Summerhell. 





G05 


SECTION 85.—EXODUS 6 : 2-30; 7 : 1-18. 


It was before the plagues began to be inflicted 
that tlie Lord announced to Moses that he 
would “harden Pharaoh’s heart:” but it is a 
reinaikable fact that the threat was constantly 
suspended, in order, as it appears, that Pharaoh 
might set his heart ” ta God’s judgments and 
be obedient to his word. Five plagues had al¬ 
ready been wrought in his presence by “ the 
linger of God, anil he had previously hardened 
his heart against these unequivocal testimonies 
of Almighty j^ower before the sentence of the 
Divine wrath was accomplished against him, 
“ and the Lord hardened his heart, as he had 
spoken by Moses,” Tliis result was drawn 
down upon him by his own previous obstinacy 
and numerous provocations. That he hardened 
his own heart was his sin ; that the Lord hard¬ 
ened it was his imnishment. It was an act of 
righteous retributive justice upon an impeni¬ 
tent and obstinate sinner, who had despised the 
riches of God's mercy and forbearance and 
challenged the severity of his anger. Bp. Manl. 

The expressions employed and the facts 
themselves lead to the conclusion, that harden¬ 
ing can only take place where there is a conflict 
between human freedom and divine grace. It 
can only result from a conscious and obstinate 
resistance to the will of God. It cannot take 
place where there is either ignorance or error. 
The hardening of the heart commences from 
the moment in which a man becomes clearly 
conscious that he is resisting God, and it in¬ 
creases in proportion as this consciousness be¬ 
comes stronger and clearer, and the testimony 
of God comes home to his mind with greater 
vividness and power. The course of Pharaoh’s 
history will show how truly this applied to 
him. Hardening, then, cannot even commence 
till some manifestation of God has been brought 
home to a man, with the express declaration 
and proof that it is such a manifestation. The 
moral condition which is the prerequisite of 
hardening, the soil from which it springs, is a 
man’s own fault, the result of the free deter¬ 
mination of his own will. But it i^ not without 
the co-operation of God. that this moral condi¬ 
tion becomes actual hardness. Up to a certain 
point the will of God operates on a man in the 
form of mercy drawing to himself, he desires 
his salvation; but henceforth the mercy is 
changed into judicial wrath, and desires his 
condemnation. K. 

The Gospel is “the savor of life unto life, 
and of death unto death,’’ as one and the same 
savor is to some creatures refreshing, to others 
poisonous. But that the Gospel is unto death, 
is not a part of its original intention, but a 


consequence of perverse unbelief ; but when 
this takes place, that it is unto death comes as 
a punishment from God. Thus the expression 

hardening’’ presupposes an earlier condition 
when the heart was susceptible, but which 
ceased in consequence of the misuse of Divine 
revelations and gifts. As Pharaoh hardens him- 
f^elf, so God hardens him at the same time ; and 
the prediction of this hardening would give 
IMoses the assurance that the outbursts of his 
rage were all under the Divine control, and that 
the very j^unishment which befell him was or¬ 
dained of God. Gerl. 

Every wicked man, like Pharaoh, is under 
the dominion of sin : he is so voluntarily , but 
while under its power, the forms and the occa¬ 
sions of sin showing itself in action are not 
under the sinner’s control, but are as the sinner 
himself, at God’s disposal, and in subserviency 
to the ends of his moral government. The fact 
of a moral agent being a sinner, or the enemy 
of God, and so not willing to render the service 
due, cannot exempt him from it ; and if he 
will not serve God in one capacity, he must be 
made to serve him in another. Now, the hard¬ 
ening of a sinner, either total or partial, is not 
the beginning of his sin, or the inducement of 
an evil state or disposition. God did not sin¬ 
fully dispose any of his creatures, but they 
being so, he, nevertheless, emploj^s them to 
carry out his purposes ; while this hardening 
itself mny be viewed as a jjunitive retribution, 
—a manifestation of righteous judgment. In 
the present instance such a manifestation was 
specially needed. A counteraction was re¬ 
quired, both for the despondency of the Israel¬ 
ites and the arrogance of their oppressor. The 
opposition of Pharaoh, not less than his de¬ 
struction, tended to glorify God ; and his very 
obduracy called into action the Divine power, 
justice and grace. D. M. 

First and foremost, we learn the insufficiency 
of even the most astounding miracles to subdue 
the rebellious will, to change the heart, or to 
subject a man unto God. Our blessed Lord 
himself has said of a somewhat analogous case, 
that men would not believe even though one 
rose from the dead. And his statement has 
been only too amply verified in the history of 
the world since his own resurrection. Keligion 
is matter of the heart, and no intellectual con¬ 
viction, without the agency of the Holy Spirit, 
affects the inmost springs of our lives. Sec¬ 
ondly, a more terrible exhibition of the daring 
of human j^ride, the confidence of worldly 
power, and the deceitfulness of sin than that 
presented by the history of this Pharaoh can 




G06 


FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD PLAGUES-MIRACLES. 


scarcely be conceived. And yet the lesson 
seems to have been overlooked by too many ! 
Lastly, resistance to God must assuredly end in 
fearful judgment. Each conviction suppressed, 
each admonition stifled, each loving offer re¬ 


jected, tends toward increasing spiritual insen¬ 
sibility, and that in which it ends. It is wis¬ 
dom and safety to w^atch for the blessed influ¬ 
ences of God’s Spirit, and to throw' open our 
hearts to the sunlight of his grace. A. E. 


Section 86. 

FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD PLAGUES—MIRACLES. 

Exodus 7 :14-25 ; 8 : 1-19. 

7 : 14 And the Loed said unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn, he refusetb to let the people 

15 go. Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning ; lo, he goeth out unto the water ; and thou 
shalt stand by the river’s brink to meet him ; and the rod which was turned to a serpent 

16 shalt thou take in thine hand. And thou shalt say unto him, The Lobd, the God of the 
Hebrews, hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my jDeople go, that they may serve me in the 

17 wilderness : and, behold, hitherto thou hast not hearkened. Thus saith the Lokd, In this 
thou shalt know that I am the Loed : behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand 

18 upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. And the fish 
that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink ; and the Egyptians shall loathe to 

19 drink w'ater from the river. And the Loed said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron. Take thy 
rod, and stretch out thine hand over the w'aters of Egj^pt, over their rivers, over their 
streams, and over their i^ools, and over all their ponds of water, that they may become 
blood ; and there shall be blood throughoiit all the land of Egj^pt, both in vessels of wood 

20 and in vessels of stone. And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Loed commanded ; and he 
lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that w^ere in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and 
in the sight o£ his servants ; and all the waters that w'ere in the river w'ere turned to blood. 

21 And the fish that w'as in the river died ; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not 

22 drink water from the river ; and the blood was throughout all the land of Egypt. And 
the magicians of Egypt did in like manner with their enchantments : and Pharaoh’s heart 

23 was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them ; as the Loed had spoken. And Pharaoh 

24 turned and went into his house, neither did he lay even this to heart. And all the Egypt¬ 
ians digged round about the river for water to drink ; for they could not drink of the water 

25 of the river. And seven days were fulfilled, after that the Loed had smitten the river. 

8 : 1 And the Loed spake unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and say unto him. Thus saith the 

2 Loed, Let my people go, that they may serve me. And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, 

3 I will smite all thy borders with frogs ; and the river shall swarm wdth frogs, wdiich shall go 
up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thj’^ bed, and into the 
house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneading- 

4 troughs ; and the frogs shall come up both upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy 

5 servants. And the Loed said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy 
rod over the rivers, over the streams, and over the pools, and cause frogs to come up upon 

G the land of Egypt. And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt ; and the 

7 frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did in like manner with 

8 their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh called for 
Moses and Aaron, and said. Intreat the Lord, that he take away the frogs from me, and from 

Ql my people ; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice unto the Loed. And Moses 
said unto Pharaoh, Have thou this glory over me : against what time shall I intreat for thee, 
and for thy servants, and for thy people, that the frogs be destroyed from thee and thy 

10 houses, and remain in the river only? And he said. Against to-morrow. And he said. Be 
it according to thy word ; that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the Loed our 

11 God. And the frogs shall depait from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and 





G07 


SECTION 86.-EXODUS 7 : 14-25; 8 : 1-19. 

12 from tliy people ; they shall remain in the river only. And Moses and Aaron went out from 
Pharaoh ; and Moses cried unto the Loed concerning the frogs which he had brought upon 

13 Pharaoh. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses ; and the frogs died out of the 

14 houses, out of the courts, and out of the fields. And they gathered them together in heaps : 

15 and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, 
and hearkened not unto them ; as the Lord had spoken. 

16 And the Lord said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of 

17 the earth, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And they did so ; and 
Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and there were 
lice upon man, and upon beast ; all the dust of the earth became lice throughout all the land 

18 of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they 

19 could not ; and there were lice upon man, and upon beast. Then the magicians said unto 
Pharaoh, This is the finger of (lod ; and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened 


not unto them ; as the Lord had spoken. 

The predicted trial, provoked through the 
daring of man, in measuring his strength against 
that of the living God, was to establish two 
facts for all ages and to all mankind In sight 
of Egypt (7 : 5) and of Israel (10 : 2) it was to 
evidence that God was Jehovah, the only true 
and living God, far above all power of men and 
of gods. This was one aspect of the judgments 
which were to burst upon Egypt. The other 
w'as, that he was the faithful Covenant-God who 
remembered his promises, and would bring out 
his people “ with a stretched-out arm and with 
great judgments,’’ to take them to himself for a 
people, and to be to them a God (6 :1-8). These 
are the eternal truths which underlie the history 
of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. How Israel 
understood and taught them to their children, 
appears from many passages of Scripture, esjie- 
cially from Ps.'78 gind 105. Nor is their appli¬ 
cation less suited to our wants. It exhibits 
alike the Law and the Gospel -the severity and 
the goodness of God—and may be summed up 
in that grand proclamation unto all the world : 
“ Jehovah reigneth.” A. E. 

The results pro'duced by these plagues were 
calculated to prepare the mind of Moses for the 
arduous work which lay before him in the lead¬ 
ing of the tribes through the wilderness. That 
enterprise would task to the utmost his courage, 
his patience, and his faith ; and reluctant to 
undertake it at the first, he might have been 
often tempted to give it up in despair, had he 
not been fortified with the assurance which the 
sight of these plagues produced within him, 
that the Lord whom he served was indeed Je¬ 
hovah, and had the resources of the universe at 
his command. Already the Lord was falfilling 
to him the promise, “ Certainly I will be with 
thee and this foretaste of his faithfulness 
strengthened him ever afterward. A similar 
effect would be produced on the Hebrews them¬ 
selves, wlio needed this f[uickening of their 


faith even more than Moses. They might for¬ 
get what they had seen done for them by God 
in Egypt ; but when it was recalled to their rec¬ 
ollection they would rise to faith iii the maj¬ 
esty of God ; while the fact that they them¬ 
selves experienced the effects of the first four 
plagues would tend to produce in them a fear 
of offending him who was “ the great and dread¬ 
ful God.” W. M. T. 

The first miracle is wrought to accredit the 
mission of the brothers ; it is simply credential, 
and unaccompanied by any infliction. Now 
come signs which show that the powers of na¬ 
ture are subject to the will of Jehovah, each 
plague being attended with grave consequences 
to the Egyptians, yet not inflicting severe loss 
or suffering ; then in rapid succession come 
ruinous and devastating plngues, murrain, boils, 
hail and lightning, locusts, darkness, and, lastly, 
the death of the firstborn. Each of the inflic¬ 
tions has a demonstrable connection with Egyp¬ 
tian customs and phenomena ; each is directly 
aimed at some Egyptian superstition ; all are 
marvellous, not for the most part as reversing, 
but as developing forces inherent in nature, and 
directing them to a special end. The effects 
correspond with these characteristics ; the first 
miracles are neglected ; the following plagues 
first alarm, and then for a season, subdue, the 
king, who does not give way until his firstborn 
is struck. Even that blow leaves him capable of 
a last effort, which completes his ruin and the 
deliverance of the Israelites Cook. 

From the fruitlessness of the first sign, it w'as 
evident that Pharaoh would not learn wisdom, 
till he had been made to suffer. The great judg¬ 
ments and strong arm of the Lord therefore be¬ 
gan at once to be manifested. Signs gave place 
to plagues; but the plagues still continued to 
be signs, which demonstrated the weakness of 
the gods of Egypt, and the complete supremacy 
of the God of Israel. The peculiarity of these 



cos 


FIRST AND SECOND PLAQUES. 


plagues was, that they possessed at the same 
time a natural and a supernatural character ; 
and therefore the way was left perfectly open 
for the exercise of either faith or unbelief : the 
more so as even that which was supernatural, 
when compared with the similar efforts of the 
Egyptian sorcerers, might be set down by un¬ 
belief as the result of ordinary magic. The first 
two plagues were repeated by the sorcerers ; but 
their weakness was manifested in the fact, that 
they could only increase the evil, and were un¬ 
able to remove the plagues, or render them 
harmless. But at the third plague their magical 
art was entirely exhausted, and they were unable 
to continue even their miserable imitations. K. 

The significance of these plagues consists in 
this, that well-known visitations occurred with 
unusual violence and in rapid succession—that 
they were called forth and ceased at Moses’ 
word—that the Egyptian sorcerers at the outset 
can only increase, not remove, the visitation ; 
and, finally, are obliged to declare themselves 
powerless and vanquished. This it is which 
jiroves to the Egyptians, under these circum¬ 
stances, the mighty saying of Jehovah, All the 
earth is mine.” At length a plague is inflicted 
which exceeds all the former in its awfulness, 
since it leaves the ground of nature on wdiich 
the others were exhibited—this is the slaughter 
of the firstborn. The number of the plagues is 
ien —the number of completeness—to signify 
the entire subjection of the land under its right¬ 
ful Owner. Gerl. 

The plagues were yet not so much 

in themselves as in the time, the manner, and 
the measure in which thej’’ came upon Egypt. 
As so often, the Lord here emploj^ed ordinary 
natural events. The supernaturalness of the 
plagues consisted in their severity, their suc¬ 
cessive occurrence, their coming and going at 
the word of Moses, their partial extent, and the 
unusual seasons and manner in which they ap¬ 
peared. "We also mark in them a regular ar¬ 
rangement and steady progress. Properly 
speaking, there were only nine plagues (3 x 3), 
the tenth “ stroke” being in reality the com¬ 
mencement of judgment by Jehovah himself, 
when he went out “ into the midst of Egypt ” 
to Slav its firstborn. Of these nine, the first 
three were in connection with that river and 
soil which formed the boast of Egypt, and the 
object of its w’orship. They extended over the 
whole country, and at the third the magicians 
confessed ; “ This is the finger of God.” By 
them the land was laid low in its pride and in 
its religion. The other six came exclusively 
upon the Egyptians, as the Lord had said ; “ I 


will put a division between my people and thy 
people,” “ to the end that thou mayest know 
that I am Jehovah in the midst of the land. ” If 
the first three plagues had shown the impotence 
of Egypt, the others proved that Jehovah reigned 
even in the midst of Egypt. Finally, the three 
last “ strokes” were not only far more terrible 
than any of the others, but intended to make 
Pharaoh know ” that there is none like me in 
all the earth.” To show that Jehovah, He is 
God ; that He was such in the midst of Egypt ; 
and finally, that there was none like Him in the 
midst of all the earth—or, that Jehovah was the 
living and the true God—such was the three¬ 
fold object of these ” strokes.” As to the length 
of time occupied by all, it seems likely that 
from the first plague an interval of 10 months 
elapsed prior to the slaying of the firstborn. All 
this time Phar^.oh was on his trial ! A. E. 

The First Plague (7 :17-25). 

The Water of the Nile turned into Blood. 

The purport of this plague is evident when we 
consider the sacredness of the Nile in the re¬ 
ligious system of the Egyptians, the importance 
of the water of the river, as well as of its abun¬ 
dant supply of fish, and the extent to which the 
Egj'^ptians depended upon these to supply their 
daily wants. On the monuments it is called 
the god Nile, the life-giving father of all that 
exists, the father of the gods, etc. The Egyp¬ 
tians were and still are enthusiastic in favor of 
the Nile water, wLich is in fact almost the only 
drinkable water in Egypt. The Turks enjoy 
the W'ater so much, that they eat salt in order 
that they may be able to drink all the more of 
it. K. 

17. Thou slialt know that I am the 
Tord. Pharaoh had asked, in a contemptu. 
ous manner, “ Who is the Lord ?” God there¬ 
fore now bids Moses tell him. He would make 
him know that He is the almighty Lord of the 

world. Bp. Patrick. -One great design of 

these visitations, growing more awful in their 
progress, was to make Pharaoh knfm and con¬ 
fess that the God of the Hebrew's was the 
Supreme Lord ; to exhibit his pow'er and his 
justice in the strongest light to “ all the nations 
of the earth,” and to execute judgment upon 
the Egyptians, and upon their gods. Hales. 

H9, The expressions in this verse show an 
accurate knowdedge of Egypt, where the water 
system was complete at a period long before 
Moses. Lepsius describes it carefullyL Their 
streams mean the natural branches of the Nile in 
Lower Egypt. The word rivers should rather 





609 


SECTION 86.-EXODUS 7 : 14-25; 8 : 1-19. 


be canals. They were of great extent, running 
])arallel to the Nile, and coujinunicating with it 
by sluices, which were opened at the rise, and 
closed at the subsidence of the inundation. 
The word rendered “ ponds” refers either to 
natural fountains, or more probably to cisterns 
or tanks found in every town and village. The 
“poo/.<f,” lit. “gathering of waters,” were the 
reservoirs, always large and some of enormous 
extent, containing sufficient water to irrigate 

the country in the dry season. Cook. -By 

stretching out his arm, and weaving his rod in 
different directions over the land, the judgment 
was to become universal. The various branches 
of the Nile, the canals derived from it, the 
ponds and reservoirs, all were to exhibit the 
spectacle of the same hideous and nauseous’ 
transformation ! Bush. 

!21. Phar aoh adores the life-sustaining power 
of nature, as embodied in the majestic river be¬ 
fore him. The God of nature transforms the 
running water into a river of death before his 
eyes. It demonstrates, in the way that was 
most striking to the Hebrew and the Egyptian, 
that the God of Israel was the true and only 
God of heaven and earth, and that all other ob¬ 
jects of worship were but the creatures of God 
or the works of men’s hands. M.-The fijili 

“ We remember the fish which we did 
eat in Egypt freely,” said the murmuring Israel¬ 
ites in the wilderness, from which it is obvious 
that fish constituted no small part of the food 
of the country. 

* 22 , TSie majfieiaiis <lid so. The shal¬ 
lowness of their pretences was palpable in their 
proposing to show their skill by increasing an 
evil which was already intolerable. If they had 
had any confidence in their own art they would 
rather have attempted to turn the blood into 
water than the reverse. But they chose to ape 
the miracle of Moses, and though there is no 
evidence of their succeeding even in this, yet 
the result went to harden still further the ob¬ 
durate heart of Pharaoh. Bush. 

Second Plague (8 : 1-15). 

Fr xjs Swarming from the Biver. 

1, 2, God again threatens the plague, before 
he inflicts it, that Pharaoh might know it came 
not by chance, but by Ilis determinate counsel ; 
and that he might prevent it by repentance and 
submission to the Divine commands. Bp. 
Patrick. 

5, 6. All God’s judgments stand ready, and 
wait but till they be called for. They need but 
a watchword to be given them. No sooner is 
the rod lift up, but they are gone forth into the 

39 


world ; presentlj’-, the waters run into blood, 
the frogs swarm about, and all the other troops 
of God come rushing in upon his adversaries. 

Bp. II. -In this case also, a creature honored 

by the Egyptians was made the instrument of 
their affliction, and they were compelled to re¬ 
gard it with disgust and horror. In the Egyp¬ 
tian mythology the frog was an emblem of man 
in embyro. There was also a frog-headed god 
and goddess,—the former supposed to be a 
form of Pthah, the creative power. The im¬ 
portance attached to the frog, in some parts of 
Egypb is shown by its being embalmed and 
honored with sepulture in the tombs of Thebes. 
Kit. 

7, Tlie magicians did so. As in the 

two former cases, so here also we see no posi¬ 
tive evidence that the magicians did anything 
more than go through certain preliminary cere¬ 
monies of jugglery which may perhaps have de¬ 
ceived the senses of the spectators, or they 
might have obtained them from among the mul¬ 
titudes produced by Moses and Aaron. Bush. 

-The jugglers of India will for a few pence 

do tricks with serpents far more wonderful than 
making them rigid so as to resemble staves i 
and any juggler could make water in a tank re¬ 
semble blood ; or, when the country was al¬ 
ready swarming with frogs, could cover some 
j)lace that had been cleared for the purpose with 
these reptiles, as if he had suddenly produced 
them. W. L. A. 

§, The plague was too formidable to be de¬ 
spised, too mighty to be resisted, too extensive' 
to be remedied. In the case of the waters turned 
into blood there was some mitigation of the 
scourge. They could procure pure water, though 
with great labor, by digging around the river. 
But from the plague of the frogs there was no> 
respite or relief. In their houses, in their beds, 
at their tables, they were incessantly infested 
by these hated intruders. The judgment in its 
extremity is no longer endurable. Pharaoh is 
compelled to intercede for its removal. Bush. 

_The fact that Pharaoh was at first inclined 

to yield (and we have no reason to doubt his 
sincerity for a moment), is a proof that his 
heart was not yet thoroughly hardened, that he 
still possessed a certain amount of susceptibil¬ 
ity for impressions from the testimony of God. 
But his relapse after the plague had been re¬ 
moved is also a proof that the process of hard¬ 
ening had previously commenced. K. 

In the expression, ‘‘ Intreat Jehovah, that he 
take away the frogs,” Pharaoh distinctly admits 
the impotence of the magicians and acknowl¬ 
edges the sujereme might of Jehovah. S>, In the 










610 


THIRD PLAGUE. 


responsive utterance of Moses, his generous and 
noble s^iirit not only foregoes reproach or taunt, 

but he honors the royalty of Pharaoh, B- 

How is God’s might glorified in the willing hu¬ 
mility of his messenger, who, by allowing Pha¬ 
raoh to fix the time, puts at the same time be¬ 
fore him a proof of the greatness of God ! Gerl. 

1*2-15. And the Lord did according^ 
lo the word of Moses. This is the second 
and decisive part of the miracle. The frogs 
suddenly die out of the land, are gathered in 
heaps or measures, and emit a grievous stench. 
Thus at the word of Moses they come, and at 
his word they go. There is a power here above 
nature. The God of nature is with Moses. He 
accomplishes what the magicians did not at¬ 
tempt. Pharaoh, however, thinks not of this 
demonstration of the divine jiower and mercy, 
but only of the “ respite.” On obtaining relief, 

his obduracy of heart returns. M.-The 

usual effect of the intermission of divine judg¬ 
ments upon obstinate offenders is here strik¬ 
ingly displayed. ” Let favor be showed to the 
wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness : in 
the land of uprightness wnll he deal unjustly, 
and will not behold the majesty of the Lord ” 
(Is. 26 :10). The respite granted in order to 
lead the rebellious king to repentance serves 
but to embolden him in the career of disobedi¬ 
ence, and harden his heart afresh. Bush. - 

Not the least sense of gratitude for the favor— 
the mercy of removing the plague ! How many 
of the sinners of our world have done this very 
thing ! Stricken down with sickness, have they 
not begged for life and besought the prayers of 
the good, and promised the Lord that with re¬ 
storing mercy they would give him their hearts 
and their lives? But when the respite came 
their vows w'ere forgotten ; their hearts were 
hardened. H. C. 

Thibd Plague (vs, 16-19). 

The Dust became Lice. 

16. SIrctcli out tliy ro<l. The judg¬ 
ment now to be inflicted was to be inflicted 
without any previous warning. On the other 
hand, the fourth and fifth were preceded -by a 
warning, while the sixth was not ; again, the 
seventh and eighth were announced, but not 
the ninth ; under the tenth the people -were 

sent away. Bush. -The two preceding plagues 

fell upon the Nile. This fell on the earth, 
which was worshipped under the name Seb, its 
personification, regarded, in the pantheistic 
system of Egypt, as the father of the gods. 
Cook .—-In the third plague, the Hebrew word 
for “ lice” were better rendered (j7ia's. Herod¬ 


otus (b.c. 400) speaks of the great trouble which 
they cause and of the precautions used against 
them. Hartmann testifies : “ All travellers 

speak of these gnats as an ordinary plague of 
the country.” “ So small as to be scarcely vis¬ 
ible to the eye, their sting notwithstanding 
causes a most painful irritation. They even 
creep into the eyes and nose, and after harvest 
rise in great swarms from the inundated rice 
fields.” (Keil.) H. C. 

IS. Tlic iiia$jiiciaiis did §o. That is, 
they tried the utmost of their skill, either to 
produce these insects, or to remove this plague ; 
but they could not—no juggling could avail here. 

A. C.-With all their skill in magic, and with 

all their dexterity in deceiving sj^cctators, they 
could not even succeed so far as they had al¬ 
ready done in producing a specious counterfeit 
of the work of Moses. Had they hitherto per¬ 
formed real miracles, how came they to be 
baffled now ? It cannot be a greater miracle to 
produce lice or gnats than to turn rods into 
serpents, water into blood, or to create frogs. 
Now, as the plague came without warning, they 
had no opportunity for contriving any expe¬ 
dient for imitating or impeaching the act of 
Moses. Bush. 

The relative power of the Egyptian magicians 
in the beginning must serve to show in so much 
clearer light their entire impotence, as it was 
first exhibited in the little gnats, and then con¬ 
tinued invariable. The contest was first inten¬ 
tionally carried on in a sphere to which the' 
Egj'ptian magicians, as we certainly know with 
reference to the first sign, had hitherto shown 
their principal power. After they had there 
been vanquished, the scene was changed to a 
sphere, in which they could not at all further 
contend, and the doom which in this way came 
upon them fell through them upon their gods. 
IDngs. 

19. The magicians try, but make an utter 
failure, and (what is to Pharaoh more provok¬ 
ing still) they frankly declare to him, “ This is 
the finger of God.” They retire from the con¬ 
test, and leave Pharaoh to fight it out alone. 
They can help him no longer. He is apparently 
vexed and maddened, but not at all subdued. 
Bather, he rouses himself to greater despera- 
tion, for the record puts these points in the 
closest connection : the frank admission, ” This 
is the finger of God and the stiffening of 
Pharaoh’s rebellious will—” And Pharaoh’s 
heart was hardened and he hearkened not unto 

them.” H. C.-Who would not have thought 

that this confession of the magicians, which 
was a virtual avowal of the impotency of their 










Gll 


SECTION 86.—EXODUS 7 : 14-25; 8 : 1-19. 


craft, together with the striking displeasure of 
the Almighty, manifested in the new calamity 
\isited upon him, would have made the haughty 
monarch at least begin to waver in his resolu¬ 
tion ? But we read that he grew more and more 
obstinate. Bu9i. 

Pharaoh saw real miracles. He never thought 
of questioning their genuineness ; and if he 
had, the words of his own magicians, “ This is 
the finger of God,’’ would have reproved him. 
Yet he did not submit himself to Jehovah. He 
preferred his own royal pride to the humility of 
obedience ; and so, the miracles notwithstand¬ 
ing, he resisted Jehovah. In the same way the 
Scribes and Pharisees saw Christ’s miracles, but 
were not thereby induced to become his follow¬ 
ers. They would not join his ranks, not be¬ 
cause they disiruted the reality of his miracles, 
but because they rebelled against the searching 
inwardness of his doctrines. And, in these 
days of ours, many men profess that they can¬ 
not believe in Jesus because of intellectual diffi¬ 
culties ; when the truth is, that they will not 
believe in him because their lives are con¬ 
demned by his words. Even if they were to see 
miracles wrought in his name before their eyes, 
it would make no difference to them ; they do 
not wish to have him as their Lord, and that is 
all. For all its intellectual pretensiveness, infi¬ 
delity springs from a heart that is wrong vdth 
God, far more frequently than from a head 
which is unusually acute. W. M. T. 

Points Kespecting Miracles. 

HFirade and prophecy are the two indispen¬ 
sable accompaniments, vehicles, and messen¬ 
gers of revelation. In each there is a manifes¬ 
tation to man of the fulness of the godhead ; in 
the former of the power of God, in the latter of 
his wisdom. And through each the divine ful¬ 
ness enters into a covenant association with the 
history of humanity, co-operates in its develop¬ 
ment, and insures its safe arrival at its destined 
end. That end is the incarnation of God and 
the consequent entrance of the whole fulness of 
the divine essence, in a living and iiersonal form, 
into an intimate and abiding union with man. 

It is a striking fact, that in Ihe whole of the patri¬ 
archal history, and in the primeval his'ory anterior 
to it, we do not meet with a single miracle performed 
by a man. Where any miracles occur, they are 
performed solely and exclusively by G^d him¬ 
self. We have in this fact a decisive argument 
against every mythical explanation of the patri¬ 
archal historj'’, and a strong proof of the histori¬ 
cal credibility of this portion of sacred historv. 
This absence of miraculous powers and of the 


gift of j^rophecy in the patriarchal age, and the 
frequency with which God appeared, are easily 
explained as parts of God’s regular plan for 
gradually revealing and communicating himself 
to the people of the covenant. It was an essen¬ 
tial element in the gifts of miracles and proph¬ 
ecy, that the performer of miracles did network 
them primarily for himself, but for others, and 
that the prophet did not proclaim the message 
from God/or himself, hut for those around. Now 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were the solitary re¬ 
cipients of the divine call ; God was related to 
them as a friend to a friend, and all the bless¬ 
ing, the protection, and the light, which he had 
to impart to them, were necessarily imparted 
directly to themselves, since there was no third 
person in existence who could mediate between 
the two. It was v^ery different when the seed of 
Abraham had become a numerous people. In¬ 
dividuals could then be raised up, endowed with 
divine power and wisdom, to be the channels 
of jiower and light from God to the rest of the 
people. In fact, it was necessary that such per¬ 
sons should rise up, to be the typical represen¬ 
tatives of the perfect m.ediatorship of the God- 
man, to whom the whole history of the covenant 
pointed, and at the same time to prejiare the 
way for his coming, so that when he appeared, 
it might be as the ripe fruit, the complete and 
mature result of the entire history. Hence we 
find that Moses was the first prophet sent by 
God, and, more especially, the first worker of 
miracles in the history of the world. K. 

Moses was the first to hear a Divine commission 
to others, lie was also ihe first to work miracles. 
Miracles present to us the union of ihe Divine 
and the human. All miracles pointed forward 
to the greatest of all jniracles, “ the mystery of 
godliness, into which angels desire to look 
the union of the Divine with the human, in its 
fullest appearance in the Person of the God- 
Man. Thus in these two aspects of his office, 
as well as in his mission to redeem Israel from 
bondage and to sanctify them unto the Lord, 
Moses was an eminent type of Christ. “ Where¬ 
fore” let us “ consider the Apostle and High 
Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus ; who was 
faithful to him that appointed him, as also 
Moses was faithful in all his house as a servant, 
for a testimony of those things which were to 
be spoken after ; but Christ as a Son over his 
own house ; whose house are we, if we hold 
fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope 
firm unto the end ” A. E. 

The miracles of Moses were twofold in char¬ 
acter and purpose : one class designed to iden¬ 
tify God to the people and be a witness to his 





G12 


POINTS RESPECTING MIRACLES. 


present hand, to confirm their faith in him as 
their Delive-rer : the otlier designed by terrible 
infiictions of calamity, to force upon Pharaoh’s 
hardened heart the conviction of Jehovah’s 
])(uver and compel him to let God's people go. 
These two objects were to be accomplished ; the 
Hebrew people were to be assured that their 
own God had indeed come ; Pharaoh must be 
made to know who Jehovah is ; how fearful the 
judgments of his uplifted hand are ; and how 
vain it is for mortals, though on thrones of hu¬ 
man power, to lift up themselves against the 
Almighty. H. C. 

The historian intends to produce the impres¬ 
sion that these plagues were miraculously in¬ 
flicted. The matter to be established was the 
personal existence and supremacy of Jehovah. 
The ground on which the demand of Moses was 
based was not that the Hebrews had a right to 
their civil freedom, though that was true, but 
that Jehovah had the prior claim to their ser- 
vice, and that Pharaoh too was bound to jdeld 
him obedience. The great reason constantly 
assigned by God for Pharaoh’s submission to 
him was, “ I am Jehovah." This involved an 
assertion of his sovereignty over the universe ; 
and he could prove that he was the upholder of 
the common order of nature only by deviating 
from that order in certain previously indicated 
instances.^ If there be an intelligent and per¬ 
sonal Cause sustaining the common order of 
nature, it is just as possible for him to deviate 
in exceptional cases, and for a worthy end, from 
that order, as it is for him to carry it continu¬ 
ously on. So, if the being of God bo admitted 
at all, the possibility of miracles is involved in 
that admission. But Pharaoh admitted in the 
abstract the being of Deity, onl}^ he contended 
that the god whom he worshipped was the true 
God ; and now by this series of miracles Je¬ 
hovah demonstrated that He alone is the ruler 
of the universe. W. M. T. 

When God sent Moses to deliver a new law to 
the Israelites, he attended him with a miracu¬ 
lous power, to testify it to be his will that what 
Moses delivered should be entertained. So 
the miracles performed by Christ were a confir¬ 
mation of his commission. They were miracles 
of that nature that had not been performed by 
any prophet before him. And those miracles 
done by him which were of the same kind with 
those done by the projihets of old, were done 
with more ease, and in a way of absolute au¬ 
thority. These were such credentials, that the 
very devils knew him to be the Messiah, the 
Sent of God. But when a doctrine is settled 
and a Church established, God forbears those 


extraordinary works, as he did the raining down 
manna after the Israelites’ entrance into Canaan, < 
where they might have provision in an ordinary 
way of jDrovidence. We have now rational wa 3 ^s 
to introduce us to a belief of the Christian doc¬ 
trine ; and hence miracles, as of old, have 
ceased. Charnock. 

Creation is God’s bringing his creatures into 
existence. Ordinary Providence is God’s sus¬ 
taining and governing all his creatures and all 
their actions after they are created. This ordi¬ 
nary providence always works through natural 
causes and according to the uniformities of nat¬ 
ural law. The supernatural working of God em¬ 
braces all of his various modes of acting upon 
or through his creatures, which produces effects 
beyond their natural powers to produce, and 
different from the uniform method of natural 
law This includes special interventions, gra¬ 
cious operations, revelations, and sjpecificall^’’, 
miracles. 

“ Miracle,” as a technical word, refers only 
to a class of supernatural events alleged to have 
occurred in connection with the origin of the 
Jewish and of the Christian religions, which are 
recorded in the Old and New Testament Script¬ 
ures as a mode of divine attestation to the 
divine origin of these religions. We exclude 
from this term, miracle : 1. All spiritualistic 

phenomena —ghost-flitting, spirit-rapping, de¬ 
moniac possession or other manifestation of 
merely superhuman power. 2. Extraordinary 
providences, as the diaught of fishes and flight of 
quails mentioned in Scripture. 3. All possible 
special intervention and modification of the 
ordinary course of providence in the spiritual 
education of souls. 4. All the gracious acts of 
God in the spiritual sphere, regenerating and 
sanctifying the souls of his people. 5. His 
supernatural operations in the minds of his 
prophets, revealing truth, disclosing future 
events and inspiring them as public teachers. 

The “ Miracle” should be defined thus : An 
event, occurring in the material world, obvious 
to the senses, of such a nature that it can be 
rationally referred only to the immediate act of 
God as its direct cause, accompanying a teacher 
of religion sent from God, and designed to au¬ 
thenticate his divine commission. A A. Ilndge. 

If men are blind to God and divine things, 
having chosen not to retain him in their knowl¬ 
edge ; so that the works of nature and his ordi¬ 
nary Providence do not bring him before their 
minds—so that he is hidden from them ; how 
shall he make himself known? In what other 
way than by miracles, or by a supernatural 
manifestation ? When the heavens no longer 




613 


SECTION 86.—EXODUS 7 : 14-25; 8 : 1-19. 


declare his glory, nor the firmament his handi- 
woik, when the Creation and secondary causes 
are falsely looked upon as self supported and 
ultimate, how shall he reveal himself save by a 
supernatural incoming into the order of nature 
and of history, by which his presence shall be 
undeniably recognized ? The miracle in some 
form is the oidy conceivable mode of levelation 
to men who see not God in the ordinary course 
of things, or to the world as it is, under the 
dominion of sin. Miracle and revelation are 
interchangeable terms. To believe in the pos¬ 
sibility of a miracle is simply to believe in God 
—in fact, every 'one does believe in a miracle 
who believes in a creator. To believe in the 
fact of a miracle, simply requires that an ade¬ 
quate motive for one should exist ; that a suffi¬ 
cient motive should be presented to the Divine 
benevolence. Grant such a motive, and every 
presunqition against the occurrence of a miracle 
disappears. To suppose that the power of God 
is restrained by the Creation, or that his benev¬ 
olence is shut up to the usual methods of bless¬ 
ing mankind by the regular operation of natural 
causes, is to deny God. Belief or disbelief in 
the miracles depends at last on whether you 
deem the occasion for them, or the need of light 
and help from above, to be a real and sufficient 
occasion ; whether, in short, you believe and 
think it credible and desirable that a benevolent 
God should reveal himself to mankind. Belief 
or disbelief is thus contingent on the moral 
views and the moral state, the opinion which 
men have of their character and spiritual wants, 
and the sense they have of the evil and danger 
of being separated from God. It is here that 
the Bible places the grounds of faith and of un¬ 
belief. G. P. Fisher. 

God can override every force by a higher 
force ; but this higher fctce is no created 
energy, but his creative fiat-his will-whose 
function is to suspend every other force, and to 
control every law. Every disturbance that 
might occur in consequence he can avoid by the 
same energy by which he suspends any natural 
force. Should he arrest a planet in its orbit, he 
could provide all the compensations that might 
be required to avert or check or turn aside the 
results that might otherwise ensue. His hand 
IS not only on the driving lever that starts and 
stops and regulates the engine, but his jires- 
ence and spirit are in all the wheels, and pul¬ 
sate in that vast organization which we call the 
universe of matter and spirit. For God to sus¬ 
pend a force or break a law, is, however, never 
A lawless or an unreasonable act, Evei’y mir¬ 
acle is performed for some rea.son. >Jo force of 


nature is ever suspended, no law is broken, ex¬ 
cept to reveal a present and personal God, ana 
to enforce a sense of his presence which is yet 
above nature, by some manifestation through 
nature, in order that some impressive moral or 
spiritual lesson may be conveyed. 

It follows that a story of a miracle is credible 
whenever a sufficient reason for its occurrence 
can be given or supposed. We believe that a 
miracle is credible whenever it is required for 
any worthy end which God may propose, for 
the same reason that we believe in the unbroken 
reign of law in the ordinary routine of nature, 
because of the ends which this dominion of law 
will subserve. We believe that the laws of na 
ture may be broken when the occasion requires, 
for the same reason that we believe them to be 
unbroken in the ordinary routine of life. Not 
only is a miracle credible, but it becomes prob¬ 
able, when the occasion justifies it. The end 
proposed in a miracle may not only justify our 
reason in believing it, it may even require this 
faith of both reason and conscience. Is what 
is usually called nature the whole of the uni¬ 
verse ? Or if you enlarge the conception of na¬ 
ture, so as to take into it spiritual beings who 
are immortal, are all their interests limited to 
power, wealth, enjoyment, to social affection, 
culture, art, and civilization, and even to char¬ 
acter—if you leave out of character responsibil¬ 
ity to one's self and to God, with its results of 
confirmed sin or confirmed holiness—are these 
all that man should care for, or all that God does 
care for? If there is more, this outweighs all 
the rest. If man is responsible, then he is 
guilty and weak, and needs forgiveness acd 
help. He also needs the assurance of both in 
such form that he cannot doubt the reality and 
cannot help being moved by the love. In one 
word, he needs the supernatural and the mir¬ 
aculous Christ, just the Christ of the gospel 
story, and he needs him more than anything 
and everything besides. If there is a living and 
loving God, shall he not supply this want? If, 
in order to supply it, he must meet man with 
such miraculous works as break through the 
order of nature in order to manifest his pres¬ 
ence, shall we believe the story the less or the 
more because it records supernatural deeds? 
Well might Coleridge say, “ Evidences of 
Christianity ! 1 am weary of the phrase—make 

a man feel his need of Christianity, and give 
him right conceptions of what Christianity is, 
and he cannot but believe it to be from God, 
and this by a most natural and rational judg¬ 
ment.” N. Porter. [See New Testament, vol. 
1, Section 177.] 







614 


FOURTH, FIFTH, SIXTH, AND SEVENTH PLAGUES. 


Ssction 87. 

FOURTH, FIFTH, SIXTH, AND SEVENTH PLAGUES. 

Exodus 8 ; 20-32 ; 9 :1-35. 

8 ; 20 And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh ; 
lo, he cometh torth to the water ; and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Let my people 

21 go, that they may serve me. Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send 
swarms of Hies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy 
houses : and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the 

22 ground whereon they are. And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in whicdi my 
people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there ; to the end thou mayest know that I 

23 am the Lord in the midst of the earth. And I will put a division between my people and 

24 thy people ; by to-morrow shall this sign be. And the Lord did so ; and there came 
grievous swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses : and in 

25 all the land of Egypt the land was corrupted by reason of the swarms of flies. And Pharaoh 

26 called for Moses and for Aaron, and said. Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. And 
Moses said. It is not meet so to do ; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyp¬ 
tians to the Lord our God : lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before 

27 their e\es,'and will they not stone us ? We will go three days’journey into the wilder- 

28 ness, and sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he shall command us. And Pharaoh said, I 
will let you go, that ye maj^ sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness ; only ye shall 

29 not go very far away : intreat for me. And Moses said. Behold, I go out from thee, and I 
will intreat the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, 
and from his people, to-morrow : only let not Pharaoh deal deceit!ullj’’ any more in not let- 

30 ting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord. And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and in- 

31 treated the Lord. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses ; and he removed the 
swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people ; there remained not 

32 one. And Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he did not let the people go. 

9 ; 1 Then the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him. Thus saith the Lord, 

2 the God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if thou refuse to 

3 let them go, and wilt hold them still, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle 
which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the herds, 

4 and upon the flocks : there shall be a very grievous murrain. And the Lord shall sever be¬ 
tween the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt ; and there shall nothing die of all that 

5 belongeth to the children of Israel. And the Lord appointed a set time, saying. To-morrow 

6 the Lord shall do this thing in the land. And the Lord did that thing on the morrow, and 

7 all the cattle of Egypt died : but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one. And 
Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not so much as one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. 
But the heart of Pharaoh was stubborn, and he did not let the people go. 

8 And the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the 

9 furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in ihe sight of Pharaoh. And it shall 
become small dust over all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with 

10 blains upon man and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt. And they took ashes 
of the furnace, and stood before Pharsoh ; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven ; and 

11 it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man and upon beast. And the n.agicians 
could not stand before Moses because of the boils : for the boils were upon the magicians, 

12 and upon all the Egyptians. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he heark¬ 
ened not unto them ; as the Lord had spoken unto Moses. 

13 And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, 
and say unto him. Thus saith the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that 

14 they may serve me. For I will this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon 
thy servants, and upon thy people ; that thou mavest know that there is none like me in 

15 all the earth. For now I had put forth my hand, and smitten thee and thy people with 

16 pestilence, and thou hadst been cut off from the earth : but in very deed for this cause 


G15 


SECTION- 87.—EXODUS 8 : 20-32; 9 : 1-35. 

have 1 made thee to stand, for to shew thee my power, and that my name may be declared 

17 throughout all the earth. As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt 

18 not let them go ? Behold, to-morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous 

19 hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the day it was founded even until now. Now 
therefore send, hasten in thy cattle and all that thou hast in the field ; for every man and 
beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come 

20 down upon them, and they shall die. He that feared the word of the Lord among the 

21 servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses : and he that 
regarded not the word of the Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field. 

22 And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may 
be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and itpon beast, and upon every herb of the 

23 field, throughout the land of Egypt. And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven : 
and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down unto the earth ; and the Lord 

24 rained hail upon the land of Egypt, So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, 

25 very grievous, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And 
the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and 

2G beast ; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. Only 

27 in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail. And Pharaoh 
sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time : the 

28 Lord is righteous, and I and my jjeople are wicked. Intreat the Lord ; for there hath been 
enough of these mighty thunderings and hail ; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no 

29 longer. And Moses said unto him. As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread 
abroad my hands unto the Lord ; the thunders shall cease, neither shall there be any more 

30 hail ; that thou mayest know that the earth is the Lord’s. But as for thee and thy ser- 

31 vants, I know that ye will not yet fear the Lord God, And the flax and the barley were 

32 smitten : for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was boiled. But the wheat and the 

33 spelt were not smitten : for they were not grown up. And Moses went out of the city 
from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the Lord : and the thunders and hail 

34 ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth. And when Pharaoh saw that the 
rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his 

35 heart, he and his servants. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let 
the children of Israel go ; as the Lord had spoken by Moses. 


The Fourth Plague (8 :20-32). 

S'carms of Flies. 

Some may inquire, why did God punish the 
country by such minute and contemptible ani¬ 
mals as frogs, lice, flies, rather than by bears, 
lions, leopards, or other kinds of savage beasts, 
which prey on human flesh ? or if not b}'^ these, 
why not by the Egj'ptian asp, whose bite is in¬ 
stant death ? First, God chose rather to correct 
than to destroy the inhabitants ; for if he de¬ 
sired to annihilate them utterly, he had no need 
to have made use of animals as his auxiliaries, 
bqt of the divinely’’ inflicted evils of famine and 
pestilence. Next, men, when they war, seek 
the most powerful aid to supi3ly their own 
weakness ; but God, the highest and greatest 
power, who stands in need of nothing, if at any 
time he chooses to employ instruments to inflict 
chastisement, chooses not the strongest and 
greatest, but rather the mean and the minute, 
which he endues with irresistible power to chas¬ 
tise offenders. Philo. 

21-23. The first three plagues were inflicted 


alike on the Egyptians and Hebrews. But as 
this may have contributed to prevent the Egyp¬ 
tians from seeing the finger of God in the pre¬ 
vious plagues, a distinction was henceforth to 
be made, and the land of Goshen to be exempted 
from the calamities still impending. 

24-27. It is evident that each successive 
plague thus far exceeded in intensity that which 
w'ent before it, and so grievous was the present, 
that with a view to its removal Pharaoh sent 
for Moses and Aaron and proposed to them a 
compromise. Unable to bear the tormenting 
scourge, and yet unwilling to re.sign his grasp 
of his Hebrew bondmen, by a half-way measure 
he would secure himself from injury in botli 
respects. He consents that they should sacri¬ 
fice to«their God, provided they would do it in 
the land of Egypt. The reply of Moses was 
prompt and decided. Implicit obedience was 
his only rule of conduct, and by adhering in 
the most inflexible manner to the expressed 
will of Jehovah, the name of Moses has come 
down to the latest generation honored by the 
testimony of pre-eminent ^ Closes was 



CLG 


FOURTH, FIFTH, AND SIXTH PLAGUES. 


faithful in all his house,” Far from accepting 
this concession, he tells Pharaoh there is no 
alternative. His entire requisition must be com¬ 
plied with. Bush. -Nor is there little praise 

due to the firmness of Moses, who boldly and 
unreservedly rejected the pretended moderation 
of the tyrant, because it would have interfered 
with the will of God. He declares that the 
Israelites would do no otherwise than as God 
had prescribed. C'alv. 

The demand does not refer to a journey 
to Sinai, which would have occupied much 
longer time. Pharaoh grants the permission, 
not however without imposing a condition 
which would have enabled him to take effectual 
measures to prevent the final emigration of the 
Israelites, The power of the Pharaohs ex¬ 
tended far beyond the frontier, especially on 

the road to Palestine. Cook. -Whether he 

was henceforth to lose entirely so considerable 
and so useful a part of the population of the 
kingdom, was the Egyptian king’s view of the 
(juestion ; to which is to be added the appre¬ 
hension that becoming thus independent of 
their control, they might one day resolve them¬ 
selves into a very dangerous hostile power on 
the frontiers, whether in the desert as pastoral 
nomads, or as a settled people in Palestine. 
Viewing the matter thus, as the Egyptian king 
unquestionably did, his conduct, though no 
more excusable, is somewhat less surprising. 
Bush, 

•liO. How ready God is to accept sinners’ sub¬ 
missions. Pharaoh does but say. Entreat for 
me (though it is with regret that he humbles so 
fiir), and Moses promises immediatel}^ I will 
entreat the Lord for thee ; that ho might see what 
the design of the plague was, not to bring him 
to ruin, but to bring him to repentance. With 
what pleasure did God say (1 K, 21 : 29), Seest 

thou how Ahab humbles himself? H.-Deal 

cleceitfiilly. It was an act of exti'aordinary 
boldness openly and before the tyrant’s face to 
reproach him for his falsehoods, and at the 
same time to threaten him with punishment 
unless he desisted from them. Calv. 

The issue of all was, that God gra¬ 
ciously removed the plague (vs. 30, 31), but 
Pharaoh perfidiously returned to his hardness, 
and would not let the people go (v, 32). His pride 
would not let him part with such a flower of 
his crown as his dominion over Israel was, nor 
his covetousness with such a branch of his rev¬ 
enue as their labors were. H,-By a law of 

our nature the insensibility of conscience grows 
apace with every act of defiance to its sugges¬ 
tions ; and if the warnings of one adverse provi¬ 


dence have failed to impress, another and an¬ 
other, each more fitted to appall and arrest than 
the former, may fall short of its moral efficacy 
tor turning us from the evil of our ways. When 
Pharaoh saw that there was a respite- he fell 
from his promises and professions, and relapsed 
into his former hardness, and—as is the case 
with all backsliding—into a greater hardness 
than before. T. C. 

The Fifth Plague (9 :1-7). 

Cattle destroyed by a Murrain. 

The word murrain, i.e. a great mortalitj’’, ex¬ 
actly expresses the meaning. This terrible vis¬ 
itation struck far more severely, than the pre¬ 
ceding, which had caused distress and suffering ; 
it attacked the resources of the nation. 3, Tlie 
CSllliels. These animals are only twice men¬ 
tioned, here and in Gen. 12 : 16, in connection 
with Egypt. In this passage the enumeration 
of cattle is studiously complete. Cook. 

We may observe a’ particular scope and mean¬ 
ing in this calamity with regard to the Egyp¬ 
tians, which would not have existed in respect 
to any other people. It is well known that they 
held in idolatrous reverence the lion, wolf, dog, 
cat, ape, and goat. But they had gods which 
they held in still greater reverence than these ; 
such were the ox or steer ; the cow and heifer ; 
and the ram. Among these the Apis and 
Mnevis are well knowm ; the former, a sacred 
bull adored at Memphis ; and the latter at Heli¬ 
opolis. There was also a cow or heifer which 
had the like honors at Momemphis. To these 
may be added the goat at Mendes, though per¬ 
haps not so celebrated as the others. This 
judgment, therefore, uiion the kine of Egypt, 
was very significant in its execution and pur¬ 
port. The Egyptians not only suffered a severe 
loss, but, what was of far greater consequence, 
they saw the representative of their deities, 
and their deities themselves, sink before the 
“ God of the Hebrews.” There is reason to 
think that both the camel and ass were held 
sacred, which were involved in the same calam¬ 
ity. Hence it is said by the sacred writer, 
“ Upon their gods also the Lord executed judg¬ 
ments” (Num. 33 : 4). To the Israelites, the 
worship of the Egyptians must at this time have 
appeared in a contemptible light, and their 
gods despicable. Their separation too and 
exemption during these evils must have had 
still greater weight. It rendered them more 
ready to quit a people from whom they were so 
distinguished. Bryant. 

5. To-morrow llie I.<or€l shall <lo 
this tiling ill the land. The fixing of the 








617 


SECTION 8 7.—EXOD US 
time in this manner would make the judgment 

when it came the more remarkable. “ iFeknownot 

what any day will bring forth, and therefore can¬ 
not say what we will do to-morrow, but God can.” 

6. All tlie eaaie of Egypt <licd. That 
is, some of all sorts ; not absolutely each and 
every one ; for we find (vs. 19, 25) some remain- 
ing-which were smitten by a, subsequent plague. 
This peculiar usage of the word “ all,” as denot¬ 
ing .some of oil Jcifid.s, instead of the ohaolute 
totality of the number spoken of, is of great 
importance to a right understanding of the 
sacred Scriptures throughout. Bush. 

The Sixth Plague (vs, 8-12). 

Boils upon Mm and Beast. 

This maiks a distinct advance and change in 
the character of the visitations. Hitherto the 
had not been attacked directly in 
their owm persons. It is the second jilague 
which was not preceded bj'^ a demand and warn¬ 
ing, probably on account of the peculiar hard¬ 
ness showm by Pharaoh in reference to the mur¬ 
rain. Cook. -Hitherto the Lord has tried to 

move the heart of the king by a series of ex¬ 
ternal privations and penalties. The want of 
water, the presence of a loathsome reptile, the 
creeping and biting of a nauseous insect, the 
tierce stinging of the fly swarm, and the loss 
occasioned by the pestilence among the cattle, 
have been all in vain. Now the life is men¬ 
aced. M. 

9. A boil breaking forth with 
blaill!>t. The wmrd rendered boil is derived 
from “ burning inflammation,” and is used 
elsewhere of plague boils, of the leprosy, and 
elephantiasis. Here it means probably a burn 
ing tumor or carbuncle breaking out in pustu¬ 
lous ulcers. Cook. 

11. The iiiagieiaiis could not stand 
before Closes. They had probably hitherto 
continued to linger about the person of Pha¬ 
raoh, confirming him in his obstinate refusal to 
let the people go, and pretending that though 
Moses had thus far performed works beyond 
their skill, yet they should doubtless be too 
hard for him at last ; but now', being seized 
with these loathsome and painful ulcers, they 
were utterly confounded and henceforth no 

more heard of. Bush. -Thus they were 

driven the field. Their powder w'as restrained 
before, but they continued to confront Moses 
and confirm Pbaraoh in his unbelief, till now' 
they were forced to retreat and could not stand 
before Moses, to which the apostle refers (2 
Tim. 3 : 9), w'hen he says, that their folly was 
made manifest unto all men. H. 


8 : 20-32; 9 : 1-35. 

12. God had threatened that he would harden 
Pharaoh’s heart, but we do not, until w'e come 
to the present passage, find it expressly said 
that he did harden it. Not that God, by a posi¬ 
tive act, created any hardness of heart in Pha¬ 
raoh, or that he immediately put forth any in¬ 
fluence to render him callous and incapable of 
right feeling. He had before hardened his own 
heart by resisting both the grace and the w'rath 

of heaven. Bash -Now “ the Lord,” for 

the first time, “ hardened the heart of Pharaoh,” 
after he had so repeatedly hardened it himself, 
” and he hearkened not unto them, as the Lord 
had foretold unto Moses.” Though Pharaoh 
probably felt the scourge of the boil,” as w'ell 
as his people, it did not soften nor humble his 
heart. And when he wilfully and obstinately 
turned aw'ay from the light, and shut his eyes 
against the luminous evidences vouchsafed to 
him of the supremacy of the God of the He¬ 
brews, and had twice broken his promise, w'hen 
he was indulged with a respite, and dealt deceit¬ 
fully, he became a just object of punishment. 
And such is the usual and the righteous course 
of his providence ; when nations or individuals 
despise the w'arnings of heaven, abuse their 
best gifts, and resist the means of grace, “ God 
then delivers them over to a reprobate or undis¬ 
cerning mind ” (Kom. 1 : 28 ; Eph. 4 :19). 

Hales. -Before, he had hardened his own heart, 

and resisted the grace of God ; and now', God 
justly gave him up to his ow'n heart’s lusts, to 
a reprobate mind, and strong delusions, per¬ 
mitting Satan to blind and harden him, and 
ordering everything from henceforw'ard so as to 
make him more and more obstinate. Wilfxd 
hardness is commonly punished with judicial 
hardness. If men shut their eyes against the 
light, it is just w'ith God to close their eyes. 
Let us dread this as the sorest judgment a man 
can be under on this side hell. H. (Sec. 85.) 

When we have accounted for the hardening 
of Pharaoh’s heart satisfactorily on the one 
principle—the w'ell-know'n proclivities and ac¬ 
tivities of a proud, stubborn human heart, it is 
entirely unphilosophical to bring in another 
principle, viz. the miraculous, immediate, di¬ 
rect action of Almighty Power. When W'e have 
jiroved the former pow'er adequate to produce 
all the results, w'e have virtually precluded the 
latter. There can be no reason w'hatever for 
assuming a joint, co-ordinate action of both the 
natural laws of the human mind and of the 
supernatural power of God. If the former suf¬ 
fices, the latter is uncalled for. Miracles are 
never to be assumed where non-miraculous 
agency is fully adequate. It is of no use for us 







G18 


THE SEVENTH PLAGUE. 


to find fault with the way in which the Script¬ 
ures speak of God’s hand in the existence of 
sin. There is no special mystery about it. It 
certainly does not involve the least moral ob¬ 
liquity on God’s part ; and it is therefore every 
way prudent and wise to interpret such lan¬ 
guage in harmony with the common-sense of 
the case and with the well-known character of 

God. H. C.-Merciful wf^rnings harden men 

every day. They were full, frequent, sincere, 
and earnest in Pharaoh’s case ; and sustained 
by prodigies of power which should have se¬ 
cured conviction. Favorable opportunities of 
repenting and returning to duty harden men 
every day. But they are surely granted in 
mercy. The withdrawing of His Spirit, oft re¬ 
sisted, is a terrible but righteous procedure. 
Hardness of heart inevitably ensues. An. 

The Seventh Plague (vs. 13-35). 

Thunder, Hail and Fire. 

With this begins the last series of plagues, 
W'hich differ from the former both in their se¬ 
verity and their effects. Each produced a tem¬ 
porary, bat real change in Pharaoh’s feelings. 
The plagues which precede appear to have been 
spread over a considerable time ; the first mes¬ 
sage of Moses was delivered after the early 
harvest of the 5 'ear before, when the Israelites 
could gather stubble, i.e. in April and May : 
the second mission, when the plagues began, 
was probably toward the end of June, and they 
went on at intervals until the winter ; this 
plague was in February. Cock. 

13-15, Six times the demand had been made 
in vain, yet Moses must make it the seventh 
time. Let my peop'e go (v. 13). A most dreadful 
message Moses is here ordered to deliver to 
him, whether he will hear, or whether he will 
forbear. He must tell him that he is marked 
for ruin ; that he now stands as the butt at 
which God would shoot all the arrows of his 

wrath. H.-If lesser judgments do not do 

their work, God will send greater. Moses is 
charged to tell Pharaoh that, in the plagues that 
remained to be inflicted there would be a kind 
of concentrated terribleness, so that each one 
should come upon him as if with the accumu¬ 
lated weight of all the rest. They were to be 
such plagues as should not only endanger the 
body, but smite the heart, the inward spirit with 
such terror, that it would seem as if the whole 
magazine of heaven’s vengeance were opened 
upon him and his people. This seems to be 
what is intended by the language—“ I will at 
this time send all my plagues upon thine 
heart,” where we are probably to understand 


by “ this time,” the lime occupied by the whole 
ensuing course of judgments that should finally 
end in the utter destruction of Pharaoh. Bush. 

15, 16. The reason why God did not at once 
destroy Pharaoh and his people is thus stated 
by the Lord Himself : “ For now if I had 

stretched forth my hand and smitten thee and 
thy people with the pestilence, then hadst thou 
been cut off from the earth. But now in very 
deed for this cause have I let thee stand (made 
thee stand, raised thee up), for to show in thee 
my power (perhaps, to let thee see or experience 
it—this is the first reason ; the second)—and 
that my Name may be declared throughout all 
the earth.” That this actually was the result 
we gather from Chap. 15 : 14. Na}'', the tidings 

spread not only among the Arabs, but long 
afterward among the Greeks and Romans, and 
finally, through the Gospel, among all nations 
of the earth. A. E. 

The Greek translates very justly, ‘ ‘ For this 
cause thou hast been preserved and most of 
the versions express the true meaning of the 
passage better than our English translation. 
The reason of the words and the true meaning 
of them is this : Moses had wrought several 
miracles before Pharaoh without effect. Here¬ 
upon he delivers him a severer message, threat¬ 
ening that God w'ould send all his plagues upon 
his heart, to smite him with pestilence and to 
cut him off from the earth : and, ” indeed,” 
continues he, speaking still in the name of 
God, “ for this cause have I preserved thee 
hitherto, to show in thee my power that is, 
I had cut thee off sooner for thy obstinacy, but 
that I intended to make my power over thee 
more conspicuous. So that the w'ords signify, 
that Pharaoh was hitherto preserved by the for¬ 
bearance of God to be a more remarkable ex¬ 
ample ; not that he was born to be brought to 
ruin. Shuckford. 

The issue is to be joined between Jehovah 
and his people with the great central civiliza¬ 
tion of earth, with a view to recall the world to 
a knowdedge of the true God. It is important 
to the interests of the world and the interests 
of God’s truth that the real wickedness of Pha¬ 
raoh shall be brought out, and the justice of 
God’s dealings with him be evinced. Hence 
the apostle, in Romans, cites this case as the 
grand historical dlustration of the sovereignty 
of God, in glorifying himself by the destruction 
of the impenitent as well as by the salvation of 
the believing penitent. It is no question here 
of ethics as between man and man from the 
hnman point of view% but of the j^urposes and 
the honor of God from a divine point of view. 






SECTION 87.—EXODUS 8 : 20-32; 9 : 1-35. 


G19 


8. R.-It was a most signal and memorable 

instance of the power God has to humble and 
bring down the proudest of his enemies. 
Everything concurred to signalize this, that 
God’s name, that is, his incontestable sover¬ 
eignty, his irresistible power, and his inflexible 
justice might be declared throughout all ages 
while the earth remains. H. 

From this and other express declarations we 
know that the Hebrew institutions were not de¬ 
signed for the exclusive benefit of the Hebrew 
people. Solomon prays (1 K. 8 ; 60) that God 
Would “ maintain the cause of his people Israel 
at all times, that all the people of the earth may 
know that Jehovah is God, and that there is 
none else,” According to this decisive testi¬ 
mony, the Hebrew history and institutions from 
the very first .stood connected with the com¬ 
munication of the knowledge of the true God 
to all the peo 2 :ile of the eaith. E. C. W. 

Only one day for thought and re¬ 
pentance was granted to Pharaoh before the 
seventh s'rolce descended. It consisted of such 
hail as had never been seen in Egypt, mingled 
with thunder and fiery lightning. The cattle 
in Egypt are left out to graze from January to 
April, and such of the Egyptians as gave heed 
to the warning of Moses withdrew their cattle 
and servants into shelter, and so escaped the 
consequences ; the rest suffered loss of men 
and beasts. That some “ among the servants 
of Pharaoh” ‘‘ feared the word of Jehovah” 
(V. 20) affords evidence of the spiritual effect of 
these “ strokes.” A. E. 

22-25. In Egypt hail is unknown, and rain 
is a rare phenomenon. A storm in which these 
elements were combined with prodigious power 
— the rain in floods, hailstones of prodigious 
size and force, thunder in awful crashes, and 
lightning that ran like fire along the ground - 
must have been a most astonishing and dread¬ 
ful spectacle to the Egyptians. Nor was the 
terror all. The actual calamity inflicted was 
most serious. Those who, despite the warning, 
left their cattle abroad in the fields, saw them 
stricken dead by the hailstones, and it also 
smote every bush, and broke every tree of the 
field. Kit. 

27. Pharaoh’s confession i*eacbes further 
than before, even to the acknowledgment of 
})ersonal guilt : Jehovah is in the right,—he 
and his people in the wrong. Put it is only 
this time : he does not include the former times. 
It is a touch of nature in the narrative, that 
the spirit of Pharaoh is dismayed by the awful 
and to him unusual terrors of the thunderstorm. 
At such times even the bravest and hardest are 


frequently affrighted by an unaccountable panic. 
Alf. 

2§. Amid all these storms Pharaoh sleep- 
eth ; till the voice of God’s mighty thunders, 
and hail mixed with fire, roused him up a little. 
Now, as betwixt sleeping and waking, he starts 
up and says, “ God is righteous, I am wicked ; 
Moses, jrray for us and presently lays down 
his head again. God hath no sooner done 
thundering, than he hath done fearing. All 
this while you never find him careful to prevent 
anv one evil, but desirous still to shift it off 
when he feels it ; never holds constant to any 
good motion ; never prays for himself, but care¬ 
lessly .wills Moses and Aaron to pray for him ; 
never yields God his whole demand, but would 
get a release with the cheapest; first, “They 
shall not go ;’ ’ then, “ Go and sacrifice, but in 
Egypt next, “ Go sacrifice in the wilderness, 
but not far off after, “ Go ye that are men 
then, “ Go you and your children only at 
last, “ Go all save your sheep and cattle.” 
Bp. 11. -Pharaoh’s repentance here was desti¬ 

tute of humiliation. There was no real hum¬ 
bling cf himself ; and there was no renuncia¬ 
tion of his sin. His cry was always, “Take 
awaj^ the frogs, take away the hail,” but never 
“take away the sin. ” And it was temporary. 
He no sooner felt it, than it w'as dissipated, 
and disappeared. J. C. 

29. It was not Pharaoh’s personal intention 
or change of heart on whrch the matter turned ; 
but as king he stood on one side -God on the 
other : and his public position before the 
world was the point to be regarded. As he 
now gave God the honor and humbled himself 
under His hand, immediately the removal of 
Hie plague follows. So now is a national bless¬ 
ing the certain fruit of an open confession of 
the service due to the true God, on the part of 
the rulers. Gerl. 

33. The flax was boiled. In blossom. 
This marks the time. In the north of Egypt 
the barley ripens and flax blossoms about the 
middle of February. Cook. 

33. Although Pharaoh’s confession was in¬ 
sincere, yet as he publicbj hoiioved God by his 
humiliation, the plague is immediately re¬ 
moved. Thus, frequently in the after history 
of the Old Testament, threatened evil was with¬ 
held and even great personal and national bless¬ 
ings bestowed, upon the open confession of the 
true God by kings and peoples. And this prin¬ 
ciple of the Divine dealing with nations has 
ever since obtained. R. 

31. The iliuiidcr!« and the hail 
eeasc<l. The prayer of Moses was in this 





620 


EIGHTH AND NINTH PLAGUES, AND WARNING OF TENTH. 


case invested with a power like that of Elias, 
and the two witnesses of the Apocalypse, to 
open and shut heaven, and yet the mercy now 
accorded to Pharaoh tended as little to soften 
his heart as the previous judgment had done. 
The language implies that his increased hard 
ness of heart was an increased measure of guilt: 
“ He sinned yet more and more, and hardened 
his heart i.e sinned by hardening his heart. 
God’s foretelling the result, therefore, and per¬ 
mitting it, did not go to lessen his criminality. 

Bush. -The mercy of God, which should have 

led him to repentance, had a contrary effect 
upon him, and made him more obstinate. For 
an hardened heart is neither cut by compunc¬ 
tion, nor moved by entreaties, nor yields to 
threatenings, nor feels the smart of scourges. 
It is ungrateful to benefactors, treacherous to 
counsels, sullen under judgments, fearless in 
dangers, forgetful of things past, negligent of 


things present, and improvident for the future. 
All these bad qualities seem to have concentred 
in Pharaoh. It was, therefore, entirely agree¬ 
able to the rules of Divine justice, when noth¬ 
ing would reclaim this wicked king, when even 
that which wrought upon the magicians made 
no imprejssion on him, to let his crime become 
his punishment, and to leave him to eat the bit¬ 
ter fruit of his own ways and to be filled with 
his own devices, Stackhouse. 

True repentance has, as its constituent ele¬ 
ments, grief and hatred of sin, and also an ap¬ 
prehension of the mercy of God in Christ. It 
hates the sin, and not simply the suffering or 
penalty ; and it hates the sin moat of all be¬ 
cause it has discovered God’s love. How much 
of our penitence is like this of Pharaoh ! and 
how many are saints on a sick-bed, but as 
wicked as ever when they recover ! W. M. T. 


Section 88. 

EIGHTH AND NINTH PLAGUES, AND WARNING OF TENTH. 

' Exodus 10 :1-29 ; 11 :1-10. 

10 : 1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh : for I have hardened his heart, and 

2 the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my signs in the midst of them : and that 
thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son, what things I have wrought 
upon Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them ; that ye may know that I am 

3 the Lord, And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him. Thus saith 
the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before 

4 me ? let my people go, that they may serve me. Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, 

5 behold, to-morrow will I bring locusts into thy border : and they shall cover the face of 
the earth, that one shall not be able to see the earth : and they shall eat the residue of that 
which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which 

6 groweth for you out of the field ; and thy houses shall be filled, and the houses of all thy 
servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians ; as neither thy fathers nor thy fathers’ 
fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he 

7 turned, and went out from Pharaoh And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him How lon^ 

> O 

shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that the}’’maj’^ serve the Lord their 

8 God : knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed ? And Moses and Aaron were brought 
again unto Pharaoh ; and he said unto them, Go, serve the Lord your God ; but who are 

9 they that shall go? And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with 
our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go : for we 

10 must hold a feast unto the Lord. And he said unto them, So be the Lord with you, as I 

11 will let you go, and your little ones : look to it ; for evil is before you. Not so ; go now 
ye that are men, and serve the Lord ; for that is what ye desire. And they were driven 
out from Pharaoh’s presence. 

12 And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the 
locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, 






SECTION 88.—EXODUS 10 : 1-29; 11 : 1-10. 


621 


13 even all that the hail hath left. And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, 
and the Loan brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all the night ; and 

14 when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. And the locusts went up over 
all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the borders of Egypt ; very grievous were they ; 

15 before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. For 
they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened ; and they did eat 
every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left : and there 
remained not any green thing, either tree or herb of the field, through all the land of 

16 Egypt. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste ; and he said, I have sinned 

17 against the Lord your God, and against you. Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin 

• only this once, and intreat the Lord your God, that he may take away from me this death 

18 only. And he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the Lord. And the Lord turned 

19 an exceeding strong west wind, which took up the locusts, and drove them into the Ked 

20 Sea ; there remained not one locust in all the border of Egypt. But the Lord hardened 
Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go. 

21 And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may 

22 be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. And Moses 
stretched forth his hand toward heaven ; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of 

23 Egypt three days ; they saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three 

24 days : but aU the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. And Pharaoh called unto 
Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the Lord ; only let your flocks and 5 ’-our herds be stayed : 

25 let your little ones also go with jmu. And Moses said. Thou must also give into our hand 

26 sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God. Our cattle 
also shall go with us ; there shall not an hoof be left behind ; for thereof must we take 
to serve the Lord our God ; and we know not with what we must serve the Lord, until we 

27 come thither. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 

28 And Pharaoh said unto him. Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more ; 

29 for in the daj^ thou seest my face thou shalt die. And Moses said. Thou hast spoken well ; 
I will see thy face again no more. 

11:1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet one plague more will I bring upon Pharaoh, and 
upon Egypt ; afterwards he will let you go hence : when he shall let you go, he shall surely 

2 thrust you out hence altogether. Speak now in the ears of the people, and let them ask 
every man of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels 

3 of gold. And the Lord gave the jieople favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover 
the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and 
in the sight of the people. 

4 And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight w ill I go out into the midst of 

5 Egypt : and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh 
that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the 

6 mill ; and all the firstborn of cattle. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land 

7 of Egypt, such as there hath been none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against 
any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast : that 
ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. 

8 And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themse^es unto me, 
saying. Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee : and after that I will go out. 
And he went out from Pharaoh in hut anger. 

9 And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh will not hearken unto you : that my wonders 

10 may be multiplied in the land of Egypt. And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders 

before Pharaoh : and the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children 
of Israel go out of his land. 


The Eighth Pl.4.gue (10 :1-20). 

Locuals covering (he Earth and filling (he Houses. 

Every judgment and every deliverance from 
it would have led an ingenuous mind to see 
the wrath of God for disobedience, and his 


clemency upon promise of amendment. But 
this heart was so proud and audacious as to 
contend with the Almighty ; it was exasperated 
with severity, and conceived vain hopes upon 
the removal of a judgment, that the hand of 
God was tired and would yield to the obstinacy 



G2'Z 


EIGHTH AND NINTH PLAGUES, AND WARNING OF TENTH. 


of man. With respect to this perverse temper, 
it was that God says, I have hardened Pha¬ 
raoh’s heart ; meaning, by his dealings wdth 
him, which were intended to correct and amend 
him, but by his misapplication of them, they 
still left him more incorrigible, and finally ended 
in his utter destruction, Reading. 

Alas for man’s perverse and false nature--his 
proud heart and his lying lips ! How readily 
be relapses back into his old and much-loved 
sin and becomes more hardened than ever ! 
The judgments of God extort confessions and 
tears and prayers ; but God’s mercies let off 
this pressure and leave the guilty soul to fly 
back to its old sins again. So it M\as with Pha¬ 
raoh. God’s mercies, abused, worked out his 
ruin. But it were simply monstrous to say that 
this showing of mercy is on God’s part a moral 
wrong and that it throws over uj^on him the 
moral responsibility of hardening the sinner’s 
heart Yet it was precisely in this way—jier- 
haps more really and potently than in any other 
—that God hardened the heart of Pharaoh. 

H. C.-Who can deny that what God did on 

Pharaoh was much more proper to soften than 
to harden his heart ; especially when it is ob¬ 
servable, that it was not till after seeing each 
miracle, and after the ceasing of each plague, 
that his heart is said to have been hardened ? 
P.sahnanezer. 

‘2. Tliiit iSiou iiiayest tell. We have 
here for the first time the far-reaching purpose 
announced, of the transmission by report of 
these Jehovah’s wonderful dealings from gen¬ 
eration to generation in Israel. As a sami:>le of 

this transmission see Ps. 78 and 105. Alf. - 

The events of this wonderful conflict and vic¬ 
tory were stamped into the national life of 
Israel ; they reappear all along the course of 
tiiture ages, interwoven into the very warp and 
woof of her national history and into the moral 
forces which developed the nation’s piety. It 
might as reasonably be maintained that there 
never was anf Hebrew nation as that God did 
not bring them forth out of Egypt with a high 
hand, first loosing Pharaoh’s grasp by these ten 
plagues, and last, burying his pursuing hosts in 

the waters of the Bed Sea. H. C.- And yc 

sliall know tSnit I niii fllac ff^ord. The 
grand scope of all these signs was to reveal the 
Creator in his true character to man. This is 
the lesson of nature, of providence, and of grace, 
to those who read and understand. 3. How 
loiig^ <1ost tlioii refjBse to liunuble 
tliyxelf before me ? Eight signs, one of 
them instructive and seven corrective, had al¬ 
ready been given to him. His haughtiness of 


spirit is not subdued ; to humble himself even 
before God he has not yet learned, M. 

7. I am not surprised that Pharaoh’s servants 
remonstrated against his folly and madness 
when they heard the plague of locusts an¬ 
nounced. Let the men go, said they to their 
proud master, that they may serve the Lord 
their God. Knowest thou not yet that Egypt is 
destroyed ? And when they came they were very 
grievous, for they covered the face of the whole 
earth, so that the land was darkened, and they 
ate every herb of the land, and all the fruit of 
the trees, and there remained not any green 
thing in the trees, nor in the herbs of the field. 
Moses declared that they should cover the face 
of the earth so that one cannot be able to see 
the ground. I have this dreadful picture in¬ 
delibly fixed on my mind. For several nights 
after they came to Abeih, as soon as I closed 
my eyes the whole earth seemed to be creeping 
and jumping, nor could I banish the ngly image 
from my brain. The coming of locusts is a 
sore judgment from God. If I command the 
locusts to devour the land, says the Lord to 
Solomon. Yes, it is the command of God that 
brings these insects to scourge a land for the 
wickedness of the inhabitants thereof. W. M. 
Thompson. 

8, ?>. IBiit wlioarctliey t1iat§liallg:o? 

Hebrew, Who and who {are) going f The repetition 
of the interrogative is emphatic. He was to spe¬ 
cify with the utmost distinctness who were to go, 
and who were to stay behind. Moses in reply 
tells him plainly that they were to serve God 
Avith their a//; that their wives and their chil¬ 
dren, their flocks and their herds, without ex¬ 
ception or reservation, must go with them. 

10, The bold and positive declaration of 
Moses was too much for Pharaoh. Greatly ex¬ 
asperated by this uncompromising statement he 
answ^ers in a style of mingled irony and wrath, 
“ Let the Lord do wdth you as I wdll let you 
go q. d. “ If this be the proposed condition 
of your going, that you take your little ones 
with you, then may the God whom you serve 
favor you as much with his presence as I do 
with ray consent, and no more. In this case 
your prospects are sorry indeed. ” It is a very 
strong and emphatic mode of denying them the 
permission which they sought. Bush. 

14, 15. By the hail and thunder and fire 
mingled with rain, both the barley and flax were 
ruined, and their pastures must have been 
greatly injured. But the wheat and the rye 
were not yet in ear : and such Avas the fruitful¬ 
ness of the soil, that a very short time w^culd 
have sufficed for the leaves of the trees, and for 









623 


SECTION 88.-BX0DU8 10 ; 1-29; 11 : 1-10. 


the grass of the field to have been recruited. 
It pleased God, therefore, to send an host of 
locusts, to devour every leaf and blade of grass 
which had been left in the former devastation, 
and whatever was beginning to vegetate. It is 
hard to conceive how widely the mischief ex¬ 
tends, when a cloud of these insects comes 
upon a country. Though it were a paradise be¬ 
fore, it is soon rendered a desert. They devour 
to the very root and bark ; so that it is a long 
time before vegetation can be renewed. Scarcely 
any misfortune can so etfectually damage a 
land, but that room will be left for them to add 
to the mischief. How dreadful their inroads at 
all times were, may be known from a variety of 
authors, ancient and modern. They describe 
them as being brought on upon a country by 
one wind, and carried off by another ; and 
speak of their numbers as past all conception. 
As Egypt is, in great measure, bounded to the 
east and north by seas, and is far removed from 
those regions in Africa where locusts particu- 
larly generate, it is not much infested with 
them. However, at the time spoken of, an east 
wind prevailed “ all day and all night and 
the whole country in the morning swarmed 
with these insects. Hence w’^e know that they 

came from Arabia. Bryant. -Generally, it is 

not the east but the south wind that brings the 
locusts, from Ethiopia or Libj^a. It was pur¬ 
posely from a long distance that they were sent, 
to show that Jehovah reigned everywhere. 
A. E. 

17. So formidable w^as the calamitv, that al- 
though Pharaoh had previously driven Moses 
and Aaron from his presence, yet he is now 
constrained to send for them again, to avow his 
fault, and to beg for one reprieve more. His 
confession now has more the air of unfeigned 
repentance than on any former occasion. He 
acknowledges that he had sinned against God 
and his servants, humbly asks their forgive¬ 
ness, and sues for their intercession. So there 
are but too many wdio in the hour of sickness 
and in the fear of death, have prayed to be de¬ 
livered only this once, wdth promises of amend¬ 
ment, but wdio jmt upon recovery have re¬ 
turned, Phariioh-like, to their former impeni¬ 
tence, worldliness, and sin. They forget that 
these repeated lapses and broken vows are all 
the w^hile swelling guilt to fearful dimensions, 
and making more and more ripe for a sudden 
destruction. Bush. 

The conviction w'as forced upon Pharaoh and | 
the confession extorted from his lips (utterly 
against his will), that God’s hand wrought these, 
achievements ; that these calamities came at his 


command, and could be removed by his power 
and not otherwise. Hence over and over he 
begs Moses to pray to his God for their removal. 
See this in the case of the frogs (8:8); of the 
flies (8 : 28, 29) ; of the hail (9 : 27-29) ; and the 
locusts. It is not easy to see how stronger testi¬ 
mony to the reality of miracles can ever exist. 
That these plagues were real miracles, direct 
from the hand of God, it is unquestionably the 
intent of the whole narrative to set forth and 
affirm. So much, no candid reader of the ac¬ 
count has ever questioned. Some may say, the 
narrator was himself deceived : none will deny 
that he saw God’s finger there and meant to 
make all his readers see it. None can deny that 
according to his account even proud Pharaoh 
saw and felt the very finger of God in them. In 
fact the narrative makes this its main purpose, 
viz. to show that these judgments were nothing 
less than immediate visitations from the hand 
of the Almighty. Take out this element and 
there is nothing left. H. C. 

19. There reinaiiiecl not one loeust. 
The sudden and complete disappearance of the 
locusts is a phenomenon scarcely less remark¬ 
able than their coming ; the putrefaction of 
such immense masses not unfrequentlj^ causes 
a terrible pestilence near the coasts of the sea 
into which they fall. Cook. 

The Ninth Plague (10 : 21). 

Three Bays' Thick Darkness. 

22, 23. No sooner had Pharaoh’s request 
been granted, than his rebellion returned. 
Then, once more unannounced, came the nmlh 
stroke, more terrible than any that had pre¬ 
ceded. A thick darkness covered the whole 
land, except Goshen There was this peculiar 
phenomenon about it, that, not only were the 
jieople unable to see each other, but “neither 
rose any from his place for three days.” A. E. 

-Their great divinity, the Sun, was put to 

shame before the God of the slave and the 
stranger. For three whole days, as Moses 
stretched his hand toward heaven, a darkness, 
described with unexampled force as a darkness 
THAT MIGHT BE FELT, oversiiread the land ; not 
merely was the sun unable to penetrate the 
gloom, and enlighten his favored land, but they 
could distinguish nothing, and were constrained 

to sit in awe-struck inactivitjL Milman. -So 

deep was the darkness that during the whole of 
this time, “ they saw not one another.’’ So 
overwhelming were the amazement and sorrow, 
that during this period no man “ rose from his 
place.” Uncertain whether they should ever 
again see the light, they lay paralyzed in a dark- 











624 


NINTH PLAGUE, AND WARNING OF TENTH. 


ness that could be felt. Here the triumph of 
the God of Israel was complete, and the perfect 
vanity of Egyptian idolatry demonstrated. 
Egypt, with all her learning and prowess, sup¬ 
ported by a gorgeous and almost boundless 
range of idolatrous religion, is exhibited as con¬ 
victed, punished, and without any power to 
escape, or anj'^ hope of alleviation. Smith’s Ileb. 

People. -What madness could be greater than 

theirs, when in their hardness of heart they 
cease not to contend against God’s hand, formid¬ 
able as it was ? Their waters turned into blood 
had denied them drink ; frogs and other ani¬ 
mals had filled the whole country ; their limbs 
had been enfevered by boils ; the hail had de¬ 
stroyed part of their corn ; the locusts had 
brought still increased destruction ; the very 
hosts of heaven were armed against them. 
Calv. 

But in Goshen all these three days was light 
and festive joy. For v.hile thick darkness lay 
upon Egypt, the children of Israel, as directed 
by God, had alread^^ on the tenth of the month 
—four days before the great night of woe—se¬ 
lected their Paschal lambs, and were in waiting 
for their deliverance. And alike the darkness 
and the light were of Jehovah—the one sym¬ 
bolical of his judgments, the other of his favor. 

A. E.-During these three days of darkness 

to the Egyptians, if God had so pleased, the 
Israelites by the light which they had might 
have made their escape, and without asking 
leave of Pharaoh ; but God would bring them 
out with a high, hand, and not by stealth or in 
haste (Is. 52 : 12). H. 

Once more, Pharaoh now summoned 
Moses. This time he would let all the people 
go, if only they would leave their flocks behind 
as pledge of their return. And when Moses re¬ 
fused the condition, the king “ said unto him. 
Get thee from me, take heed to thyself ; see my 
face no more ; for in that day thou seest my 
face thou shalt die.” It was a challenge which 
sounded not strange in Moses’ ears, for before 
this interview God had informed him Mhat 
would happen, and directed that Israel should 
prepare to leave. A. E.-Pharaoh quails be¬ 

fore the appalling darkness. He yields another 
point. The women and children may go with 
the men, but not the flocks and the herds. 
Moses, however, cannot go to hold a national 
fe.stival unto the Lord without sacrifices. Not 
a hoof of their cattle must be h ft behind. 
Pharaoh is again exasperated. His proud heart 
becomes hard as the nether millstone. A reck¬ 
less madness takes possession of him. He for¬ 
bids Moses to appear before him again on pain 


of death. There is something ominoirs in the 
reply of Moses. “Well hast thou spoken; I 
will see thy face no more.” He means, as we 
shall see, more than is here expressed. M. 

Now Pharaoh proves like to some beasts that 
grow mad with baiting : grace often resisted 
turns to desperateness : “ Get thee from me ; 
look thou see my face no more ; whensoever 
thou comest in my sight, thou shalt die.” As 
if Moses could not plague him as well in ab¬ 
sence : as if he, that could not take away the 
lice, flies, frogs, grasshoppers, could at his pleas¬ 
ure take away the life of Moses, that procured 
them. What is this, but to run upon the judg¬ 
ments, and run away from the remedies ? Ever¬ 
more, when God’s messengers are abandoned, 
destruction is near. Moses will see him no 
more, but God will now visit him more than 
ever. The fearfulest plagues God still reserves 
for the upshot : all the former do but make way 
for the last. Pharaoh may exclude Moses and 
Aaron, but God’s angel he cannot exclude : in¬ 
visible messengers are used, when the visible 
are debarred. Bp. H. 

29. Sp€{>kcii well. The irngodly king, 
carried away by his rage, prophesies against 
his will. God repays on Pharaoh’s own head 
what he had threatened Moses. But we must 
remember that Moses did not speak on his own 
impulse, but at God’s command. Had he not 
been informed that this was the last communi¬ 
cation, he would still have been ready to do his 

part. Calv. -Xo more. It is not said that 

Moses went out. His departure took place ch. 
11 :8 ; therefore that which follows, though it 
happened somewhat earlier, is jjlaced after this 
to ex^jlain the speech of Moses. Gerl. 

II : B-3. The first three verses of Ex. 11 
must have been spoken to Moses before his last 
interview with Pharaoh. Verse 1 should be 
rendered : “ And Jehovah had said unto 

Moses, ” etc. They are inserted after 10 :20, 
because they account for and explain the confi¬ 
dent reply with which Moses met the challenge 
of Pharaoh. Evidentlj^ 11; 4, and what fol¬ 
lows, form part of that reply of Moses to Pha¬ 
raoh which begins in 10 ; 29. A. E.-1. Ttic 

Lord §ai<l. Or “ the Lord had said.” Com¬ 
mentators generally agree that the first three 
verses of this chapter are parenthetical The 
most probable account of their insertion in this 
place appears to be that, before Moses relates 
the last warning given to Pharaoh, he feels it 
right to recall to his readers’ minds the revela¬ 
tion and command which had been previously 
given to him by the Lord. Cook. 

2. A§k. Neither here, nor in ch. 3 : 22. ch. 








SECTION 8S.—EXODUS 10 : 1-29; 11 : 1-10. 


625 


12 : 35, is it said that the Israelites had “ bor¬ 
rowed" the vessels; nor ch. 12 : 3G, that the 
Egyptians had lent" them; but the former 
had demanded, the latter had yielded to the de¬ 
mand : when the transaction took place, the 
journey out was determined on, and even de¬ 
sired by the Egyptians, and there was no 
thought on either side of “ giving back.” More¬ 
over, this “ spoiling” has not the signification 
of secretly taking away,—but that of openly 
taking possession of anything. The signifi¬ 
cance of the Divine command, and of the con¬ 
duct of the Israelites, is rather this : Egypt and 
Pharaoh had sinned in manifold ways, by rob¬ 
bery and tyranny against Israel—they deny the 
people independence, and liberty to worship 
their God : their God takes the part of his first¬ 
born son, and smites, after many other signs, 
the firstborn m the whole of Egypt. The 
heathen king and people are humbled, and lose 
courage ; they entreat Israel to be gone, and 
drive them forth ; and the Egyptians give them 
all they can in order to appease them. Thus 
it comes to pass, that without violation of right, 
the powerless, oppressed, poor people spoil 
their tyrants, and depart laden with their treas 
ures. Oeri. 

3. The people favor. Mo«e§ was 
^reat. This favor shown to the Isi’aelites and 
this deep reverence for Moses are noted as con¬ 
joint effects of the previous judgments. The 
mention of this second result, as well as the 
former, is essential to the moral completeness 
of the narrative. It is a strange mistake to sup¬ 
pose that the words contain a “ laudation of 

Moses.” Birks. -With historical faithfulness 

and unaffected simplicity Moses makes these 
remarks about his own person ; they are his¬ 
torical facts ; and he relates them with the same 
objective impartiality with which Xenophon 
speaks of himself in the Anabasis, or Ctesar in 
his Commentaries. Kalisch. 

Thueatening of the Tenth Plague (11 : 4-8). 

4. And i?Io§es said. The following words 
must be read in immediate connection with the 
last verse of the preceding chapter. It is not 
there stated that Moses left the presence of 
Pharaoh ; this passage tells us what took place 
after his declaration that this would be his last 
interview. Alnnit niidlli^fiit. This marks 
the hour, but not the day, on which the visita¬ 
tion would take place. There may have been, 
and probably was, an interval of some days, 
during which preparations might be made both 
for the celebration of the Passover, and the de- 

40 


parture of the Israelites : in the mean time Egj'pt 
remained under the shadow of the menace. 

5. Tlie firstborn. Two points are to be 
noticed : 1. The extent of the visitation ; the 
whole land suffers in the persons of its first¬ 
born, not merelj' for the guilt of the sovereign, 
but for the actual participation of the people in 
the crime of infanticide. 2. The limitation. 
Pharaoh's command had been to slay all the 
male children of the Israelites, one child only 
in each Egyptian family was to die. Cook. 

Now is threatened the greatest and most awful 
of the plagues. The first came out of the river, 
the benefactor of the land ; the third and fourth 
from the earth ; the rest from the air. All 
stood in close connection to the idolatrous land, 
whose Lord the God of Israel would show him¬ 
self to be. But now he will smite them with 
another plague, not only far exceeding all the 
rest, but also coming so directly from God’s 
hand, that none of the natural phenomena 
pecxiliar to Egypt could offer any resen»blance 
to it. Gerl. -This had been the first threat¬ 

ened (ch. 4 ; 23, I will slay ihy son, thy firstborn), 
but is last to be executed ; lesser judgments, 
were tried, which, if they had done the work, 
would have prevented this. See how slow God 
is to wrath ; and how willing to be met with in 
the way of his judgments, and to have his anger 
turned awaj’’, and particularly how precious the 
lives of men are in his eyes ; if the death of 
their cattle would have humbled and reformed 
them, their children had been spared ; but if 
men will not improve the gradual advances of 
divine judgments, they must thank themselves,, 
if they find, in the issue, that the worst was re¬ 
served for the last. H. 

N. After that I will go out. Moses, 
has thus far recited the words of God’s message' 
to Pharaoh, but here he begins to speak in his. 
own person, announcing the speedy submissioiL 
of Pharaoh’s servants to him, and their humble' 
and earnest request that he should ” depart out 
of their coasts. ” We must bear in mind that 
Moses says this in his repres^niative character, 
and that it is io the 2fost High in Moses that this^ 
submission was to be made. It is indeed won¬ 
derful to see God thus identifying himself with 
a creature who speaks in his name, and yet it is 
unquestionable that the Scriptures afford re¬ 
peated instances of the same usage of speech. 
Bash. 

Ill liot auger. It is the Holy Spirit which 
here inflames the heart of Moses with holy zeal, 
and preserves it from all mixture of unholy pas¬ 
sion. Much reason have we, when moved by 
righteous indignation, to pray for the spirit of 





62G 


POINTS RE8PEGTIN0 THE TEN PLAQUES. 


forbearance and singleness of mind to preserve 
ns from excess. Yet we see from Moses’ anger, 
that God does not desire that we should be cold 
and indifferent in the execution of his com¬ 
mands. Calv. 

9, 10, These two verses are a recapitulation 
of all that has been related after the introduc- 
tor}" paragraph in the seventh chapter, espe¬ 
cially ver. 3. This verse is the prediction ; the 
intervening narrative sets forth the details, and 
the two verses now before us are the logical 
conclasion or summing up of the whole. This 
inferential summary could not come in before 
the speech of Moses, threatening the death of 
the firstborn, as this occurs at the closing inter¬ 
view between him and Pharaoh, and presents 
the latter with the last occasion for rejecting the 
demands of the Lord. And it could not come 
in after the death of the firstborn, because then 
Pharaoh at length yielded, whereas these verses 
record his long-continued resistance. They 
iorm therefore the methodical recapitulation of 
the opposition of Pharaoh foretold by the Lord, 
when that opposition has come to its last 
efforts. “ Pharaoh shall not hearken unto yon, 
that my wonders may be multiplied in the land 
of Mizraim,” for the perj^etual instruction of 
mankind in certain sublime and necessary prin¬ 
ciples of theological truth. And so it has ac¬ 
cordingly happened. M.-It is impossible to 

read the conclasion of this chapter without 
being reminded of the very similar ending of 
the chapter in John (12) which precedes the 
narrative of the great Passover itself ; v. 37, 

Altho'Kjh he had done all these miracles before 
ihetn, yd believed they not on him," —in words al¬ 
most the reproduction of those used here. AJf. 

Look at that world-ideal of the irresponsible 
tyrant. No fancy ever made him ; no human 
imagination could have kept up a consistency, 
so well sustained, of character and destiny. 
Leave out, if you please, all that is miraculous 
in the plagues, or resolve them into strictly 
l)hysical events coming at longer seeming in¬ 
tervals, and having a miraculous air by being 
crowded upon a brief historical canvas. There 
stand the figures of the king and the prophet ; 
we have before us that truest of despots, that 
grandest of seers. Pharaoh and Moses,—we 
image them, at once, as forms of living men ; 
they have more life for us than Solon and Croe¬ 
sus, than Socrates and the Athenian judges, 
than Seneca and Nero, than any characters that 
were ever drawn by the genius of Homer, or 
sketched by the graphic pen of Tacitus. The 
scenes are so vivid, though so far away ; so life¬ 


like, though of such high proportion ; so nat¬ 
ural, though so grand, that we can hardly con¬ 
ceive their falsehood. What convergency of 
scattered myths could have grown into such a 
consistent whole ? What single mind could 
ever have created a picture so defiant of the 
antiquating power of time ? It has the same life 
for us now, in this remote Western world, that 
it had more than three thousand years ago on 
the banks of the Nile. There it stands right 
before us, as though written yesterday, clear as 
the i^yramids, fresh as the sculptures on the 
Karnak, and with a meaning for the wmild how 
far beyond any wisdom we may ever hope to get 
I from folios of monumental learning. It is, in 
! fact, a painting that never can grow old ; for it 
is engraved, photographed, we might say, in 
our human nature ; age only adds to the bright¬ 
ness of its coloring ; the most minute inspec¬ 
tion, under the highest lens of antiquarian 
learning, only reveals its perfect accuracy of 
line and shade. T. L. 

It is impossible, as we read the description 
of the Plagues, not to feel how much of force is 
added to it by a knowledge of the peculiar cus¬ 
toms and character of the country in which they 
occurred. It is not an ordinary river that is 
turned into blood ; it is the sacred, beneficent, 
solitary Nile, the very life of the state and of 
the people, in its streams and canals and tanks, 
and vessels of wood and vessels of stone, then, 
as now, us^d for the filtration of the delicious 
water from the sediment of the river-bed. It is 
not an ordinar}’^ nation that is struck by the 
mass of putrefying vermin lying in heaps by the 
j houses, the villages, and the fields, or multiply- 
I ing out of the dust of the desert sands on each 
! side of the Nile valley. It is the cleanliest of 
all the ancient nations, clothed in white linen, 
anticipating, in their fastidious delicacy and 
ceremonial purity, the habits of modern and 
northern Europe. It is not the ordinary cattle 
that died in the field, or ordinary fish that died 
in the river, or ordinary reptiles that were over¬ 
come by the rod of Aaron. It is the sacred goat 
of Mendes, the ram of Ammon, the calf of Heli¬ 
opolis, the bull Apis, the crocodile of Ombos, 
the carp of Latopolis. It is not an ordinary- 
land of which the flax and the barley, and every 
green thing in the trees, and every herb of the 
field are smitten by the two great calamities of 
storm and locust. It is the garden of the an¬ 
cient Eastern world,—the long line of green 
meadow and cornfield, and groves of palm and 
sycamore and fig-tree, from the Cataracts to 
the Delta, doubly refreshing from the desert 
which it intersects, doubly marvellous from the 











SECTION 88—EXODUS 10 : 1-29; 11 : 1-10. 


G27 


river whence it springs. If these things were 
calamities anywhere, they were truly “ signs 
and wonders”—.speaking signs and oracular 
wonders -in such a Lindas “ the land of Ham.” 
A. P. S. 

This was the season of the greatest and most 
stupendous miracles of any recorded in the his¬ 
tory of the workl, whether we look to the period 
of its duration, or to the magnitude of the scale 
on which ihe miracles were wrought. The pub¬ 
lic ministry and miracles of Moses lasted a great 
deal longer than those of Jesus Christ. Auvl, 
generally speaking, Moses’ miracles were of 
Avider and larger operation, and bearing in the 
greater number of instances the same relation 
to the other miracles, whether of tiie Old or the 
New Testament, that nations do to individuals. 
T. C. 

The Plagues are divided first into nine, and 
one, the last one, standing clearly apait from 
all the others, in the awful shriek of woe which 
it draws forth from every Egyptian home. The 
nine are arranged in threes. In the first of 
each three the warning is given to Pharaoh in 
ihe morning (7 : 15 ; 8 • 20 ; 9 :13). In the first 
and second of each three, the plague is an¬ 
nounced beforehand (8 :1 ; 9 :1 ; 10 :1), in the 
third not (8 : IG ; 9 : 8 ; 10 : 21). At the third 
the inagicians of Pharaoh acknowledged the 
finger of God (8 :19), at the sixth they can¬ 
not stand before Moses (9 ; 11), and at the ninth 
Pharaoh refirses to see the face of Moses any 
more (10 : 28). In the first three Aaron uses the 
rod ; in the second three it is not mentioned ; 
in the third three Moses uses it, though in the 
last of them only his hand is mentioned. All 
these marks of order lie on the face of the nar¬ 
rative, and point to a deeper order of nature and 
reason out of which they spring. 

The gradation in the severity of these strokes 
is no less obvious. In the first three no dis¬ 
tinction is made among the inhabitants of the 
land ; in the remaining seven a distinction is 
made bet.veen the Israelites, who are shielded 
from, and the Egyptians, who are exposed to, 
the stroke. In these seven which are peculiar 
to the Egyptians, the order is the reverse of that 
in the work of creation. Three refer to the ani¬ 
mal creation, and three to the vegetable world, 
the support of animal life. The last of these 
six is darkne.si, the opposite of light, the prod¬ 
uct of the first day ; and the seventh i i death. 
The first three affect the health and comfort of 
man ; the next three take away the staff of life ; 
then comes death itself, and the work of de¬ 
struction is complete. II. 

The lohole period covered hy iha PI tgnes was 


about ten months. The delay occasioned by 
Pharaoh's repeated refusals to listen to the com¬ 
mands afforded ample time for preparation on 
the i^art of the Israelites. Two full months 
elapsed between the first and second interview 
of Moses with the king. During that time the 
people, uprooted for the first time from the dis¬ 
trict in \vhich they had been settled for cen¬ 
turies, were dispersed throughout Egyi^t, sub¬ 
jected to severe suffering, and impelled to exer¬ 
tions of a kind differing altogether from their 
ordinary habits, whether as herdsmen or bonds¬ 
men. This was the first and a most important step 
in their training for a migratory life in the desert. 

Toward the end of June, at the beginning of 
the rise of the annual inundation, the first series 
of plagues began. The Nile was stricken. 
Egypt was visited in the centre both of its 
physical existence and of its national super¬ 
stitions. Pharaoh did not give way, and no in¬ 
timation as yet was made to the people that per¬ 
mission for their departure would be extorted ; 
but the intervention of their Lord was now cer¬ 
tain, the people on their return wearied and 
exhausted from the search for stubble, had an 
interval of suspense. Three months appear to 
have intervened between this and the next 
plague. There must have been a movement 
among all the families of Israel ; as they reca- 
l^itulated their wrongs and hardships, thesutt’er- 
ings of their officers, and their own position of 
hopeless antagonism to their oppressors, it is 
impossible that they should not have looked 
about them, calculated their numbers and re¬ 
sources, and meditated upon the measures 
which, under the guidance of a leader of ability 
and experience, might enable them to effect 
their escape from Egypt. Five months might 
not be too much, but were certainly sufficient, 
to bring the people so far into a state of prepa¬ 
ration for departure. 

The plague of frogs coincided in time with 
the greatest extension of the inundation in Sep¬ 
tember. Pharaoh then gave the first indication 
of yielding ; the permission extorted from him, 
though soon recalled, was not therefore ineff’ec- 
tual. Moses was not likely to lose any time in 
transmitting instructions to the peoiffe. The 
first steps may have been then taken toward an 
orderly marshalling of the people. 

The third plague must have followed soon 
after that of the frogs, early in October. It 
marks the close of the first series of inflictions, 
none of them causing great suffering, but quite 
sufficient on the one hand to make the Egyp¬ 
tians conscious of danger, and to confirm in the 
Israelites a hope of no remote deliverance. 




G28 


THE FIRST PASSOVER. 


The second series of plagues was far more 
severe ; it began with swarms of poisonous in¬ 
sects, probably immediately after the subsi¬ 
dence of the inundation. It is a season of great 
importance to Egypt ; from that season to the 
following June tUe land is uncovered ; cultiva 
tion begins ; a great festival (called Chabsta) 
marks the period for ploughing. At that time 
there was the first separation between Goshen 
and the rest of Egypt. The impression upon 
Pharaoh was far deeper than before, and then, 
in November, the j^eople once more received 
instructions for departure ; there was occasion 
lor a rehearsal, so to speak, of the measures req¬ 
uisite for the proper organization of the tribes 
and families of Israel. 

The cattle plague broke out in December, or 
at the latest in January. It was thoroughly 
Egyptian both in season and in character. The 
exemption of the Israelites was probably attrib¬ 
uted by Pharaoh to natural causes ; but the 
care then bestowed by the Israelites upon their 
cattle, the separation from all sources of con¬ 
tagion, must have materially advanced their 
I)reparation for departure 

Then came the plague of boils, severe but 
ineffectual, serving however to make the Egyp¬ 
tians understand that continuance in opposition 
would be visited on their persons. With this 
plague the second series ended. It appears to 
have lasted about three months. 

The hailstorms followed, just when they now 
occur in Egypt, from the middle of February to 
the early wt-eks of March. The time was now 
drawing near. The Egyptians for the fir^t time 
show that they are seriously impressed. There 
was a division among them, many feared the 
word of the Lord, and took the precautions, 
which, also for the first time, Moses then in 
dicated. This plague drew from Pharaoh the 


first confession of guilt ; and now for the third 
time, between one and two months before the 
Exodus, the Israelites receive permission to de¬ 
part, when formal instructions for preparation 
were of course given by Moses. The fieoplo 
now felt also for the first time that they might 
look for support or sympathy among the very 
servants of Pharaoh. 

The plague of locusts, when the leaves were 
green, toward the middle of March, was pre-- 
ceded by another warning, the last but one. 
The conquest over the spirit of Egypt was now 
complete. All but the king gave way (see 
10 : 7) Though not so common in Egypt as in 
adjoining countries, the plague occurs there at 
intervals, and is peculiarly dreaded. Pharaoh 
once more gives permission to depart ; once 
more the people are put in an attitude of ex¬ 
pectation. 

The ninth plague concludes the third series. 
Like the third and the sixth, each closing a 
series, it was preceded by no warning. It was 
peculiarly Egyptian. Though causing compar¬ 
atively but little suffering, it was felt most 
deeply as a menace and precursor of destruc¬ 
tion. It took place most probably a very few 
days before the last and crowning plague, a 
plague distinct in character from all others, the 
first and the only one which brought death home 
to the Egj^ptians, and accomplished the deliver¬ 
ance of Israel. 

We have thus throughout the characteristics 
of local coloring, of adaptation to the circum¬ 
stances of the Israelites, and of repeated an¬ 
nouncements followed by repeated postpone¬ 
ments, which enabled and indeed compelled the 
Israelites to complete that organization of their 
nation, without which their departure might 
have been, as it has been often represented, a 
mere disorderly flight. Cook. 


Section 89. 

THE FIRST PASSOVER. TENTH PLAGUE : DEATH OF THE FIRSTBORN. 

Exodus 12 : 1-14, 21-36. 

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying. This month shall 

2 be unto you the beginning of months : it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak 

3 ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth doy of this month they shall take 

4 to them every man a lamb, according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for an household : and 
if the household be too little for a lamb then shall he and his neighbour next unto his house 
take one according to the number of the souls ; according to every man’s eating ye shall make 







isECTlON 89.—EXODUS 12 : 1-14, 21-36. 


629 


o your couut ior the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year : ye 

6 shall take it from the sheep, or from the goats : and ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth 
day of the same month : and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at 

7 even. And they shall take of the blood, and put it on the two side posts and on the lintel, 

8 upon the houses wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the fiesh in that night, roast 

9 with fire, and unleavened bread ; with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor 
sodden at all with water, but roast with fire ; its head with its legs and v>'ith the inwards 

19 thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning ; but that which remaineth 

11 of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat it ; with your loins 
girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand ; and ye shall eat it in haste : it 

12 is the Loud s passover. For I will go through the land of Egypt in that night, and will smite 
all the firstborn in the land of Eg 3 'pt, both man and beast ; and against all the gods of Egj^pt 

13 I will execute judgments : I am the Loud. And the blood shall be to j'ou for a token upon 
the houses where ye are : and when I see the blood, I will jaass over jmu, and there shall no 

14 plague be upon you to destroy jmu, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be 
unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to the Loud : throughout jmur genera¬ 
tions we shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. 

21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out, and take you 

22 lambs according to j'our families, and kill the passover. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, 
and dip it in the blood that io in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with 
the blood that is in the bason ; and none of j'ou shall go out of the door of his house until 

23 the morning. For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians ; and when he seeth 
the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and 

24 will not suffer the destroj^er to come in unto your houses to smite j'ou. And 3 'e shall observe 

25 this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. And it shall come to pass, when 
3 ’e be come to the land which the Lord will give j'ou, according as he hath promised, that ye 

2G shall keep this service. And it shall come to pass, when j'our children shall say unto you, 

27 V.liat mean j’e bj" this service? that ye shall say. It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s passover, 
who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egyi^t, when he smote the Egj^ptians, 

28 and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipioed. And the chil¬ 
dren of Israel went and did s> ; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did the}'. 

29 And it came to jiass at midnight, that the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, 
from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was 

30 in the dungeon ; and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and 
all his servants, and all the Egyptians ; and there was a great cry in Egypt ; for there was not 

31 a house where there was not one dead. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and 
said. Rise up, get you forth from amoeg my people, both ye and the children of Israel ; and 

32 go, serve the Lord, as ye have said. Take both your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, 

33 and be gone ; and bless me also. And the JUgyptians were urgent upon the people, to send 

34 them out of the land in haste ; for they said. We be all dead men. And the people took their 
dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtr’oughs being bound up in their clothes upon 

35 their shoulders. And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses ; and they 

36 asked of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment : and the Lord gave 
the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. 
Amd they spoiled the Egyptiar^s. 


A nobler spectacle of a people’s faith can 
scarcely be conceived than when, on receiving 
these ordinances, “ the peoiDle bowed the head 
and worshipped ” (v. 27). Any attempt at de¬ 
scription either of Israel’s attitude or of the 
scenes witnessed when the Lord, passing 
through the land “ about midnight,” smote 
each firstborn from the only son of Pharaoh to 
the child of the maidservant and the captive, 
and even the firstborn of beasts, would only 
weaken the impression of the majestic silence 


of Scripture. In that midnight hour did Je¬ 
hovah execute “ judgment against all the gods 
of Egypt,” showing, as Calvin remarks, how 
vain and false had been the worship of those 
who were now so powerless to help. That was 
also the night of Israel’s birth as a nation ; of 
their creation and adoption as the people of 
God. 2. Hence the very order of the year 
was now changed. The month of the Passover 
(Abih) became henceforth the first of the year. 
The later Jews had a twofold computation of 



C30 


THE FIRST PASSOVER. 


the year—the ecclesiastical year, which began 
with the month Abih, or Nisan, and which 
all the festivals w'ere arranged ; and the civil 
year, which began in autumn, in the seventh 
month of the sacred year. A. E-Moses ap¬ 

pointed that Nisaii should be the first month ; 
so that this month began the year, as to all the 
solemnities they observed in honor of God, although 
they preserved the original order of the months 
as to buying and selling, and other ordinary 
affairs. Josephus. 


Months of the Ecclesiastical and Civil years 
compared wUh oar months. 

Ecclesiastical Year. Civil Year. 

1. Nisan or Abib, 7. iiart of March and April. 


2. Jyar or Zif, 8. 

3. Sivan, 9. 

9. Kisleu (Chisleu), 10. 

10. Thebet, 11. 

11. Sebat, 12. 

12. Adar, 1. 

4. Thammuz, 2. 

5. Ab, 3. 

0 Elul, 4. 

7. T.zri, 5. 

8. Marchesvan, 6. 


“ April and May. 

“ May and June. 

“ June and July. 

‘ ‘ July and iVugust. 

“ Aug. and Sept. 

“ Sept, and Oct. 

“ Oct. and Nov. 

“ Nov. and Dec. 

“ Dec. and Jan. 

“ Jan. and Feb. 

“ Feb. and March. 


As the Jewish years were lunar years, and 
therefore consisted of only 3G4 days and 8 
hours, they were accommodated to solar years 
by the addition of a month at the end of the 
Ecclesiastical year, and this intercalary month, 
which came after the month Adar, was called 
Ke-Adar, or the Second Adar. H. C. 

Still there remains among the Jews a twofold 
manner of dating and counting their years. In 
all matters which relate to the common busi¬ 
ness of life they retain the old and natural com- 
l)utation, beginning with Tizri or September, 
so that the first month is the beginning of 
Autumn ; but in religious matters and festivals 
they follow the injunctions of Moses and begin 
with Nisan ; and this is the legal year, begin¬ 
ning nearly with our month of March, yet not 
])recisely, because we have not their ancient 
embolisms ; for, since twelve circuits of the 
moon would not equal the sun’s course, they 
were obliged to make an intercalation. Thence 
it happens that the month Nison, in which the}’^ 
celebrated the Passover, begins among the Jews 
sometimes earlier and sometimes later, accord¬ 
ing as the intercalation retards it. Calv. 

Instructions to Moses respecting the Pass- 
over (vs. 3-14). 

f$-7. The sacrifice was chosen by each house¬ 
hold/our daysbeforj the “ Passover” actually 


took j^l'^tce—most probably in remembrance of 
the prediction to Abraham, that “ in the fourth 
generation” the children of Israel should come 
again to the land of Canaan. The sacrifice 
might be a lamb or a kid of goats, but it must 
be “ without blemish, a male of the first year.” 
Each lamb or kid should be just sufficient for 
the sacrificial meal of a company, so that if a 
family were too small, it should join with an¬ 
other. The sacrifice was offered “ between the 
evenings” by each head of the company, the 
blood caught in a basin, and some of it “ struck” 
“ on the two side-posts and the upper door-post 
of the houses” by means cf “ a branch of hys¬ 
sop” (v. 22). A. E. 

5. Yo»r lamb §ball be witlioiit 
bleini^ili. All the types of the grandest 
ordinance of the Mosaical dispensation, the 
feast of the Passover, were accomplished in that 
day when ” Christ our passover was sacrificed 
for us.” By no undesigned coincidence the 
two evenis were made even in time to concur ; 
and the Jews celebrated the passover and con¬ 
summated all its types, by bringing to his death 
on the same day, “ the Lamb slain from the 
foundation of the world.” The victim was to 
be a lamb, the most gentle and innocent of all 
God’s creatures ; and therefore the most fitting 
emVfiem of “ the Lamb of God, that taketh away 
the sins of the world.” It was to be a lamb of 
the first year, without blemish. If it bore the 
mark of the slightest deformity, or even de¬ 
ficiency, it would have been a forbidden sacri¬ 
fice, and a victim unfit to represent him of 
whom it is said, “ we are redeemed by the 
precious blood of (ffirist, as of a lamb without 
blemish and without spot.” Kd. 

6. Keep it until tlie fourteenth 
«laj. The lamb or kid was to be taken from 
the flock on the teidh day, and kept up and fed 
by itself till the fourteenth day, when it was to 
be sacrificed. This was never commanded nor 
practised afterward. The Eabbins mark four 
things that were required in the first passover, 
that were never required afterward ; 1. The 
eating of the lamb in their houses dispersed 
through Goshen. 2. The taking the lamb on 
the tenth day. 3. The striking of its blood on 
the door-posts and lintels of their houses. And 
4 Their eating it in haste. These things M’ere 
not required of the succeeding generations. 

A. C. - 4t CVCS1. The sacrificial lamb was 

to be offered “between the evenings” (mar¬ 
ginal rendering), that is, according to Jewish 
tradition, from the time the sun begins to de- 
(Oine to tl.at of its full setting, say, between 3 
and G o’clock p.m. A. E. 






SECTION 89.—EXODUS 12 : 1-14, 21-86. 


631 


T. Take of the blood, and itrikc it 

on the two §ide-|>o»its. This was to be 
doue by dipping a bunch of hyssop into the 
blood, and thus sprinkling it upon the posts, 
etc. (see ver. 22). That this sprinkling of the 
blood of the paschal lamb was an emblem of 
the sacrifice and atonement made by the death 
of Jesus Christ, is most clearly intimated in the 
Sacred Writings (1 Pet. 1:2; Heb. 9 : 13, 14 ; 
8 :10). It is remarkable that no blood was to 
be sprinkled on the threshold, to teach a reverent 
regard for the blood of Christ, that men should 
not lre<id underfoot the Son of GOD, nor count the 
blood (f the covenant wherewith they were sancti¬ 
fied, an unholy thing (Heb. 10 : 29). A. C. 

The regular practice under the law was to 
sprinkle the altar Muth the blood of the ottering 
(Lev. 1 ; 5 ; 4 : 5). But in Egypt, where there 
was no tabernacle and no allar, each house was 
the jjlace of ottering, and was treated as an 
altar. Of houses as well as of cities, the door, 
or gate, was the representative part (see ch. 
20 : 10 ; Deut. 5 : 14), The door consisted of 
lintel, posts, and threshold. Of these the two 
former only were to be sprinkled, as the blood 
on the threshold would be liable to be trodden 
under foot. The sprinkling was significant of 
atonement and cleansing from sin, for it was to 
be performed (ver, 22) with hyssop, invariably 
used in the law when cleansing from sin was 
symbolized (Lev. 14 : 49 ; Num. 19 : 18). Af. 

It was not enough that the blood of the lamb 
was shed, but it must be sprinkled' denoting 
the application of the merits of Christ’s death 
to our souls ; we must receive the atonement 
(Rom. 5 : 11), It was to be sprinkled with a 
bunch of hyssop (v. 22), dipped in the basin. The 
everlasting covenant, like the basin, is the con¬ 
servatory of this blood, the benefits and priv¬ 
ileges purchased by it are laid up for us there ; 
faith is the bunch of hyssop by which we apply 
the promises to ourselves, and the benefits of 
the blood of Christ laid up in them. The 
blood of sprinkling is the saints’ security, 
in times of common calamity ; that is it that 
marks them for God, pacifies conscience, and 
gives them boldness of access to the throne of 
grace, and so becomes a wall of protection 
round them, and a wall of partition between 

them and the children of this world. H.- 

The sprinkling of blood was a representation 
of the offering of the life, substituted for that 
of the firstborn in each house, as an expiatory 
and vicarious sacrifice. 

8. Ill llial iii$;lit. The night is thus 
clearly distinguished from the evening when 
the lamb was slain. It was slain before sunset 


on the 14th, and eaten after sunset, the begin¬ 
ning of the 15th. Cook. - Iloa§t with fire. 

Because it could sooner be made ready by roast¬ 
ing than by boiling. This circumstance consti-, 
tuted a marked difference between the Passover- 
lamb and all the other peace-offerings, the flesh 
of which was usually boiled, in order to be eaten 
both by the people and the priests, as some¬ 
thing additional even at the paschal solemnity. 
Wherefore in 2 Chron. 35 ; 13, the two kinds of 
offerings are accurately distinguished : “ And 
thej^ roasted the passover with fire according to 
the ordinance : but the other holy offerings sod 
they in pots, and in caldrons, and in pans.” 
Bush. 

Eat the flesh. The paschal lamb was 
killed, not to be looked upon onlj% but to be 
fed upon ; so we must by faith make Christ 
ours, as we do that which we eat, and we must 
receive spiritual strength and nourishment from 
him, as from our food, and have delight and 
satisfaction in him, as we have in eating and 
drinking, when we are hungry or thirsty (see 
John 6 : 53-55). H. 

Eiileaveiiecl bread. Leaven, as the 
cause of fermentation, solution, corruption, 
was regarded as an emblem of impurity ; and 
therefore unleavened bread, as a type of what 
God’s redeemed people ought to be, was to be 
eaten seven days. To be cut off from the peo¬ 
ple was the penalty of eating leavened bread. 
The whole feast had thus the name of the feast 
of unleavened bread ; and all leaven was with 
the most scrupulous care removed from their 
houses during the days of the feast. Gerl. 

9. This entire consumption of the lamb con¬ 
stitutes one marked difference between the Pass- 
over and all other sacrifices, in which either a 
part or the whole was burned, and thus offered 
directly to God. The whole substance of the 
sacrificed lamb was to enter into the substance 
of the people, the blood only excepted, which 
was sprinkled as a propitiatory and sacrificial 
offering. Another point of subordinate impor¬ 
tance is noticed. The lamb was slain and the 
blood sprinkled by the head of each family : no 
separate priesthood as yet existed in Israel ; its 
functions belonged from the beginning to the 
father of the family. 

II. Willi y®ur loins ;;ir<lc€l. These 
instructions are understood by the Jews to 
apply only to the first Passover, when they be¬ 
longed to the occasion. There is no trace of 
their observance at any later time ; a striking 
instance of good sense and power of distinguish¬ 
ing between accidents and substantial charac¬ 
teristics. Each of the dirtctions marks prepa- 






632 


THE FIRST PASSOVER. 


ration for a journey. Cook. -It is obvious that 

this injunction as to the manner of eating the 
Passover applied only to the first time of its 
celebration in Egypt, The loins were to be 
girded —the long loose robes bound up round 
the waist ; the sandals on the feet, as was the 
custom when a long or rough journey was to be 
undertaken ; the stafl; in the hand, betokening 
the same purpose ; and it was to be eaten in 
haste, literally, in trepidation or anxiety, as the 
occasion was feartul and urgent. Aif. 

The Lord’s passover, A most impor¬ 
tant statement. It gives at once the great and 
most significant name to the whole ordinance. 

Cook. -It is a feast of passing over in sparing 

mercy, instituted by the Lord himself, and to 
be observed by all his people in obedience to 
his w'ord. The essential parts of this solemnity 
are the lamb, the time of sacrificing and eating 
it, the unleavened bread and bitter herbs, the 
seven days’ feast of unleavened bread. The 
keeping up from the tenth day was afterward 
omitted ; the domestic observance by the men, 
women, and children, was succeeded by the cele¬ 
bration at the place which the Lord had chosen 
(Deut. IG : G) by the men only or chiefly ; the 
lamb was slain by the house-father or the 
priest ; the blood was sprinkled, not on the lin¬ 
tel and posts of the house, but apparently on 
the altar (2 Cliron. 30 : IG) ; and the attire and 
attitude of haste and readiness for travelling 
were afterward omitted. 

Of the three things essential to the salvation 
of a fallen creature, two are represented by cir¬ 
cumcision and the passover, regeneration and 
ledemption. Circumcision denotes the new 
birth, without indicating any of its fruits. The 
passover, like all sacrificial feasts, points out 
not only the act, but the effect of redemption. 
The slaying of the lamb is the act, being the 
giving up of the life of one for another : the 
eating of the sacrifice is the effect, being the 
“ reception of the rights and enjoj’ments recov¬ 
ered on its death. Circumcision w'as to con- 
tiuue as long as the visible Church was limited 
to the natural or adopted descendants of Israel : 
the passover was to be observed until the true 
Lamb of God should come, of wdiich it was only 
the type. M. 

The primary purpose of this festival was to 
commemorate Jehovah's “ passing over” the 
houses of the Israelites wdien he “ passed 
through” the land of Egypt to slay the first¬ 
born in every house. But just as the history of 
Israel was typical of the wdiole pilgrimage of 
man, and as their rescue from Egypt answers 
to that crisis in the life of God’s redeemed peo¬ 


ple, at which they are ransomed by the blood 
of the atonement from the penalty of sin, to 
which they also are subject, so we trace this 
wider and higher meaning in every feature of 
the institution. P. S. 

12. I will lliroug^li. The word 

rendered “pass through” is wholly distinct 
from that which means “ pass over.” The pass¬ 
ing through was in judgment, the “ passing 
over” in mercy. Ag^aiiist all llie fifods of 
Egypt. The meaning of this and of the cor¬ 
responding passage (Num. 33 :4) is undoubt¬ 
edly that the visitation reached the gods of 
Egj'pt. The true explanation in this case is 
that in smiting the firstborn of all living beings, 
man and beast, God smote the objects of Egyp¬ 
tian worship. It is not merely that the bull 
and cow and goat and ram and cat were wor¬ 
shipped in the principal cities of Egypt as rep¬ 
resentatives, or, so to speak, incarnations, of 
their deities, but that the worship of beasts was 
universal ; every nome, every town had its 
sacred animal, including the . lowest forms of 
animal life ; the frog, the beetle, being especial 
objects of reverence as representing the pii- 
meval deities of nature. In fact not a single 
deity of Egypt was unrepresented by some 
beast. Cook. 

13. See the hlood. A similar mode of 
expression with that concerning the rainbow 
Gen. 9 ; IG). Although the Lord “ knoweth 
His own,” and so far requires no sign, yet still 
by this strong human mode of expression is the 
great truth represented that the sign was essen¬ 
tial and had a power and meaning in it, and 
that the atonement which the sacrifice eft'ected 
was a needful one. The blood, therefore, is by 
no means merely for a confirmation of the faith 
of the Israelites. Gerl. 

When 1 §ec the hlonci, I will pass 
over you, and there shall no plague 
destroy yon. The grand central truth of 
all the objective truths here is shadowed forth 
in that blood of the spotless lamb shed and 
sprinkled on the door-posts. It has a deep, 
mysterious meaning and finds its interpretation 
in the history of Calvary and the cross, far on¬ 
ward yet, even fifteen hundred years, in the his¬ 
tory. The blood-marked house is but repre¬ 
sentative of every soul tenement on earth, the 
dweller m which—made alive to the impending 
doom by the voice ihat cries from Sinai, “ who¬ 
soever sinneth, him will I blot out from my 
book,” and by the voice crying from the depths 
within—hath fled from under the dark thunder¬ 
cloud of wrath, to him who w’as lifted up on the 
cross. This blood is not only the central idea 





SECTION 89.—EXODUS 12 ; 1-14, 21-86. 


633 


of this, but of all the revelations of God. The 
whole gospel is, in fact, summed up just here, 

when I see the blood I will pass over.” 
Blood ! blood ! this is the one cry of the gospel 
—the Alpha and the Omega of the gospel. All 
hope of the divine favor —all strength to resist 
and conquer sin—all power of a holy life comes 
from this blood. Is man redeemed ? It is be¬ 
cause “ we have redemption through his blood.” 
Are any ransomed from sin? “Not by cor¬ 
ruptible ransom of silver and gold ” are they 
purchased, “ but by the precious blood of Christ 
as of a lamb without spot.” Are these justi¬ 
fied ? ” Being justified by his blood.” Are 

these cleansed and made holy ? ” His blood 

cleanseth from all sin.” Are they, as strangers 
and wanderers from God, restored ? “Ye who 
sometime were afar off are now made nigh by 
the blood of Christ.” Have they access to the 
Father s presence in prayer ? It is because the 
High Priest hath gone before ‘ ‘ sprinkling the 
blood.” Are they arrayed in spotless robes to 
aj^pear at the court of the Great King? “ They 
have washed their-robes and made them white 
in the blood of the Lamb.” Are sinners cast 
off at last to eternal death ? It is because “ they 
have trampled under foot the blood of the Son 
of God.” Thus in the gospel revelations, all 
mercy, compassion, and grace of God, have 
their ground in that blood. All conviction of 
sin, all holy desire and emotion in the soul, all 
strength to overcome sin ; as all hope and trust 
and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, come 
from that blood. S. R. 

14 . This passover was ordained by God to be 
observed by every Israelite at every return of 
this day of the year ; not only because it was 
to be a standing proof to all future ages of this 
their deliverance, but also a standing figure or 

type of a much greater. Bp. Wilson. -As the 

Israelites were instructed to keep the passover 
in remembrance of their escape from the Egyp¬ 
tian bondage, so are we required to observe the 
Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, in memory of 
our deliverance from the yoke of sin. And it 
IS remarkable, that both the Jewish and the 
Christian rite were enjoined in commemoration 
of events, w^hich had not yet happened, with 
the same degree of precision as if they had act¬ 
ually taken place. Pohchele. 

The redemption of Israel out of Egypt was, 
as a matter of indisputable fact, accomplished 
by Moses. It was accomplished on his part re¬ 
luctantly. It was accomplished, as he believed, 
in obedience to a divine command. It was ac- 

V 

complished without bloodshed or the drawdng 
of a sword. It was accomplished at once, and 


without failure or delay. It was accomplished 
in connection with certain circumstances—such 
as the institution of the Passover, for example 
—which gave it a peculiar significance. For 
fifteen hundred years the Passover was kept, 
and it was utterly devoid of meaning if it did 
not point backward to the deliverance out of 
Egypt. But, unless the record of its institution 
is altogether untrustworthy, it rested on pre¬ 
cisely the same authority as that deliverance 
itself ; and yet that deliverance is the most re¬ 
markable event in all history'’. Every great 
stage in the historic development of Israel is 
distinctly announced beforehand. The thral¬ 
dom in Egypt was announced to Abraham ; the 
deliverance from Egypt was announced to 
Moses ; the establishment of the throne of 
Judah was announced to David ; the captivity 
v/as announced to Hezekiah ; the return was 
announced to Jeremiah ; the ingathering of the 
Gentiles was announced to Hosea and to Mal- 
achi. The fulfilment of the last elucidates the 
fulfilment of the others. Hosea’s prophecy^ 
was eight centuries before the fact. We dare 
not, in the face of that, assert that the record 
of all the others was written after the event to 
which it referred—to say nothing of such a 
theory involving so much acquiescence of the 
nation in the open falsehood of the writers as is 
absolutely inconceivable. Leoihes. 

21-27. Directions which, in obedience to the 
command, Moses gave at the time to the people. 
This method of composition occurs frequently 
in the Pentateuch ; it involves of course some 
repetition, from which no very ancient writer 
would shrink, but it would scarcely have been 
adopted by a compiler. Moses is ever careful 
to record first the commands which he receives, 
and afterward the way in which he executed 
them. Cook. 

21. Faiiiilic§. No single sacrifice could 
be offered for the community, because Israel 
had no existence as a community yet. If Israel 
was to be reconciled as a whole, that it might 
escape the coming judgment, it was necessary 
that each of the separate family’-groups into 
which it was divided should offer for itself the 
atoning sacrifice, and protect itself from the 
wrath of the judge with the atoning blood of 
the victim. When this atoning blood had been 
smeared upon the lintel and door-posts, the 
whole house was protected and everything in 
it ; for the entrance represented the entire 
house. K. 

Kill the passover. The lamb was called 
the paschal or passover lamb ; the animal that was 
to be sacrificed on this occasion got the name of 




634 


THE FIRST PASSOVER. TENTH PLAGUE. 


the institution itself. Paul copies the expression 
(1 Cor. 5 :7). Christ our passover (our paschal 
lamb) is sacrificed for us. A. C. 

21-24. The night of the fourteenth day of 
the month Nisan—that night of grief to the 
Egyptians—was a night of earnest waiting and 
of solemn preparation by the Israelites. They 
had received instructions for its observance in 
that form in which it was to become a yearly 
commemorative festival of their deliverance to 
all generations. It thus, like the great Chris¬ 
tian rite of the Lord’s Supper, was instituted 
previous to the occurrence of the event, the 
memory of which it was designed to keep alive 
in coming ages. Intended to be the great na¬ 
tional festival of the Israelites, “ the Passover” 
commemorated not only the deliverance wrought 
for them by their Almighty Protector, but their 
introduction into an independent national ex¬ 
istence, and the solemnities with which it was 
to be observed were directed to be such as 
should call up vividly to the mind the remem¬ 
brance of that event. As each house had its 
own special deliverance from the calamity which 
carried wailing into the houses of Egypt, so 
there was to be in each a domestic celebration. 
As in this night of emancipation no Israelitish 
house marked with the blood of the slain lamb 
was invaded by death, so the sprinkling of the 
lamb’s blood on the door-posts or the altar was 
to make, through all time, a part of the com¬ 
memoration. And they were to eat unleavened 
cakes, in remembrance of the urgent circum¬ 
stances which, on that meanorable night, had 
prevented the usual preparation for the making 
of bread. Kit. 

21-24. The provision here made was that 
the Israelites and whosoever would, should take 
a lamb, that lamb being t^^pical and significant 
of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the 
world ; that iamb they were to kill, and sprinkle 
its blood upon the lintel, and wherever the de¬ 
stroying aijgel saw this, from that house he 
should reverently retire, holding it and'its in¬ 
mates safe and sacred things. This was not 
that God required blood sprinkled on the lintel 
to let his messenger know who were his people, 
and who were Pharaoh's, but it was to be a 
typical and significant rite. While it answered 
the great purpose of distinction for the da 3 % it- 
was to endure as a lasting and expressive les¬ 
son book inculcating a great truth, until the ful¬ 
ness of the times should come, when the Pass- 
over, like a dim morning star, should be merged 
in the splendor of the rising and increasing Sun 
of Righteousness, the Lord Jesus Christ. J. C. 

The blood of the paschal lamb did not save 


the Israelites by being shed, but by being 
sprinkled, it is not the blood of Christ as shed 
on Calvary, but as sprinkled on the soul, that 

saves us from the wrath to come. Kit. - 

Blood sprinkled on the iintel and door-posts 
alone was the safety of Israel. Not deeds—not 
race—not anything inside the house —but wholly 
the blood outside was safety. There might be 
doubt or fears within, but those did not weaken 
the protection. The blood of Jesus is our safety 

—and it alone. J. C.-The shedding of blood 

holds forth the great idea of atonement for sin 
by the substitution of the life of the victim, — 
which “ life is in the blood ”—for the forfeited 
life of the sinner. But you may observe hero 
the exhibition of the mode in which, and the 
conditions on which, the penitent becomes 
clothed with the lights of the substitute. This 
consists simply in sprinkling the blood—noth¬ 
ing else. “ For when he seeth the hh'od the 
Lord will pass over.” The by .-.sop branch, with 
which the blood was struck on the door, is the 
simple emblem of the approjiriating faith which 
applies the blood to the sin-stained soul. Hence 
David, under a deep sense of his sinfulness, 
cries “ purge me with hyssop and I shall be 
clean.” The unleavened bread which is to bo 
eaten betokens the sincerity and truth with 
which the act is to be done. The bitter herbs 
so specially commanded are a significant re¬ 
minder, not only of the sorrowful eating of 
“ the fruit of their own doings,’ ’ to which they 
were doomed, but also a warning that redemp¬ 
tion by the sprinkled blood may be consistent 
with many a disagreeable cross and trial. Yea, 
and the very mode of the eating, with the staff 
in hand, loins girt, and sandals on the feet— 

eating in haste”—is a significant reminder 
that though they are the redeemed of Jehovah, 
they are still pilgrims and strangers, as all their 
fathers were. That they have no abiding city 
here, but must be up and journeying from the 
land of Egypt and its bondage to a better coun¬ 
try, > even the land of which the Lord hath 
spoken to the fathers. Thus suddenly we come 
here upon a gospel of full detail, which is 
henceforth to take the place of that more gen¬ 
eral and indefinite gospel of salvation b}' aton¬ 
ing blood which has hitherto been revealed. 
S. R. 

23, When lie seetli. The sign is prop¬ 
erly for him, who sees it and judges accord¬ 
ingly ; now the blood was seen by Jehovah, as 
he himself said, and not by the Israelites who 
were sitting in the houses. And it was just be¬ 
cause the blood availed as a sign for Jehovah, 
that it furnished Israel with a firm ground of 






SECTION 89.—EXODUS 12 : 1-14, 21-36. 


G35 


confidence. Baum. -The separation between 

Israel and the Egyptians was not such as to 
amount to isolation. Goshen would be chiefly, 
but not exclusively, inhabited by Israelites. 
These would mingle even in the agricultural 
districts, but, naturally, much more in the 
towns, with their Egyptian neighbors. Accord¬ 
ingly, it needed the Paschal provision of the 
blood to distinguish the houses of the Israelites 
from those of the Egyptians ; while Exodus 
3 : 22 seems to imply that they were not only 
neighbors, but perhaps, occasionally, residents 
in the same houses. This also accounts for the 
“ mixed multitude” that accompanied Israel at 
the Exodus, and, later on, in the wilderness, 
for the presence in the congregation of offspring 
from marriages between Jewish women and 
Egyptian husbands. A. E. 

24, Ob§erve this thing forever. The 
repetition of this solemnity in the return of 
every year was designed. First, To look hnck- 
loard as a memorial, that in it they might re¬ 
member what great things God had done for 
them and their fathers. The word pesach sig¬ 
nifies a leap or transilion: it is a passing over ; 
for the destroying angel passed over the houses 
of the Israelites, and did not destroy their first¬ 
born. When God brings utter ruin upon his 
people, he says, I icill not pass by them any more 
(Am. 7:8; 8:2), intimating how often he had 
passed by them, as now when the destroying 
angel passed over their houses. Distinguishing 
mercies lay under peculiar obligations. When 
a thousand fall at our side and ten thousand at our 
right hand, and yet 'we are preserved, and have 
our lives given us for a prey, this should greatly 
affect us (Ps. 91 : 7) If the arrow of death has 
passed by us, passed over us, hit the next to us, 
and just missed us, we must not say it was by 
chance that we were preserved, but by the 
special providence of our God. Old mercies, to 
ourselves or to our fathers, must not be forgot¬ 
ten, but be had in everlasting remembrance, 
that Go.d may be praised, our faith in him en¬ 
couraged, and our hearts enlarged in his service. 
Secondly, It was designed to look forward as an 
earnest of the i^reat sacrifice of the Lamb of God 
in the fulness of time, instead of us and our 
firstborn ; we were obnoxious to the sword of 
tlie destroying angel, but Christ our Passover was 
sacrificed for us, his death was our life, and thus 
he was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the 
world, from the foundation of the Jewish 
chnrcJi : Moses kept the passover by faith in 
Christ, for Christ was the end of the law for right¬ 
eousness. H. 

27, Slisill say. On this is founded the 


beautiful custom, which has always prevailed 
among the Israelites in later times, at least 
since the dispersion, that the son of the house, 
at an appointed time in the Paschal Supper, 
shall ask the father of the family, “ What mean- 
eth all this?” and the father answers: “We 
eat this Passover, because the Lord passed over 
the houses of our fathers in Egypt. We eat 
these bitter herbs, because the Egyptians made 
the lives of our fathers bitter in Egypt. We eat 
this unleavened bread, because our fathers had 
not time enough to leaven their dough before 
the Lord appeared and redeemed them. There¬ 
fore shall we confess, laud, praise, and magnify 
him who hath shown unto us and our fathers so 
great wonders, and bath brought us from bond¬ 
age into freedom, from sorrow into joy, from 
darkness into great light.” This is called the 
“ Haggada,” the declaration—explanation. Gerl. 

The First Passover Observed (v. 28). 

27, 28. And the pt^ople bowed the 
head and worshipped. And the 
ehildren of Israel went and did so ; 
as file LORD liad eoninianded, so 
did they. 

From Heb. 11 : 27, 28, we learn that that first 
Passover evening was another illustration of 
faith. Noticeably, the writer speaks of both 
the leaving of Egypt and the keeping of the 
Passover as illustrating the faith of Moses rather 
than of the whole people of Israel. “ By faith 
he (Moses) forsook Egypt “ by faith he (Moses 
again) kept the Passover.” Moses knew better 
than they the mighty issues that were pending ; 
the fearful peril they were escaping. The 
mighty faith of these transactions was his rather 
than theirs. H. C. 

The Tenth Plague—Smitino of the First¬ 
born (vs. 29, 30). 

It was not called forth by either the rod or 
hand of Moses, nor did it proceed from the 
water, the earth, or the air ; but the hand of 
Jehovah himself was stretched forth (as he had 
said, V. 12) : “ At midnight will I go out into 
the midst of Egypt, and smite all the firsForn in 
Egypt, both of man and beast, and I will exe¬ 
cute judgment against aU the gods <f the. Egyptians, 
I Jehovah !” In the tenth plague the idea and in¬ 
tention of all the plagues were embodied and 
fulfilled. It was thought of and announced first 
(chap. 4 :22, 23), but it was necessarily the last 
to appear. If it had been the first to appear, 
the fact would not have been so completely and 
universally displayed, that Jehovah was the Lord 
in the midst of the land (8 :22), the Lord over the 








TENTH PLAGUE. 


C3G 


* 

water, the earth, and the air, over gods and 
men, cattle and plants, and that there was none 
like him in all the earth (9 :14). For this purpose 
it was necessary that there should be many mir¬ 
acles wrought in the laud of Egypt (11 : 9) ; and 
it was also requisite that they should have both 
sharply defined natural features and an unmis¬ 
takably miraculous character, in order that 
freedom of choice might be left for faith or un¬ 
belief. But the tenth plague bore upon the face 
of it a purely supernatural character, and be¬ 
cause it was the tenth, i.e. the one which gave a 
finish and completeness to the whole, it exhib¬ 
ited in a clear and unequivocal manner the de¬ 
sign of all the plagues from the ver}' commence¬ 
ment ; for the last furnished the key to the en¬ 
tire series. And inasmuch as Pharaoh’s resist¬ 
ance was overcome by the tenth plague, although 
the hardness of his heart was complete ; this 
fact alone was sufficient to prove that the ob¬ 
stinacy of his refusal had only served to glorify 
the name of Jehovah, and that the w'ords of 
Jehovah were fulfilled ; “ For this cause have I 
raised thee up, to show in thee my poicer.” K. 

29. All firstl>orit. The destroying angel 
selects from each family through the land of 
Egypt the single victim pointed out ; and while 
with unerring hand he aims this shaft of death, 
he passes over every habitation of Jacob, marked 
with the sign appointed by the divine com¬ 
mand. Do we not in all this discover the plain 
operation of that Being, who alone is the God 
of nature and the Lord of life ; whose will con¬ 
trols every element and directs every event ? Dr. 

Graves. --We may suppose that the Israelites 

had finished the paschal supper, and were 
awaiting, in awful suspense, the next great 
event, when the midnight cry of anguish arose 
through all the land of Egypt. At that moment 
Jehovah slew the firstborn in every house, from 
the king to the cajitive ; and, by smiting also 
all the firstborn of cattle, he “ executed juJg- 

ment on all the gods of Egypt.” P. S.-The 

circumstance, that it was not merely the first¬ 
born of the god-king Pharaoh and of the sacred 
animals that were slain, but all the firstborn of 
man and beast, from the son of Pharaoh who 
sat upon Lis throne, to the son of the slave- 
woman that stood behind the mill, from the 
Apis that was kept in the temple and worship¬ 
ped as a god, to the most common and unclean 
of the beasts, was the most humiliating part of 
the whole to the gods of Egypt, for it was a 
practical declaration of the absolute equality of 
both of them. K. 

They had slain the Hebrews’ children, and 
now God slew theirs. Thus he visits the in¬ 


iquity of the fathers upon tho children ; and he 
is not unrijhteous who taketh vengeance. It reached 
from the throne to the dungeon : prince and 
peasant stand upon the same level before God’s 
judgments, for there is no respect of persons 
with him. H. 

30. Now God begins to call for the blood 
they owed him : in one night every house hath 
a carcass in it ; and, which is more grievous, of 
their firstborn ; and, which is yet more fearful, 
in an instant. No man could comfort other ; 
every man was too full of his own sorrow ; help¬ 
ing rather to make the noise of the lamentation 

more doleful and astonishing. Bp. II. -The 

blow was universal and irresistible. There was 
no respect of persons in the indiscriminate de¬ 
struction of the appointed victims. All the first¬ 
born, from man in the vigor of manhood to the 
infant which had just been born, died in that 
hour of death. The stay, the comfort, the de¬ 
light of every family was annihilated at a single 
stroke ! And how natural was it for them in 
such a scene of carnage to fancy that they were 
all doomed to destruction, and that the work of 
death would not cease till they had all perished ? 

Bush. -The horrors of this night mav be bet- 

ter conceived when we call to mind that the 
Egyptians were noted for the wild and frantic 
wailings with which they lamented their dead. 
Screaming women rush about with dishevelled 
hair, troops of people assemble in tumultuous 
commiseration around the house, where a single 
corpse is laid out—and now every house and 
every family had its victim. Hebrew tradition 
has increased the horror of the calamitj", assert¬ 
ing that the temples were shaken, the idols 
overthrown, the sacred animals, chosen as the 
firstborn, involved in the universal destruction. 

Milman. -Is this a dreadful picture? Yet it 

is but a type of whnt mast be—a shadow merely 
of the wrath to come to all the unsprinkled 
souls’ tenements in eternity. I'e that affect to 
think so lightly of death and eternity ! see here 
this shadow and gather the elementary ideas of 
what shall be, from what h is been, already, under 
the government of God. Standing, in imagina¬ 
tion, amid these complicated horrors in Eg 3 *pt 
—the groans of the d^dng, mingling with the 
shrieks of the living, throughout a whole em¬ 
pire all earthly pomp and power levelled to 
mingle its unavailing cries Avith the lowest and 
meanest in a common woe—here see what it is 
for “ God to whet his glittering sword and his 
hand to take hold on vengeance.” S. B. 

But on that eventful Passover night, what a 
contrast lay there side by side between the 
homes of Israel and the dwellings of Egj^pt — 











SECTION 89,—EXODUS 12 : 1-14, 21-36. 


637 


the Angel of God's mercy presiding at the tables 
of the one, but the Angel of Death bursting 
open every door and singling out every first¬ 
born in the other ; the quiet repose of faith 
smiling over the domestic scenes of the one, 
but the agonies of death and the wails of smit¬ 
ten hearts desolating the other ! That was in¬ 
deed a lesson in faith, witnessing to the potency 
of the blood of sprinkling, signifying that under 
its wing there was 23ardoning mercy, and “ the 
peace of God that jjasseth all understanding.” 
H. C. 

How soon hath God changed the 
note of this tyrannical people ! Egypt was 
never so stubborn in denying passage to Israel, 
as now importunate to entreat it : Pharaoh did 
not more force them to stay before, thau now to 
depart : whom lately they would not permit, 
now they hire to go. Their rich jewels of silver 
and gold were not too dear for them, whom 
they hated ; how much rather would they to 
send them away wealthy, than to have them 
stay to be their executors ! Their love to them¬ 
selves obtained of them the enriching of their 
enemies ; and now they are glad to pay them 
well, for their old work, and their present jour¬ 
ney : God’s people had stayed like slaves, they 
go away like conquerors, with the spoil of those 
that hated them ; armed for securitj^ and 
wealthy for maintenance. Bp. II. 

3!, 3*2. Callcfl for and Aaron. 

As Moses had before this withdrawn from the 
presence of Pharaoh, with the determination to 
see his face no more, this must be understood to 
mean that Pharaoh sent his servants to Moses 
and Aaron, an 1 communicated his message to 
them. This was a striking fulfilment of Moses’ 
previous declaration (oh. 11 : 8), and clearly 
proving that he'then spake under a divine im¬ 
pulse ; “ And all these thy servants shall come 
down unto me, and bow down themselves unto 
me, saying. Get thee out, and all the people 
that follow thee.” Bash. 

The messengers were undoubtedly chief offi¬ 
cials ; they bowed themselves before Moses, 
w'bo was now recognized as ” very great,” and 
delivered their master's message, which granted 
in express terms all that Moses had ever de¬ 
manded. Aiul a>3tiS3 me Here Pha¬ 

raoh’s humiliation reaches its extreme point. 
He is reduced by the terrible calamity not only 
to grant all the demands made of him freely 
and without restriction, but to crave the favor 
of a blessing from those whom he had despised, 
rebuked, thwarted, and finally driven from his 
presence under the threat of death. Those with 
whom were the issues of life and death must. 


he felt, have the power to bless or curse effect¬ 
ually. G. K. 

Yet the sequel shciws clearly that even now 
he was not penitent. He submitted not in 
heart, nor sincerely humbled himself before 
God. He let them go by constraint and most 
unwillingly. He would still have held out if 
he had dared, and he yielded only because he 
could oppose no longer. He made a forced 
show of obedience, but his heart was as hard 
and rebellious as ever. 

33. Aiid the Es;yptiaii§ were ur- 
g'eilt. The same word in the original with 
that which is, for the most part, applied to the 
hardening (strengthening) of Pharaoh's heart, 
implying a most vehement, pressing urgency. 
Ps. 105 : 38, “ Egypt was glad when they de¬ 
parted : for the fear of them fell upon them.” 
Jerus. Targ. “ The Egyptians said, If Israel 
tarry one hour, lo, all the Egyptians are dead 
men.” For aught they knew, the plague they 
had experienced might be but the precirrsor of 
another still more dreadful, that would sweep 
off the whole population in a mass. Bash. 

35, 36, The Israelites then did what Je¬ 
hovah had previously commanded them to do ; 
they asked the Egyptians for ariides of gold and 
silver (trinkets and jewels) and for doihes (festal 
clothing). And Jehovah caused his people to find 
favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, so that they 
gave without hesitation whatever was demand¬ 
ed. K.-36. Spoiled tlie Egyptians. 

This was in fulfilment of the promise made to 
Abraham (Gen. 15 : 14), “ They shall come out 
with great substance ” Israel came into Egypt 
few in numbers ; but they go out from the land of 
their oppressors greatly increased, mighty, and 
formidable ; laden with the spoils of their cruel 
oppressor.s, the well-earned reward of the labors 
of many ymars, and of much sorrow. In al¬ 
lusion, perhaps, to this event, God says by the 
prophet Ezekiel (ch. 39 :10), ” And they shall 
spoil those that spoikd them, and rob them that 
robbed them, saith the Lord God.” Bush. 

There is not a word in the text about borrow¬ 
ing or lending. The Hebrews demandecl, and 
the Egyptians in their panic encouraged them 
to demand, the articles mentioned. The spoil¬ 
ing of Egypt was but the right of Israel, who 
had been so long spoiled of just wages by servile 
oppression. It is remarkable how prominent a 
part this circumstance, the enriching of Israel 
at the cost of the Egyptians, has played since 
the first announcement of the Exodus to Abra-‘ 
ham : compare Gen. 15 :14 ; ch. 3 : 21, 22 ; 
11 : 2, 3, in which latter place it would almost 
appear that the process must have begun even 




638 


DIVINE LEGATION OF MOSES, POINTS OF HISTORY. 


before the last plague. It was regarded all the 
way through as a lawful booty gained from ene¬ 
mies, who had long oppressed and defrauded 
them. Alf. 

Israel required these things for their religious 
worship ; and they could no more depart with¬ 
out them than without their cattle, as these 
“jewels of silver and jewels of gold ” were to 
serve in forming a sanctuary for the people’s 
worship, and were under their circumstances 

quite needful. Gerl. -Although the quantity 

of golden ornaments required to make the 
golden calf must have been far from inconsider¬ 
able, and this calf was subsequently destroyed 
(Ex. 32 ; 20) ; we read shortly afterward (Ex 
35 ; 21, seq ), that the whole community, both 
men and women, brought “ clasps and ear¬ 
rings, signet rings, necklaces, and all sorts of 
trinkets of gold,’’ as a free-will offering toward 
the erection and furnishinor of the tabernacle. 
Let any one think for a moment what a mass of 
gold must have been used in connection with 
the tabernacle, when the beams were all plated 
with gold, and the articles of furniture were 
either made of solid gold or at least covered 
with it, and he will be obliged to admit not 
only that the quantity of gold in the possession 
of the Israelites was extraordinary, but that if 
we were not acquainted with the circumstance 
narrated here, it would be incredible and incon¬ 
ceivable. K. 

In this history is typically represented to irs 
the condition of the Church of the Lord among 
the people of the earth at all times. The peo[)le 
of God are really free, and called to serve their 
Lord. For a while the Lord allows them to 
suffer oppression, under which they sigh ; but 
at last he leads them forth from their captivity, 
inflicting heavy punishment on their oppres¬ 
sors, and with the spoil taken from their enemies 
may they now glorify their Lord. Hence the 
intellectual culture which the Christian Church 
learnt from heathen antiquity w'as rightly called 
by the fathers of the Church, “The spoils of 
Egypt.” Gerl. 


Among the various festivals of the Jewish 
Church, one only was distinctly historical. In 
the feast of the Pascha or Passover, the scene 
of the flight of the Israelites, its darkness, its 
hurry, its confusion, was acted j'ear by year, as 
in a living drama. In part it is still so acted 
throughout the Jewish race ; in all its essential 
features (some of which have died out everj^- 
where else) it is enacted, in the most lively 
form, by the solitary remnant of that race 
which, under the name of Samaritan, celebrates 


the whole Paschal sacrifice, year by year, on the 
summit of Mount Gerizim. So has lived on 
for centuries the tradition of the Deliverance 
from Egypt ; and so it lives on still, chiefly in 
the Hebrew race, but, in part, in the Christian 
Church also. Alone of all the Jewish festivals, 
the Passover has outlasted the Jewish polity, 
has overleaped the boundary between the Jew¬ 
ish and Christian communities. The Paschal 
Lamb, in deed or in word, is become to us sym¬ 
bolical of the most sacred of all events. Jew 
and Christian both celebrate what is to a cer¬ 
tain extent a common festival ; even the most 
sacred ordinance of the Christian religion is, in 
its outward form, a relic of the Paschal Supper, 
accompanied by hymn and thanksgiving, in the 
upper chamber of a Jewish household A. P. S. 

The Divine Legation of Moses. 

When eighty years old, an age which accord¬ 
ing to the present proportion of life may be 
fairly reckoned at 60 or 65, when the fire of 
ambition is usuallj'^ burnt out and the active 
spirit of adventure subsided, entirely unat¬ 
tended, Moses appears again in Egypt, and 
boldly undertakes the extraordinary enterprise 
of delivering the people of Israel from their 
state of slavery, and establishing them as a reg¬ 
ular and independent commonwealth. To effect 
this he had first to obtain a perfect command 
over the minds of the people, now scattered 
through the whole land of Egypt, their courage 
broken by long and unintermitted slavery, 
habituated to Egyptian customs and even deeplj’’ 
tainted with Egyptian superstitions ; he had to 
induce them to throw off the yoke of their 
tyrannical masters, and follow him in search of 
a remote Ian 1, only known by traditions many 
centuries old as the residence of their fore¬ 
fathers. Secondly, he had to overawe and in- 
duce to the surrender of their whole useful 
slave population, not merely an ignorant and 
superstitious peojrle, but the king and the 
priesthood of a country where science had made 
considerable progress, and where the arts of an 
impostor would either be counteracted by sim¬ 
ilar arts, or instantly detected and exposed to 
shame and ridicule. MUrnan. 

Moses was either a true prophet, an enthusi¬ 
ast, a dupe, or an impostor. That he was not 
an enthusiast, may be argued from his learn¬ 
ing ; he was versed in all the learning of Egypt 
— from his education among the courtiers of 
Pharaoh—from the diffidence with which he re¬ 
ceived the first annunciation of his mission — 
from the admirable suitableness of his law to 
the accomplishment of the object proposed— 









SECTION 89—EXODUS 12 : U14, 21-36. 


639 


the knowledge therein displayed of human na- j 
tare—the connection of laws politically neces¬ 
sary with religion. He could not have been a 
dupe ; for if the aj^pearance in the burning 
bush had not been real—if he had been de¬ 
ceived in the evidences of his mission—if the 
miracles wrought to convince him that he was 
the chosen prophet of God had been only nat¬ 
ural phenomena, he could not have inferred 
from them that he was to be the legislator and 
deliverer of the Jews. Neither was he an im¬ 
postor. An impostor would not have chosen to 
suffer aflliction with a degraded race, rather 
than to indulge in the gayeties and fascinations 
of a court—an impostor would not have exposed 
himself to the danger of death, by vindicating 
the cause of the oppressed —he would not, if 
banished to a desert be contented with his lot 
—forget his schemes of ambition, intermarry 
among the natives of an obscure province, and 
calmly sink into the condition of a shepherd. 
Even if he were at length to ronse from this 
strange lethargy, and resolve to deliver his 
countrymen or perish in the attempt, an im¬ 
postor would have j^roceeded with some address 
and policy —he would not enter abruiitly into 
the presence of an absolute sovereign and per¬ 
emptorily insist on the liberation of a race of 
“ useful slaves neither would an impostor 
commit himself hy predicting a series of mir¬ 
aculous judgments if these slaves were not per¬ 
mitted to emigrate. If Moses, too, had been 
any of these, he could not have conquered 
armies without lighting, or impressed a whole 
nation with imaginary terrors—or guided or fed 
a whole nation for forty years in the wilder¬ 
ness;—he could not have compelled and he 
could not have persuaded the Egyptians and 
their king to resign their dominion over the 
Israelites, unless he had been possessed of 
powers more than human. That is, he was a 
true prophet—he wrought miracles—he was the 
character he professed to be. The mere fact, 
that Moses was not a true prophet, and yet de¬ 
livered the Israelites, would be a much greater 
miracle than any he is related to have per¬ 
formed. G. T. 

Points of History {Becapitulation). 

Altogether, the arguments in favor of the 
nineteenth dynasty being that which held the 
throne at the time of the events recorded in Ex 
odus seem to preponderate considerably over 
those which can be adduced in favor of the 
eighteenth. The eighteenth was too powerful 
and warlike to have feared invasion, or to have 
regarded Israel as a danger. It built no “ store 


cities.” It was unacquainted with the name 
Rameses. It did not hold its court at Tams, 
It contained neither king nor prince of the 
name of Sethos (Seti). The nineteenth was dif¬ 
ferently situated. It combined the various par¬ 
ticulars to which the eighteenth was a stranger. 
Moreover, it terminated in such a time of weak¬ 
ness as might have been expected to follow the 
calamities recorded in Exodus ; while the eigh¬ 
teenth Avas glorious to its very close, and gave 
no indication of diminished greatness. 

On the whole it would seem to be most prob¬ 
able that the Israelites, having come into Egypt 
in the reign of Apophis (Apepi), the last Shep¬ 
herd King, who was a thoroughly Egyptianized 
Asiatic, remained there as peaceable subjects 
under the great and warlike eighteenth dynasty 
for some three hundred years, gradually, as the 
memory of Joseph’s benefits faded, suffering 
more and more oppression, but multipl.>ing in 
spite of it, till at length a change of d 3 'nasty 
occurred, and with it a change of policy in re¬ 
spect of them. 

Moderate ill-usage was succeeded by the 
harshest possible treatment ; their “ lives were 
made bitter with, hard bondage.” The “ new 
king who knew not Joseph” (Exod. 1 :8) is, 
lierhaps, in the mind of the writer, rather 
Sethos I, than Raineses I., who reigned but a year 
and four months. Sethos, threatened on his 
north-eastern frontier by the Hittites, and 
fearing lest the Hebrews should join them, de¬ 
vised the plans ascribed to the “ new king” in 
Exod. 1—set them to build “ store cities, Pithom 
and Rameses,” the latter named probably after 
.his son ; when this had no effect, sought to 
check their increase by means of the midwives ; 
and finally required that all their male offspring 
should be thrown into the Nile. There is 
nothing in the character of Seti I., as represented 
upon his monuments, to render these severities 
improbable. He was a good son and a good 
father, but an implacable enemy and a harsh 
ruler. His treatment of prisoners taken in war 
was cruel beyond I he wont of his time, his cam¬ 
paigns were sanguinary, and his temper fierce 
and resentful. If Moses was born under Seti I., 
and bred up by his daughter, the king under 
whom he found himself when he grew to man¬ 
hood, and from whom he fled to the land of 
Midian, must have been Rameses IT. Seti as¬ 
sociated his son Rameses "when he was about 
twelve years of age, and shortly afterward he 
practically transferred to him the reins of power. 
Rameses 11. claims to have held the throne for 
at least sixty-seven years, and was assigned 
sixty-six by Manetho. His reign is the longest 





640 


POINTS OF HISTORY. 


of al? the Egj’^ptian reigns, except that of Phiops. 
He was a king likely to have continued the 
“ hard bondage” of the Israelites, for he was 
the most indefatigable of builders, and effected 
the greater number of his constructions by the 
instrumentality of forced labor. Lenormant 
says that during his reign thousands of cap¬ 
tives must have died under the rod of the task¬ 
master, or have fallen victims to overwork or 
privations of every description and that “ in 
all his monuments there was not, so to speak, a 
single stone which had not cost a human life.” 
It was the sight of oppression such as this which 
jirovoked the indignation of Moses, and led to 
the rash act which caused him to quit Egypt 
and fly to Midian. So long as Pameses II. lived, 
the exile felt that he could not return. It must 
have been weary waiting for the space of forty 
years or more, while the great Pharaoh made 
his expeditions, excavated his canal and erected 
his numerous buildings. The weariness of pro¬ 
longed exile shows itself in the name given by 
Moses to'his eldest son : ” He called his name 
Gershom : for he said, I have been a stranger 
in a strange land.” At length, ‘‘in process of 
time” —after a reign which exceeded sixty-six 
years —‘‘the king of Egypt died” (Exod. 
2 :23) ; and Moses, divinely informed of the 
fact (Exod. 3 :19), returned to Egypt to his 
brethren. 

If Seti I. be the king who commenced the op¬ 
pression, and liameses II. the monarch from 
whom Moses fled, the Pharaoh whom he found 
seated in the throne upon his return must have 
been Meneptah. The character of this king, 
as depicted in the Egyptian monuments, bears 
a considerable resemblance to that of the adver¬ 
sary of Moses. He was proud, vainglorious, dis¬ 
inclined to expose his own person in war, yet 
ready enough to send his soldiers in^o positions 
of peril. The cruelties that he sanctioned in 
his Libyan war are worthy of the monarch who, 
wdien a subject people complained of their bur¬ 
dens, met the complaint b}^ making their bur¬ 
dens heavier. He appears in Egyptian history 


as the weak successor of two powerful mon- 
archs ; he has one military success, due not to 
himself, but to his generals, after which his 
reign is inglorious and closes in disaster, 
Meneptah, like his father, commonly held his 
court at Tanis. It would be there, ‘‘ in the 
fleld of Zoan,” that Moses and Aaron confronted 
him and wrought their “ wonders.” The strug¬ 
gle, the dej)arture, the pursuit, the disaster in 
the Eed Sea, may belong to the king’s sixth 
year ; and two years afterward he may have suc¬ 
cumbed to revolutionary movements conse¬ 
quent upon the losses wdiich he suffered in the 
Eed Sea catastrophe. His reign certainly ended 
amid clouds and darkness, and was followed by 
a jjeriod of civil disturbance, terminating in 
bloodshed and anarchy. The troubles of this 
period, described in the “ Great Harris Papy¬ 
rus,” together with the remarkable successes of 
Eameses III., second monarch of the twentieth 
dynasty, would fall into the i3eriod passed by 
Israel in the “ Wilderness of the Wanderings,” 
and would thus naturally obtain no direct men¬ 
tion in the sacred narrative. Eameses may, 
however, have been the “ hornet” which God 
sent before Israel to break the power of the 
Canaanites and Hittites (Exod. 23 : 28), and ren¬ 
der the conquest of Palestine more easy. He 
seems certainU^ to have made at least one great 
expedition into Asia, and to have reduced under 
his sway the whole tract between “ the river of 
Egypt ” and the Euphrates. Had the Israelites 
been in possession of Palestine at the time, he 
must have come in contact with them, and have 
seriously interfered with their independence. 
As it was, his Syrian wars, by weakening the 
Canaanite nations, paved the w'ay for the vic¬ 
tories of Joshua and the Israelite occupation of 
the ‘‘ Land of Promise.” 

The depressed state of Egypt between the 
death of Eameses III. and the accession of the 
first Sheshonk accounts for the absence of all 
mention of the Egyptians from the Books oj 
J oshua, Judges, and Samuel. G. E. 




SECTION 90.-1 CHRONICLES 1 : 1-54. 


G4] 


Section 90. 

SUPPLEMENTARY. 
1 Chkonicles 1 ; 1-54. 


Phis Section is added to complete the plan of 
the work. As the text is in the main a tran¬ 
script from Genesis 5th, 10th, 11th, 25th, and 
86th, it is not deemed necessary to insert it 
here. B. 

The genealogical tables, though to ns com¬ 
paratively uninteresting, were highly important 
among the Jews, who were made by prophetic 
I)romises extremely observant in these particu- 
lars. These tables give the sacred lives through 
which the promise was transmitted for nearly 
8500 years ; a fact itself unexampled in the his¬ 
tory of the human race. Angus. -It was fit 

to begin these Chronicles of Jewish history by 
tracing the original and descent of this select 
people of God to the very first man, who was 
tlie son of God. This was the peculiar glory of 
the Jewish nation, that they alone were able to 
derive their pedigree from the first man that 
God created ; of which no other nation could 
boast, or even make a shadow of pretence. For 
no book in the world shows the original propa¬ 
gation of mankind, but only the Holy Scriptures 
[originating with and preserved by the chosen 
People, the children of Israel]. Patrick. 

1 Cliroii. chap. 1. The whole of these 
Patriarchal forefathers of the house of David 
down to Israel and Edom, sons of Isaac, appear 
to be divided into two nearly equal parts, to 
the second of which is added an appendix on 
the descendants of Edom till the times of David. 
The first part (vs 1-23) enumerates the ten Ante¬ 
diluvian Patriarchs from Adam to Noah, the 
three sons of Noah, and the Seventy Nations 
descending from them. In the second part (vs. 

24- 42) are given the ten generations from Shem 
to Abraham, the sons of Abraham by Hagar, 
Ketnrah, and Sarah, and the stocks derived 
from them, which again amount to Seventy. 
The Appendix (vs. 43-54) mentions the kings of 
the Edomites before David (Gen. 36) and the 
eleven dukes of Edom. Lange. 

1-23. Adam’s Line to Noah. Only that one 
member of the family is mentioned who came in 
the direct order of succession. 4-23. Xoali, 
Slicm, Ham, and Japlietli--The three 
sons of this patriarch are enumerated, because 
they were the founders of the new world and be¬ 
cause the fulfilment of Noah’s prophecy (Gen. 9 : 

25- 27) could not otherwise appear to have been 

41 


verified. 14-17. In these verses the names ar^ 
not those of individuals, but of people who all 
sprang from Canaan ; and as several of them be¬ 
came extinct or were amalgamated with their 
brethren, their national appellations are given 
instead of the personal names of their ancestors. 
17. Uz, and Hul, and Inetlier, and 
Mciliccll ; these were the children of Aram 
and grandsons of Shem (Gen. 10 : 23). 

24-28. Shem’s Line TO Abkaham. 24. Shem, 
etc.—This comprises a list of ten, inclusive of 
Abraham. 

29-31, Sons OF IsHMAEL. 23. These are their 
generations—The heads of his twelve tribes. 
The great northern desert of Arabia, including 
the entire neck, was colonized by these tribes ; 
and if we can recover, in the modern geography 
of this part of the country, Arab tribes bearing 
the names of those patriarchs, i.e., names cor¬ 
responding with those preserved in the original 
catalogue of Scripture, we obtain at once so 
many evidences, not of mere similarity, but of 
absolute identification. Nebaiotll—Gave rise 
to the Nabathaeans of the classic, and the Beni 
Nabat of Oriental writers. Kedar —The Arab 
tribe, El Khedeyre, on the coast of Hedgar. Al>“ 
deel— Abdilla, the name of a tribe in Yemen. 
30. Dll mall —Dumah and Tema, the greau 
Arab tribes of Beni Teman. Thus Forster traces 
the names of all the heads of the twelve tribes of 
Ishmael as perpetuated in the clans or tribes of 
the Arabs in the present day\ 

32, 33. 8on§ of Keturali. 32. 8oii§ 
of Keturali—These became founders oi 
nomadic tribes in the north of Arabia and 
Syria, as Midian of the Midianites (Gen. 36 : 35). 
81iuall —From whom Bildad sprang (Job 2 :11). 
Jamieson. 

Even where we are unable to perceive the his¬ 
torical importance of the prominent names, and 
the grounds on which they must have been of 
interest to every devout Israelite, the fact of 
such importance is to be presumed in every 

case. Lange. -These dry names from a hoary 

antiquity, when we know how to awaken them 
from their sleep, announce and revive the most 
important traditions of the ancient nations and 
families, like the petrifactions and mountain 
strata of the earth, which, rightlj' questioned, 
tell the history of long-vanished ages. Eicald. 











Al’TlIOilS CITED, AND KEY TO ABBllEVIATIONS. 

[The titles and publishers of leadiiifjf works, additional to those given in previous volumes, 
are here appended to the names of authors. A helpful service in the interest of readers and 
writers is thus subserved.] 


W. A. 

X. A. 

J. W. A. 
A If. 


An. 


a. D. A. 


An(j. 


C. (1. B. 
S. C. B. 


M’illiam Adams, D.i>. 

T/ie Thtee Garden^. (Scribners, N. Y.) 
Xelieiniah Adams, D.D. 

L. Agassiz. 

W. Aikman, D.D. 

Jas. W. Alexander, D.D. 

AVm. Tj. Alexander, D.D. 

IIenr>^ Alford, D.D. 

Com. on Gemal't, (tc. (Strahan, Loiuloir) 
Bp. Ij. Andrewes, d. 1620. 

S. J. Andrews, D.D. 

God'ii llevelaliom, etc. (Scribners, N. Y.) 
TAeiit. Anderson. 

Jose ph Angus, D.D. 

An Unknown Writer. 

Thomas Aquinas. 

Duke of Argyll. 

Prifutval Ma t. Tiontledge, London.) 
(ieo. D. Armstrong, D.D. 

Suture and Revelition. (Funk k. Wag- 
nalls, N. Y ) 

Thomas Arnold, D.D. 

At hanasius. 

C. A. Anberlen. 

The Divine Itevelutiou. (Clark, Fldin.) 

Augustine, d. 430. 


W. (1. B. 


(1. I). B. 


Lord Bacon, d. 1626. 

Isaac Barrow, D.D., d. 1677. 

E. P. Barrows, D.D. 

W. Barrows, D.D, x. C. B. 

Alfred Barry, D.D. 

C. a, Barth, D.D. 

Chron. Com. 

S. C. Bartlett, D.D. 

Sources of History in the Pentateuch. 

(Randolpli, N. Y.) \y_ 4 

Win. Bates, D.D., d. 1699. p 

M. Baumgarten, D.D. 

Rev. D. N, Beach. 

.4. J. F. Behrends, D.D. 

J. A. Bengel, D.D., d. 1752. 

Chas. Berthean, D.D., d. 1732. 

Bp. Wm, Beveridge, d. 1708. 


Win. G. Blaikie, D.D. 

Bib. History, etc. (Nelson, London.) 

J. J. Blunt. 

Undesiqned Coincidences, 0. cf; S. T. 
(Carters, N. Y.) 

(iJeo. D. Boardman, D.D. 

Stuoies in Creative Week. (Appletons, 
N Y.) 

Francis Bowen, LL.D. 

Layman's Study of Eng. Bible. (Scrib¬ 
ners, N. y.) 

Rev. Chas. Bradley. 

Chas. A. Briggs, D.D. 

Biblical Study. (Scribners, N. Y.) 
Rev. S. A. Brooke. 

Thomas Brooks, d. 1680. 

Bp. E. Harold Browne. 

Bible (Speak^^r' s') Com. Genesis. (Scrib¬ 
ners, N. Y.) 

Francis Brown, D.D. 

A^syriology. (Scribners, N. Y.) 

Sir Thomas Browne. 

Robert Bruce, D.D., d. 1631. 

D. Henry Brngsch. 

Hist. Egypt under Pharaohs. 

Rev. W.S. P. Bryan. 

Jacob Bryant, D.D., d. 1804. 

Bp. George Bull, d. 1710. 

Rev. Thos. Bulloch, d. 1730. 

John Bnnyan, d. 1688. 

Rev. J. W. Burgon. 

N. C. Burt, D.D. 

Land and its Story. (Appletons, N. Y.) 

George Bush, D.D. 

Com. on Gen. and Exod. (Ivison, N. Y.) 

Horace Bushuell, D.D. 

Bp. Joseph Butler, d. 1752. 

Wm. Archer Butler, D.D. 

J. Glentworth Butler, D.D 

T. R. Bilks, D.D. 

The Pentateuch, etc. (Hatchards, Lon.) 

E. C. Bissell, D.D. 

J. B. Bittinger, D.D. 

Prof. J. S. Blackie. 

Sir Wm. Blackstone. 








Calv. 

T. C. 

A. C. 

T. J. C. 

H. C. 

J. C. 

J^al. Com. 


T>d it. 

JJ ic. Ji. 


A UTHORS CITED, AND KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS. 


John Caird, D.D. 

John Cairns, D.D. 

Henry Caldcrwood, LL.D. 

John Calvin, d. 574. 

R. S. Candlish, D.D. 

Joseph Caryl, d. 1673. 

P. A. Chadbourne, D.D. 

Thomas Chalmers, D D. 

Scriiiture Readings. (Carters, N. Y.) 
Talbot AV. Chambers, D.D. 

On Revised Old TeRament. (Funk A 
Wagualls, N. Y.) 

Stephen Chariioeh, d. 1680. 

Geo. B. Cheever, D D. 

Theodore Christlieb, D.D. 

Adam Clarke, D.D. 

Com. On Gen. and Exodus. 

Rdson L. Clark, D.D. 

Fundamental Questions, etc. (Putnam, 
N. Y.) 

Samuel Taylor Coleridge. 

The Frien I ; A ids to Reflection. 

E. R. Conder, D.D. 

F. R. Conder. 

Bp. John Conybeare, d. 1755. 
Thomas J. Conant, D.D. 

Com. on Genesis. (Bap. Bd., Phila.) 

F. C. Cook, D.D. 

Bible Com. Exodus, (Scribners, N. Y.) 

Joseph Cook. 

Henry Cowles, D.D. 

ll.brew History; Pentateuch. (Cong 
Pnb. S c., Boston.) 

Rev. Samuel Cox. 

Expositions, etc. 

Howard Crosby, D.D. 

John Cumming, D.D. 

(ieorge Cuvier, d. 1832. 

Pulpit Commentary. 

(Kegan, Paul & Co., Lon.) 


A. E. 

B. B. E. 

Enc. Met. 

P. E. 

G. P. F. 

J. F. 

D. F. 


R. S. Dabney, D.D. 
R. W. Dale, D D. 


Prof. Jas. D. Dana. 

Sam’l Davidson, D.D. 

Introd. to 0. T. 

John Davison, D.D., d. 1834, 
C. Daubeiiy, D.D., d. 1827. 
Sir AVilliam Dawson, LL.D. 


Fossil Men (Dawson Bros.. Montreal) ; 
pQVpt and Syria (Bel Tr. Soc., 
Lon.); Nature a»d the Bible (Car¬ 
ters, N. Y.); Origin of World 
(Harpers, N. Y.) 

Rev. G. Deane. 

Franz Delitsch, D.D. 


Introd. to 0. T.; Com. on Gen., etc. 
(Clark, Ellin.) 

Dictionary of the Bible. 

(Wm. Smith.) 


Morgan Dix, D.D. 

Marcus Dods, D.D. 

Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. (Macmi Ian, 
N. Y.) 


Gerl. 


E. H. G. 


E. M. G. 

W. II. G. 


Prof. Henry Drummond. 

John W. Dulles, D.D. 

Ride Through Palestine. (Pres. Pub. 
Bd., Phila.) 

J. Oswald Dykes, D.D. 

Abraham, the Friend of God. (Carters, 
N. Y.) 


John Eadie, D.D. 

Alfred Edersheim, D.D. 

1Tb/ Id before the Flood, etc.; Exodus, etc. 
(Rel Tr. Soc., Lon.) 

Jonathan Edwards, D.D. 

History of Redemption. 

B. B. Edwards, D.D. 
Encyclopaedia Metropolitana. 

G. H. A. Ewald, D.D. 

History of Israel. 


Patrick Fairbairn, D.D. 

Typology of Scripture. (Tibbals, N. Y.) 

Fred’k W. Farrar, D.D. 

F. Ferguson, D.D. 

Geo. P. Fisher, D.D. 

John Flavel, d. 1691. 

Robert Flint, D.D. 

Robert Forsyth. 

John Foster. 

Lectures, 2 xols. 

Donald Fraser, D.D. 

Synoptical Lectures on 0. T. (Carters, 
N. Y.) 

AVm. Fraser, D.D. 

Blending Lights. (Am. Tr. Soc., N. Y.) 

J. A. Froude. 


E. Garbett. 

Fred’k Gardiner, D.D. 

0. c6 N. T. in their relations, etc. (J. 
Pott, N. Y.) 

L. Gaussen, D.D. 

Cunningham Geikie, D.D. 

Hours with Bible, Vol. I. (J. Pott, 
N. Y.) 

Otto vonGerlach, D.D. 

Com. on Pent. (Clark, Edin,) 

AVm. Gesenius. 

J. Monro Gibson, D.D. 

Ages before Moseo ; Mosaic Era. (Ran¬ 
dolph, N. Y.) 

E. H. Gillett, D.D. 

Lfe Lessons. (Pres. Bd. Pub., Phila.) 
C. D. Giiisburg, D.D. 

Rev. J. H. Gladstone. 

Hon. W. E. Gladstone. 

F. Godet, D.D. 

Studies on 0. T (Dutton, N. Y.) 

A. Gosman, D.D. 

Lange's Cim. on Gen. (Scribners, 
N. Y.) 

P. H. Gosse. 

E. M. Goulburn, D.D. 

Bp. Robert (iray, d. 1834. 

Richard Graves, D.D., d. 1829. 

Wm. H. Green, D.D. 

Moses and Prophets. (Carters, N. Y.) 


t 











AUTHORS CITED, AND RET TO ABBREVTATIONS. 


045 


David D.I). 

E. D. Crimii, D.D. 

F. Ciiuizot. 

Thomas Guthrie, D.D. 
Arnold Guyot, LE.D. 

Creation. (Scribners, N. Y.) 


II. B. Ilackett, D.D 

Ulus, of Scripture. (Sheldon, N. Y.) 

Sir Matthew Hale, d. 107(5. 
William Hales, D.D., d. 1811). 

Bp. II. Bp. Joseph Hall, d. 1(556. 

(Jonlem}.l:ttions on 0. T. 

Robert Hall, D.D., d. 1801. 

Sei'movs, etc. 

James Hamilton, D.D. 

Sermons and Lectures. (Carters, N. Y.) 

W. n. William Hanna, D.D. 

The Patriarchs. (London.) 

Rev. Thomas Harmer, d. 1788. 

J. II. John Harris, D.D. 

Man Primeval. (London, 1841».) 
Samuel Harris, D.D. 

Rev. F. Ilastinsjs. 

H. A. Havcrnick, D.D. 

On the Pentateuch. (Clark, Edin.) 

E. W. Hengstenber", D.D. 

Egypt and Books of Moses. (Clark, 
Edit!.) 

H. Matthew Henry, D.D., d. 1714 

Com on. Gen. and Exodux, (Carters, 
N. Y.) 

J. G. Herder. 

George F. Herrick, D.D. 

J. M. Hiffermaii, D.D. 

John Hill, D.D. 

Roswell D. Hitchcock, D.D. 
Edward Hitchcock, D.D. 

Charles Hodge, D.D. 

Archibald A. Hodge, D.D. 

31. D. Hoge, D D. 

Rev. W. B. Homer. 

M. H. Mark Hopkins, D.D. 

Evidences of Christianity; Law of 
Love; Sermons. 

Bp. George Horne, d. 1792.. 

Bp. Samuel Horsley, d. 180(5. 

F. D. 11. F. D. Huntington, D.D., Bp. Cent. 
N. Y. 

E. P. Humphrey, D.D. 

Bp. J. F. Hurst. 

Prof. T. H. Huxley. 


31. W. Jacobus, D.D. 

Com. on Gen. (Carters, N. Y.) 

Thomas Jackson, D.I>., d. 1(540. 

R. Jamieson, D.D. 

Com. an Gen. 

Wm. Jenkyn, d. 1685. 

Wm. Jones, of Nayland, d. 1800, 
Flavius Josephus, d, 93. 

Kill. M. M. Kalisch. 

J. F. Keil, D.D. 

Introd. to Pent. ; Com. on Gen. (Clark, 
Edin.) 


John Ker, D.D. 

Sermons. (Carters, N. Y.) 

Bp. Richard Kidder, d. 1703. 
David King, D.D. 

Kit. John Kitto, D.D. 

Dai'y Bible Ulus. (Carters, N. Y.) 

K, J. H. Kurtz, D.D. 

Hint. Old Covenant. (Clark, Edin.) 


J. Laidlaw, D.D. 

J. P. Lange, D.D. 

Cam. on Gen. and Ex. (Scribners, N. Y.j 

S. V. Leach, D.D. 

Stanley Leathes, D.D. 

3Vm. Lee, D.D. 

Archbp. Robert Leighton, d. 1684. 
F. Lenormant. 

Beginninas of History. (Scribners, 
N. Y.) ■ 

T. ].. Tayler Lewis, LL.D. 

Divine Human in the Scriptures ; Six 
Days of Creation. (Carters, N. Y.) 

II. P. L. H. P. Liddon, D.D. 

Bampton Lectures, 1867. (Scribners, 
N. Y.) 

Bp. J. B. Lightfoot. 

Philip Lindsley, D.D. 

John Locke, d. 1704. 

Wm. Lord, D.D. 

C. E. Luthardt, D.D. 

Martin Luther, d. 1546. 


James McCosh, D.D. 

Alex. 3IcCaul, D.D. 

Hon. T. B. Macauley. 

1). M. Donald Macdonald, D.D. 

Introd. to Pent., 2 vols. (Clark, Edin.) 
A. M. Alex. 3Iaclaren, D.D. 

Hugh 3Iacmiilan, D.D. 

Archbp. Wm. 3Iagee, d. 1831. 

R. Jlagiiire, D.D. 

Brownlow Maitland. 

S. C. 3Ialan, D.D. 

Thomas Manton, D.D.,d. 1667. 

E. M. Erskine Mason, D.D. 

Geo. Matheson, D.D. 

H. 3Iartensen, D.D. 

Fred’k 1). 31aurice, D.D. 

Pat?'iarchs and Lawgivei's. (M acniillan, 
N. Y.) 

P. G. Medd, D.D. 

The One Mediator. (Young, N. Y.) 

.Joseph 3Iede, d. 1638. 

Henry Melville, D.D. 

A. G. 3Iercer, D.D. 

Bible Characters. (Putnam, N. Y.) 

S. M. Selah Merrill, D.D. 

East of the Jordan. (Scribners, N. Y.) 
Sir J. D. 3Iichaelis, d. 1791. 

Com. on Laws of Moses. 

Hugh Miller. 

M m. Milligan, D.D. 

T. S. 3Iillington, D.D. 

H. H.Milman, D.D. 

History of the Jews. (Harpers, X. Y".) 









64() 


AUTHORS CITED, AND KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS. 


JL 


j. r. N. 
o. 


C. H.P. 


J. p. 


H. W. P. 
Pic. Bib. 


J. L. P. 


George Moberly, D.l)., Bishop of 
Sa list) my. 

J. F. 3Iontgomery, 

J. 13. 3Iozley, D.D. 

Itulinq 1 leos >n Early Ages, etc, (Dut¬ 
ton, N. Y.) 

Max Muller. 

Jas. G. 3Iurphy, D.D. 

Com. o'l Gen. and Exodus. (Estes, 
Boston.) 


H. B. Nadal, D.D. 

Ernest Naville. 

S ore-City of PWoom, etc. (Trubner, 
London ) 

J. H, Newman, D.D. 

Sermons—many volumes. 

Bp. Thomas Newton, d. 1782. 

Rev. J. P. Norris. 


G. F. Oehler, D.D. 

Theol^g'l of 0. T. (Funk & Wagnalls, 
N'. Y.) 

C. Von Orelli. 

0. T. Propli. of God's Kingdom. (Clark, 
Ediii.) 


B. M. Palmer, D.D., 

E. II. Palmer. 

Hist, of Eewish Nation. (Lon. Bel. Tr. 
Soc.) 

AVm. Paley, D.D., d. 1805. 

E. A. Park, D.D. 

C. II. Parkhurst, D.D. 

S rmons, 'Itvols. (Randolph, N. Y.) 

Bp. Symoii Patrick, d. 1707. 

Com on Gen. and Exodus. 

Joseph Parker, D.D. 

People's Bible, Gen. and Ex. (Funk & 
Wagnalls, N. Y.) 

S. R. Pattison. 

Pres. Bay Tracts, Yol. 3. (Rel. Tract 
S ic.. Lon.) 

W. W. Patton, I>.D. 

Andrew Peabody, D.D, 

Bp. John Pearson, d. 1680. 

George Peck, D.D. 

SabbaCi Eeaays. (Metli. Book Cone., 
N. Y.) 

J. J. S. Perowne, D.D. 

Dr. Fred’k Pfaff. 

Austin Phelps, D.D. 

Studies of 0. T. (Cong. Pub, Soc., 
Bustou.) 

Rev. H. W. Philpott. 

Pictorial Bible. 

A. T. Pierson, D.D. 

E. H. Plumptre, D.D. 

Matthew Pool, D.D., d. 1679. 

Annotations on Bible. 

R. S. Poole. 

W. B. Pope, D.D. 

J. L. Porter, D.D. 

Noah Porter, D.D. 

Bp. B. Porteons, d. 1808. 

Prof. R. Proctor. 

E. B. Pnsey, D.D. 

Rev. Philip Pyle, d. 1799. 


Leopold Ranke. 

G. R. George Rawlinson, D.D. 

Origin of Nations ; Eg^ptand Babylon. 
(Scribners. N. Y ) Present Bay 
Tracts. (Rel. Tr. Soc., Lon ) 
Histor. lllns. eSamner.) 

P. LeP. Renouf. 

Religion of Anct. Egypt. (Scribntrs. 

N. Y.) 

J. II. Riggs, D.D. 

B. (fc F. Ev. Review, British and Foreign Ev- 
Rev. angelical. 

Bt'H. Qaar. Rev. Review, British Quarterly. 
No. Brit. Rev. Review, North British. 

Cont. Rev. Review, Contem porary. 

F. W. R. Fred’k W. Robertson, D.D. 

E. Robie, D.D. 

Edward Robinson, D.D. 

Thos. H. Robinson, D.D. 

S. R. Stuart Robinson, D.D. 

Printed but unpublished EecUires on the 

O. T. sew by the author jor utyt in 
these volumes. 

Prof. Henry Rogers. 

Sui>er. Origin of Bible. (Scribners, 
N. Y.) 

G. Rorison. 

II. O. Rowlands. 

BlbU Student. (W. R. Harper.) 

John Ruskin. 


R. P. S. 
P. S. 


Bp. Robert Sanderson, d. 1662. 
Ernest Sartorius. 

Rev. A. II. Sayce. 

Fresh Light from Anc. Monuments. (ReU 
Tr. Soc., Lon.) 

F. E. D. Schleicrmacher, D.D, 
George H. Schodde, Ph.D. 

A. Scrle, D.D. 

AV. T. G. Shedd, D.D. 

Dean AA . Sherlock, D.D., d. 1707. 
Rev. D. Sherman. 

J. M. Sherwood, D.D. 

Samuel Shuckford, D.D. 

Henry B. Smith, D.D. 

R. Payne Smith, D.D. 

Philip Smith. 

Old Testament History. (Harpers, 
N. Y.) 

Henry Smith, D.D. 

J. A. Smith, D.D. 

George Smith. 

Chaldean Account of Gen. (Scribners, 
N. Y.) 

Thornley Smith. 

E. C. Smythe, D.D. 

Robert South, D.D. 

Sermons. 2 vols, 

Prof. James C. Southall. 

Epoch of Mammoth ; Recent Origin oj 
Mari. (Lippincott, Phila.) 

Rev. C. H. Spurgeon. 

Sermons. 

Thomas Stackhouse, D.D., d. 1752. 
J. G. Staib, D.D. 

John Stainer. 











AJJTnORS CITED, AND KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS. 


647 




;V. P. S. 


J. s. s. 

R. S. S. 


A. P. Stanley, i).D. , H. B. T. 

History of Jewish Church. (Scribners, I 
N. Y.) [ 

R. P. Scebbins, D.D. | 

Study of Pentateuch. (Ellis, Boston.) 

Cieorge Steward, D.l). 

Mediatorial Sovereignty. (Clark, Edin.) 

John S. Stone, D.D. 

Richard S. Storrs, D.D. J. S. \ , 

.Tohn Stoughton, D.D. 

Moses Stuart, D.D. „ 

J. C. Styles, D.D. V an . 

Rev. M. Summerbell. 

Wm. Symington, D.D. 


I. T. 

W. M. T. 


J. P. T. 


S. S. T. 


G T. 


Isaac Taylor. 

Bp. Jeremy Taylor, cl. 1667. 

William M. Taylor, D.D. 

Joseph, the Pnme Minister; Moses, the 
Law-Giver. (Harpers, N. Y.) 

31. S. Terry, D.D. 

Bp. Fred’k Temple. 

Theodorct. 

A. Tholuck, D.D. 

J. B. Thomas, D.D. 

Joseph P, Thompson, D.D. 

E. A. 'I’hompson, D.D. 

Wm, 31. Thompson, D.D, 

The Land and (he Look. (Harpers, 
N. Y ) 

Sir Wm. Thompson. 

J. H. Thorn well, D.D. 
Archbishop Tillotson, cl. 1694. 
Sunday-School Times, Pliila. 
Eondon Times, 

John Todd, D.D. 

II. G. Tomkins. 

Bp. George Tomline, cl. 1827. 
Cieorge Townsend, D.D. 

Chron. Old Test. 

L, T. ToAvnsend, D.D. 

John Trapp, D.D., cl. 1669. 
Archbp, R. C. Trench. 


T. \V. 


E. C. W. 


G. F. \V. 


II. B. Tristam, D.D. 

Topography of Holy Land ; Bible Places ; 
L ind of Israel, etc. 

II. C. Trumbull, D.D, 

Blood Covenant; Kadesh - burnea. 
(Scribners, N. Y ) 

A. 1). C. Twesten, D.D. 


J. S. Van Dyke, D.D. 

Through the Prison to the Throne. 
(Funk & Wagnalls, N. Y.) 

J. J. Van Oosterzee, I>.D. 

C. J. Vaughan, D.D. 

Edmund Venables, D.D. 
Alc.\ander Vinet, D.D, 


AVm. AVall, D.D., d 1727. 

Ralph Ward law, D.D. 

B. B. Warfield, D.D. 

Daniel Waterland, D.D,, d. 1740. 
Bp. Richard Watson, cl. 1816. 
Thomas Watson, cl. 1689. 

Edward AVclIs, D.D., d. 1727. 

B. F. Westcott, D.D. 

F. Wharton. 

Rev. J. T. Wheeler. 

Rev. E. 3V. Whitaker, cl. 1818. 
Thomas WhitelaAV, D.D. 

Pulpit Coni. Gen. (Scribners, N. Y.). 
L. Whiting, D.D. 

Sir J. G. Wilkinson. 

Kev. Andrew Willet. cl. 1(521. 

Bp. Thomas Wilson, cl. 1755. 

3Iaj. W ilson. 

E. C. Wines, D.D. 

Laivs of Anct. Hebrews. (Pres. Bd. Pub., 
Phila.) 

Rev. W. C. WansloAv. 

J. Woodbiidge, D.D. 

T. D. Woolsey, D.D. 

G. F. W right, D.D. 

Divine AuthoHhj of the Bible. (Cong 
Pub. Soc., Boston.) 









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